Newly open Grand Park’s Court of Flags waving against the background of the Downtown LA skyline
It’s been about two months since Grand Park first opened to the public in Downtown LA’s Civic Center, sandwiched between City Hall and the Music Center (and unfortunately between the hulking County buildings that will hopefully be removed someday). The opening of Grand Park in July was only the first of three sections totaling 12 acres. The second (or center) section of Grand Park opened on September 11, 2012 with some stellar daytime photos captured by Curbed LA. I stopped by last week during a beautiful twilight and photographed the newest section of Grand Park as the sun was setting.
The third and last section of Grand Park will open in a couple more weeks on October 6, 2012 just in time before CicLAvia on Oct 7. In addition to the new Grand Park opening, other improvements in the immediate proximity have occurred simultaneously (i.e., the rehab of the LA Law Library, the new Civic Center subway portal canopies, etc.) giving the Civic Center a much needed urban redevelopment boost.
Grand Park is divided into three sections with the center portion opening earlier this month and last portion opening Oct 6, 2012
The Court of Flags framing LA City Hall
Pathways and benches
Grassy areas and trees
Drought tolerant landscaping along pathways
Responsible pet owners encouraged
Civic Center Red Line subway portal for easy transit access
Grand Park is surrounded by civic buildings including the LA Times, LAPD, and Caltrans
The third and last section of Grand Park is currently fenced off but will be open to the public on October 6, 2012
This new section looks great. I’ll check it out tomorrow.
We visited the park yesterday. The second section was nearly deserted, but the fountain area was packed with families. It’s too bad that the park doesn’t include a playground. It would be a great way to activate the second section. Grand-Hope Park in South Park is crowded with families every day, especially on Saturday mornings.
When the park plans were up for public discussion there were a few parents who requested a playground but they were brushed off in favor of a dog park because the perception was that there weren’t any families downtown. Of course, there is a big need for a dog park but it was very short-sighted to presume that because there weren’t many families downtown at the time, that there would never be many families downtown. It was also short-sighted not to realize that a playground would draw visitors from other parts of LA and help make the park a success.
The middle section feels like a corridor to me, a little claustrophobic. The side areas are ok, but it seems like it’s supposed to funnel people from the metro stop to city hall. When coming from the middle to the top section, how it suddenly opens up in that lower grassy area, it’s nice.
Also, the two sections feel very disconnected and I wish they had done more with the Hill St. crossing (different paint, pavers, or something) to make it feel more cohesive.
Still we’re in the top section several times a week walking our dog and it’s just so amazing. It’s my favorite thing to have happened to downtown this year.
We need another dog park Downtown like we need the plague. I would love to have playgrounds and fitness areas for humans and their offspring.
There is but one dog park in downtown currently, it’s tiny and in the arts district. If you’re thinking of the grassy area on second st behind the police station, that’s not an official dog park and frankly people are nuts to let their dogs off leash there since it is not fenced.