🌳 Journey Notes: Los Angeles Grand Park 🌳

The park gets its name from Grand Avenue on its west side, and it also lives up to its "grand" size and vision! Designed to express the cultural diversity of Los Angeles through landscape and architecture, Grand Park aims to be "a park for everyone"—a flexible community gathering space that redefines the future of Downtown LA. 🏙️✨ As part of the Bunker Hill urban renewal project, the park stretches across three city blocks from east to west, connecting two major landmarks: Los Angeles City Hall on the east end and the Music Center on the west. This creates not just a visual but a cultural and civic link in the heart of the city. 🏛️→🎭 The northern edge of Downtown LA meets sloping terrain, with a height difference of about 28 meters between City Hall and the Music Center. The design cleverly uses this slope to create a series of garden terraces, connected by stairways and ramps that make the space both accessible and enchanting. 🌿➡️🌄 Opened in 2012, Grand Park was designed to help revitalize Downtown LA. With its flexible open spaces, botanical gardens, diverse programming, and amenities, it serves a growing and wonderfully diverse community. The park brings together L.A.’s rich history, cultural spaces, and civic life, embracing the traditions of all who call this city home. Its motto says it all: “The Park for Everyone.” 💚🌍 Acting as a 12-acre “botanical bridge,” Grand Park uses lush, textured landscaping to tie the Music Center to City Hall. From small group gatherings to events with thousands of people, it’s a daily destination that fosters connection and collective imagination—a true symbol of L.A.’s commitment to inclusion and equity. 🎉🤝✨ The park’s visual identity draws from the multicultural fabric of Los Angeles. Reflecting its goal of global inclusivity, the master plan uses the Goode’s Interrupted Homolosine Projection—a unique map projection that represents the world’s continents with minimal distortion. Following this concept, the park’s main east-west promenade is “interrupted” by meridian lines made through paving, structures, and planting beds. These aren’t just decorative—they help organize circulation, activities, and services throughout the park while unifying its four city blocks and 28-meter elevation change. Key areas include the Fountain Plaza, Community Terrace, and Performance Lawn. 🗺️🌐🪨 Grand Park is divided into several vibrant zones: the Fountain Plaza, Performance Lawn, Community Terrace, and Event Lawn. Each offers a unique atmosphere and purpose, making the park both a civic symbol and a beloved urban retreat. Grand Park embodies what people hope for in a modern urban park: it draws crowds to a revitalized downtown while still offering intimate moments and rich visual beauty. Whether you’re visiting for a festival, a quiet stroll, or just to people-watch, it truly is a park for all. 🥾👨‍👩‍👧‍👦💫 #LandscapeDesign #LosAngeles #GrandPark #UrbanRenewal #ParkForEveryone #DowntownLA #PublicSpaces #CivicPride #InclusiveDesign #CityLife #ExploreLA