Pershing Square

On our list of the best activities in Los Angeles.

This downtown LA plaza dates to 1866, when the land was dedicated as La Plaza Abaja; it was renamed in 1918 to honor World War I general John Pershing. An 1,800-car garage went in beneath it in the 1950s, and the current layout, a Mayan-style open-air amphitheater, two playgrounds, a chess area, fountains and statues, dates to a 1994 rebuild by architect Ricardo Legorreta and landscape architect Laurie Olin. From late November through mid-January the square turns into the city's largest outdoor ice rink, run by Willy Bietak Productions with skate sessions on the hour. A free summer concert series takes over the same ground later in the year.