| Grand Park | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Interactive map of Grand Park | |
| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Civic Center, Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Coordinates | 34°03′24″N118°14′50″W / 34.056744°N 118.24728°W /34.056744; -118.24728 |
| Area | 12 acres (4.9 ha) |
| Created | 2012 |
| Designer | RIOS |
| Operated by | Los Angeles Music Center[1] |
| Status | Open all year |
| Public transit access |   |
Gloria Molina Grand Park, commonly known asGrand Park, is a 12-acre (4.9 ha) park located in thecivic center of Los Angeles, California. First developed in 1966 as the 'Civic Center Mall' with plazas, fountains and a Court of Flags,[2][3] it is now a part of the larger redevelopment known as theGrand Avenue Project, with its first phase having opened in July 2012.[4] Grand Park is part of a joint venture by the city of Los Angeles andLos Angeles County. It was designed and built by the Los-Angeles–based multidisciplinary design firm Rios Clementi Hale Studios.[5] Park programming and entertainment, security and upkeep are maintained by the nearbyLos Angeles Music Center.[5]
Grand Park stretches between theLos Angeles City Hall and the Los Angeles Music Center onGrand Avenue.[6] It is designed to be pedestrian friendly and connectsBunker Hill to the civic center. The park plans include tree-shaded sidewalks, drought-tolerant plants, an interactive fountain plaza, performance lawns and courtyards, plenty of street lights, movable park furniture, and kiosks to encourage the walking and exploration of the area. City officials and some visitors have compared Grand Park to other well-established urban parks such asNew York'sCentral Park or San Francisco'sUnion Square.[7]
First proposed as a park by landscape architectCharles Mulford Robinson in 1907 inspired by theCity Beautiful movement, but was never developed. After years of proposing the clustering of Los Angeles County government buildings in one place, the county and city finally accomplished that goal with a centralized park in 1957. The park was completed as "Civic Center Mall" in 1966.[3]
Re-development of Grand Park began in 2010 at a cost of $56 million.[8] $50 million provided by Related Companies, the developer planning the nearbyGrand Avenue Project. The parks later phase includes a Frank Gehry-designed mixed-use development. Due to theGreat Recession in the early 2010s, the development was pushed back, commencing construction in 2019.[9] Other phases of the project remained stalled, but the park and grand avenue project moved forward thanks to a special agreement between the joint powers authority overseeing the project and its developer.
On March 21, 2023, supervisorHilda Solis introduced a motion to rename Grand Park to Gloria Molina Grand Park, honoring supervisorGloria Molina's contributions for the park's redevelopment after Molina's announcement of terminal cancer.[10] It was approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors the day it was introduced.[11] A motion to endorse the renaming passing in theLos Angeles City Council, with MayorKaren Bass also endorsing it.
TheLos Angeles Music Center's contract to operate Grand Park is expected to run until mid-2017; in addition, it earns in rents and fees charged to concessionaires and others. Routine security is provided by the Music Center's security department, and law enforcement services by theLos Angeles County Sheriff's Department. In 2014, theLos Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved funding of $1 million for an independent nonprofit group, the Grand Park Foundation.[12]
By virtue of the mostly sunny weather, the park also features programs year-round.[13] In 2012, theLos Angeles County Board of Supervisors allocated $3.3 million for the first year's operations, mainly to cover logistics such as security and maintenance, with $100,000 for programming.[14] Events will be coordinated by thePerforming Arts Center of Los Angeles County, which also oversees theDorothy Chandler Pavilion,Ahmanson Theatre,Mark Taper Forum and theWalt Disney Concert Hall. The inaugural event featured Bandaloop, a professed vertical dance company of aerialists, performing against the backdrop of Los Angeles City Hall.[9] During the first six months, Grand Park hosted about 40 events. Some were bids for a mass audience, while others aimed to grab passers-by.[14]
The Community Terrace features a large picnic table and lawn area for gatherings and viewing visuals projected on nearby wall of the Hall of Records. Open lawn space can be used for major public events such as New Year's Eve celebrations and festivals.
Direct access to the park is available on theLos Angeles MetroB andD lines atCivic Center/Grand Park station. The park is also accessible via theJ Line's1st Street/Hill Street stop, or its Spring Street/City Hall stop.[15] Severallocal,rapid andexpress Metro bus routes also share the same 1st Street/Hill Street stop at the civic center.
The park is host to Los Angeles' first free major public New Year's Eve celebration, shortened to "N.Y.E.L.A.".[16] The first edition was held December 31, 2013 – January 1, 2014. The first event, which included food trucks, art installations, light shows, concert stages, drew an estimated 25,000 spectators.
Every year since, at 11:55 pm, alight projection show is displayed onto the side ofLos Angeles City Hall and other municipal buildings, displaying visual art before ultimately counting down to midnight with the crowd. The art is in collaboration withThe LA Music Center. It is intended to become an annual celebration, with the hope that it would rival other major cities' festivities in years to come. So much so they added fireworks in 2015–16 celebration.[17] By the sixth annual (2018–19) event, Grand Park + The Music Center's N.Y.E.L.A. drew over 50,000 guests. Doubling its inaugural event attendance.[18]Aloe Blacc was the featured artist in 2018–19.[19]
On August 30–31, 2014,Jay Z's Labor DayMade in America Festival was held in Grand Park featuring,Imagine Dragons,John Mayer,Kanye West, and many other performers.
AnArmenian genocide memorial opened in September 2016.[20]
The music video for "Play That Song" byTrain was partly filmed in front of theArthur J. Will Memorial Fountain,[21] as was the 2003 Miller Lite commercials "Catfight" and the filmsPretty Woman and500 Days of Summer.[22]
On September 22, 2019, Armenia's Prime MinisterNikol Pashinyan held a rally at the park that was attended by around 10,000Armenian Americans.[23][24]
On July 4, 2023, due to restrictions on fireworks inDowntown Los Angeles, Gloria Molina Grand Park began hostingdrone shows.[25][26][27]
During the2028 Summer Olympics the park will serve as a venue for the marathon, race walk and road cycling.[28]
![Christopher Columbus statue (removed)[29]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aChristopher_Columbus_statue%2c_Grand_Park%2c_Los_Angeles%2c_January_21%2c_2014.jpg)
| City of Los Angeles |
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County of Los Angeles |
| ||||||||
| Orange County | |||||||||
| Oklahoma City | |||||||||
| Non-competitive venues |
| ||||||||
