MacArthur Park — Attraction in Los Angeles

MacArthur Park is no longer a safe place.

I say that with a heavy heart. I’m a native Angeleno—born and raised here. I’ve been coming to MacArthur Park for over 45 years. I’ve seen it through good times and bad, but what it’s become today... is heartbreaking.

What used to be a peaceful place for families—where kids ran through the grass, birthday parties filled the air with laughter, and Sunday picnics brought people together—has turned into something unrecognizable. A dumping ground. A campsite for the homeless. A haven for violence and intimidation.

Today, it’s not just rundown—it’s dangerous. If you don’t walk in there with a bottle of mace, you're gambling with your safety. Robberies happen. Hate crimes happen. Especially if you don’t “look like you belong.”

Let me share something that happened to me recently. It’s July 2025. Tensions are high, with recent ICE raids stirring fear and distrust. I get it—I'm Latino. My mother came here legally from Mexico. I was born and raised in L.A. But because I’m light-skinned, walking through the park with a camera somehow made me a target. A group of drunk Hispanic men confronted me—accusing me of being with the system. I was just there to take pictures.

Before all this, I’d come here to unwind. I’d sit by the fountain, watch the birds and ducks, reflect on life. Even then, I was constantly harassed by aggressive panhandlers. But now? It’s worse. It’s not just uncomfortable. It’s threatening.

People deserve compassion. I know many are struggling. But when desperation turns to aggression, when a park becomes a place of fear, something is seriously wrong.

The signs are vandalized. The statue is defaced. The entire park has been overtaken. This is not a place for families anymore. It’s not even a place for peaceful solitude.

If you’ve ever seen the movie Bright—it feels like that now. Chaotic. Divided. Lawless.

Unless you look like you blend in, or you’re mistaken for someone who’s strung out, you stand out—and that’s dangerous. If you’re clean-cut, respectful, and just trying to enjoy the park for what it once was, you’re taking a serious risk by being there.

It pains me to say all this. I have decades of beautiful memories in this park—many with loved ones who are no longer alive. This place once meant something. It still does to me. And that’s why it hurts so much to see it like this.

I truly hope for a better future—for MacArthur Park, and for everyone who calls this city home.

But for now…...

MacArthur park is a beautiful place on the surface if you don't stare too hard.... Once you see what is beyond the fountain in the lake with a background of trees and green grass, different families of fowls swimming and trotting about... You might notice the bird poop on all the benches and sidewalks near the water, and then the stench creeps into your nasal cavities... Overwhelming feces and garbage scents are impossible to not notice. But worse then the smell, the waste both from the lakes creature residents and then the humans that call the park home as well ... Youve got to watch your step to avoid human 💩 and the paraphernalia that is haphazardly tossed on the ground. Every direction you look theres someone slumped over by either exhaustion or from the fentanyl they've just injested... And the unlucky ones that fall asleep are prey for the other people who wait and watch for the opportunity to steal from the unaware.. friend or foe.... Its all the same. ... No, even though theres a very nice, inviting playground... Id be remissed to bring my daughter there to enjoy it... Because even if you get there unscathed by someone out of their mind on drugs, the things that go on on a regular basis is not what any child should be witnessing.... The park is beautiful, day time the sun shines off the surface of the lake and the fountain makes a exquisite play area for ducks, geese and other birds to find a reprieve from the heat... And nighttime its illuminated and peaceful, until you learn to look beneath the surface.... Be careful and dont visit outside of park hours . The park is not safe ,, especially...

Okay here's the skinny you want crack, go down town those days are over but... If you love/hate fentanyl you can find most everything you need right here from fentanyl to smokeshop that cater to fentanyl uses they have some really nice dabbers that sell anywhere from $10 to $5000 bucks. They have some really nice people down there that make sure you get a meal and a fresh pookie with a bag full of other fentanyl condiments. They also have AAA service scooping up the occasional body from a fentanyl overdose and they have a hospital within walking distance where you can always pick up a wheelchair instead of standing on your big swollen legs. I can't forget the beautiful lake but be careful drinking water from it the bodies with rocks tied to them to keep them from floating to the top and scaring the teens and old people. The bodies do give it a sweet sickly taste that you have to acquire. Oh I almost forgot they have a Landers. World famous eating and a beautiful view of downtown Los Angeles. At night the place really is quite charming. MacArthur Park is like the rape baby of a forced coupling between New Jack City and New York Central Park. For vendors 4out of 5 stars , working girls getting one out of five stars, fentanyl quality get 3½ stars out of 5. Don't get me wrong the people down there are amazing and there's a real sense of family and community down there no matter where you're from it's a place to go when you got nowhere else left to go, and if you didn't plan on spending some time down there... Take only...