Wave Wire Services
LOS ANGELES — The City Council has finalized a name change for downtown’s Pershing Square in honor of Bridget “Biddy” Mason, a formerly enslaved woman who became a prominent Los Angeles landowner, entrepreneur and philanthropist.
On an 11-0 vote Sept. 4, the council approved a proposal to rename Pershing Square to Biddy Mason Park. Located at 532 South Olive St., Pershing Square was originally dedicated in 1866 by then-Mayor Cristóbal Aguilar as La Plaza Abaja.
It was renamed in 1918 in honor of Gen. John Joseph Pershing, who commanded U.S. forces in Europe during World War I.
Council members Imelda Padilla, Traci Park, Katy Yaroslavsky and Marqueece Harris-Dawson were absent during the vote.
“When we talk about the Angeleno spirit, resilience, hope and a refusal to let injustice define what’s possible for us, there may be no better example of that than Biddy Mason,” said Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, who revived the proposal to rename Pershing Square two years after her predecessor Kevin de León sought to do so.
Before losing his re-election bid to Jurado in 2024, de León secured City Council approval to designate a stretch of Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles as the Biddy Mason Legacy Corridor.
City officials have described the proposed renaming of Pershing Square as a symbolic recognition of Mason’s contributions to Los Angeles. Mason was born into slavery and forced to walk from Georgia to California with her enslavers. She later successfully petitioned a Los Angeles court for her freedom.
She became a nurse, midwife and one of the first Black women to own property in Los Angeles, eventually accumulating substantial wealth through real estate investments. Mason was also known for her philanthropy and support of the city’s Black community.
De León began efforts to honor Mason in 2022 following a wreath-laying ceremony. At a tribute wall in downtown Los Angeles, he met sisters Cheryl and Robynn Cox, Mason’s fourth-great-granddaughters, who urged him to pursue additional recognition of their ancestor.
The city already has a memorial to Mason at Biddy Mason Memorial Park between Broadway and Spring streets. Her family has said the site can be difficult to find because of its location next to a parking lot.
According to the Los Angeles Conservancy, Mason purchased a nearly 1-acre property in 1866 between what are now Broadway and Spring Street and Third and Fourth streets, where the mini-park is located.
“As Pershing Square enters a new chapter, one of downtown’s most visible civic spaces should reflect more fully the people who built this city,” Jurado said. “General Pershing never set foot into the city of L.A., and that was the sixth renaming of the square. I think it’s very fitting to name this central square after someone who is so central to downtown and through all of L.A.
“This decision to rename one of the city’s most iconic public spaces isn’t just to honor history; it’s a reminder that progress happens because people organize, advocate and push up to live up to our values,” Jurado added. “Just as Biddy Mason helped build a more compassionate and connected L.A., each of us has a responsibility to continue that work.”
Councilwoman Heather Hutt thanked Jurado for her efforts, emphasizing that it’s important to acknowledge the contributions of a Black woman who arrived in Los Angeles as a slave and got her freedom. Hutt described Mason as the “epitome of resilience.”
There were more than 100 written comments in support of the proposal to rename Pershing Square. Rev. Timothy Tyler, pastor of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles and Jackie Broxton, president and CEO of the Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation, were among a group of supporters who gave public comments and urged the City Council to advance the proposal.
Tom Grode, a resident of the city, had previously submitted a written comment criticizing the proposal. Grode agreed with other critics that a name change should be hashed out in an open forum with residents, historians and other stakeholders.
“Rather than looking at a permanent name change from Pershing Square to Biddy Mason Park, look at a strategic temporary name change linked to the upcoming Olympics,” Grode wrote in his comment. “Veterans groups should be at the table from the outset to help figure out the specifics of a temporary name change as Olympics-related pop up activation.”
Other critics argued renaming Pershing Square would only serve to erase the history of veterans and their contributions to the nation.
