MacArthur Park
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For the song named for this park, see MacArthur Park (song)
MacArthur Park is a park in western Los Angeles, California, and named after General Douglas MacArthur. It is located right in the middle of an ethnically Central American part of Los Angeles.
The park is divided in two by Wilshire Boulevard. On one side there is a highly polluted man-made lake. On the other, there is a kiosk. The kiosk is host to concerts organized by the local Spanish radio stations and the annual Central American Independence Day parade and festival.
The park was originally named Westlake Park, and was built in the 1880s. It was renamed shortly after the end of World War II.
MacArthur Park is famous for the epic song named after it, written by Jimmy Webb and first performed by Richard Harris in 1968.
Despite the rather poetic homage paid to it, the real MacArthur Park became known for being a violent place after 1985 when drug-dealing, shoot-outs and occasional drownings became somewhat common. Before the decline of the neighborhood, the park featured the traditional paddle-boats and a large fountain in the center of the lake; since the park was a popular middle-class destination for over fifty years, it is likely it can be reclaimed in the future.
The park has been featured in a number of movies (such as Volcano) and television shows. It was also the setting for Joseph Wambaugh's novel, The Choirboys.