L.A. Walks: MacArthur and Lafayette parks

A relief map chronicling Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur’s triumphant South Pacific campaign in World War II, in MacArthur Park.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

A magnolia tree provides shade in Lafayette Multipurpose Community Center, once known as Lafayette park.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

A family walks through a pedestrian tunnel, passing under Wilshire Boulevard, in MacArthur Park.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The Wilshire Royale Building on Wilshire Boulevard, west of South Park View Street near MacArthur Park.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The soccer field at MacArthur Park with downtown Los Angeles in the backgroiund,  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Jesus Dominguez kicks a soccer ball on the grounds of the Lafayette Multipurpose Community Center.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

First Congregational Church, on 6th Street, is reflected on the windows of the Los Angeles County Superior Court Building.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The Los Angeles Public Library’s Felipe de Neve Branch, on 6th Street at Lafayette park.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The library was built in 1929.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

View of the Westlake Theatre sign from MacArthur Park.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Detail of the Bryson Building on Wilshire Boulevard, west of South Park View Street.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The old Hayworth Theatre on Wilshire Boulevard west of South Park View Street, March 17, 2015.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The marquee on the old Hayworth Theatre.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The nearly new memorial to Salvadoran activist priest Oscar Romero, slain in 1980.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The Art Deco-inspired Park Plaza Hotel across from MacArthur Park.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Window at the entrance of the magnificent Park Plaza Hotel, on South Park View Street.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

A stop inside the Park Plaza Hotel reveals a painted arched ceiling in the lobby.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

A black-crowned night heron wades in the water at MacArthur Park.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

A pair of geese on the edge of the lake in MacArthur Park.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Evening falls on the lake at MacArthur Park with a view of downtown Los Angeles reflected on its surface.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)