Memorial Fountains in Pershing Square

Pershing Square, in its present condition, has few trees, few benches and no other real amenities. Less than 2,000 people pass through it each day. This is the same park that accommodated more than 100,000 people a day in the 1920s. The proposed improvements are a response to a demand by the Los Angeles community that its centerpiece, the city’s oldest park, be a place of pride, not an embarrassment to the city.

The new proposal for Pershing Square by SITE Projects, Inc., selected through an open, international design competition, highlights many historic elements at the same time it responds to Los Angeles’s new downtown. Among the historic features are a memorial to Kelly and Nellie Roth (who donated fountains), a memorial to Gen. John J. Pershing and a preservation of existing ficus trees.

A critical goal of this revitalization effort is to recapture for pedestrian use almost 1 1/2 acres of land that is presently occupied by ramps to the underground garage. With the cooperation of the garage operator, this will become parkland, increasing the usable acreage of Pershing Square from 2 1/2 acres to 4 acres. Surely, this alone will make the square more welcoming.

Equally as important, the goals of the nonprofit Pershing Square Management Assn. do not stop with the excitement of restoring Pershing Square. We are committed to working with the city to ensure that the new park is maintained and secured in a manner that makes it truly accessible and enjoyable to all citizens of Los Angeles.

JANET MARIE SMITH

Los Angeles

Smith is president of the Pershing Square Management Assn.