With little fanfare, the City of Los Angeles has completed the initial phase of the  latest Pershing Square revamp.

Phase 1A of the revamp, which began construction August 2023, cleared away the cafe structure and escalators on the western side of the park adjacent to Olive Street, which have been replaced with a new entry plaza with seating - and improved visibility into the park. Two glass elevators have been added to provide access to the garage below.

View looking southwest toward Olive and 6thUrbanize LA

The master plan for the park's redesign, developed by Agence Ter and Salt Landscape Architects, originally called for shaving down the roof of the subterranean parking garage below the park. However, ballooning costs (the estimated price tag had already soared to $110 million by 2020) has caused the City of Los Angeles to pare back its plans.

Rather than flattening the park, plans now call for softening its edges. Notably, the Park officials have previously indicated plans to close the garage entrances along the Hill Street side of the park and removing structures which block views into the square from Hill Street. Gruen Associates is serving as architect of record for the project.

View from Olive Street of Pershing Square renovation Phase 1AAgence Ter / Gruen Associates

The most recent prior redesign of Pershing Square, done by architect Ricardo Legorreta in the early 1990s, includes references to earthquake fault lines and the aqueducts which have long supplied much of the city's water. The space has served as a park since the 1880s, and previously featured a Beaux Arts design by architect John Parkinson, before being transformed in the 1950s to accommodate underground parking.

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