tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72149653904879667652024-02-06T19:04:08.411-08:00The Pershing Square Restoration SocietyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-83385018248858054522023-08-04T21:13:00.002-07:002023-08-04T21:13:49.668-07:00The Pershing Square Restoration Society Says Take Back Angels Knoll!<p>The high profile Pershing Square redesign supposedly "won" by Agence Ter's "radical flatness" is <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2020/02/pershing-square-redesign-moves-forward.html" target="_blank">dead</a>. Its prime mover, disgraced councilman <a href="https://esotouric.com/josehuizar/" target="_blank">Jose Huizar</a> will soon be sentenced to prison for his confessed corruption. </p><p>As Pershing Square's staunch advocates, we've <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2022/05/heyday.html" target="_blank">successfully advocated</a> with Department of Cultural Affairs and Rec and Parks to ensure that Barbara McCarren's "Hey Day" public art pieces that were part of the 1992-94 park design will (mostly) be protected while minor and long overdue renovations are done to make Pershing Square more pleasant for its users. </p><p>But the sweetheart <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2018/12/after-fbi-raids-big-questions-for-jose.html" target="_blank">Angels Landing development contract</a> that Huizar <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2017/12/pershing-square-project-pays-off-big.html" target="_blank">gifted</a> to Victor MacFarlane, the largest (perhaps only) donor to his <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2020/09/pershing-square-renew-has-dissolved.html" target="_blank">dissolved Pershing Square ReNew non-profit</a>, continues lurching forward as an R. Donahue "Don" Peebles project, costing the city in missed opportunities to find a serious developer that will actually break ground, instead of just squatting on the parcel trying to <a href="https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2014/14-0425-s4_rpt_cla_02-08-23.pdf" target="_blank">shake down</a> taxpayers.</p><p>The lower plaza, long used by Bunker Hill workers, Metro passengers and Grand Central Market patrons as an outdoor seating and picnic area, remains fenced behind chain link. The <a href="https://horizonskyline.net/2021/11/23/angels-knoll/" target="_blank">upper portion</a>, with its famous <i><a href="https://youtu.be/PsD0NpFSADM?t=122" target="_blank">500 Days of Summer</a></i> bench and lovely old trees, is gated and inaccessible to the public.</p><p>We believe this public land should be used for 100% affordable housing, community serving small businesses, cultural programming and green space. Take back Angels Knoll, and make something wonderful of it, for Angelenos and not for profiteers and crime bosses.</p><p>And something is happening. After six months of silence, the zombie project will <a href="https://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=14-0425-S4" target="_blank">soon be heard</a> by City Council's Trade, Travel and Tourism Committee (Traci Park, Tim McOsker and Hugo Soto-Martínez). They need to hear from concerned citizens, before another six months or six years are squandered with this valuable public land held hostage. So <a href="https://cityclerk.lacity.org/publiccomment/?cfnumber=14-0425-S4" target="_blank">click here</a> to make your written public comment, and stay tuned for opportunities to be heard in person. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Pershing Square, 532 S Olive St, Los Angeles, CA 90013, USA34.048569 -118.25289175.738335163821155 -153.40914170000002 62.358802836178846 -83.0966417tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-49094538093253988952022-06-21T15:00:00.006-07:002023-01-19T13:13:31.577-08:00Pershing Square Redesign Funding Questions for Retiring Rec and Parks General Manager<p>On <a href="https://ens.lacity.org/rap/agenda/rapagenda311161795_05192022.pdf" target="_blank">May 19, 2022</a>, as documented in our live tweet, the Recreation and Parks Commission <a href="https://twitter.com/esotouric/status/1527341277334761472" target="_blank">grilled</a> Rec and Parks GM Mike Shull about the lack of funding or documents handed over by former Councilman Jose Huizar's <a href="http://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2020/09/pershing-square-renew-has-dissolved.html" target="_blank">dissolved nonprofit, Pershing Square ReNew</a>.</p><div data-contents="true"><div data-block="true" data-editor="dnbmq" data-offset-key="20fcl-0-0"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="20fcl-0-0"><br /></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="dnbmq" data-offset-key="8fe0f-0-0"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="8fe0f-0-0"><span data-offset-key="8fe0f-0-0">On June 17, the City Hall's Channel 35 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC3-E_850XE" target="_blank">announced</a> that Shull has retired from city service. Now outgoing Mayor</span> Eric Garcetti <a href="https://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=22-0729" target="_blank">seeks to appoint</a> Jimmy Kim to replace him. This is odd timing, because it's the right of a new Mayor to appoint General Managers as well as Commissioners, and one will be elected in November.</div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="8fe0f-0-0"><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="8fe0f-0-0"><br /></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="8fe0f-0-0">Update, January 19, 2022: A <a href="https://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=18-1206-S2" target="_blank">motion</a> from <a href="https://knock-la.com/tag/kevin-de-leon/" target="_blank">embattled</a> councilmember Kevin de Leon seeks to move $3.5 Million from Onni Group's 1000 S. Hope project to the Pershing Square Improvement Fund.</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-82790185264972951672022-06-19T10:46:00.002-07:002022-06-19T11:14:24.538-07:00Pershing Square's Lost Memorial to Love<p><span> </span>Thanks Kim for the invitation to post a blog about some long
forgotten park history. Did you know
about this memorial to love? I sure
didn't and it was a bit of a surprise. Pershing
Square is named in honor of General "Blackjack" Pershing and several
memorials have a clear war theme. And
there’s the statute of Beethoven, and let's not forget the missing tribute to Benny,
the squirrel, but a memorial to love?
Yup!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCu6YXW9xyDmgpfaYcR7_h8dSusw8324rc8MPhI6V-fgM_JtcL62Tmwpfcrc7yfPi_rLXAHyEu4Gd3h9IZ_A6g_aSKKQdEHE29Tzzg1FPm5o0t9uftIu0fqmiKgqxKpF25WGovgV0zvCMR1nSab7tj-IeiUnrJ1orICKxSRLj8L_sRrEHfZEdmEJhvuw/s1216/Photo%20A%20-%20Monuments.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="1216" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCu6YXW9xyDmgpfaYcR7_h8dSusw8324rc8MPhI6V-fgM_JtcL62Tmwpfcrc7yfPi_rLXAHyEu4Gd3h9IZ_A6g_aSKKQdEHE29Tzzg1FPm5o0t9uftIu0fqmiKgqxKpF25WGovgV0zvCMR1nSab7tj-IeiUnrJ1orICKxSRLj8L_sRrEHfZEdmEJhvuw/w523-h370/Photo%20A%20-%20Monuments.JPG" width="523" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>My story begins at the City of Los Angeles
archive. They have a massive collection
of sketches from the WPA that were used to create the model of 1940 downtown
Los Angeles that's on display at the Natural History Museum. (Well, a small portion of the model is on
display but that's another story).
Buried in the collection is a partial planting plan for Pershing Square
from 1954. I'm not sure why it's in the
1940 WPA collection other than it might have been tossed into the box by some
city planner when they archived the files.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifDmuCGJxeIL64M8cMjnWWFI_8Qfag0nzHOQI61ZlA2t239a53n8vf-J3iaq39DUyGGa_FWR50hvTTLDGjRiOIFWi_7qIdKcHIIfKFL0uLs_VndKm41aJgbT4U9TPXvJ8cCdAz_1ktGxkYq405sL3MoROsq3AR-p4uXbjVQZVsmN7ISgurP7gqxs34UQ/s2700/Photo%20B%20-%20Planting%20Plan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="2185" height="594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifDmuCGJxeIL64M8cMjnWWFI_8Qfag0nzHOQI61ZlA2t239a53n8vf-J3iaq39DUyGGa_FWR50hvTTLDGjRiOIFWi_7qIdKcHIIfKFL0uLs_VndKm41aJgbT4U9TPXvJ8cCdAz_1ktGxkYq405sL3MoROsq3AR-p4uXbjVQZVsmN7ISgurP7gqxs34UQ/w481-h594/Photo%20B%20-%20Planting%20Plan.jpg" width="481" /></a></div><span> </span>Luckily for us, this drawing was tossed into the box since it
identifies a very special memorial now lost to time. The partial plan shows a square fountain
surrounded by lawn with some simple planters along the perimeter. I soon learned that this fountain had a twin,
located on the other side of the square.
If you zoom in on the drawing, the fountain is labeled Mrs. Nelly Roth
Memorial fountain. Who? Who is Mrs. Nelly Roth, you say? That was my initial reaction too. But, to properly set the stage for this
memorial, I must digress back to 1949.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>The year 1949 is the year that the Parks Department got
serious about destroying Pershing Square for the sake of installing underground
parking. Plans for underground parking
had been circulating since the early 1920's, but prior Commissions always
rejected those plans. One major reason
for rejection is that a sub-surface structure would provide minimal topsoil and
prevent tree growth. Pershing Square is
a public park, parks must have trees, and the Commissioners saw it as their
civic duty to protect the public assets entrusted to their care.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06CFSvrxt4w7Jkj0aEndWzGYKYWlIeXREajBnNZ-E5hGeZyUU94Wh-JLuePNtVHmXIoyluHH7lm1PtMq3moHiuEXAsmEg_GyCFdmXxR4uxn_GcZxZscJ5MxzpNYYKdGGJDas3PrbCC8flvVr6AaP7vFEhm-KhtC5ZH3YdpSphcYBHTZR3MO4Bw9jqQg/s1660/Photo%20C%20D%20Combined.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1660" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06CFSvrxt4w7Jkj0aEndWzGYKYWlIeXREajBnNZ-E5hGeZyUU94Wh-JLuePNtVHmXIoyluHH7lm1PtMq3moHiuEXAsmEg_GyCFdmXxR4uxn_GcZxZscJ5MxzpNYYKdGGJDas3PrbCC8flvVr6AaP7vFEhm-KhtC5ZH3YdpSphcYBHTZR3MO4Bw9jqQg/w513-h217/Photo%20C%20D%20Combined.jpg" width="513" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>But, the 1950's were not about protecting public
assets. Big business in the downtown
area wanted parking, a lot of parking, and they didn't care about park
users. After all, the majority of park
users were retired pensioners living on Bunker Hill, and their days were
numbered too. So, out went the Pershing
Square everyone loved, and in went a flat barren hardscape that most everyone hated. Pershing Square was reduced in area and the
"park" was nothing more than a field of grass. But, with every cloud comes a silver lining,
and this is where Mr. Kelly Roth enters the picture.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>Kelly Roth was a 17-year-old Hungarian immigrant who came to
Los Angeles in the late 1890's. He
married Texas born Nelly Arons in 1899 and for 30 years he ran a cigar store in
the heart of the city. He started work
with his brothers at their store at 1st and Main. He later opened his own store at 5th and
Spring. Nelly's father ran the Famous
Shoe store on 4th near Spring. They had
two sons. The cigar business was profitable,
and Kelly made some wise investments in real estate. Overall, life was good.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>Then, Nelly's health began to slowly fail. They travelled to New York, to Hawaii, and
British Columbia but she did not improve.
Nelly died in 1940 and Kelly was stricken by very deep grief. His small apartment became a shrine, the
walls adorned with her pictures. According
to an article in the LA Times "When Roth visited the Sphinx and the
Pyramids in 1951, he had a group photograph enlarged and superimposed two
facial pictures of his wife on it, to show how she might have looked with
him."</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizoMN-9M8uK2VMAbDYin6dAovhvz3P2Z7D7ROLnnFcGMnARwfyZrrEjbj3b3evpBuVCntxbW6BLocsdEbFBuRbdM-4-TweCqaOfz3MnEm6c3-8W9tLBUFK0M9UKZG8DrjlZeh6kpe4--9Apwnw22yfffJ-MRCOpau2OxZGipxcdsoAnKh9lElAPI8Ctw/s2851/Photo%20E%20F%20Combined.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1822" data-original-width="2851" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizoMN-9M8uK2VMAbDYin6dAovhvz3P2Z7D7ROLnnFcGMnARwfyZrrEjbj3b3evpBuVCntxbW6BLocsdEbFBuRbdM-4-TweCqaOfz3MnEm6c3-8W9tLBUFK0M9UKZG8DrjlZeh6kpe4--9Apwnw22yfffJ-MRCOpau2OxZGipxcdsoAnKh9lElAPI8Ctw/w520-h333/Photo%20E%20F%20Combined.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>Kelly now wanted to erect a memorial for her so she would be
remembered forever. He donated $30,000
to the city for a pair of reflecting pool fountains to be installed in the
newly rebuilt Pershing Square. He made
the donation in cold hard cash, a move that ex-Councilman Jose Huizar would
love. Pershing Square, with the memorial
fountains, would take him back to his early days in Los Angeles with Nelly,
riding past the Square on a mule car. He
also wanted to honor the city that had given this immigrant so much.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>Architect Stiles Clements donated his services in drawing up
the plans for the Mrs. Nelly Roth Memorial Fountains. Each reflecting pool fountain sat on top of a
concrete column that supported the parking structure below. The two fountains were placed 216 feet apart
at opposite ends of the Square. Each
fountain had a 21-minute display cycle in which 126 different combinations of
color lights and water blending took place.
The fountains were dedicated on 21 Dec 1954 and they drew big crowds to
the park at night.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYvrWi_ULwl3gomLJIUN5K3dOsR54f1FpN6l6C9z-dUNwPby0ZWTjfBR9cHdotYR-O0d3IV48H7u5kJ8XVMAL9WWsqPfVDU9146dMBAIcTv0H2YLNb5hW70r_FQutbielYPcsfa3ZKmbQxc_18bWD0Stew5oHLPvr_F58ywTZzMGcW31BcxsyLcyJ9Q/s800/Photo%20G%20-%20Photo%20from%20Crocker%20Bank%20Tower.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="800" height="389" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYvrWi_ULwl3gomLJIUN5K3dOsR54f1FpN6l6C9z-dUNwPby0ZWTjfBR9cHdotYR-O0d3IV48H7u5kJ8XVMAL9WWsqPfVDU9146dMBAIcTv0H2YLNb5hW70r_FQutbielYPcsfa3ZKmbQxc_18bWD0Stew5oHLPvr_F58ywTZzMGcW31BcxsyLcyJ9Q/w529-h389/Photo%20G%20-%20Photo%20from%20Crocker%20Bank%20Tower.jpg" width="529" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>Kelly Roth passed away 4 months after the dedication ceremony. Large red poinsettias were planted around the
fountains in Dec 1955 and that seems to be the last official mention of any
activity. More than 30 years will pass
until a letter to the editor of the Times will lament about this now neglected
and forgotten memorial. Neil Roth, one
of Kelly’s grandsons, writes to the Times to thank the letter writer for caring
and remembering. As fitting ending to
this blog, I’ll let Neil Roth have the final words. “The loss of the fountains will be more than
the loss of a concrete structure. It
will be the loss of an important piece of history – one that tells of an
individual man who, like so many others, loved his wife and loved Los Angeles.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Michael Callahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18417065147365856133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-69423834413641852532022-05-18T12:38:00.002-07:002023-04-19T22:45:09.775-07:00Pershing Square art honoring John Fante and Carey McWilliams threatened: save Barbara McCarren's Hey Day!<h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>UPDATE, APRIL 19, 2023: "Hey Day" is Saved! </b><span style="font-weight: normal;">On February 2, 2023, we joined artist Barbara McCarren and Ligeia Gorre, CRA/LA Arts Manager from the Public Art Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, for a walk through Pershing Square to discuss the impact that planned renovations will have on "Hey Day" and how the city can ensure the artwork is protected. </span></h4><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWaovXmqHMOC4nythRrrKpXsqgzDSqY-WNt9iqZ1BryPR-bkuI3c1AIn123qdU824pX7t7xb4jxEEvMp4DA8xaIQGosTJyON1dz2OE6xTzoj1c_gFL6s6eh8957lSt77CxEnC_miaMHWzhdoOShmWjOyu4JhOuxnJSIEghCwi8E6bv5IZVvZTcYxIW/s1920/barbara%20mccarren%20tours%20hey%20day%20in%20pershing%20square%20collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWaovXmqHMOC4nythRrrKpXsqgzDSqY-WNt9iqZ1BryPR-bkuI3c1AIn123qdU824pX7t7xb4jxEEvMp4DA8xaIQGosTJyON1dz2OE6xTzoj1c_gFL6s6eh8957lSt77CxEnC_miaMHWzhdoOShmWjOyu4JhOuxnJSIEghCwi8E6bv5IZVvZTcYxIW/w400-h223/barbara%20mccarren%20tours%20hey%20day%20in%20pershing%20square%20collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Examining elements of "Hey Day" and talking about Pershing Square renovations</i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This was a productive and encouraging meeting, which was followed by further discussions between the artist and DCA. At their <a href="https://ens.lacity.org/rap/agenda/rapagenda311170732_04202023.pdf" target="_blank">9:30am meeting on 4/20/23</a>, the Recreation and Parks Commissioners will discuss and vote on <a href="https://www.laparks.org/sites/default/files/pdf/commissioner/2023/apr20/23-083.pdf" target="_blank">#23-083</a> Pershing Square Renovation Phase 1A, including specific plans for a partial relocation and restoration of parts of "Hey Day." Unfortunately, the stars in the central path will be lost in the minor remodel, but the rest of Barbara McCarren's art will continue to be a part of Pershing Square. </span></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>The original post about this preservation crisis appears below. </span></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ARTIST'S STATEMENT (5/18/2022): As the original artist on the Pershing Square refurbishment in 1992-94, I have received no notification from the city, or any agency or commission in the city, about my artwork being moved, altered or removed from Pershing Square. - Barbara McCarren, Venice CA</span></h4><p>On May 19, 2022 in their 9:30am hearing, the Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners are scheduled to vote on Pershing Square Renovation Phase 1A. (<a href="https://www.laparks.org/sites/default/files/pdf/commissioner/2022/may19/RAP%20MEETING%20AGENDA%205-19-22.pdf" target="_blank">PDF agenda link</a>, <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px;">see #22-124.)</span></p><p>We have <a href="https://councildistrict14.com/about/contact" target="_blank">reached out</a> to Council District 14 asking for this item to be removed from the agenda due to the city's failure to address the threat to artist Barbara McCarren's public art installation "Hey Day" (1994). </p><p>"Hey Day" honors two of our favorite Los Angeles writers, with a jagged stone path symbolizing the earthquake from <a href="https://esotouric.com/fantesquare/" target="_blank">John Fante's</a> novel <i>Ask The Dust</i> leading to a wall inscribed with Carey McWilliams' <a href="http://www.publicartinla.com/Downtown/figueroa/Pershing_Square/mcwilliams.html" target="_blank">incredible quote</a> about the culture of the park, concluding "<span style="background-color: white;">Here the American people were erupting, like lava from a volcano; here, indeed, was the place for me - a ringside seat at the circus."</span> </p><p>It is a wonderful sculpture that should not be demolished without an attempt to preserve it. If you share our concern, you can send an email to councilmember.kevindeleon@lacity.org or call (213) 473-7014, too. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5RVZ6WMWJOT2tHWTy-EK1-dMm22sSsi1329XP2_d5F8HjcPFG6Gy_msZE1BBK-G1CCsSYwC8_blZooy7NDt6p8Lb-MlC4fqa4a8AcTs1rOqJY2JewKAe_ob6bFGX__0SeaYeaOA7KNYtpq049x1wQFCWkcBxceruuJyaikJF8nfmG_xwA2KejUUjM/s1920/Pershing%20Square%20Barbara%20McCarren%20Hey%20Day%20collage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5RVZ6WMWJOT2tHWTy-EK1-dMm22sSsi1329XP2_d5F8HjcPFG6Gy_msZE1BBK-G1CCsSYwC8_blZooy7NDt6p8Lb-MlC4fqa4a8AcTs1rOqJY2JewKAe_ob6bFGX__0SeaYeaOA7KNYtpq049x1wQFCWkcBxceruuJyaikJF8nfmG_xwA2KejUUjM/w400-h225/Pershing%20Square%20Barbara%20McCarren%20Hey%20Day%20collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">BACKGROUND: In January 2021, we halted and were able to void two virtual Cultural Affairs Commission hearings, because the public was not able to view or participate. Two proper public hearings were then held, which we live tweeted:</div><p>• <a href="https://twitter.com/esotouric/status/1359563544954568705" target="_blank">February 10, 2021</a> </p><p>• <a href="https://twitter.com/esotouric/status/1382431536281182210 " target="_blank">April 14, 2021</a> </p><p>On the agenda at each hearing was granting $24 Million in public funds to construct a small portion of the <a href="https://twitter.com/esotouric/status/1382455299173277696" target="_blank">poorly conceived</a> and underfunded Agence Ter plan that was declared the winner of Jose Huizar's 2016 Pershing Square Renew design competition. </p><p>On January 28, 2021 the Cultural Affairs Commission held a two hour Special Meeting to make up for the first Brown Act violation, but again the public was excluded, and the meeting voided. Video from that illegal meeting is extremely revealing about why the city is moving forward doing construction on the park, without the funds to actually redesign Pershing Square. </p><p>This Restore Pershing Square petition update links to the video with timestamped explanations of <a href="https://www.change.org/p/mayor-garcetti-la-city-council-recreation-and-parks-don-t-re-envision-pershing-square-restore-pershing-square/u/28520631" target="_blank">The Truth About Pershing Square Redesign: It’s Eric Garcetti’s 2028 Olympics Pipe Dream</a>. </p><p>In the January through April 2021 hearings, the Cultural Affairs Commission repeatedly pressed architect Debra Gerod from Gruen Associates (local partner to French firm Agence Ter) to better explain the Pershing Square proposal and ensure the artwork and monuments in the park were protected. </p><p>At the 4/14/21 hearing, before the Commissioners reluctantly approved $24 Million in initial funding, they reminded Gerod that following <a href="https://twitter.com/esotouric/status/1359619628566151170" target="_blank">the artist's public comment</a> on 2/10/21, she had been directed to come back and tell them what was happening to Barbara McCarren's “Hey Day,” but she had not done so. <a href="https://twitter.com/esotouric/status/1382464087456575492 " target="_blank">Here</a> is our live tweet calling out this moment in the hearing. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12kS7bVbLfCZRi9KIbmqU98Lq6aTnp5JEACukeqqKy-IblTaINsZtQm7IDn2xqigKNqfO_GcTV6tGMRB_YdoIXGBe3jNdfmOhNJ8tx3HXm-cjjn25ph7LJVd3n4tDqwIUmwvTMSPLpGeO8RkZUjqnNJJeANHgNC5alpQ_rQy1EDD6c1GQO5Nfofnh/s1192/Pershing%20Square%20Cultural%20Affairs%20screenshot%20Debra%20Gerod%20reminded%20about%20Hey%20Day%20April%2014%202021.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1192" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12kS7bVbLfCZRi9KIbmqU98Lq6aTnp5JEACukeqqKy-IblTaINsZtQm7IDn2xqigKNqfO_GcTV6tGMRB_YdoIXGBe3jNdfmOhNJ8tx3HXm-cjjn25ph7LJVd3n4tDqwIUmwvTMSPLpGeO8RkZUjqnNJJeANHgNC5alpQ_rQy1EDD6c1GQO5Nfofnh/w400-h279/Pershing%20Square%20Cultural%20Affairs%20screenshot%20Debra%20Gerod%20reminded%20about%20Hey%20Day%20April%2014%202021.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>The Cultural Affairs Commission directed Gruen to communicate with Barbara McCarren about the situation. We have been looking forward to working with McCarren, Gruen, Department of Cultural Affairs, Rec and Parks and Council District 14 to address the threat to this popular piece of civic art and ensure a positive solution. </p><p>We have confirmed this morning that Barbara McCarren has still not been contacted by anyone from DCA, Rec and Parks or Gruen Associates about the threat to her artwork, which is protected under the Federal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_Artists_Rights_Act" target="_blank">Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA)</a>. She is extremely concerned that if the Rec & Parks Commission votes to move forward tomorrow, her work “Hey Day” will be destroyed. We share her concern. </p><p>Today we asked <a href="https://councildistrict14.com/about/contact" target="_blank">asked Council District 14</a> to request that the item is removed from the agenda for future consideration, as the question of how the proposed renovations will likely destroy Barbara McCarren’s “Hey Day” have not been answered. We very much hope that they will do so.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-80234372978987088502022-02-15T19:23:00.014-08:002022-02-15T22:21:06.982-08:00On Pershing Square's Namesake<div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span>You a<span id="docs-internal-guid-965ca3bd-7fff-2117-d16d-5d47371cac19" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">re of course familiar with Pershing Square, but you may not know the story of its namesake, General John J. Pershing. Should you follow social media, you might be exposed to the typical narrative, which runs something like this:</span></span></span></span></p></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span id="docs-internal-guid-965ca3bd-7fff-2117-d16d-5d47371cac19" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="769" height="507" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjF_tLDOjzOhq_4LAcqw1a4DXNlGQsk9JItFIbgtg8mgHzQYCerg16SWQE1dmxqp7HFTtP1BYo03Y0gPOObnk5_vhK8RToztPwKWFoydOvGZe3QsLpLmfAQod2-40Lm8fSamJZ7KUFaI3banVGxFQR_QZ6fGxgXzQphtrg8reS-yp0ewSMfbGFGDN3pw=w550-h507" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="550" /></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>From the Facebook "Lost Angeles" group page</i></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In short, it is common currency these days to call General Pershing (and by association, Pershing Square) </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">racist</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I will allow neither he nor our park to be smeared by such corrupt nonsense so I am going to take on this topic here and now.</span></span></span></p></div><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span>I. <br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First though, allow me to address </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">another</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> assertion within the above Facebook post, that “Ironically, Pershing never visited Los Angeles.” This is a surprisingly common claim made by various internet Pershingphobes; one seemingly authoritative site asserts that Pershing “has no historical significance to the City of Los Angeles,” while a "rename Pershing Square" petition to our City Council states of Pershing Square “its namesake, General John Pershing, has no ties to Los Angeles whatsoever.” </span></span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-a49a2ed9-7fff-a6c8-5ee2-095673927ca1" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Which of course is absolute rubbish. Pershing had deep ties to Los Angeles. During WWI he frequented LA, where he looked after the headquarters of the Coast Artillery, delivered addresses to the Red Cross, and often visited his good pal George S. Patton Jr. (yes, *that* Patton) in the Patton home at 1220 Patton Court in San Marino. Pershing was engaged to George’s sister Anne Wilson "Nita" Patton. Nita was the granddaughter of Benjamin D. Wilson—second mayor of Los Angeles—and Pershing was pals with the Workman family.</span></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-a49a2ed9-7fff-a6c8-5ee2-095673927ca1" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then, in 1920 and with the end of the Great War, Pershing's visit in connection with Central Park's renaming was a huge affair. 600 people attended the Chamber of Commerce lunch at the Alexandria Hotel; 50,000 people saw Pershing speak at Exposition Park (the proposed reception, hosted by the American Legion, was scheduled, of course, for Pershing Square; it was moved to Exposition Park when officials realized the sheer number attending—50,000 people being about 1/10th of the population of the entire city). </span></span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi726stm8FmRa5WSCvi9JGLwAslqk1ErkUGXI38JKcY-GYEkegLoat45pLY_wc0KMjmzD3OcHkMU1hk6q5gfAzSpbkAdD-CuOuxRMuXvkR7pMTS_gEOEyeGf5Ncuc_weQRqfLJxJgeoLGGKnaKr5o_TLFAgbab3ZwWRuzY26ZRvxQQk-yItCaUpfAGFA=s1250" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="1250" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi726stm8FmRa5WSCvi9JGLwAslqk1ErkUGXI38JKcY-GYEkegLoat45pLY_wc0KMjmzD3OcHkMU1hk6q5gfAzSpbkAdD-CuOuxRMuXvkR7pMTS_gEOEyeGf5Ncuc_weQRqfLJxJgeoLGGKnaKr5o_TLFAgbab3ZwWRuzY26ZRvxQQk-yItCaUpfAGFA=w576-h338" width="576" /></a></span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>The man himself rolling down Broadway, one block east of newly-named Pershing Square. <a href="https://homesteadmuseum.blog/2020/01/26/here-his-fame-is-secure-general-john-j-black-jack-pershing-tours-los-angeles-26-january-1920/" target="_blank">The Homestead Museum</a></i></span></span></p></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /> </span></span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieASUZ76Nrq6y80yDisuI7oC09o7RjvEAP3nEq0N_osBOep7EZMzMqo6dIhPD67xuvIhUxWsQmOs1kloWjgRJygwuHKWCFkSJoV6mtVB47qiQo51_3qU_AD9j5UY8LsBcMKqtxOcu4Giy5Kd1JOVWAGQERRDfH3lnSBaygc5gS__BupNyY01h0msiSFw=s674" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="507" height="535" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieASUZ76Nrq6y80yDisuI7oC09o7RjvEAP3nEq0N_osBOep7EZMzMqo6dIhPD67xuvIhUxWsQmOs1kloWjgRJygwuHKWCFkSJoV6mtVB47qiQo51_3qU_AD9j5UY8LsBcMKqtxOcu4Giy5Kd1JOVWAGQERRDfH3lnSBaygc5gS__BupNyY01h0msiSFw=w403-h535" width="403" /></a></span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><i>Los Angeles Express, January 8, 1920</i><br /></span></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-2fcde2c2-7fff-4dbf-a3b1-d2f7952cdc27" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nearly as impressive was his visit come 1923:</span></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-2fcde2c2-7fff-4dbf-a3b1-d2f7952cdc27" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1cp6mKqVnpgoiVHwIlGPLfG7_OqkJgoFHMNn9KLTtA35EJ4GBnafb6DJyPWvBcG7SADDXJGjuAGEl5GYrrHlUBOcgR0WYoTpSXzWJ1rE7DTTOLRUeOWavramH7OjnFzuHnHvevprIowAAninVdvpSorkxlg_pggsRO_KA5qhRFiF647plVThkK_SIyA=s956" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="956" data-original-width="859" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1cp6mKqVnpgoiVHwIlGPLfG7_OqkJgoFHMNn9KLTtA35EJ4GBnafb6DJyPWvBcG7SADDXJGjuAGEl5GYrrHlUBOcgR0WYoTpSXzWJ1rE7DTTOLRUeOWavramH7OjnFzuHnHvevprIowAAninVdvpSorkxlg_pggsRO_KA5qhRFiF647plVThkK_SIyA=w513-h570" width="513" /></a></span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Long Beach Press-Telegram, July 25, 1923</i></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p id="docs-internal-guid-2fcde2c2-7fff-4dbf-a3b1-d2f7952cdc27" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span><span id="docs-internal-guid-d13816ba-7fff-d7d9-9ef5-3a37ef4db4db" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-2fcde2c2-7fff-4dbf-a3b1-d2f7952cdc27" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span><span id="docs-internal-guid-d13816ba-7fff-d7d9-9ef5-3a37ef4db4db" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are other remnants of Pershing’s visits to Los Angeles. On his 1923 stop he planted a California redwood at the War Memorial Building on Fair Oaks in Pasadena, which stands mighty to this day:</span> </span></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-2fcde2c2-7fff-4dbf-a3b1-d2f7952cdc27" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span> </span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgf8Klyz_R054WE1p3NmR0_0Swifyg_Yp_ZxtmXx_fMkXQSePdZOpRWX5OadUjB0ZwdNIlSceREe_mJHIgiTBjRP8VickKqVKn_QqBtpZmmmtxRPEonBdYpE0msU-Ww3faUWTRY039sKtHA_vDv619lhr5B68GFS_VzXGA8UHxeOH0cOqvwTTGSTunK6g=s1385" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1385" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgf8Klyz_R054WE1p3NmR0_0Swifyg_Yp_ZxtmXx_fMkXQSePdZOpRWX5OadUjB0ZwdNIlSceREe_mJHIgiTBjRP8VickKqVKn_QqBtpZmmmtxRPEonBdYpE0msU-Ww3faUWTRY039sKtHA_vDv619lhr5B68GFS_VzXGA8UHxeOH0cOqvwTTGSTunK6g=w626-h423" width="626" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Courtesy Courtland Jindra Collection</i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"></span></span></p></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5mBG6q6Yuke7y8_X6lj7zoUi6m3Zk_LkKML1X78UtFkNIaIdsWnQMISvlntJDPzJYHIRVCKEoa6mWEOldM6FmCh3upiLytH8fo9b60ZIw5rF1mYxd0-Jwh_UP8rs82ijuautQE53nN-wShLvq-RZiWEWKqMGCpaDYhkG1cBAY7RHPNpmKVLaa6Yz1rQ=s1421" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1421" data-original-width="1067" height="579" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5mBG6q6Yuke7y8_X6lj7zoUi6m3Zk_LkKML1X78UtFkNIaIdsWnQMISvlntJDPzJYHIRVCKEoa6mWEOldM6FmCh3upiLytH8fo9b60ZIw5rF1mYxd0-Jwh_UP8rs82ijuautQE53nN-wShLvq-RZiWEWKqMGCpaDYhkG1cBAY7RHPNpmKVLaa6Yz1rQ=w435-h579" width="435" /></a></span></span></p></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOPfbFD6IV1ZZt2QV3VcSVc-sz-QgmyZxrnLESHt70qKF3V-2h2ZDqv6jPhQAmJF4WpMebu4uD-jAP-2tjndrlhcL3QzvV8RUkAmd_oXSGhcThYg1vDmbFoBcD2xAW1eMDqc5g6ygXlNgx3oITQe_iOTjlFNT6mTilXsi1FxtxJ5IjZ2exhxEHcCCvgA=s1909" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1425" data-original-width="1909" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOPfbFD6IV1ZZt2QV3VcSVc-sz-QgmyZxrnLESHt70qKF3V-2h2ZDqv6jPhQAmJF4WpMebu4uD-jAP-2tjndrlhcL3QzvV8RUkAmd_oXSGhcThYg1vDmbFoBcD2xAW1eMDqc5g6ygXlNgx3oITQe_iOTjlFNT6mTilXsi1FxtxJ5IjZ2exhxEHcCCvgA=w509-h380" width="509" /></a></span></span></p></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p id="docs-internal-guid-2fcde2c2-7fff-4dbf-a3b1-d2f7952cdc27" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-88e214f0-7fff-1843-7622-5414cec5ce97" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Speaking of trees</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">, another arboreal Pershingism linking the man and Los Angeles:</span></span></span></p></div><p id="docs-internal-guid-2fcde2c2-7fff-4dbf-a3b1-d2f7952cdc27" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIYWyKsUh9njjXeg1RGoyQBaTk5XzZ52Q82DPE5e9APESGZQIxALi2jC5TYzdj8dHUgI5NJKnbcrqGIL5zEisCXfgakgzDVOM33M23UAD7EbaQU7VcIExe8P8wvFnoIMtID40zH4tqJXi9R1F0BqPldwWpXXzolDvDnVILMo5YuHj0pEQ2XMJ0dKtO9Q=s1134" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1018" data-original-width="1134" height="501" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIYWyKsUh9njjXeg1RGoyQBaTk5XzZ52Q82DPE5e9APESGZQIxALi2jC5TYzdj8dHUgI5NJKnbcrqGIL5zEisCXfgakgzDVOM33M23UAD7EbaQU7VcIExe8P8wvFnoIMtID40zH4tqJXi9R1F0BqPldwWpXXzolDvDnVILMo5YuHj0pEQ2XMJ0dKtO9Q=w559-h501" width="559" /></a></span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span id="docs-internal-guid-c174fd5a-7fff-e5c1-7f4e-13c82383620c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">September 13, 1960, nephews James and Frank Pershing, and grandson John Coughlan, plant a ceremonial peach tree in honor of their famous kin. Judging by the location of the Temple Baptist signage behind them in the distance, the tree was likely planted at the southwest corner of the park, near Sixth and Olive. <a href="https://tessa.lapl.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/photos/id/16915/rec/1" target="_blank">Right image, LAPL</a></span></i></span></span></p></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span id="docs-internal-guid-c174fd5a-7fff-e5c1-7f4e-13c82383620c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></i></span></span></p></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span id="docs-internal-guid-c174fd5a-7fff-e5c1-7f4e-13c82383620c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></i></span></span></p></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span id="docs-internal-guid-c174fd5a-7fff-e5c1-7f4e-13c82383620c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></i></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIeRjmdFu0wle6k-pYWYvlaUPRtgYYN1tyJ9bEwXqAyIx7Jt4PF_gupC3zShrcN2ZiVgK401OVxge-sOzppfjrO7JbTO4YAXMzGJaldecSmhD_mHEcGiSleLFbQhH9ShL5_wb-7VlpNosqe7Xp4QdNQwhb8wnRmq1yoiv_o-4ufZ6Mo_UPLF6o9TLXaw=s1704" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="1704" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIeRjmdFu0wle6k-pYWYvlaUPRtgYYN1tyJ9bEwXqAyIx7Jt4PF_gupC3zShrcN2ZiVgK401OVxge-sOzppfjrO7JbTO4YAXMzGJaldecSmhD_mHEcGiSleLFbQhH9ShL5_wb-7VlpNosqe7Xp4QdNQwhb8wnRmq1yoiv_o-4ufZ6Mo_UPLF6o9TLXaw=w610-h345" width="610" /></a></span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>The plaque still exists at Pershing Square, though relegated to an uninspiring part of the statue ghetto. (The peach tree, flown in from Pershing's hometown, was destroyed during the 1994 remodel, of course.) Note that a Pershing Missile was also on display; the Pershing was designed and developed by the Martin Company, as founded in Santa Ana</i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i> </i></span></span></p></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p id="docs-internal-guid-e1aa4f35-7fff-bfe3-fced-785908c9b851" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-e1aa4f35-7fff-bfe3-fced-785908c9b851" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>II.</span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-e1aa4f35-7fff-bfe3-fced-785908c9b851" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-e1aa4f35-7fff-bfe3-fced-785908c9b851" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-98440c6c-7fff-c968-d598-829af7b6440a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But getting back to the meat of the matter: the aforementioned Facebook post, pictured at top, asserts Pershing “was considered by many to be a white supremacist.” Considered by </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">whom</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, exactly? Apparently people on Facebook! They were quick to point out that, for example, Pershing authored the notorious 1918 pamphlet </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Secret Information Concerning Black American Troops</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which warned French civilian authorities not to mix with our "inferior" African-American soldiers. They linked to <a href="https://museum.dmna.ny.gov/unit-history/conflict/world-war-1-1914-1918/black-americans-us-military" target="_blank">this article from the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Center</a>. They also linked to <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780312299569_4?fbclid=IwAR1RAqYeS385nxNEOW_ZVNFc-YvCiGV7kDH10UrMpDnCyH5VQIkVdZMUx9M" target="_blank">this scholarly article called "The Corrosive Racial Divide."</a> What a <i>museum</i> has to say on the matter, and an <i>academic paper</i>, must <i>certainly</i> be proof of the claim that Pershing penned the odious racist tract! And yet that claim is utter poppycock. </span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-e1aa4f35-7fff-bfe3-fced-785908c9b851" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-9bc4fcfd-7fff-4e52-9fb7-48087cbfa2d9" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First, allow me to briefly answer the question, if not Pershing, who did write the pamphlet? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was authored by Colonel of Artillery Jean L. A. Linard of the French Army. Linard was Chief of the French Mission for the American Expeditionary Forces. We are only aware of its existence because a copy fell into the hands of W. E. B. Du Bois, who published it in an issue of his magazine </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Crisis</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in 1919. It is very clearly marked a French army communique and signed <i>Linard</i>:</span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-9bc4fcfd-7fff-4e52-9fb7-48087cbfa2d9" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLkrrexISmT_v45DVMlF9ER1TmISG6oBz51ZPItxPzP-U0UTOyEPGergm4CYbBBCn2fcSqkP97puwQ8ee86S7HxVQRsj6nObzLfmRLZ0lg2oUB9LfKPyK4IGH_EmfmcvH8MlTtgQPqqeidK_fAQY_mmQP6K1CjgAAvuBunh_YMB7YqBfqn1TjQZJUnOw=s1415" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1116" data-original-width="1415" height="489" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLkrrexISmT_v45DVMlF9ER1TmISG6oBz51ZPItxPzP-U0UTOyEPGergm4CYbBBCn2fcSqkP97puwQ8ee86S7HxVQRsj6nObzLfmRLZ0lg2oUB9LfKPyK4IGH_EmfmcvH8MlTtgQPqqeidK_fAQY_mmQP6K1CjgAAvuBunh_YMB7YqBfqn1TjQZJUnOw=w620-h489" width="620" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>”A French Directive,” The Crisis, XVIII (May, 1919), p. 16-18. AKA French Military Mission Stationed with the American Army.
August 7, 1918—Secret information concerning the Black American Troops.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"></span></span></p></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those being the facts on the matter, <i>how</i> was this thing—known in France as the “Circulaire Linard”—misattributed to Pershing? In terms of the two links proffered by the Facebook posters: the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Center was using an article written by one David Omahen, whom you’ll see in his footnote, credits his information as from page 163 of Gail Lumet Buckley’s <i>American Patriots</i>. With all due respect to Ms. Buckley, she is a journalist by trade, and not a historian. (And a self-taught journalist at that; her college degree was in French Studies.) Buckley simply wrongly stated Pershing wrote the thing—and then provided no source for her claim.</span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-1428e8b3-7fff-e6b1-baea-d112c2158c5f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Regarding Professor Willoughby's academic paper, Willoughby repeats the “Pershing Directive” attribution, citing the foreword of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Invisible Soldier </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Mary Motley, ed., Wayne State University, 1975). Said foreword was authored by Howard Donovan Queen, who, like Buckley, is neither a historian nor does he provide a source</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This seems to be the origin of the Pershing myth, and likely the wellspring of later attributions (Buckley, et al.) of the pamphlet to Pershing. Telling that Mr. Willoughby was also not a historian (rather, an Associate Professor of Economics when he wrote the paper) </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">like those others who made the claim</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span> </span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>III.<br /></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c908e6cd-7fff-1bda-4ecd-fedbcc5eede0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">References to Pershing abound on the web, from ostensibly respectable, reputable sources, which state authoritatively that the General—rather than being known for his towering achievements in World War I—is, rather, “known for genocidal campaigns against communities dear to Los Angeles (Filipino, Native American, Muslim, Korean and Mexican).” Let's look at some claims about Pershing:</span></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c908e6cd-7fff-1bda-4ecd-fedbcc5eede0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c908e6cd-7fff-1bda-4ecd-fedbcc5eede0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-50421dd9-7fff-4400-6ff8-f1df13e820ad" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Pershing led extermination campaigns against the Apache and Sioux.” </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> It's 1886 and Pershing's first assignment after graduating West Point, twenty-five years old and a newly-made Second Lieutenant, finds him placed in the 6th Cavalry at Fort Bayard, NM. The 6th was linked to the Apache campaign, though Pershing was a noncombatant, placed on garrison and field duties. He was thereafter posted to Sioux City, Iowa in December 1890, where he participated in the Sioux campaign until September 1891 (until he was assigned to become Professor of Military Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a position he held until 1895, when he took on instruction of the 10th Cavalry, the African-American Unit of Buffalo Soldiers). So while his unit may have been assigned to the Indian Campaign, he didn’t <i>lead</i> anything. Arguably, the most famous injustice against First Nations people was Wounded Knee—which was 7th Cavalry, and Pershing wasn’t there; he was with the 6th, and his job specifically consisted of rather un-genocidal marshaling of troops and establishing perimeters. In fact, there’s no evidence Pershing ever killed anyone during the Indian Wars; the only thing he’s known for is having been one of the very few soldiers who attempted to learn the Apache dialect and Lakota sign languages. There is actually zero evidence Pershing ever so much as said a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">mean word</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to a Native American. In fact, conversely, check out Pershing’s respect and admiration for First Nations people <a href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/american-indians-service-world-war-i-1920?fbclid=IwAR2mwOZsjHLTJoIvrmlRCFUJWmTCAVFQf48b-1abjUlaQd4Vz1_Os6dYTBg" target="_blank">here</a></span>. </span></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c908e6cd-7fff-1bda-4ecd-fedbcc5eede0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c908e6cd-7fff-1bda-4ecd-fedbcc5eede0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c908e6cd-7fff-1bda-4ecd-fedbcc5eede0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5130daec-7fff-fafe-69c8-aaaeb8ffcd02" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1905 he went to Tokyo to help Imperial Japan viciously rule Korea as a slave colony</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” and/or Pershing was “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">supporting Imperial Japan’s conquest in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.” First of all, it is an understatement to say Japan did </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> require Pershing’s assistance in accomplishing their goals in either of those affairs. It is true, in 1905 President Roosevelt petitioned Congress to give Captain Pershing—and many others—a diplomatic post as a military attaché in Tokyo to observe the Russo-Japanese War. Pershing and his new wife sailed for Tokyo in February 1905, arriving in March. They stayed six months, departing September 1905. When Pershingphobes wax wroth about how Pershing helped “rule Korea as a slave colony” when he was a Russo-Japanese war observer, and departed months before the Eulsa Treaty, said claim holds no water. And when they assert he was “supporting Imperial Japan’s conquest” it should be pointed out there were </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">also</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> US Army officers assigned to the <i>Russian</i> Imperial Army as observers, doing the exact same thing as Pershing (along with observers from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_attach%C3%A9s_and_observers_in_the_Russo-Japanese_War" target="_blank">scads of other countries</a>).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-4fcbc79d-7fff-28e0-0d0b-ea2c9d737ff6" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c908e6cd-7fff-1bda-4ecd-fedbcc5eede0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-b761dc45-7fff-295f-a4eb-0fd1cdf6ef50" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Pershing was in charge of the Mexican Punitive Expedition!”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Yes he was, what’s your point? At 4:15 in the morning of March 9, 1916, Mexican soldiers crossed the United States border into Columbus, New Mexico, and while shouting "Viva Villa! Viva Mexico!" began killing citizens, looting stores, stealing horses, and burning homes with people inside, eventually murdering eight civilians and eleven soldiers before running away. And, what? We were supposed to say </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thank you</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">? (Eighteen-year-old Bessie James—and unborn child— were gunned down in cold blood but </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that’s ok,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Villa looks so <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/pancho-villa-by-houstongeo/18732687.1YYVU" target="_blank">cool on a t-shirt</a>! [At least Bessie was spared violation, since Villa used gang-rape as a war tactic.])</span></span> The Columbus raid also occurred soon after eighteen workers from the American Smelting Company had been yanked off a train in Chihuahua, stripped, and executed by Villa. <i>So,</i> Pershing went to Mexico to capture Villa, didn’t even do </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and he came home. I should mention as well, on returning to the United States Pershing helped settle 2,500 refugees from Mexico, including some 500+ Chinese nationals for whom Pershing worked to gain nationality.</span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c908e6cd-7fff-1bda-4ecd-fedbcc5eede0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-4a898913-7fff-fb24-0701-20f501a743ab" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Pershing commanded the final ‘battle’ of the Moro Rebellion in 1913, where he directed his troops to massacre 500 men, women and children who had taken refuge in an old volcano crater.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The Moro Rebellion is the most referred-to of the Pershing “genocide” stories; irrefutable proof of “Pershing’s genocide against Filipino and Muslim peoples.” Ok, let’s look at that genocide. First of all, the governors in the decade preceding Pershing’s 1909 arrival were </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">really</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> tough. Then Pershing shows up and becomes pals with Amai-Manabilang, Sultan of Madaya. He donates government land to build mosques. He reformed local laws to conform with Moro customs. The economy expanded, and the Moros began opening bank accounts for the first time. Nevertheless, the intransigent rebel leader Datu Amil took the entirety of his people—approximately 8,000 Moros—and dug in at the top of Mount Bagsak and told Pershing “come on and fight.” Pershing kept his troops—who were vastly Filipino, for what it’s worth—in their garrisons and negotiated with the Moros, thereby convincing 95% of them to abandon their fortification and go home. I won’t tell you what genocide </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, but I can tell you what it </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">isn’t</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">—spending a lot of time trying to get people </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> killed. After some seven thousand+ noncombatants departed, there was then a bloody four-day fight, in which Datu Amil and the remaining Moros, some 500 of them, were killed. Was that <i>genocide</i>? Consider, there were 300,000 Moros in the Philippines in 1913, and there are over five million Moros there now, which indicates that the United States is really bad at genocide. <br /></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c908e6cd-7fff-1bda-4ecd-fedbcc5eede0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c908e6cd-7fff-1bda-4ecd-fedbcc5eede0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c908e6cd-7fff-1bda-4ecd-fedbcc5eede0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As can be seen, it is easy to debunk the increasingly noisy narrative about Pershing's activities before the Great War. </span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-7cd84004-7fff-d491-818c-024e4b5b6cf1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That notwithstanding,</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-7cd84004-7fff-d491-818c-024e4b5b6cf1" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> whatever</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Pershing’s activities before World War I, it is important to remember that Central Park was named for Pershing <i>specifically</i> for his triumphs in Europe. He was Commander in Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, the two million men whom he led to victory against the Central Powers. The park was renamed one week after Armistice Day. A further link between the park and the Great War is the Doughboy Statue, designed by Humberto Pedretti, honoring the 25,000 Los Angeles residents who fought overseas, especially the roughly 450 who did not return. Thousands attended the statue’s dedication on July 4, 1924, at its original majestic location at the Fifth and Olive entrance; it was relocated to the center of the park in 1963, before it was relegated to the dog poop area as part of the 1994 redesign.</span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c908e6cd-7fff-1bda-4ecd-fedbcc5eede0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-3266435d-7fff-3bd9-b4e0-3377820a6f6b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c908e6cd-7fff-1bda-4ecd-fedbcc5eede0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidBRoqcwbGLMdDARj7v3ZGXZB0OL7EK5wpRmiQXIpUaWl6s4aDlbMJYm2WT7MWg1AoWVQ3yp5e65sdy2NWtZfXNn6sXjXinHw-hdM_JQYgyKi5knp7ubOLKNTB1YWlDEhYqZsMydnrYnWePT6VeT3jAgKND5efQ0g91KFlldwbbbIRd2W38XQFAaxXbw=s1186" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="1003" height="653" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidBRoqcwbGLMdDARj7v3ZGXZB0OL7EK5wpRmiQXIpUaWl6s4aDlbMJYm2WT7MWg1AoWVQ3yp5e65sdy2NWtZfXNn6sXjXinHw-hdM_JQYgyKi5knp7ubOLKNTB1YWlDEhYqZsMydnrYnWePT6VeT3jAgKND5efQ0g91KFlldwbbbIRd2W38XQFAaxXbw=w552-h653" width="552" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> </span><p></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-e1aa4f35-7fff-bfe3-fced-785908c9b851" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-e1aa4f35-7fff-bfe3-fced-785908c9b851" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>IV. <br /></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-e1aa4f35-7fff-bfe3-fced-785908c9b851" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-bac558d4-7fff-55f7-6a03-512e2629b742" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The spurious "white supremacy" claim thus deflated, let me tell you a little bit about Pershing the man. As a child, his hometown of Laclede, MO was invaded by Confederates hunting for his father, who defiantly flew the Union flag above his general store. Before entering West Point, Pershing taught African-American students at Prairie Mound School in Missouri, from 1878-1881. In 1895, Pershing was promoted to first lieutenant and became one of the first white officers to command African-American soldiers in the 10th Cavalry, the famed "Buffalo Soldiers." Pershing asked for the commission; he chose to serve in a Black Infantry Regiment early in his career, the opposite of a "fast track" to acceptance and promotion in the professional army. The students of all-white Cadet Company A took to calling "N-(word) Jack Pershing" derisively, as Pershing spoke so highly of the Buffalo Soldier's bravery (the nickname, softened to "Blackjack Pershing," followed him the rest of his life). He fought alongside the Buffalo Soldiers, famously, including the charge up San Juan Hill (Roosevelt gets mentioned more often in the history books, presumably because Pershing's troops were Black). One reason Pershing remains renowned as a great general is because though stern, he always kept his men well-supplied and their morale high. He loved his men and was beloved by them.</span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pershing was not, to be sure, perfect—neither are you, neither am I, and certainly no-one was 100+ years ago—but he was, inarguably, more enlightened about race than basically anyone in his day.</span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In short, we are honored to have a park named for such a great man, the only man made General of the Armies in his lifetime, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his memoirs, and who helped liberate Europe from tyranny. It's actually unfortunate there's no memorial for the man himself in our park, as exists <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_World_War_I_Memorial_(Washington,_D.C.)#/media/File:John_J._Pershing_Memorial.JPG" target="_blank">in Washington, D.C.</a>, but then, Pershing was a humble man, and would content himself with our noble bronze Doughboy. It would be suitable and fitting, as well, that the Doughboy look out over the same park that existed when it was named for Pershing—John Parkinson's classic six-path axial plan from 1910. Wouldn't you agree?<br /></span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-e1aa4f35-7fff-bfe3-fced-785908c9b851" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-e1aa4f35-7fff-bfe3-fced-785908c9b851" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-e1aa4f35-7fff-bfe3-fced-785908c9b851" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <br /></span></span></span></p>Nathan Marsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084099306773642906noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-10593645942127707712021-10-27T10:15:00.003-07:002021-10-27T10:15:48.420-07:00CalMatters interviews Pershing Square Restoration Society about Jose Huizar's Opaque Non-Profits <p><a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2021/10/california-politicians-charity-money/" target="_blank">CalMatters: California politicians raising money for charity face new rules from ethics panel</a>:</p><p>But a Los Angeles activist who monitors development deals in that city said the new disclosure rules “would make no difference whatsoever.” Kim Cooper [of the Pershing Square Restoration Society] said the ties between former city council member Jose Huizar, a nonprofit focused on refurbishing a historic park in his district and a developer who wanted to restore the park were well known before <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/los-angeles-city-councilman-jose-huizar-charged-34-count-indictment-alleging-wide" target="_blank">Huizar was indicted last year</a> on charges of taking bribes from developers. </p><p>“It wasn’t a secret,” Cooper said. </p><p>The use of nonprofits in some political operations is “a big problem,” she added. “And it’s not going to be solved by making little nibbling changes to how it is disclosed.”</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-71027136184285915202021-01-13T10:48:00.022-08:002021-04-14T20:09:45.640-07:00As Jose Huizar's Trial Date Approaches, Cultural Affairs Commission Considers Approving Part of His Pershing Square Scheme<div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Update #6: On 4/14/21, the Cultural Affairs Commission <b>voted to approve $24 Million</b> for Phase One of Pershing Square Modernization, with an amendment reflecting their serious questions about how the public artwork is impacted by construction in the park. However, during the hearing Felicia Filer from the Department of Cultural Affairs expressed her intent to communicate with artist Barbara McCarren about the threat to her work "HeyDay." We're disappointed that the Commission green lit partial Pershing Square demolition, but consider the promise to recognize and deal with McCarren's work to be a small success.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">You can watch video of the hearing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhpFt8HlQfM" target="_blank">here</a>. The video does not include the start of the hearing because the meeting organizer failed to sync the phone lines and YouTube channel. It begins with our Richard Schave expressing frustration, because he has been attempting without success to signal his desire to make public comment, and no instructions were given to callers. Commissioner Eric Paquette <a href="https://youtu.be/PhpFt8HlQfM?t=82" target="_blank">responds</a> to this constituent's frustration by sarcastically calling him a "nice guy." Then Barbara McCarren talks briefly about her concerns about her artwork, which is threatened by the park's redesign. The hearing continues for three hours, with the Pershing Square portion starting <a href="https://youtu.be/PhpFt8HlQfM?t=4604" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Our live commentary on the hearing is below, and you can also see it on <a href="https://twitter.com/esotouric/status/1382431536281182210" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Starting now: Cultural Affairs Commission considers approving $24 Million for Jose Huizar's lousy, unfunded Pershing Square Modernization scheme designed by clueless French architects. Call in and urge the skeptical commissioners to stop this waste! </div><div><br /></div><div>They are refusing to take public comment and not live streaming video.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, video is now streaming. Our Richard Schave gave comment that this Pershing Square project is terrible and the City is doing a terrible job letting the community give feedback. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now artist Barbara McCarren’s, whose “HeyDay” is the central public art of the current Pershing Square, is on the line saying she has not been contacted at all, and she has rights under VARA as the city seeks to destroy her work.</div><div><br /></div><div>Richard and Barbara slipped in early on General Public Comment but there will be an additional opportunity for the community to be heard when Pershing Square Modernization comes up on the agenda later, item VI. C, Pershing Square Modernization.</div><div><br /></div><div>Felicia Filer, Public Art Division Director of the Department of Cultural Affairs, responds to Barbara McCarren's public comment about not being notified that Pershing Square Modernization would destroy her art, says she will be in touch and will watch the presentation.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now artist Tory Di Pietro presents on her proposed neon rainbow "The Light at the End of the Tunnel" installation on the west face of the Third Street Tunnel.</div><div><br /></div><div>Commissioners are seeking clarification on how "The Light at the End of the Tunnel” is experienced by drivers—only backwards in their rear view mirrors from a block away, since it’s a 1-way tunnel. Pedestrian and bike traffic can see the neon head on.</div><div><br /></div><div>Commissioner Charmaine Jefferson is curious about maintenance funds for the neon installation "The Light at the End of the Tunnel,” and how easy it would be for someone to break the work with a rock. Al Nodal says there are plans for an annual on-site event to raise funds.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cultural Affairs Commission unanimously votes to approve neon installation "The Light at the End of the Tunnel” at the west mouth of the Third Street Tunnel.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hollywood Recreation Center Modernization by Lehrer Architects LA, Inc. is unanimously approved. </div><div><br /></div><div>Next up is Emergency Operations Center - Fire Station No. 4 Stone Tile Replacement. 2009 project is now falling apart. $700K budget to fix facade that’s falling off by plastering.</div><div><br /></div><div>Very short presentation, to be followed by questions from Commissioners. Pershing Square Modernization should be up shortly. Hope to hear some public comment!</div><div><br /></div><div>Boom! Commissioner Chamaine Jefferson just described the proposed plaster replacement color for the stone that’s falling off the 11 year old Emergency Operations Center - Fire Station No. 4 as “baby poo.” She doesn’t like the stone, either.</div><div><br /></div><div>Commissioner Elissa Scrafano says she’s not comfortable giving final approval, asks architect Paul Murdoch if he can come up with more options in the plaster color and finish. Not comfortable with the uncreative approach. Wonders if industrial neighborhood is being shortchanged.</div><div><br /></div><div>Paul Murdoch says it’s already an incoherent facade, and he thinks just plastering in a solid color to strengthen the horizontality is the best that can be done with a bad building.</div><div><br /></div><div>Seems odd that the city has a thoughtful architect like <a href=" https://www.paulmurdocharchitects.com/flight-93-national-memorial" target="_blank">Paul Murdoch</a> working on this trivial stone replacement plastering project.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Commissioners are all bummed out about this lame project, and the lack of city money to do it right. Commissioner Elissa Scrafano asks if it there’s public art money, could there be a mural? They vote for conceptual only, will the project back. Now Pershing Square!</div><div><br /></div><div>David Wang (Bureau of Engineering) and Debra Gerod (Gruen Associates) are presenting on Pershing Square Modernization phases 1-2, because there is no funding for Jose Huizar’s design competition “winner."</div><div><br /></div><div>David Wang addresses Barbara McCarren’s concern about destruction of her artwork. Rec and Parks shut down the fountain due to drought. (That’s not her art! That’s Ricardo Legorreta’s piece.) But City doesn’t have the money now to tear her artwork down.</div><div><br /></div><div>Debra Gerod (Gruen Associates) is responding to negative feedback from Cultural Affairs Commissioners on the proposal to do a partial Pershing Square redesign sparked by criminal Jose Huizar’s architectural competition.</div><div><br /></div><div>Debra Gerod (Gruen Associates) says the only change in Agence Ter’s Jose Huizar competition winning scheme is moving the LED pergola to block the Biltmore view. Yeah—because the French team knew nothing about the challenges of the Pershing Square site when they “won.” So awful.</div><div><br /></div><div>Debra Gerod (Gruen Associates) is justifying moving the LED pergola to block the Biltmore view by saying big trees require it. We remember people screaming at her in Pershing Square when the much altered version of the “winning” design was displayed at a public event.</div><div><br /></div><div>The money doesn’t exist for this park project, but this is the final vision hand-picked by Jose Huizar’s Pershing Square design competition that the Cultural Affairs Commission is being asked to spend $24 Million to start chipping away at today. Yawn.</div><div><br /></div><div>Heavy focus in the Pershing Square Modernization presentation on creating safety, or the appearance of safety, by breaking down walls, opening sight lines, making the elevator glass to discourage anti-social use. It was ever thus! Ask Hart Crane!</div><div><br /></div><div>Debra Gerod (Gruen Associates) is blaming the architects’ use of the rendering software Revit for how bad the glass elevator looked in previous renderings, and blaming herself and her team for not noticing. Also says the design was bad, redesigned based on Commission critique.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now the Commissioners ask Qs. Explicitly remind Debra Gerod (Gruen Associates) that she was supposed to tell them where Barbara McCarren’s work is. She returns to her slide show. Commissioner Charmaine Jefferson wants DCA to STOP and see if it can be reinstalled.</div><div><br /></div><div>Commissioner Charmaine Jefferson wants to know about skateboarders. Will there be fencing or night access? Signage? What is the plan for locations of the monuments (something that was asked about at the last hearing). So much uncertainty.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wow! Debra Gerod (Gruen Associates) just said the plan is for Pershing Square to be open 24/7 with bright lighting and a new Rec and Parks security camera technology, which might be tied in to WiFi access. This would be Phase 3. Sounds of interest to @stoplapdspying</div><div><br /></div><div>No plan to store the Pershing Square monuments, they will be moved once in the park, then again into a “sculpture garden” in Phase 3. We oppose such a plan. There are historic locations for these sculptures that have cultural significance.</div><div><br /></div><div>A couple commissioners suggest Pershing Square could be renamed Tom Bradley Square. Really?</div><div><br /></div><div>Commissioner Evonne Gallardo is very unhappy that her negative feedback about the destruction of Ricardo Legorreta’s design was not responded to.</div><div><br /></div><div>Voting.</div><div><br /></div><div>Commissioner Evonne Gallardo has a hard time voting on this because they asked for a formal presentation about what is happening with the Pershing Square art at the last meeting, and Debra Gerod (Gruen Associates) did not respond to that. Charmaine Jefferson says with an addendum.</div><div><br /></div><div>Motion is approved. They are squandering $24 Million on this incoherent Pershing Square design. Charmaine Jefferson says they won’t move any art in the ground now; they owe a response to the public’s concerns. Felicia Filer DCA says it’s a CRA parcel, research just starting.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> </i><span style="text-align: center;">* * *</span></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><a name='more'></a><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Update #5: On Wednesday, 4/14/21 in the meeting beginning at 1:30pm, local architect partner Gruen will again present at the </i><i>Cultural Affairs Commission, trying to convince the skeptical Commissioners to approve allocating $24 Million to do a small portion of the "winning" Agence Ter design from the opaque Pershing Square Renew design competition hosted by disgraced Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Scroll down to "Update #4" to see what happened at the 2/10/21 hearing, when the Commissioners asked tough questions and refused to vote yes on the half-baked project.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Please call in (instructions below) and tell the Commissioners to vote no on Item VI. C, PERSHING SQUARE MODERNIZATION. Here is a suggestion of what you might say, and feel free to personalize this message.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p>"Commissioners, my name is [my name] and I am a resident of [my neighborhood]. I'm asking that you please not approve Item VI. C, Pershing Square Modernization. The non-transparent design competition that resulted in this item was spearheaded by Councilman Jose Huizar, ignoring more than 2500 Angelenos who signed the petition asking that John Parkinson's 1910 design be restored. Huizar has since been indicted under Federal racketeering charges and removed from office. Don't squander millions on an incomplete Pershing Square redesign that the public doesn't want, and that would destroy Barbara McCarren's "HeyDay" public art installation that honors Los Angeles writers John Fante and Carey McWilliams. Please do the right thing and vote no. Pershing Square deserves better." </p><p>Please call 1 (669) 900-6833 and enter Meeting ID 939-6621-5269 for listening to the meeting and making public comments</p><p>TO SEE THE AGENDA: Click the PDF link <a href="http://ens.lacity.org/cad/affairsagenda/cadaffairsagenda92149585_04142021.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>TO WATCH THE LIVESTREAM: Click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhpFt8HlQfM" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>TO SEE THE DESIGN PROPOSAL: Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fQj6x3EVXnEFbRRLb1sh56zcyPJSStU1 " target="_blank">here</a>.</p></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">* * *</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><!--more--></i></div><div><i>Update #4: The rescheduled Cultural Affairs Commission hearing took place on 2/10/21 (<b>Agenda is <a href="http://ens.lacity.org/cad/affairsagenda/cadaffairsagenda92147564_02102021.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>)</b>, with the public having access to the video and call in line this time. Third time's the charm! Below is our live commentary on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZJvISMdpRY" target="_blank">livestreamed hearing</a>, which you can also see <a href="https://twitter.com/esotouric/status/1359563544954568705" target="_blank">on Twitter</a>:</i></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>1:30pm today: Has the Cultural Affairs Commission fixed the Brown Act violations that voided the last two public meetings about the future of Pershing Square? <a href="https://www.change.org/p/mayor-garcetti-la-city-council-recreation-and-parks-don-t-re-envision-pershing-square-restore-pershing-square/u/28520631" target="_blank">Here's the skinny</a>, and how YOU can call in to ask for restoration instead of a Jose Huizar mess! </div><div><br /></div><div>Waiting for the meeting to begin, now 8 minutes late. This should be the Zoom livestream on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZJvISMdpRY</div><div><br /></div><div>Restore Pershing Square!!</div><div><br /></div><div>Oops, it is happening—just have to hit PLAY! Our Richard Schave made comment asking them not to approve the half-baked plan.</div><div><br /></div><div>Public comment:<b> artist Barbara McCarren</b>, whose “HeyDay” art work is the gem of the current iteration of the Pershing Square design, lets Commissioners know that <b>she wants to be a part of conversation about the park. Agence Ter’s “plan” would destroy all her art.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Next up for discussion at the Cultural Affairs Commission: Pershing Square Modernization. Will they again reject the half-baked project, as they did in the voided meeting? </div><div><br /></div><div>Project budget for Phases 1-2 in $24 Million. <b>This “plan” has been approved by the Mayor’s office and Rec and Parks, even though it is not actually a plan</b>. May-June 2021 bidding, completed Summer 2024.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Debra Girod from Gruen claims it is impossible to restore</b> John Parkinson’s 1910 Pershing Square design, but <b>we think that this is not correct</b>. The large trees are not essential to his design, and we don’t really know what is possible in terms of mid-park plantings.</div><div><br /></div><div>Commissioners are now questioning the architecture team on what they actually propose to do at Pershing Square, without funding for a fully realized redesign. Girod claims doing a little work will convince the public the city is serious about fixing the park.</div><div><br /></div><div>Commissioner Robert Vinson is concerned about the dangers to pedestrians around Pershing Square, and lack of any changes to protect walkers in the underfunded new design proposals.</div><div><br /></div><div>Debra Girod from Gruen replies a bike lane will pass Pershing Square at some point, but she doesn’t know when. Commissioner Robert Vinson says she, and this project, have the influence to make this happen, and should. Suggests a city official might get creamed by a speeding car.</div><div><br /></div><div>Commissioner Elissa Scrafano is concerned about spending city money on new pink pavers, when Rec and Parks is trying to eliminate the bright colors from the Legorreta + Olin Pershing Square design. Debra Girod from Gruen says this is meant to blend in, since they can’t spend much</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Commissioner Evonne Gallardo want to know if any aspects of the Legorreta + Olin Pershing Square design will be preserved</b>. Debra Girod from Gruen says the plan is to remove all of it. We think she is wrong about having no obligation to preserve or move the art elements.</div><div><br /></div><div>Commissioner Evonne Gallardo speaking eloquently for the good aspects of the Legorreta + Olin Pershing Square design and <b>expressing her disappointment that the city doesn’t respect this work and how it speaks to Mexican-American Los Angeles history</b>. Wanted some compromise.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now Debra Girod from Gruen is <b>misrepresenting John Parkinson’s 1910 design</b> as “a forested park,” which she claims cannot be restored. The trees are not the point! And she <b>admits there was a strong push to restore. And yet Jose Huizar refused to ever meet us to discuss it!</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Now Debra Girod from Gruen is describing the discussion she had with the Commissioners at the voided meeting two weeks ago, which we think may also be illegal. She is saying the monuments matter, which is an improvement over past design renderings.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Commissioner Charmaine Jefferson remains unwilling to approve the Pershing Square redesign</b>. Debra Girod from Gruen says they will bring more renderings next time. CJ: skeptical that what she’s been shown actually represents the scope of work. <b>The City lying to Commission?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Commissioner Thien Ho has joined meeting late. City Attorney Laurie Rittenberg points out that she cannot vote, because the two prior meetings where Pershing Square was presented technically don't exist, so she has "not seen” the presentation.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Cultural Affairs Commission votes only to approve Pershing Square in a conceptual fashion. They are not convinced that the city has a project worth spending $24 Million + on, and have pressed the brakes. </b></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">* * *</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><!--more--><br /></i></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Update #3: What we learned when we <a href="https://www.change.org/p/mayor-garcetti-la-city-council-recreation-and-parks-don-t-re-envision-pershing-square-restore-pershing-square/u/28520631 " target="_blank">found a link</a> to video of the Special Meeting held on 1/28/21. </i><b>The Truth About Pershing Square Redesign: It’s Eric Garcetti’s 2028 Olympics Pipe Dream.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;">* * *</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><!--more--></i></div><div><br /></div></div><div><i>Update #2: The rescheduled Special Meeting on 1/28/21 was not accessible on the Zoom telephone line provided on the agenda. We complained the Department of Cultural Affairs, City Attorney and Council District 14. Nearly two hours after the meeting began, DCA provided us with an inaccessible password protected Zoom web link. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>At 4:40pm we received this communication from the Department of Cultural Affairs: "Thank you for contacting the Department of Cultural Affairs and bringing this to our attention. Please know the Special Cultural Affairs Commission Meeting scheduled on Thursday, January 28, at 1:30 pm has been deemed null and void due to a technical issue. The items will be considered at the next Cultural Affairs Committee meeting on February 10, 2021, at 1:30 pm. Thank you again for letting us know about your experience. We are all working remotely and are doing the best we can. Thank you for your patience.</i>"</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Apparently, much or all of the meeting did take place, another Brown Act violation. <b>The matter will be heard again (third time's the charm) on 2/10/21 at 1:30pm. Agenda is <a href="http://ens.lacity.org/cad/affairsagenda/cadaffairsagenda92147564_02102021.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. </b></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">* * *</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><!--more--></i></div><div><br /></div></div><div><i>Update #1: </i><i>The January 13 meeting was in violation of the Brown Act due to a <a href="https://twitter.com/esotouric/status/1349474407459250178" target="_blank">broken agenda link</a> on the city's website. Based on our Richard Schave's public comment drawing this to their attention, <a href="https://twitter.com/esotouric/status/1349480768158879744" target="_blank">the meeting was adjourned</a> with no votes cast and no decisions made at 2:20pm.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>The meeting has been rescheduled for Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 1:30pm. The <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JpdsuP_atIGqRpCZCWX2uuarPExHYp1g" target="_blank">updated presentation</a> from the architects now includes a plan for relocating the historic sculptures and monuments, and Jose Huizar's logo no longer appears on the slides. </i><i>Agenda link is <a href="http://ens.lacity.org/cad/affairsagenda/cadaffairsagenda92147215_01282021.pdf" target="_blank">here</a> (PDF). To make public comment on Pershing Square Modernization (agenda item VI. B.), please call 1 (669) 900-6833 and enter Meeting ID 939-6621-5269.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>In light of the addition of a plan for keeping the monuments in the park, suggested public comment could go something like this:</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>"Commissioners, my name is [my name] and I am a resident of [my neighborhood]. I'm asking that you please not approve Item VI. B., Pershing Square Modernization. The non-transparent design competition that resulted in this item was spearheaded by Councilman Jose Huizar, ignoring more than 2400 Angelenos who signed the petition asking that John Parkinson's 1910 design be restored. Huizar has since been indicted under Federal racketeering charges and removed from office. Don't squander millions on a Pershing Square redesign that the public doesn't want, and has had no real opportunity to weigh in on. Please do the right thing and vote no. Pershing Square deserves better." </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">* * *</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><span><!--more--></span></i></div><div><br /></div>On Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 1:30pm, the Cultural Affairs Commission will host a telephonic meeting to discuss several pending Architectural Submission action items, including <b>Item B, PERSHING SQUARE MODERNIZATION</b>.<br /><p>If approved, this would begin the process of spending an estimated $24 Million to do a small portion of the "winning" Agence Ter design from the opaque Pershing Square Renew design competition hosted by disgraced Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar.</p><p>Even though he is under RICO indictment, Huizar's logo actually appears on the renderings submitted to the Commissioners!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92UTh6SyBWvkXHGkpJlY_zKSeIFE3OZ62jZs79BL0PkolP_PG9NVyF9OIG2bxa871gqpfkS8oo16heaHA0ks3yQI8Q10pupxS_nlg_NzGl_tEAoKFXDL4wWHKVtWsKBNz5ms4yOqxJPU/s1750/Pershing+Square+redesign+Huizar+arrow.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1128" data-original-width="1750" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92UTh6SyBWvkXHGkpJlY_zKSeIFE3OZ62jZs79BL0PkolP_PG9NVyF9OIG2bxa871gqpfkS8oo16heaHA0ks3yQI8Q10pupxS_nlg_NzGl_tEAoKFXDL4wWHKVtWsKBNz5ms4yOqxJPU/w375-h241/Pershing+Square+redesign+Huizar+arrow.png" width="375" /></a></div><p></p><p>This project is not what the citizens of Los Angeles want, and it is not even what the judges in Huizar's design competition voted for. The city should not waste millions of dollars on doing something so half-baked at Pershing Square. The park and Los Angeles deserve better.</p><p><b>Please call in (instructions below) and tell the Commissioners to vote no on Item B, PERSHING SQUARE MODERNIZATION. Here is a suggestion of what you might say, and feel free to personalize this message.</b></p><p>"Commissioners, my name is [my name] and I am a resident of [my neighborhood]. I'm asking that you please not approve Item B, Pershing Square Modernization. The non-transparent design competition that resulted in this item was spearheaded by Councilman Jose Huizar, ignoring more than 2300 Angelenos who signed the petition asking that John Parkinson's 1910 design be restored. Huizar has since been indicted under Federal racketeering charges and removed from office. Don't squander millions on a Pershing Square redesign that the public doesn't want, and that doesn't even include the historic monuments that have been in the park for generations. Please do the right thing and vote no. Pershing Square deserves better." </p><p>TO CALL: Dial 1 (669) 900-6833 and enter Meeting ID 939-6621-5269 for listening to the meeting and making public comments</p><p>TO SEE THE AGENDA: Click the PDF link <a href="http://ens.lacity.org/cad/commissions/affairsagenda/cadaffairsagenda92146647_01132021.pdf" target="_blank">here</a></p><p>TO SEE THE DESIGN PROPOSAL: Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JpdsuP_atIGqRpCZCWX2uuarPExHYp1g" target="_blank">here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-71821543533755892752021-01-06T09:35:00.002-08:002021-01-06T09:35:49.204-08:00An epic Pershing Square webinar to begin 2021... and a surprising discovery in the video b-roll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://esotouric.com/event/pershing-square-1866-2020/ " imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="1401" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1HmzQYzunT0bj9O3usKQTEt8TWiR7DYAklbidlZFb5ejRIIOo3hnAYQs3kcRi9LRqTX0c5LkQAILPHnTsKkVa4PuUVVhQALFzsTS7RuaEwilb_aVS7sHdj-Id5H62GzgAauHlB2f8BkM/w400-h225/Pershing+screenshot+shoes+Lois+Weber+fountain.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>For our first Esotouric webinar of 2021, we gathered a dream team of cultural, architectural, public and military historians and documentarians to tell the story of Pershing Square, from its mid-19th century origins as La Plaza Abeja to its current state of chaotic decay and to advocate for restoration of John Parkinson's 1910 design.</p><p>The 3.5 hour webinar <b>Pershing Square, Los Angeles: the History, Tragedy and Potential of Our Original Central Park, 1866-2020</b> is available <a href="https://esotouric.com/event/pershing-square-1866-2020/ " target="_blank">here</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://youtu.be/IMolCrppfo8?t=1395" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1026" data-original-width="1578" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-U17s0bopLEUwk1EHdFBmXpaQwsd8EDvyei0a9uszrNKZuV_yJRKyGZkYHxzWXJsHuCjdWFCg1qdsqwwoU_-RCPT_JzxqeBwM_sOJwiuOMHvAUhyZuGNwtl0wdQW-tzhquOGXnvonTIw/w400-h260/Screen+Shot+2021-01-06+at+9.14.30+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>While gathering material for the program, we made a surprising discovery in the b-roll footage from Jose Huizar's 2014 press conference announcing his Pershing Square redesign contest. </p><p>Just prior to Kim Cooper asking on behalf of The Pershing Square Restoration Society petitioners if the public will have an opportunity to vote for the John Parkinson design (Huizar lies and says they will), L.A. Times reporter David Zahniser asked where the $1 Million to fund the competition came from. And Jose Huizar, who is facing a long prison sentence if convicted on racketeering and public corruption charges, <a href="https://youtu.be/IMolCrppfo8?t=1395 " target="_blank">lowers his voice</a> as he reveals that he <i>doesn't know how to pronounce the name</i> of donor Victor MacFarlane! </p><p>So who <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2018/12/after-fbi-raids-big-questions-for-jose.html" target="_blank">brokered this valuable deal</a> if it wasn't Jose Huizar? And will that person also be indicted? </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-40366805562062120422020-09-01T09:09:00.004-07:002020-09-01T10:38:50.733-07:00Pershing Square Renew has dissolved<p>As the CRA/LA successor agency <a href="http://www.crala.org/internet-site/Meetings/Board_Agenda_2020/upload/A09-01-20_GB_Meeting.pdf" target="_blank">goes into closed session today</a> to take up the matter of the sale of Bunker Hill Parcel Y-1 (aka <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2018/12/after-fbi-raids-big-questions-for-jose.html">Angels Landing</a>) to MarcFarlane Partners, we checked the California Charities Registry and discovered that Jose Huizar's nonprofit Pershing Square Renew has <a href="https://archive.org/details/pershing-square-renew-ag-dissolution-letter-june-11-2020" target="_blank">filed a request</a> to dissolve. Attorney General Xavier Becerra accepted the nonprofit's statement that it has no assets—hmm, did that <a href="https://la.curbed.com/2014/9/17/10045782/big-improvements-finally-coming-to-awful-pershing-square" target="_blank">million dollar donation check</a> ever clear? It's not on their 990s—and has approved the dissolution process.</p><p>We still believe the best solution for Pershing Square is to restore it to John Parkinson's beloved 1910 design, with his later addition of mid-block walkways, and we will continue to advocate for this popular and effective path. </p><p>And we think the sweetheart Angels Landing deal should be voided in light of the ongoing public corruption investigation that taints every project that passed through Jose Huizar's PLUM Committee, and particularly those in his district, CD14. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-36868507119081434232020-02-06T20:45:00.001-08:002020-02-06T21:28:50.449-08:00Pershing Square “Redesign” Moves Forward, Slowly and Without Funding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjya8DkDMzyrpJkq8d6CKofC4vFmYTZwIVJDPeGFhJs9gAwc_fkIxHacx69ipzwSqgWbx705okqzRl4WtrEw-djwx2Ot8VjwL80e7PmkA8zRkD0U_4OT4LYO315BKbI0WYfr7eH6l7nyG0/s1600/pershing+square+phased+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="1575" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjya8DkDMzyrpJkq8d6CKofC4vFmYTZwIVJDPeGFhJs9gAwc_fkIxHacx69ipzwSqgWbx705okqzRl4WtrEw-djwx2Ot8VjwL80e7PmkA8zRkD0U_4OT4LYO315BKbI0WYfr7eH6l7nyG0/s400/pershing+square+phased+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">On Monday, embattled Councilman Jose Huizar appeared in Pershing Square with representatives of the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks and French architecture firm Agence Ter to <a href="https://therealdeal.com/la/2020/02/03/an-embattled-jose-huizar-revives-pershing-square-redesign/" target="_blank">announce</a> the first progress update in two years on his much-touted “radically flat” park redesign.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">The short answer: <b>it’s not happening</b>. And that’s good news for the thousands of Angelenos who are certain that the best redesign for L.A.’s oldest public park is an updated return to John Parkinson’s beloved 1910 design. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Since the FBI seized Jose Huizar’s City Hall files in November 2018, the one-time fundraising powerhouse has lost his Midas touch. Lacking the hundreds of thousands of <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2018/12/after-fbi-raids-big-questions-for-jose.html" target="_blank">developer dollars</a> </span>required to keep his Pershing Square Renew non-profit <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2020/01/california-attorney-general-jose.html" target="_blank">operating</a>, much less the millions needed to actually pay for Agence Ter’s scheme, Huizar’s grand vision has been <a href="https://la.curbed.com/2020/2/3/21121219/downtown-los-angeles-pershing-square-park-huizar" target="_blank">supplanted</a> by the more modest aims of the Department of Recreation and Parks. </div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">A relatively small sum in developer Quimby fees has been diverted to the Pershing Square project, to cover the multi-year cost of removing and adapting architectural elements of the <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-ongoing-destruction-of-ricardo.html" target="_blank">Legoretta + Olin design</a>, improving the elevators, and planting trees. In a decade, if $85 Million can be found, Agence Ter’s design is to be completed. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Don’t hold your breath.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">It’s not Agence Ter’s fault that they participated in a political <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2016/05/winner.html" target="_blank">design competition</a> that ignored wide-spread public sentiment favoring restoration of John Parkinson’s classic park. And their winning design has some attractive elements. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">But with Jose Huizar no longer making major land use decisions from his 4th floor City Hall office—R.I.P. <a href="http://www.esotouric.com/saveparkercenter" target="_blank">Parker Center</a> and Sixth Street Bridge—and unlikely to ascend to any higher office, there’s no compelling reason for the Angelenos of 2030 to finish what he started. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">The right design, Pershing Square’s classic look, is ready, willing and able to serve the people of 2030 and beyond. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">We launched our petition seven years ago, before Jose Huizar’s political design competition was announced. We even got him to lie, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMolCrppfo8&t=1444s" target="_blank">on video</a>, that the community would have an opportunity to vote for the Parkinson design. We will continue to advocate for the restoration of John Parkinson’s classic park design, and for the respectful treatment of the park’s <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2016/06/progress-in-our-save-pershing-square.html" target="_blank">historic sculptures</a>. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">We don’t know what’s coming next for Los Angeles or for Pershing Square, but we do know that the failure of the top-down Pershing Square Renew scheme is a win for transparency and public accountability. </span>So stay tuned and we’ll see YOU in Pershing Square! </div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-86911615826141420702020-01-31T12:18:00.002-08:002020-01-31T12:18:35.966-08:00California Attorney General: Jose Huizar's Pershing Square Renew Non-Profit Delinquent <div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
More than two years have passed since the last <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2017/12/notes-from-pershing-square-renew.html" target="_blank">public presentation</a> about Councilman Jose Huizar's putative plan to "renew" Pershing Square. At that event, the architects revealed serious disparities between their 2016 <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2016/04/psrenewreviews.html" target="_blank">design competition</a> entry and what can actually be built on top of the park's garage. Under the revised rendering from Agence Ter, views of the landmark Biltmore Hotel would be blocked by a large LED pergola. </div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In the months that followed, the FBI <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2018/12/after-fbi-raids-big-questions-for-jose.html" target="_blank">raided</a> Huizar's City Hall office. Pershing Square Renew director Eduardo Santana left the organization. The park renewal project appeared to be stalled. </div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On January 29, Jose Huizar broke the silence, <a href="https://twitter.com/josehuizar/status/1222677725283962881" target="_blank">tweeting</a>: "Join us next Monday at the Pershing Square Redesign press conference. Learn about the exciting new design planned for the City’s oldest park. Monday, February 3, 2020 8:30 a.m."</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmRRKuPUphbVv5DfkAcrovTvUd3-P8a6RTYkinu84M-2TzUUXAfG1Md9c3BvwHOHNoXcRJLXIAqbgqwtoj9jgLSfoKUcoGgXZhU7Bmxn7JvZUoRq_QjmQg86vQSeVsADuNDHAgeLumN74/s1600/pershing+square+redesign+announcement+feb+3+2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="721" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmRRKuPUphbVv5DfkAcrovTvUd3-P8a6RTYkinu84M-2TzUUXAfG1Md9c3BvwHOHNoXcRJLXIAqbgqwtoj9jgLSfoKUcoGgXZhU7Bmxn7JvZUoRq_QjmQg86vQSeVsADuNDHAgeLumN74/s320/pershing+square+redesign+announcement+feb+3+2020.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
"New" design? Wasn't that already announced in 2016? </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Curiously, Pershing Square Renew was not listed among the organizations hosting the press conference, even though that non-profit, a Huizar-formed initiative operating in association with his office, has been fundraising for a Pershing Square redesign <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140920223111/http://pershingsquarenew.com/" target="_blank">since 2014</a>. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
What's happened to Pershing Square Renew? The organization's website no longer resolves (summer 2019 archive link <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190714065621/https://www.pershingsquarenew.com/" target="_blank">here</a>), and according to the California Attorney General's <a href="http://rct.doj.ca.gov/Verification/Web/Search.aspx?facility=Y" target="_blank">Registry of Charitable Trusts</a>, the non-profit's status is Delinquent, with numerous missing tax filings and repeated mailings returned to Sacramento from bad addresses. </div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhojtwUe20yJAiX9DxixVl6j7uM5ow6VKEQ24u2_w2rZJg6QT0YqIXaEznIEnkB52I1EH5Z8SmRfyPX-q-KwM0y_inZap_gm9eBZK135PIbNzqS1cRh8FcS1k-xxr4EsCxBBOO5mzPH0vM/s1600/PERSHING+SQUARE+RENEW%252C+INC.+delinquency+notice+as+of+Jan+30+2020.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="1203" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhojtwUe20yJAiX9DxixVl6j7uM5ow6VKEQ24u2_w2rZJg6QT0YqIXaEznIEnkB52I1EH5Z8SmRfyPX-q-KwM0y_inZap_gm9eBZK135PIbNzqS1cRh8FcS1k-xxr4EsCxBBOO5mzPH0vM/s400/PERSHING+SQUARE+RENEW%252C+INC.+delinquency+notice+as+of+Jan+30+2020.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We hope a reporter will ask Jose Huizar about Pershing Square Renew and its finances at Monday's press conference. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As for the Pershing Square Restoration Society, we continue to advocate for the restoration of John Parkinson's 1910 design for Pershing Square, and encourage interested people to <a href="https://www.change.org/p/mayor-garcetti-la-city-council-recreation-and-parks-don-t-re-envision-pershing-square-restore-pershing-square" target="_blank">sign the petition</a>. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-46812596791608380892018-12-02T13:08:00.014-08:002023-02-09T23:50:30.705-08:00After FBI Raids, Big Questions For Jose Huizar's Pershing Square Renew and Angels Landing Schemes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u>ANGELS LANDING PROJECT UPDATES</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="font-style: italic;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Update February 2023: In the first <a href="https://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=14-0425-S4" target="_blank">case file update</a> since Jose Huizar agreed to <a href="https://twitter.com/esotouric/status/1616213342648926208" target="_blank">plead guilty</a> to racketeering, a <a href="https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2014/14-0425-s4_rpt_cla_02-08-23.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> from the city's Chief Legislative Analyst reviews the CLA's report and recommends new language in the agreement to protect the public from unduly enriching the developer should the project fail to break ground after ten years. </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="font-style: italic;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-style: italic;">* * *</b></div><div><b style="font-style: italic;"><br /></b></div></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Update October 2022: After Downtown Los Angeles Councilman Kevin de Leon was caught on tape participating in a racist conversation about using corrupt redistricting maps to disenfranchise Black voters, renters and progressives, The Real Deal <a href="https://therealdeal.com/la/2022/10/18/peebles-macfarlane-la-city-councils-racism-has-impeded-angels-landing-project/" target="_blank">reports</a> Angels Landing's developers are blaming anti-Black racism for their failure to gain project support from de Leon or disgraced City Council president Nury Martinez. Also, we learn that newly elected State Senator Sen. Sydney Kamlager quietly passed a new law (<a href="https://openstates.org/ca/bills/20212022/SB1373/" target="_blank">SB 1373</a>) to bail out the shrinking, underfunded, Jose Huizar linked Angels Landing project for two extra years, <a href="https://www.saje.net/lets-keep-public-land-for-public-good-help-us-stop-sb-1373/" target="_blank">controversially at the expense</a> of making this and other surplus public land available for affordable housing development. Despite the developer's claims of Latino racism, a coauthor of the bailout bill is Latino Assemblyman Miguel Santiago. </b></div></b><div><div><b style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><br /></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-style: italic;">* * *</b></div><div><b style="font-style: italic;"><br /></b></div></b></div><div><b style="font-style: italic;">Update June 2022: On <a href="https://lacity.primegov.com/Portal/MeetingPreview?compiledMeetingDocumentFileId=37311" target="_blank">July 1, 2022</a> City Council will hear a <a href="https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2014/14-0425-s4_rpt_cla_06-15-22.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> from the</b><b style="font-style: italic;"> city's Chief Legislative Analyst that spells out options by which the city could purchase the Angels Knoll parcel from the CRA Successor Agency for $50,000,000 and then sell it to the developer in December 2022. The report clarifies that there have been significant management changes, and Victor MacFarlane is no longer a signatory to any deal, but only </b><i><b>R. Donahue "Don" Peebles.</b></i></div><div><b style="font-style: italic;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-style: italic;">In <a href="https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2014/14-0425-S4_PC_AB_06-27-2022.pdf" target="_blank">response</a> to the CLA's report, the developer's attorney</b><b><i> James E. Pugh, Esq. from Sheppard, Mullin objects to the city's Repurchase Option should the developer fail to commence construction after ten years. Pugh mistakenly describes the language in </i></b><b><i>"section 18(c)"</i></b><b><i>as coming from "section 18(e)" and asks for concessions that would be more costly for taxpayers and more beneficial to the developer, in the event of a complete failure to develop the publicly-owned parcel. </i></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseqMyjps-WYIrM93tAPduTY_j9TN62y4d1AKdJig6Oepbr7fnz0cUiY-KFSHhTYyBvP3-9nps3gPGR3EbRw9fqxl1XNLEf7aqAg4bxkNpSWlOah6V_RSzzL2VPx6R509ph_R-bjSwdEJ4eIGgRrGHoaWC_dZ74l0XUe_6ohtkzjrCR6zeE_Vu_DHe/s1746/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-28%20at%2011.29.56%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="1746" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseqMyjps-WYIrM93tAPduTY_j9TN62y4d1AKdJig6Oepbr7fnz0cUiY-KFSHhTYyBvP3-9nps3gPGR3EbRw9fqxl1XNLEf7aqAg4bxkNpSWlOah6V_RSzzL2VPx6R509ph_R-bjSwdEJ4eIGgRrGHoaWC_dZ74l0XUe_6ohtkzjrCR6zeE_Vu_DHe/w400-h88/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-28%20at%2011.29.56%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>The </i><b style="font-style: italic;">developer's attorney also objects to the city's prudent and reasonable refusal to agree to an unusual Transfer and Assignments clause that would allow Don Peebles to potentially hand this enormous project on public land to unknown parties who happen to do business with him.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="font-style: italic;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb0FGdAzBACQqYIWDYm6VnS4RP-X1sWRN_X5oKAwsCSmiFmjL-AeCorH7BeKW8Rue41pm6MSi9bRZEiepG9XuWa1vvHJESibwEkD3xKIZ74XkoLSlUbG_TCNjR0o39XNQhV3m90CKuv9pnl9yzwjfvtveaUw1Kew77kxTfP7AD4FjKNRhTeyiyPZu0/s1680/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-28%20at%2011.37.03%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="1680" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb0FGdAzBACQqYIWDYm6VnS4RP-X1sWRN_X5oKAwsCSmiFmjL-AeCorH7BeKW8Rue41pm6MSi9bRZEiepG9XuWa1vvHJESibwEkD3xKIZ74XkoLSlUbG_TCNjR0o39XNQhV3m90CKuv9pnl9yzwjfvtveaUw1Kew77kxTfP7AD4FjKNRhTeyiyPZu0/w400-h129/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-28%20at%2011.37.03%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><b style="font-style: italic;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="font-style: italic;">We appreciate the CLA's office being careful with public funds and land, and continue to believe that all development projects associated with indicted former Councilmember Jose Huizar should be sent back to the drawing board for an open and impartial reconsideration. This is essential to rebuild public trust and ensure these projects are in the best interest of the taxpayers and the community. We think that Angels Knoll would be better if made into a city park instead of moving forward as a much smaller high rise development with fewer affordable units and less of so much that was promised when Jose Huizar gave the plum deal to the development team that supposedly financed his defunct nonprofit Pershing Square ReNew. </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib2PIffbsQnb_uEKI6ujYEewQP9QkYlxkB64xiaeInlsWSVslBhKaWTXD7zzEvtX1qDW3CpFhidelOJz2i1ZWA2mTkepP6m_XNTa9eKGwmrXSAjmlT_dpkltop10QKK3qAn9WO_C-PW0fl0VTqzkck8XOazo1pcKxWR62aSr7co_gywurRtxCh_mHz/s1834/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-28%20at%2011.56.03%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1230" data-original-width="1834" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib2PIffbsQnb_uEKI6ujYEewQP9QkYlxkB64xiaeInlsWSVslBhKaWTXD7zzEvtX1qDW3CpFhidelOJz2i1ZWA2mTkepP6m_XNTa9eKGwmrXSAjmlT_dpkltop10QKK3qAn9WO_C-PW0fl0VTqzkck8XOazo1pcKxWR62aSr7co_gywurRtxCh_mHz/w400-h269/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-28%20at%2011.56.03%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><i>Our public comment in the <a href="https://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=14-0425-S4" target="_blank">Council File</a> is <a href="https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2014/14-0425-S4_PC_AB_06-28-2022.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><b style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"> * * *</b></div></div></b></div><div><i><b></b></i><br /></div></div></div><i><b>Update April 2019: the project has <a href="https://la.curbed.com/2019/4/2/18264767/downtown-angels-landing-bunker-hill-new-design" target="_blank">shrunk significantly</a>, in what appears to be a bait-and switch by the "winning" developer. Update October 2020: developer seeks <a href="http://www.crala.org/internet-site/Meetings/Board_Agenda_2020/upload/A10-01-20_GB_Meeting.pdf " target="_blank">third extension</a> to their expiring purchase agreement. Update March 2022: developer <a href="https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/business/2022/03/28/construction-for-the--1-5-billion-angels-landing-to-begin-in-a-year" target="_blank">announces</a> it has received full entitlements from City Planning, plans to move forward with project in next two years; note however that they do not actually own the property. See also the City Planning Project <a href="https://planning.lacity.org/development-services/eir/angels-landing-project-2" target="_blank">portal link</a> for </b></i><b><i>Case Number: ENV-2018-3273-EIR and note the fraud accusations starting on page 17 of <a href="https://planning.lacity.org/eir/AngelsLanding/feir/files/App_1.pdf" target="_blank">this PDF </a>in the Draft DEIR comment letters file</i></b><i><b>.</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"> <span><a name='more'></a></span><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFwWO-Aoe27MjEsppWM8CvJy3Xdbayakf8CAAU02E3KH7ubj8cGXxUKEQ0Cush8XXwZLujvEQFh6D9YOQLMmiB0x0bKJ3PNA401IR_TWzfvykarygtC4OZSwS4anFhllojG6vqzlI_n4/s1600/Jose+Huizar+Councilman+Scandal+screengrab+with+Rachel+Kim+CBS+9+Dec+1+2018.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="823" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFwWO-Aoe27MjEsppWM8CvJy3Xdbayakf8CAAU02E3KH7ubj8cGXxUKEQ0Cush8XXwZLujvEQFh6D9YOQLMmiB0x0bKJ3PNA401IR_TWzfvykarygtC4OZSwS4anFhllojG6vqzlI_n4/s400/Jose+Huizar+Councilman+Scandal+screengrab+with+Rachel+Kim+CBS+9+Dec+1+2018.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /><b style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;">ORIGINAL POST: </b>On November 7, 2018 the FBI conducted a series of simultaneous high profile raids of the home, field and City Hall offices of Los Angeles Councilman Jose Huizar. Although the warrants remain sealed, it has been confirmed that the FBI is working with the IRS on their investigation.<br />
<br />
<i><b>[Read more: <a href="https://esotouric.substack.com/p/1161581_november-16-2018" target="_blank">Taking stock</a> of the many L.A. landmarks lost to one-man wrecking ball Jose Huizar's political ambitions. Scroll down for updates on the troubled Angels Landing project.]</b></i><br />
<br />
Soon after the raids, Council president Herb Wesson removed Huizar from his powerful committee positions, including chairmanship of PLUM, which makes all planning and land use decisions for Los Angeles. Huizar, who is rarely seen at City Hall now, has had no comment.<div><br /><div>With so much new development happening in the city, especially in the Downtown portion of Huizar's CD14, it is difficult to get a handle on the numerous zoning changes and project approvals that might be subject to FBI and IRS scrutiny.<br />
<br />
But we at the <b>Pershing Square Restoration Society</b> hope that careful attention will be paid to a curious chapter in the relationship between the oldest public park in Los Angeles and its council representative.<br />
<br />
Pershing Square Renew is just one of the non-profits and public-private partnerships formed by Jose Huizar to promote his political brand. Developers pay in by the tens of thousands, and Huizar gets press attention for projects like Broadway revitalization (Bringing Back Broadway, Night on Broadway), a streetcar loop to L.A. Live (Los Angeles Streetcar Inc.) and, of greatest interest to us, a Pershing Square redesign (Pershing Square Renew Inc.).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08C-IeXSeP7DLAc4R4tFCURVZ-NYYG5NzrWYiiG3mwxlFsQlWExrZcBD5ZgN8Sq31jdvH8O54vNcVfxpBsmBix4QeIv-Cagc2XF30wDZEMprd0R2ODSWJGhc6mAddRCM-k-t7-YDvzzE/s1600/huizar+night+on+broadway+marquee.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="620" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08C-IeXSeP7DLAc4R4tFCURVZ-NYYG5NzrWYiiG3mwxlFsQlWExrZcBD5ZgN8Sq31jdvH8O54vNcVfxpBsmBix4QeIv-Cagc2XF30wDZEMprd0R2ODSWJGhc6mAddRCM-k-t7-YDvzzE/s320/huizar+night+on+broadway+marquee.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Although none of these campaigns have resulted in much beyond the initial project announcements, design competitions and street parties, there is something concrete that appears to coming directly out of Pershing Square Renew.<br />
<br />
Presently, if you look on the California State DOJ Charities Registry <a href="http://rct.doj.ca.gov/Verification/Web/Search.aspx?facility=Y" target="_blank">website</a>, you'll learn that Pershing Square Renew was cited for delinquency in August 2018 for failing to file its IRS-990 forms for its first tax reporting year of fundraising activity, 2015. Although this missing document means the public cannot see the official IRS accounting of donations made to Pershing Square Renew prior to its largest financial outlays, it was <a href="https://la.curbed.com/2014/9/17/10045782/big-improvements-finally-coming-to-awful-pershing-square" target="_blank">widely reported</a> that developer MacFarlane Partners had donated a million dollars, and would be running the Pershing Square redesign initiative.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0tl3iGUfs_XOB6Ec0ejYyDu4AAg672lPmEzySHpHYMCq7HD5UcgSPezhQQjuKd_qr8wATX5bGzXUYZdkFsOfp8jJZXVQtQgjiLeBBa472K2K5ti2fRPwVemrzdhaOE-BT5dCrA92G-Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-02+at+12.06.06+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="60" data-original-width="630" height="37" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0tl3iGUfs_XOB6Ec0ejYyDu4AAg672lPmEzySHpHYMCq7HD5UcgSPezhQQjuKd_qr8wATX5bGzXUYZdkFsOfp8jJZXVQtQgjiLeBBa472K2K5ti2fRPwVemrzdhaOE-BT5dCrA92G-Q/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-12-02+at+12.06.06+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
MacFarlane Partners is owned by Victor MacFarlane, who suffered a major <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/us/10bcstevens.html" target="_blank">professional setback</a> when his ill-timed, high-risk real estate investments <a href="https://calpensions.com/2010/04/30/how-calpers-bet-big-on-real-estate-and-lost/" target="_blank">resulted</a> in a loss of more than a billion dollars from the California state teachers pension fund (CalPERS), a loss that taxpayers must make good.<br />
<br />
Last December, one of Jose Huizar's City Council committees unanimously <a href="https://bostonrealestatetimes.com/tallest-building-in-western-us-to-be-built-by-100-minority-groups-1-2-billion-development-after-unanimous-selection-by-la-city-council/" target="_blank">selected</a> the winning design and developer to build on one of the most valuable parcels in Downtown Los Angeles: Angels Landing at 4th and Hill Streets. This $1.2 Billion project, zoned to be the tallest building in the west, was granted to a partnership comprised of MacFarlane Partners, the Peebles Corporation and Claridge Properties.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2iHX01mPnNbGJyTQK-Aa5AqVdm4uRrHa65D797xLBO-aHJv9RCCSusPCuUuRrfVg2WKeZKnut-5VkqUu07NBtleS_rjGZGZvWKNNkEA3XdN4pI6Pl-gmC25VPhzvAqnQc3n4FLC0KcSE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-02+at+1.00.28+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="764" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2iHX01mPnNbGJyTQK-Aa5AqVdm4uRrHa65D797xLBO-aHJv9RCCSusPCuUuRrfVg2WKeZKnut-5VkqUu07NBtleS_rjGZGZvWKNNkEA3XdN4pI6Pl-gmC25VPhzvAqnQc3n4FLC0KcSE/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-12-02+at+1.00.28+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
We will be watching with great interest to learn if our humble <a href="http://www.onbunkerhill.org/pershingsquare/" target="_blank">Pershing Square</a>, a place that for more than 150 years has been the heart of the city's public sphere, a place of protest, repose, connection and conversation, has also played a role in uncovering a major public corruption scandal.<br />
<br />
And once the indictments drop, the dust has settled and new leadership arrives in CD14, we will be eager to finally begin a <a href="http://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/p/pershing-squarenew-press-conference.html" target="_blank">good faith conversation</a> about the future of Pershing Square, which we and many Angelenos believe would be best served by a <a href="https://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">restoration</a> of John Parkinson's beloved 1910 design.<br />
<br />
It's a curious footnote that John Parkinson designed the park for no pay, because he wanted to give something back to the city that had given him so much opportunity. In the spirit of John Parkinson, we call on Rec and Parks, the Mayor and City Council to <b>Restore Pershing Square!</b> Please <a href="https://www.change.org/p/mayor-garcetti-la-city-council-recreation-and-parks-don-t-re-envision-pershing-square-restore-pershing-square" target="_blank">sign</a> if you agree.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgueizya731P1Ku7DhCdsRLgTF4lWKJ133kO0r7WF3n6RLmyuVH4mNh25ED3aEwn_LeENipoAdNIn6Bv6bdeSpSHiFJy1QPONN9WgXnO8eObQEJcXCQ7F9N08eTrDmnVkGxnscqsDdsNRo/s1600/pershing+square+fountain+postcard.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1103" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgueizya731P1Ku7DhCdsRLgTF4lWKJ133kO0r7WF3n6RLmyuVH4mNh25ED3aEwn_LeENipoAdNIn6Bv6bdeSpSHiFJy1QPONN9WgXnO8eObQEJcXCQ7F9N08eTrDmnVkGxnscqsDdsNRo/s400/pershing+square+fountain+postcard.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-58776972912618745672017-12-29T22:21:00.003-08:002017-12-29T22:21:51.023-08:00Privatization Planned For Pre-Renewed Pershing Square?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjve6IqUL7WQMmJWaR6NBGOq-tKJNrtqpdWAwMFrqoBx6qDO7JERoJkJnETIaDY8CgD02OIIzM34hTQ83Pt5ijSHlkqCxFiPV7YW2s86GbdwNBOj5RcxeET8K8UkDHGVtDuRIugDugFulk/s1600/pershing+square+signage+no+privatization+of+public+space.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="451" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjve6IqUL7WQMmJWaR6NBGOq-tKJNrtqpdWAwMFrqoBx6qDO7JERoJkJnETIaDY8CgD02OIIzM34hTQ83Pt5ijSHlkqCxFiPV7YW2s86GbdwNBOj5RcxeET8K8UkDHGVtDuRIugDugFulk/s320/pershing+square+signage+no+privatization+of+public+space.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
A little bird whispers that Jose Huizar’s non-profit Pershing Square Renew intends to turn the south side of Pershing Square over to something called “Urban Spaces,” which will stock it with dozens of food kiosks. </div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
Is this true? And if so, will Parks & Rec allow L.A.’s oldest public park to be turned into privatized, commercial space? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-44418699316583046382017-12-28T15:57:00.002-08:002018-12-02T11:13:21.641-08:00Pershing Square Project Pays Off Big For MacFarlane Partners<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCEUYkCnAfQpnD_HcnNYjqreT01LGD77MelDLUJD-OYiphvitgYs7FPBsPPYxMtsG0D95FkwImJCC3L2fcLu6eYBuIW0-1yStWXZi_LMXFbSsu_IqQA3RBE9Hpvo2wRl-RWsL7Hb2CsEk/s1600/angels+knoll+proposal.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="512" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCEUYkCnAfQpnD_HcnNYjqreT01LGD77MelDLUJD-OYiphvitgYs7FPBsPPYxMtsG0D95FkwImJCC3L2fcLu6eYBuIW0-1yStWXZi_LMXFbSsu_IqQA3RBE9Hpvo2wRl-RWsL7Hb2CsEk/s320/angels+knoll+proposal.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
Step one: donate a <a href="https://la.curbed.com/2014/9/17/10045782/big-improvements-finally-coming-to-awful-pershing-square" target="_blank">small sum</a> to support downtown LA councilman Jose Huizar's pet project, a high-tech redesign of Pershing Square (ignoring public sentiment that favors a restoration of John Parkinson's 1910 plan). </div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
Step two: City of Los Angeles <a href="http://bostonrealestatetimes.com/tallest-building-in-western-us-to-be-built-by-100-minority-groups-1-2-billion-development-after-unanimous-selection-by-la-city-council/" target="_blank">grants your company</a> a $1.2 Billion development deal on a former CRA site.</div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
#itsnotaboutthepark </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-61078278484085408112017-12-04T20:42:00.000-08:002017-12-05T20:51:11.628-08:00Notes from the Pershing Square Renew redesign presentation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5enpQxK56UwYbme7Ts61gxGjMT4UHNCPnDSU4R0k3JaJ11nI6bo07BsCafnwJGH7zcjfeTeKKWUmVpZbPrn3mx5xFhXjtiFMxY8wiQtLl5Asuvx0yI5M4ek1yEy25prUs39VlJLw4DEk/s1600/pershing+square+lawn+slide+december+2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5enpQxK56UwYbme7Ts61gxGjMT4UHNCPnDSU4R0k3JaJ11nI6bo07BsCafnwJGH7zcjfeTeKKWUmVpZbPrn3mx5xFhXjtiFMxY8wiQtLl5Asuvx0yI5M4ek1yEy25prUs39VlJLw4DEk/s320/pershing+square+lawn+slide+december+2017.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
At tonight's Pershing Square redesign presentation Q&A, two people who use the park regularly made it clear that they REALLY do not like the Great Lawn, prefer a diagonal path for walking through. (In other words, John Parkinson's 1910 design.)<br />
<br />
See some new renderings <a href="https://la.curbed.com/2017/12/4/16735184/la-pershing-square-renderings-agence-ter-makeover" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Additional items of note from the presentation and Q&A:<br />
<br />
• Shifting LED light show on top of the electronic pergola has been moved to the Olive Street side, beneath the windows of the Biltmore Hotel. Illumination is important to the design team's aim to make the park usable 24 hours a day. Why the move to block the park's most iconic architectural vista? Because now that preliminary engineering surveying is being done, the
"winning" (by private jury) design is un-buildable. They said the only
places they believe they can peel away the parking lot roof to create
wells to plant large trees in is the Hill Street side, opposite the only modern, undistinguished building on the square. Also,
we wonder what the Biltmore thinks about a bright LED art installation
under its guest's windows?<br />
<br />
• Richard Schave of the Pershing Square Restoration Society asked about the bump out for Metro that’s beneath the street—how, if at all, will this be integrated in the redesign? Not at all, is the answer.<br />
<br />
• Courtland Jindra of the Pershing Square Restoration Society asked about the place of the historic memorials and monuments in the proposed redesign. The answer is that these landmarks are important and are to stay—somewhere. But these are not seen in any renderings, and the park’s design is taking shape without any dedicated place for them. We will continue to advocate for the preservation of the monuments and their return to their historic locations throughout the park.<br />
<br />
• Kim Cooper of the Pershing Square Restoration Society clarified a design team statement about when the park's elevation was altered to block the interior off from sidewalk viewers--this only happened with the Legoretta + Olin plan in 1994, not in the 1950s.<br />
<br />
• A citizen wants to know how this is going to be paid for. Nebulous private $ hinted at. There is enough money in donated and Quimby funds to continue working on the design through the generation of a design budget.<br />
<br />
• A citizen is concerned about a rumor that a level of parking will be lost in the remodel. This is denied.<br />
<br />
• Last question: how are you going to make this place safe from dangerous people? No answer from the presenters—they are looking at design, not daily function of the space.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-2497779065936783882017-01-04T21:45:00.000-08:002017-01-04T21:45:04.560-08:00The Wreaths in the Park<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Most people that go to Pershing Square today ignore the various monuments and memorials. From my own experience many people are not even aware they are there. Despite this blog and a few other articles here and there, the pieces have been forgotten by city residents. Unfortunately this is not even exclusive to Pershing Square, as memorials of all types dot southern California with little fanfare. <br /><br />However, there was a time when this was not the case with regards to our park between Hill and Olive. One of the most fascinating stories I have come across in the archives of the Los Angeles Times is that of the "Wreaths in the Park."”<br /> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqllKcLOU2p_R4O6466p98Mc_bmtqvpH6gMnsfjZBWN-SkQ1WHWKplNgUsc1GD3R09xcpxFowHA-xXR8ojH7q0e7gvH2yO-SkWiQ-GTSILsY6au5iKTE59Ee-tT_93soUN6SEoe2Fiu38/s1600/wreaths+in+the+park+sepia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqllKcLOU2p_R4O6466p98Mc_bmtqvpH6gMnsfjZBWN-SkQ1WHWKplNgUsc1GD3R09xcpxFowHA-xXR8ojH7q0e7gvH2yO-SkWiQ-GTSILsY6au5iKTE59Ee-tT_93soUN6SEoe2Fiu38/s400/wreaths+in+the+park+sepia.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br />On April 27th, 1960, just as the clock was about to strike noon, four huge floral arrangements reaching more than six feet in height were placed in Pershing Square. They were set before the 7th California Infantry Spanish American War Memorial, the cannon from the USS Constitution, the Beethoven statue (which also honored William Andrews Clark, founder of the LA Phil), and Doughboy saluting the veterans of World War One. <br /><br />Crowds gawked at these tributes, and the question on everyone's lips was "Why?" All that was left by each wreath was a simple card containing the text "With Sympathy." Stories filtered around of an elderly Asian man who was present when the flowers were delivered and bowed to each memorial before strolling away happily. <br /><br />This was obviously a heckuva story. The Times quickly located the florist who had delivered the flowers and learned they were ordered by Cheong Wong, an 88-year-old who resided on Bellevue Avenue in Angeleno Heights, overlooking the Hollywood Freeway. He did not speak English so the newspaper sent a reporter who spoke Chinese to interview him. When found, Mr. Wong professed to being a mute through an improvised sign language. Standing barefoot while biting a handkerchief in his lips he provided a card printed with the West Point motto "Duty, Honor, Country." As the Times would write, "a devilish merriment" was in his eyes.<br /><br /><i>"It was his secret, this floral beauty he'd brought to the city, and he was keeping it to himself."</i><br /><br />I try not to interject too much of myself in these posts, but I nearly always stop and read plaques and stare at statues when I pass by them. I often wonder how few people do this, versus the majority that almost never take the time to pause and ruminate on the reason that something was immortalized in this way. While such tributes seek to honor people, places, or things it is really the visitors pondering their significance who honor history and give a memorial continued life and meaning. Anyone who admires the statue of Beethoven in Pershing Square, then looks up who Mr. Clark was validates the memorial’s placement. Someone who looks at all the countries where Americans served on the reverse of Doughboy can appreciate the tremendous sacrifice this monument represents. That is why what Mr. Wong did over half a century ago moves me today, and why I want to document and restore what I can. In this way, we can afford our past the respect it deserves.<br />___</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">COURTLAND JINDRA is an amateur historian and volunteer for the </span><a href="http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;" target="_blank">United States World War I Centennial Commission</a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">.
His "Great War" interest is largely focused on America's contribution
to and remembrance of it. Delving into Los Angeles Times' archives,
Jindra has located numerous memorials to the war in L.A. County, the
first of which being the renaming of "Central Park" as "Pershing Square"
in November 1918. He is a passionate advocate for highlighting their
importance, and through them the war effort writ large. </span>esotourichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511561924050376118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-7618236007135065162016-11-22T21:04:00.000-08:002016-11-22T21:04:03.678-08:00Thanksgiving 1970: The Vietnam War comes to Pershing Square<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05POVMJaLLDahcP-uv4uAu1Bie3KQgF_OHcOTdgIlWyxGYhIDRWKqBEJUwyq00m_SIjy_32smxDF77FHhUsRvBeWC0jh5pSzJnmdD5P6qdPPAgkR-7uW-FbEoMBxEg6fbkqMP3CCeZ34/s1600/November+1970+Press+Photo+Joe+McCain+protests+in+Los+Angeles+for+his+POW+brother+crop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05POVMJaLLDahcP-uv4uAu1Bie3KQgF_OHcOTdgIlWyxGYhIDRWKqBEJUwyq00m_SIjy_32smxDF77FHhUsRvBeWC0jh5pSzJnmdD5P6qdPPAgkR-7uW-FbEoMBxEg6fbkqMP3CCeZ34/s400/November+1970+Press+Photo+Joe+McCain+protests+in+Los+Angeles+for+his+POW+brother+crop.png" width="328" /></a></div>
When San Diego writer Joe McCain was looking for a place to hold a consciousness raising performance to draw attention to the plight of prisoners of war like his brother John, he chose Pershing Square, the historic heart of Los Angeles.<br />
<br />
On Thanksgiving Day, 1970, throngs gathered around the rough bamboo cage in the center of the park. Inside, the bearded, ragged McCain sat hunched over, his ankles shackled to the floor. As the curious peered in, he used chopsticks to slurp a sad holiday supper of pig fat, soupy rice and pumpkin.<br />
<br />
"Is that how my daddy has to eat?" asked a little child, peering between the bars.<br />
<br />
Joe McCain's meal in Pershing Square resulted in front page stories nationwide. Then with Pete Nasmyth and Don Rehmann, two other California men with captive brothers, he set out by truck on a cross-country, 12-city tour, carrying a petition seeking improved conditions for all POWs in Vietnam. They arrived in New York on New Years Eve, with 6.5 million signatures, quite a few of them gathered in Pershing Square. The group continued on to Paris, where six tons of mail intended for the POWs was stacked in front of the North Vietnamese delegation offices. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/m/m125.htm" target="_blank">John McCain</a> was captured on October 26, 1967 and released on March 14, 1973. <a href="http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/n/n019.htm" target="_blank">John Nasmyth</a> was captured on September 4, 1966 and released in February 1973. <a href="http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/r/r035.htm" target="_blank">David Rehmann</a> was captured on December 2, 1966 and released on February 12, 1973. <br />
<br />
<br />esotourichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511561924050376118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-13566034067806579882016-11-10T13:21:00.001-08:002016-11-20T16:18:51.895-08:00In Honored Memory: Ross Snyder Comes Home to Pershing Square<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:128;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:fixed;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:128;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:fixed;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-fareast-language:JA;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many people today are unaware that Veterans Day was once
Armistice Day and commemorated the end of the First World War. Likewise as
residents of Los Angeles take in events at Pershing Square, few realize it is
in fact a memorial to that war. As <a href="http://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2016/05/morrislynchik.html" target="_blank">mentioned</a> in a previous blog post, although
the park dates back to the 1870s, it was the first memorial to the Great War in
the City of Angels and was arguably the center for civic events to honor
Angelenos who served. As time passes and <a href="http://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2016/04/psrenewreviews.html" target="_blank">developers</a> and <a href="https://www.change.org/petitions/mayor-garcetti-la-city-council-recreation-and-parks-don-t-re-envision-pershing-square-restore-pershing-square" target="_blank">preservationists</a> alike
make cases for their version of the park space, I think it's once again
important to highlight this connection as the centenary of WWI is upon us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVqE3owS_lEBEE-6E03ygvODglr-8XgdtITAWlummVvQmLB50ROBmglOS_i4Z9zBzgaU205pq-1qmUndpj9Ca_bQme8jl5C4pqMQS-1sDswg6frd7Govb-vJ42dl4605amKFxUEb62mc/s1600/Portret_Mereditha_P._Snydera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVqE3owS_lEBEE-6E03ygvODglr-8XgdtITAWlummVvQmLB50ROBmglOS_i4Z9zBzgaU205pq-1qmUndpj9Ca_bQme8jl5C4pqMQS-1sDswg6frd7Govb-vJ42dl4605amKFxUEb62mc/s200/Portret_Mereditha_P._Snydera.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meredith_P._Snyder" target="_blank">Mayor Meredith "Pinky" Snyder </a>was a colorful man. He
moved to California when he was 22 with five bucks in his pocket. He soon got
involved in real estate, started a shoe company, and promoted a menagerie of
other businesses over the decades. Snyder at times dipped his toes into public
service, as Los Angeles Police Commissioner and on the State Industrial
Accident Commission. He would be elected mayor of Los Angeles three separate
times. In between one of these periods, he was arrested when his chauffeur
broke the 12 MPH downtown speed limit. Snyder happily paid the fine, commending
the officers for their "brilliant execution of duty." He seems to
have been a beloved public servant, and was laid in state at City Hall after
his death in 1937.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbEbvqhTazS4g2_xWi7h12GEioMiknZAOp0mn2NdqAAxiCa9sE2ggyFrJIHxnImxmms9BAnZyQzeo-q7unLlf1gchu2_9W-nHyDkKHEIqcRh-zwvIooFSdLMd7XYVjPG6_UHH2N6zGp0/s1600/Ross+Snyder+headline+falls+in+france.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbEbvqhTazS4g2_xWi7h12GEioMiknZAOp0mn2NdqAAxiCa9sE2ggyFrJIHxnImxmms9BAnZyQzeo-q7unLlf1gchu2_9W-nHyDkKHEIqcRh-zwvIooFSdLMd7XYVjPG6_UHH2N6zGp0/s200/Ross+Snyder+headline+falls+in+france.png" width="193" /></a></div>
One might guess that much of Meredith Snyder's public
service in the last two decades of his life was done to take his mind off the
loss of his son, Ross. The younger Snyder was a Captain and a war hero who died
in France. He received the <a href="http://www.homeofheroes.com/members/04_SS/1_WWI/01_main.html" target="_blank">Silver Star</a> posthumously.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
His citation read in part:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“Captain Snyder distinguished himself by gallantry in action
while serving with the 47th Infantry Regiment, 4th Division, A.E.F., in action
near Sergy, France, 29-30 July 1918. Captain Snyder commanded the 3d Battalion
under heavy enemy artillery and machine gun fire after three of the battalion
commanders had become casualties. He reorganized this battalion and directed
its movements in the attack, constantly exposing himself until he was killed by
enemy machine gun fire.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4s532UxymUbliF0xQe0YfxxJxFelE72AggJ_pu_FSgWOESwNtC6N31j-9Qwf30i1Bt_GHxrnjbjxhdterFgX1OEU39HM2gJAcRg0HF7Jv2BXNU8BJrlNEs-Pv30afUwGWTTasSkSWSuw/s1600/ross+snyder+portrait.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4s532UxymUbliF0xQe0YfxxJxFelE72AggJ_pu_FSgWOESwNtC6N31j-9Qwf30i1Bt_GHxrnjbjxhdterFgX1OEU39HM2gJAcRg0HF7Jv2BXNU8BJrlNEs-Pv30afUwGWTTasSkSWSuw/s320/ross+snyder+portrait.png" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ross Snyder, courtesy Harvard-Westlake School</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Like thousands of American families, Meredith and May Snyder
had to decide whether to ask for their son's remains to be brought home.
Initially, Ross was left overseas (because of where he fell, it is likely he
was interred at what is now Oise-Aisne American Cemetery). His name was also inscribed
on the D.A.R. tablet in Victory Memorial Grove in Elysian Park and given to the
<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ross+Snyder+Recreation+Center/@34.0095687,-118.2479112,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x7ba50d8d02c536e!8m2!3d34.0095687!4d-118.2479112" target="_blank">park</a> in South Los Angeles that bears his name to this day. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 1923, the Snyder family asked for their son to be exhumed
and returned stateside. Immediately, the city decided to spare no expense in
honoring its son. Like <a href="http://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2016/05/morrislynchik.html" target="_blank">Morris Lynchik's service</a> two years previous, this
one would be held in Pershing Square. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CjxT-xcPsInSvj2JgN5pwQG2gxFhjSpMdB7RNnhxiGsovmDqsZXB8Nut0oubhkPmWmJcdsg2IqKjulJBNxZJRj4soDH7T8C4Aa2di3rBQ64xY4inyv5dYLmXdVtNjAxddkIbxJmMuWM/s1600/Ross+Snyder+headline+war+hero+rests+in+peace.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CjxT-xcPsInSvj2JgN5pwQG2gxFhjSpMdB7RNnhxiGsovmDqsZXB8Nut0oubhkPmWmJcdsg2IqKjulJBNxZJRj4soDH7T8C4Aa2di3rBQ64xY4inyv5dYLmXdVtNjAxddkIbxJmMuWM/s200/Ross+Snyder+headline+war+hero+rests+in+peace.png" width="200" /></a>Arrangements began in late September. Ross Snyder lay in
state in the park for 24 hours from September 27-28 for mourners to pay their
respects. <i>The Los Angeles Times</i> did not estimate the size of the crowd that
viewed the body, but it was unquestionably large. Reverend W. E. Edmondson, a
former State Chaplain of the American Legion, led the afternoon service on the
28th honoring Captain Snyder. In what was described as "one of the most
impressive and one of the largest ever held in Los Angeles," the funeral
cortege made its way from downtown to Hollywood Cemetery (now Hollywood
Forever).<br />
<br />
Among the procession would be commanders of multiple American Legion
and VFW posts (as well as the members themselves), students of the Harvard
Military School (Ross Snyder was an alum), former soldiers from the 4th
Division veterans of the Spanish American and Civil wars, numerous veterans of
allied countries, as well as friends and family. As the sun descended over the
city, three volleys were fired, and “Taps” was played by a war buddy.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0EAocgPBxU05X0Oxtmow91mpfBRJPQYJHexP8SIZoA86d9IeqmF3zoRTWeHEDxhXgmd6K8h0yaXQJ0-845GgBFXUnhDIDVs2QCvWcksHwM6HY8iPm5w2pD-bz4WPkLl_voBWgMNdZenc/s1600/snyderross+photo+by+AJ+Marik+Find+A+Grave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0EAocgPBxU05X0Oxtmow91mpfBRJPQYJHexP8SIZoA86d9IeqmF3zoRTWeHEDxhXgmd6K8h0yaXQJ0-845GgBFXUnhDIDVs2QCvWcksHwM6HY8iPm5w2pD-bz4WPkLl_voBWgMNdZenc/s320/snyderross+photo+by+AJ+Marik+Find+A+Grave.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> photograph by AJ Marik, Find A Grave</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To my knowledge, only two US servicemen, Ross Snyder and
Morris Lynchik, were ever given the honor of having part of their funeral
services open to the entire city. Both services were held in our beloved
Pershing Square.<br />
<br />
Though some would like to remake the place and ignore its
bones, this park has a history like no other<span class="st" data-hveid="44" data-ved="0ahUKEwjJ1b_wi5_QAhWCv1QKHUb1DaUQ4EUILDAB">—</span>if one only seeks to look. Today,
Pershing Square is many things to many, many people. It is widely criticized by
most. To some, it is a place for civil discourse with their friends. To others,
a place to eat lunch away from work, watch a movie in the summer, or to ice
skate during the winter. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some, like myself, hope for the day its lost history and
memories are rediscovered by everyone.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nWtJW_qlP8mcYkjMWNm6JLsopM4XNIRNm-3C8robvgoJkvbGD7GEgEP4SAcAni3a59qlSMKZ9NmnW7VbjrD5pYoFg_Ws6LQ9H-PjBjZu4AgwT3yTXLlSmuH0sObiTtaofXJQMkbIuIo/s1600/Ross+Snyder+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nWtJW_qlP8mcYkjMWNm6JLsopM4XNIRNm-3C8robvgoJkvbGD7GEgEP4SAcAni3a59qlSMKZ9NmnW7VbjrD5pYoFg_Ws6LQ9H-PjBjZu4AgwT3yTXLlSmuH0sObiTtaofXJQMkbIuIo/s400/Ross+Snyder+2.jpg" width="400" /><i></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ross Snyder (bottom center), courtesy Harvard-Westlake School</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">___</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">COURTLAND JINDRA is an amateur historian and volunteer for the </span><a href="http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;" target="_blank">United States World War I Centennial Commission</a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">.
His "Great War" interest is largely focused on America's contribution
to and remembrance of it. Delving into Los Angeles Times' archives,
Jindra has located numerous memorials to the war in L.A. County, the
first of which being the renaming of "Central Park" as "Pershing Square"
in November 1918. He is a passionate advocate for highlighting their
importance, and through them the war effort writ large. </span> </div>
esotourichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511561924050376118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-92187821654128660062016-09-19T19:33:00.000-07:002016-09-19T19:33:01.888-07:00The Ongoing Destruction of Ricardo Legorreta's Pershing SquareWhat are they doing to Ricardo Legorreta's Pershing Square design? First two main seating areas were torn out and replaced with children's playgrounds. Now the central water feature between the playgrounds is being covered with some kind of plywood floor.<br />
<br />
This raises a number of questions. What will they do if rain runoff
clogs the fountain drain below? What happens when the wood gets wet and
buckles? And why is the 1994 park design, which cost nearly $15 Million
and still has not been fully paid off, being chipped away piece by
piece?<br />
<br />
Signed,<br />
confused observers<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZiKW6v4zaMHbQygVXLEK3wTe7zvBpQlR3te-rrp6FLPNXIt6e1ysisvv60uuqMzsRn0fcl9OzLVpIngGDPjUct6GbRla_fPg-BJ5OZQeaUfkCW-gTvoSIdspuI1FOvm3j7ff8uydFWc/s1600/fountain+plywood+1+september+18+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZiKW6v4zaMHbQygVXLEK3wTe7zvBpQlR3te-rrp6FLPNXIt6e1ysisvv60uuqMzsRn0fcl9OzLVpIngGDPjUct6GbRla_fPg-BJ5OZQeaUfkCW-gTvoSIdspuI1FOvm3j7ff8uydFWc/s320/fountain+plywood+1+september+18+2016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QccpXJ_wZ9FnhoHspC2C0soAmvpJ5_jjt0tin_XCbZAf40Kvt_bX90-tU5P5SoFFNyI-x2zRTFJ5tuCJqY8xUmzFL_sOfNSIWfIcknqgYkhU54-jski1JnOOWVBZPsUrYiugk_ArKXU/s1600/fountain+plywood+2+september+18+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QccpXJ_wZ9FnhoHspC2C0soAmvpJ5_jjt0tin_XCbZAf40Kvt_bX90-tU5P5SoFFNyI-x2zRTFJ5tuCJqY8xUmzFL_sOfNSIWfIcknqgYkhU54-jski1JnOOWVBZPsUrYiugk_ArKXU/s320/fountain+plywood+2+september+18+2016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGwREI8dVvjmI_VPSHbOJFe6TW2cuQXlaiKt6gYG0uXp5jdhyaHTbj5mmRql0Nsnx8sDo3s0sbU6hyphenhyphenIxpmDbMpFjv4Qs7Jkfh7YNi6ligq96b_9_Dyjt7uHY71f30sr6Hh4K5M7nIi-Q/s1600/fountain+plywood+3+september+18+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGwREI8dVvjmI_VPSHbOJFe6TW2cuQXlaiKt6gYG0uXp5jdhyaHTbj5mmRql0Nsnx8sDo3s0sbU6hyphenhyphenIxpmDbMpFjv4Qs7Jkfh7YNi6ligq96b_9_Dyjt7uHY71f30sr6Hh4K5M7nIi-Q/s320/fountain+plywood+3+september+18+2016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-71841937758787984282016-06-19T10:29:00.002-07:002016-06-19T10:29:33.173-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhD_u0ofmJSpRMRoOJjdC0V1rwFQHbt_isvqTJ9pX8OFLVG0iBXoSeJCeEm-2TLsxqokH15YKNJqkmEmAfoIERyuxOqai3P50yI5_hC42K8nPQtVI_xOzykoMzRlvJW5snwu9I_p5dnTc/s1600/1905+postcard+cannon+and+spanish+american+war+memorial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhD_u0ofmJSpRMRoOJjdC0V1rwFQHbt_isvqTJ9pX8OFLVG0iBXoSeJCeEm-2TLsxqokH15YKNJqkmEmAfoIERyuxOqai3P50yI5_hC42K8nPQtVI_xOzykoMzRlvJW5snwu9I_p5dnTc/s320/1905+postcard+cannon+and+spanish+american+war+memorial.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
A new series from Los Angeles public art historian Michael Several on the On Bunker Hill blog tracks how Pershing Square came to get its Spanish-American War Memorial. Here's <a href="http://www.onbunkerhill.org/spanish-american-war-memorial-1/" target="_blank">part one</a>. And Michael should know: he's the dedicated Angeleno who landmarked the memorial when it was in danger during the last Pershing Square redesign!<br />
<br />
Stay tuned for the rest of the story of the oldest piece of public art in the city.esotourichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511561924050376118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-81960907323554035452016-06-13T10:11:00.003-07:002016-06-13T10:11:49.286-07:00Progress in our Save The Pershing Square Monuments campaign: Pershing Square Renew's Facebook postEighteen days ago, we launched the Save the Pershing Square Monuments <a href="https://www.change.org/p/department-of-recreation-and-parks-save-the-pershing-square-monuments" target="_blank">petition</a>, seeking a commitment to retain the park's historic monuments on site and return them to their traditional locations within the park from several civic and private entities involved in Pershing Square's present management, and the proposed privatization under the non-profit Pershing Square Renew. <br />
<br />
More than 240 people have signed and shared eloquent messages in support of keeping Pershing Square's monumental history right in the park where it belongs.<br />
<br />
And our message is getting through. This morning on Facebook, Pershing Square Renew made this post:<br />
<br />
<i>We ❤️ Pershing Square’s history & that includes its monuments! Design plans currently include sculpture garden, which could be great home for them. Final placement within the park will be decided in public hearings for design plans, so please stay involved! </i><i>Where would you like to see them in current plan?</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
We are encouraged to see Pershing Square Renew making a social media statement in support of the Pershing Square monuments, and look forward to this commitment being formally expressed as part of its policies and printed statements moving forward.<br />
<br />
We're also interested to hear that public hearings will be how the proposed park redesign will be presented to the community. This is the first we've heard of any planned hearings, and we'll certainly keep you posted as we learn more.<br />
<br />
Please feel free to stop by Pershing Square Renew's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PershingSquareNew/photos/a.502789496494657.1073741829.500617463378527/1034883506618584/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> to thank them for supporting Pershing Square history and remind them that the monuments need to return to their historic locations in the park.esotourichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511561924050376118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-64367602842038438242016-05-28T19:29:00.000-07:002016-05-28T19:29:26.718-07:00In Honored Memory: Morris Lynchik Comes Home to Pershing Square<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbeycbiu5h_KLqXBMPqxRDDavWZHErDIxlAQ2R0aThBgEIEXSpoTcciif6OYyVxOk1F7iP1hI9271yLi8gAlqOkkH47RkE4iVt6zt1K4VdWdzt6wVF_J_XnkMlpqT2Qfb9K81G_ouNWg/s1600/destruction+of+ypres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbeycbiu5h_KLqXBMPqxRDDavWZHErDIxlAQ2R0aThBgEIEXSpoTcciif6OYyVxOk1F7iP1hI9271yLi8gAlqOkkH47RkE4iVt6zt1K4VdWdzt6wVF_J_XnkMlpqT2Qfb9K81G_ouNWg/s400/destruction+of+ypres.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Destruction of Ypres, where Morris Lynchik fell</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">As we approach Memorial Day, I thought it would be appropriate to tell the story of the first burial of a World War I soldier in our city and how it intersects with the history of Pershing Square.</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">What is now Pershing Square was no stranger to tributes to the military a century ago. The Spanish American War was heavily memorialized at the park in the early 1900s. Not only was a trophy cannon from Santiago, Cuba displayed, but the city's first piece of public art, a <a href="http://www.publicartinla.com/Downtown/figueroa/Pershing_Square/spanish_american_war1.html" target="_blank">monument</a> to the 7th California Infantry volunteers who died in training, dominated the southeast entrance. Memorial Day services, run by veterans of the regiment, were held in the park into the 1950s.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Just after World War I ended, Los Angeles looked to honor General John J. Pershing, the hero who had led the "boys" who had tipped the balance to the allies. On the morning of November 15, 1918 the City Council renamed "Central Park" "Pershing Square," over the objections of some who thought he deserved a grander honor. At the same time, a committee was formed to place a monument in the park "in honor of General Pershing and the American soldiers and sailors who participated in the war." That tribute would have to wait a few more years.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Meanwhile, all across the country, families of the war dead were demanding to know when their loved ones would be brought home. To process tens of thousands of scattered bodies housed in makeshift graves all over Europe and arrange their coffins for trans-Atlantic shipping presented an enormous challenge.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">The other allies were mortified we would seek to bring our dead home. Due to expense, the British didn't want their own citizens demanding repatriation of their war dead. Meanwhile, the French were concerned that mortuary trains would be rolling toward their port towns for years as temporary battlefield cemeteries were exhumed, and were offended at the notion that Americans thought French soil wasn't a suitable resting place for their fallen. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">The French banned shipping bodies out of country until late 1920, while the US began the lengthy process of identifying the dead and moving them to centralized cemeteries. Our government gave families the option: they could choose to bring remains home, or have them buried in brand new American military cemeteries in Europe, with the promise of meticulous perpetual endowment care. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9_HW1yK-nvFpSWHbekUxqnBY8j-ZmiBiGpcr_ADYUXbIAfdh-_QmsTx04oosmSqjaG0BHw5DNNJtrnNqYQzdk1f5VUvawgJ_AmAPncs9i8LVzmkseJ64nWcb3kFfKMG6CYN2BLgzJ10/s1600/Flanders-Field-American-Cemetery-and-Memorial_1024x768-660x495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9_HW1yK-nvFpSWHbekUxqnBY8j-ZmiBiGpcr_ADYUXbIAfdh-_QmsTx04oosmSqjaG0BHw5DNNJtrnNqYQzdk1f5VUvawgJ_AmAPncs9i8LVzmkseJ64nWcb3kFfKMG6CYN2BLgzJ10/s320/Flanders-Field-American-Cemetery-and-Memorial_1024x768-660x495.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Over 30,000 families chose to leave their loved ones in Europe, but most wanted the bodies repatriated. The first of these mournful reunions would be in the spring of 1921.</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Los Angeles had lost over four hundred of her sons in the World War, but the first body to be returned to the city was a stranger. Morris Lynchik was a New Yorker through and through when he joined the 27th Division National Guard unit. He was a diamond cutter by trade when the US entered the war. Although I was unable to find out when he joined the Guard, or if it was as a private, by the time of his death he was a sergeant. Lynchik was killed near Ypres, Belgium on July 23, 1918. Sometime before 1921 his family, including two brothers who survived the war, moved to Los Angeles. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">In a city full of transplants, it seemed somehow fitting that for the ceremonial tribute to sons lost in the conflict, the physical embodiment of her war dead had never set a living foot in Los Angeles. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Though Sergeant Lynchik's body arrived in the city on May 9, because of the large preparations he was not laid to rest immediately. On May 28, the third anniversary of the first major US engagement in the war, Lynchik's flag-draped coffin was set on the west side of Pershing Square's central fountain Square while an honor guard stood watch. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimoZH9zXOEL5hCkzyxoAOK43p94-yDQPhfhgKdRt-J6RO4zMAku8VGy5qIykkz6L9ouhPYtKPpM5n5k9dRUrxId62HXQ9Yfof9pCON7myl78Bc2C4Tj9eMkgm1VprVImdn4Xg_l7cIoaA/s1600/fountain+and+Biltmore+bw+pc+c+1940s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimoZH9zXOEL5hCkzyxoAOK43p94-yDQPhfhgKdRt-J6RO4zMAku8VGy5qIykkz6L9ouhPYtKPpM5n5k9dRUrxId62HXQ9Yfof9pCON7myl78Bc2C4Tj9eMkgm1VprVImdn4Xg_l7cIoaA/s400/fountain+and+Biltmore+bw+pc+c+1940s.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Given that the park had been re-named after the Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, and was in the center of the city, it was the obvious location for an event of such civic importance. Thousands were said to pay their respects over the next 24 hours. <i>The Los Angeles Times</i> recorded the scene with tragic flair calling it "one of the most somberly dramatic episodes in the history of the city." </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><i>"Mothers came to stand within the circle of silent watchers and to weep for sons, who like Sergt. Lynchik, went bravely forth to find a hero's death in a foreign land. There were many men, too, for whom the flag-draped casket embodied the living memory and the noble sacrifice of a dead brother, son, or comrade."</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">The following day at 1pm a ceremony was held in Pershing Square. A chaplain and rabbi both gave remarks and then Mayor Snyder, whose own son had died in France, spoke on the sacrifices the fighting men of America had made for their country and for the cause of freedom the world over. A huge escort filled with different veteran's and civic organizations then snaked from the park to Rosedale Cemetery where Sergeant Lynchik was placed in a vault, safely stored for eventual removal to a new American Legion cemetery.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">As the idea of remaking Pershing Square once again is in the air, I feel it is important to highlight the military significance of the park's history. Not only is Pershing Square named in honor of a hero of the Great War, but some of the city's most moving memorial services have taken place within its borders. Let's hope this is not forgotten when the time comes to <a href="http://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/p/save-pershing-square-monuments.html" target="_blank">determine the future</a> of the many historic plaques and sculptures that call Pershing Square home.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">___</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">COURTLAND JINDRA is an amateur historian and volunteer for the </span><a href="http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;" target="_blank">United States World War I Centennial Commission</a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">. His "Great War" interest is largely focused on America's contribution to and remembrance of it. Delving into Los Angeles Times' archives, Jindra has located numerous memorials to the war in L.A. County, the first of which being the renaming of "Central Park" as "Pershing Square" in November 1918. He is a passionate advocate for highlighting their importance, and through them the war effort writ large. </span>esotourichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511561924050376118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-43054143154379901262016-05-12T08:35:00.000-07:002016-05-12T08:36:35.176-07:00Our Choice for the Winner in the Pershing Square Renew Design Competition: James Corner Field Operations with Fredrick Fischer and PartnersHere at the Pershing Square Restoration Society, we look to the great design of the past to see what is possible for the Pershing Square of the future. We know it is unlikely that John Parkinson's 1910 plan for the park will be recreated exactly as the great Los Angeles architect made it<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px;">—</span>for even Parkinson himself returned to the park two decades later to refine and improve the space. Los Angeles changes, and our public space does, too.<br />
<br />
Four potential Pershing Square redesigns have been presented to the people of Los Angeles, and they were <a href="http://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2016/04/publicfeedback.html" target="_blank">asked</a> to vote on them; 1359 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PershingSquareNew/photos/a.502789496494657.1073741829.500617463378527/1013104202129848/?type=3" target="_blank">did</a>. A jury then made their own determinations and selected a winner. The announcement will be made at 9 o'clock this morning.<br />
<br />
We were encouraged to see that three of the four designs directly referenced John Parkinson's Pershing Square, the design that has inspired 2144 people to sign our <a href="https://www.change.org/p/mayor-garcetti-la-city-council-recreation-and-parks-don-t-re-envision-pershing-square-restore-pershing-square" target="_blank">restoration petition</a>, and whose comments we shared in our <a href="http://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2015/11/an-open-letter-to-semi-finalists-of.html" target="_blank">open letter</a> to all semi-finalists.<br />
<br />
But there is one design in the competition that stands far above the others: <b><a href="http://www.fisherpartners.net/work/public/pershing-square-renew-design-competition/" target="_blank">James Corner Field Operations with Fredrick Fischer and Partners</a>.</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCzS2TL_Gtfu68l8aRTlGXSABD-i6BtEsFyN8XsMc08r_s60TNc2q4XGOC3UAolpggaP1YANCu1GaHintFDmOSCCDcEuXO63oSBBCnoB5rtvDORRaEJt_f7yylwi41fldCKsRgGTv5ByE/s1600/james+corner+field+operations+with+frederick+fisher+and+partners+pershing+square+math.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCzS2TL_Gtfu68l8aRTlGXSABD-i6BtEsFyN8XsMc08r_s60TNc2q4XGOC3UAolpggaP1YANCu1GaHintFDmOSCCDcEuXO63oSBBCnoB5rtvDORRaEJt_f7yylwi41fldCKsRgGTv5ByE/s320/james+corner+field+operations+with+frederick+fisher+and+partners+pershing+square+math.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The design respectfully reflects past iterations of the great park, while tastefully responding to the new commercial demands of the competition. While we would like to see more benches and shade along the walkways and a more traditional central water feature with some height, cascading water levels and places for people to sit around it, and the the restoration of the historic sculptures to their traditional places in the park grounds, this entry shows a park that is worthy of the name Pershing Square.<br />
<br />
We hope the competition judges see this, too.<br />
<br />
<br />esotourichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511561924050376118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-50098689664887269092016-04-29T12:59:00.001-07:002016-05-03T09:33:49.002-07:00Public Feedback TimeDear Friend of Pershing Square,<br />
<br />
Last night, we attended an event where the four finalists in the Pershing Square Renew design competition presented their proposals. At the link below you'll find representative images from each proposal, and our thoughts on how the designs reflect the historic integrity of the site.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Click <a href="http://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2016/04/psrenewreviews.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a> to learn about the finalists.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
While none of the proposals calls for the restoration of John Parkinson's 1910 park design, three of them show clear inspiration from the past, and that's encouraging. Even though it's not possible to vote for a restored Pershing Square, your feedback can still urge Pershing Square Renew and the winning design team to work harder at keeping Pershing Square a space that respects and reflects its 150 year history. <br />
<br />
There is <b>LESS THAN ONE WEEK</b> for the public to give feedback. The winning design will be selected in mid-May.<br />
<br />
At the bottom of this post, you'll find a public comment link. Please take a moment to take a stand for the restoration of John Parkinson's 1910 park by posting feedback on one or more of the finalist design's entry question #5 ("other comments").<br />
<br />
Here are our suggested talking points, and of course you are free to add your own:<br />
<br />
• I support the restoration of John Parkinson's 1910 park design. I wish there was an option to vote for that.<br />
<br />
• It is important to me that the park's historic sculptures, including the oldest piece of public art in Los Angeles (the landmarked Spanish-American War Memorial) remain in Pershing Square in any redesign. They ought to be returned to their historic locations in the park.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Click <a href="http://pershingsquarerenew.nationbuilder.com/final_four_teams" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a> to post your public comment.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We thank you for your continued concern for our great city's oldest public park.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
yrs,<br />
Kim Cooper & Richard Schave<br />
LAVA - The Los Angeles Visionaries Association<br />
& The Pershing Square Restoration Society<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
esotourichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511561924050376118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7214965390487966765.post-80709569007571689552016-04-29T12:59:00.000-07:002016-05-03T09:33:34.113-07:00Pershing Square Restoration Society reviews the finalists in the Pershing Square Renew competitionThe comments below are supplemental material for people who <a href="https://www.change.org/p/mayor-garcetti-la-city-council-recreation-and-parks-don-t-re-envision-pershing-square-restore-pershing-square" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">support</span></a> the restoration of John Parkinson's 1910 Pershing Square design, or more generally the preservation of the park's historic sculptural features. More info is <a href="http://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2016/04/publicfeedback.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a>.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Design #1 - wHY with Civita</b>s: These images present a design that shows inspiration from John Parkinson's 1910 street-level axial pathway plan, with elements of the meandering 1880s Eaton plan and the unjustly unbuilt winner of the last redesign competition, James Wines' "Magic Carpet." This proposal calls for Pershing Square to be renamed Pershing Green. At the April 28 event, the designers said that the artificial hills in the park's center are meant to suggest downtown's lost topography (like Bunker Hill). This plan calls for some decommissioned parking lot ramps to become cisterns to store and reuse gray water from the park, and black water from nearby sewers. <i>CityLab</i> reports that the historic sculptures (including one that's an historic landmark), which are not visible in any of the other design proposals, will be placed in the garden sections on the long Hill and Olive Street sides.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO9CWDgCt76Ik-rgs6P5ot_RIy-WDFwz-wRCTe4SRo-zduGx_0fcXpIzFObRTJhjBEO7JJfm8QP0lHAQXBMBn-2ADOQgdXnqhyWeJlvmxUJj0vCPUnwE1fofOu-NYMg91dgXjM31RpHp8/s1600/wHY+with+civitas+overhead+figure+8+raised+lawns+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO9CWDgCt76Ik-rgs6P5ot_RIy-WDFwz-wRCTe4SRo-zduGx_0fcXpIzFObRTJhjBEO7JJfm8QP0lHAQXBMBn-2ADOQgdXnqhyWeJlvmxUJj0vCPUnwE1fofOu-NYMg91dgXjM31RpHp8/s320/wHY+with+civitas+overhead+figure+8+raised+lawns+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88IwCJRzuZ2qXJCNRzjKIcGTmI30U0IiYhBU6VCpUkZSWMOsJP7g5kC5ObfJ26vz-uzZ0v0nneJHoHl7EucEfoRs44Q3yXBoPHjbBR5J73Z1O-u2d0HBpxwUXThy-BuKoQmDab6wUoJ8/s1600/wHY+with+civitas+5th+and+olive+entrance+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88IwCJRzuZ2qXJCNRzjKIcGTmI30U0IiYhBU6VCpUkZSWMOsJP7g5kC5ObfJ26vz-uzZ0v0nneJHoHl7EucEfoRs44Q3yXBoPHjbBR5J73Z1O-u2d0HBpxwUXThy-BuKoQmDab6wUoJ8/s320/wHY+with+civitas+5th+and+olive+entrance+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmoWl0X3647rETzzvh9JaZXn522Wtf_9FSCyRuXGrUGDRmkrSsAKq0kVWG2giTTyE0pKNTyhIB6W8h3GMaZYr8uW1JHikKHvwwwLI48ROz-QffoS9H8gqK9kTBoWbyw3nYiI0jQlH3dU/s1600/wHY+with+civitas+angled+path+into+park+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmoWl0X3647rETzzvh9JaZXn522Wtf_9FSCyRuXGrUGDRmkrSsAKq0kVWG2giTTyE0pKNTyhIB6W8h3GMaZYr8uW1JHikKHvwwwLI48ROz-QffoS9H8gqK9kTBoWbyw3nYiI0jQlH3dU/s320/wHY+with+civitas+angled+path+into+park+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b>Design #2 - SWA with Morphosis: </b>These images present a design that scrambles John Parkinson's classical 1910 street-level axial pathway plan as if the paths were pick up sticks tossed by an angry giant. A large lawn is surrounded, but only partly shaded, by trees large enough that there is some question as to if the parking structure below can support them. Instead of Parkinson's central fountain, there is a small wetland pond that has miraculously attracted a great white heron. The main focus of the design is a huge tower containing a hydroponic farm that, it is claimed, will produce 2000 pounds of organic produce daily for an on-site restaurant. Because they say all cars will soon be robotic, this plan proposes to take over a portion of the existing parking garage, which is a major source of civic revenue. At the April 28 event, Morphosis principal Thom Mayne, who was in the preservation hot seat last year when he demolished beloved L.A. author Ray Bradbury's Cheviot Hills home, quipped "It's not about history, that's Philly or Boston. This is Los Angeles, it's the city of the future." </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHc1TeudEbZrRaBXitT4yHQTNXwTkmxrrBFlqs_VI574IJCFNfJCucZqHkpHwKZ7QY4-DDnWZZ4ZC4I4rwujxLXQ5J55XUxopJKrToq3BSuB5gnZOmOq17PiW52hwffb43ArPrjXKJW7s/s1600/SWA+with+morphosis+overhead+with+trees+and+lawn+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHc1TeudEbZrRaBXitT4yHQTNXwTkmxrrBFlqs_VI574IJCFNfJCucZqHkpHwKZ7QY4-DDnWZZ4ZC4I4rwujxLXQ5J55XUxopJKrToq3BSuB5gnZOmOq17PiW52hwffb43ArPrjXKJW7s/s320/SWA+with+morphosis+overhead+with+trees+and+lawn+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYDRE9Us2INHGamnVuvmIuvglhaDCgSDenicuuuwK4Z4UVaLadXDMi6DMKL6v1OpcX3HLuhLO8gLgi_8s-08zrrhS5aOvvXSjBbrQ9WOuIVLOg4PLBD0rOI3AFYuQK6RLstCKcuM8w8k/s1600/SWA+with+morphosis+paths+and+pond+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYDRE9Us2INHGamnVuvmIuvglhaDCgSDenicuuuwK4Z4UVaLadXDMi6DMKL6v1OpcX3HLuhLO8gLgi_8s-08zrrhS5aOvvXSjBbrQ9WOuIVLOg4PLBD0rOI3AFYuQK6RLstCKcuM8w8k/s320/SWA+with+morphosis+paths+and+pond+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdXhdp8hNeaYVZ48MfqwBTkNveUoh4OUN7udus6VsE1_fAjpqZCh2x8M_n-d18IGe5GGglxZKaCDef4HTAe4v-6QIXxeEBLwRGtwxQLhKlR0Zw7SPF_vm270u6L9qaqzFCh5Hw9nqyMk/s1600/SWA+with+morphosis+cafe+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdXhdp8hNeaYVZ48MfqwBTkNveUoh4OUN7udus6VsE1_fAjpqZCh2x8M_n-d18IGe5GGglxZKaCDef4HTAe4v-6QIXxeEBLwRGtwxQLhKlR0Zw7SPF_vm270u6L9qaqzFCh5Hw9nqyMk/s320/SWA+with+morphosis+cafe+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Design #3 - James Corner Field Operations with Fredrick Fischer and Partners:</b> These images present a design that shows inspiration from John Parkinson's original 1910 street-level axial pathway plan (originally an X-shape, with two additional walkways added later) and central water feature (programmable and interactive here, but apparently a nod to Parkinson's Beaux Arts fountain), with meandering garden sections evoking the 1880s Eaton plan. Much of the park is unshaded terraced lawn, with numerous discrete spaces dedicated to specific uses (dog run, yoga, ping pong, cafe). Contemporary shade and climbing structures distance the park from its historic appearance, and run the risk of soon appearing dated, as has been the case with the 1994 design.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOR1pCWoVlFeee1HDqYjiO47v8AnhlZy1CysH1460MTwTSUhlRvo5lY5kGFbW8xY8N5lv-d5th4JzA1MGdz60e8fEG3cKme2hKd9jILf5jwFvG5yl-zeIt1VxrAhJbUakeSAZJRAkOrjs/s1600/james+corner+field+operations+with+frederick+fisher+and+partners+overhead+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOR1pCWoVlFeee1HDqYjiO47v8AnhlZy1CysH1460MTwTSUhlRvo5lY5kGFbW8xY8N5lv-d5th4JzA1MGdz60e8fEG3cKme2hKd9jILf5jwFvG5yl-zeIt1VxrAhJbUakeSAZJRAkOrjs/s320/james+corner+field+operations+with+frederick+fisher+and+partners+overhead+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm088hgrhRuIIEZyMTcb4etoJEOUzKyoKEek1cJJ1-iO8nDmcbJZUL0RKGO4TROlm8KG8p_xyMtAwXyyeDzJXg19rvyrJ6pCWq8MW65fgi-e6AobnNG5Y1-NCGWPl0ip0dUrJH-KHKa8U/s1600/james+corner+field+operations+with+frederick+fisher+and+partners+sculptural+net+form+with+vines+3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm088hgrhRuIIEZyMTcb4etoJEOUzKyoKEek1cJJ1-iO8nDmcbJZUL0RKGO4TROlm8KG8p_xyMtAwXyyeDzJXg19rvyrJ6pCWq8MW65fgi-e6AobnNG5Y1-NCGWPl0ip0dUrJH-KHKa8U/s320/james+corner+field+operations+with+frederick+fisher+and+partners+sculptural+net+form+with+vines+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQP58H09rPi9h8vvTU_XkplusS1dWqn7aRHCN2B_gUE_qoxrDH9rKKg_8EFUEMtESVddJr29Ymsu7gAco1YUPzNhMvn3-LH_LvAJMbst7Li-WkobNHBUtvuDOp3lOuPOHbvOE-t93gDZs/s1600/james+corner+field+operations+with+frederick+fisher+and+partners+terraced+lawns+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQP58H09rPi9h8vvTU_XkplusS1dWqn7aRHCN2B_gUE_qoxrDH9rKKg_8EFUEMtESVddJr29Ymsu7gAco1YUPzNhMvn3-LH_LvAJMbst7Li-WkobNHBUtvuDOp3lOuPOHbvOE-t93gDZs/s320/james+corner+field+operations+with+frederick+fisher+and+partners+terraced+lawns+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Design #4 - Agence Ter</b>: Curiously, although Agence Ter was the only team to respond to our <a href="http://restorepershingsquare.blogspot.com/2015/11/an-open-letter-to-semi-finalists-of.html" target="_blank">open letter</a> asking the semi-finalists to acknowledge the great public interest in restoration by making John Parkinson's 1910 park plan central to their proposals, these images present a design that fails to reference any of the iconic elements of the historic park. The proposal seeks to artificially expand the boundaries of the park through an outer ring of digitally-programmed shade terraces straddling the park-facing sidewalk and mature shade trees lining the opposite sides of the busy streets. Much of the park is open lawn surrounded, but only partly shaded, by trees large enough that there is some question as to if the parking structure below can support them. Open spaces are intended for occasional programming, with a film screening and farmer's market illustrated.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUumRmoYolwxakt-ppE0yGuCZ4epx-_ATCNEZBa8xXYAOZClK7z4kiQu0Pm_MbnIrlpS9uG5v3dTQJ7EMkrOVA0afbAolryvAPRdCcYVGX2wqmIDZx-EBoKgYE4IRi4xPN6HNfHTVf96Q/s1600/agence+ter+and+team+farmers+market+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUumRmoYolwxakt-ppE0yGuCZ4epx-_ATCNEZBa8xXYAOZClK7z4kiQu0Pm_MbnIrlpS9uG5v3dTQJ7EMkrOVA0afbAolryvAPRdCcYVGX2wqmIDZx-EBoKgYE4IRi4xPN6HNfHTVf96Q/s320/agence+ter+and+team+farmers+market+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZFmTkAPgUDZuJ67P5i9_vjnlVdDyMYo3XYJ9Gr_Quzhzuq0cZGfb7s3AKsEyiyI96zxmdHkxPRws3t-3zY4szJsODdlG0uH09w1CjKCMjC5fB_fIymEmDQkFwsljrRaOSr_ZThpdvms/s1600/agence+ter+and+team+farmers+patchy+grass+Biltmore+vista+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZFmTkAPgUDZuJ67P5i9_vjnlVdDyMYo3XYJ9Gr_Quzhzuq0cZGfb7s3AKsEyiyI96zxmdHkxPRws3t-3zY4szJsODdlG0uH09w1CjKCMjC5fB_fIymEmDQkFwsljrRaOSr_ZThpdvms/s320/agence+ter+and+team+farmers+patchy+grass+Biltmore+vista+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxS63UKFf5gxFNpuHpaxySW5C3GVoBA1ZeEAcSfj6GCjXIgzguNCuPSlQgPFoeyPVyPrqHy7i8gDh8nYZavs9yyFSx500O3rx2ie-OutjdEi9SO4r2is8OX6TJqVhqMWYGfKaN8Wee3s/s1600/agence+ter+and+team+movie+lawn+1.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxS63UKFf5gxFNpuHpaxySW5C3GVoBA1ZeEAcSfj6GCjXIgzguNCuPSlQgPFoeyPVyPrqHy7i8gDh8nYZavs9yyFSx500O3rx2ie-OutjdEi9SO4r2is8OX6TJqVhqMWYGfKaN8Wee3s/s1600/agence+ter+and+team+movie+lawn+1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxS63UKFf5gxFNpuHpaxySW5C3GVoBA1ZeEAcSfj6GCjXIgzguNCuPSlQgPFoeyPVyPrqHy7i8gDh8nYZavs9yyFSx500O3rx2ie-OutjdEi9SO4r2is8OX6TJqVhqMWYGfKaN8Wee3s/s320/agence+ter+and+team+movie+lawn+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />esotourichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511561924050376118noreply@blogger.com3