Macarthur Park is going to The People
A couple days ago, I featured some of our local feathered friends that I discovered while visiting Macarthur Park, so today I’d like to share some other interesting photographs that I took while I was at the park.
As Diane C. noted, Macarthur Park is also famous for the song named after it, which was first recorded by Richard Harris in 1968.
If you listen closely, you can hear Harris using the incorrect possessive form, "MacArthur’s Park". Jimmy Webb, the song’s writer, said he tried correcting Harris during re-takes, but gave up when he simply could not sing the correct words.
With that in mind, here’s Macarthur Park, the song:
In both 2007 and 2008 summers, Macarthur Park hosted over 80 evening concerts of family entertainment. All told, at least 50,000 people attended the summertime park’s concerts.
Adding to this venue’s allure, there are at least 50 concerts scheduled and planned for each summer. They’re totally free to the public, so I’m sure I’ll be attending at least a couple of these, so watch for them this summer.
Although Macarthur Park has seen a major revitalization over the past few years, its recent history includes the Los Angeles May Day mêlée, a pro-illegal-immigration rally which occurred on May 1, 2007.
During the rally, police clashed with a few of the protesters, who began blocking the street, which the rally permit expressly prohibited. When several people began pelted Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers with rocks, bottles, and other debris, the police commanders declared the gathering an unlawful assembly and gave the command for the crowd to disperse.
During the incident, 27 marchers and 9 members of the media were injured, 5 people were arrested, and at least 50 civilians filed complaints with the LAPD regarding mistreatment by officers. 7 to 15 police officers were injured.
Well here’s to better times and problems solved!
In that spirit, the day I was there, quite a few other activities were going on, and people were having a whole lotta fun!
Wow, he must have had a great bike ride!!
An intense game of chess…………….:)
This is one of the entry points to the park, which a bike rider has just gone through. I think that these balls have something to do with ship anchors but I’m not sure, so if there are any military experts or ship aficionados in the audience, feel free to let me know, and I’ll update the story.
Reading the local paper is always a relaxing activity especially when surrounded by a beautiful lake and scenery.
If all of these actions weren’t enough for one day, there was also a live shooting of the very popular TV series, The Unit, taking place as well. I captured some unique and unlikely shots of the scenes, cast, and crew, so definitely stay tuned to Travelin’ Local. I’ve learned that you never know what you’ll find in your own backyard.
I hope everyone had a great weekend, and don’t forget, “Let’s keep our park clean!”
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I need these posts…thank you for sharing!
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Sounds like a lot has been going on at Macarthur Park since I moved away from LA. It looks great now and it’s wonderful to hear about the free concerts in the summer. I really like all of the candid shots you got of people enjoying the park in various ways.
Diane C.’s last blog post..Art at Tohono Chul
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What a park!! 50 concerts each year? Amazingly busy park!!
Lisa’s Chaos’s last blog post..Macro Monday Cars
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Lisa, you’ve captured the current essence of this park exactly; it’s very beautiful and family friendly for any day of the week. The reason I can say this is because I used to work across from the park about 18 years ago, and I remember the “old” days when the gangs there ruled. Kudos.
For some reason I thought that the song was a different one–but good find nonetheless.
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Your photos are amazing. I can “feel” the park by looking at them.
Tess The Bold Life’s last blog post..Magic Monday: Jonathan Mead, Reclaim Your Dreams
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Great post! As I understand it the clocktower and its accompanying floats/bouys/whatever is titled “Monument To The Unknown” by artist George Herms who dedicated it to the men that used to play chess there in the park.
Will Campbell’s last blog post..A Blessed Workaround
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@ Mark I hope you stop by often. I love sharing CA with everyone…………..:)
@ Diane C. Thanks. I didn’t know about it last year, so I’m really looking forward to attending a few concerts.
@ Lisa’s Chaos I was also surprised by that number. I wonder who performs………:)
@ David I don’t think I would have visited the park 18 years ago. LA is really making strives in its crime scene.
@ Tess The Bold Life I’m glad you liked them. I had several to choose from.
@ Will Thank you for the additional information, and the men playing chess were quite intent on their game. Plus, there were a few card games going on as well.
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I was look forward to the follow up on the MaCarthur Park, well done. I enjoy learn about the park, your photos are great. Thanks for sharing.
Giovanna Garcia
Imperfect Action is better than No Action
Giovanna Garcia’s last blog post..What ever happen to commitment?
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If I can’t be there it is really great to at least read about it. Great pictures and thanks for sharing.
SpinDiva’s last blog post..National Water Day
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[...] Macarthur Park is going to The People [...]
@ Giovanna I love sharing my city with visitors to Travelin’ Local. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos.
@ SpinDiva You’re very welcome. I hope you stop by more often to see what’s happen’ in LA………………:)
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