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Watercolor rendering of Central Park (Pershing Square), Los Angeles, approximately 1910

Description
Watercolor rendering by artist J. F. Dupre for the revitalization of and improvements to Central Park (Pershing Square) in downtown Los Angeles. The design is from the architecture firm of Parkinson and Bergstrom, who devised a new landscape plan for the park area bordered by Olive, Hill, 5th and 6th Streets, around 1910. Central Park was created in downtown Los Angeles in 1866, and experienced multiple changes to its design. The rendering depicts the plan to change the park by arranging it in an axial formation with wider paths to accommodate increasing traffic, a large fountain as the focal point of the intersections, balustrades at the entrances, and concrete coping surrounding the park. The plan was implemented and the park remained in this arrangement for decades. During World War I, the park was the scene of soldier receptions and speeches, and in 1918 the park was renamed "Pershing Square" after General John J. Pershing.
Type
Visual Materials(Opens in new tab)
Date
approximately 1910
Call number
arch0001
Creator
Dupre, J. F(Opens in new tab)
Provenance
Gift of Janet Marie Smith, April 2019.
Restrictions
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
Dimensions
39 cm x 89 cm
Associated organization
Parkinson and Bergstrom, Architects.
Find out more
View in the Huntington Digital Library(Opens in new tab)
View in the Library catalog(Opens in new tab)

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