RCH Studios recently completed a $41 million renovation of the public plaza that unifies the Music Center arts complex in Downtown Los Angeles. 

Flanked on either side by the Welton Becket-designed Mark Taper Forum and Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the plaza has been revamped with an eye toward universal design and passive recreation. 

For the project, RCH Studios has added a total of five new structures to the 53-year-old plaza, including a welcome center, a full-service restaurant, a wine bar, a coffee shop, and a series of accessible public restrooms. 

The space, designed as a multi-functional “plaza for all,” has been reconsidered by the architects as the Music Center's "fifth venue," joining the Ahmanson Theatre, located behind the Taper Forum building, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which sits across the street.

At the center of the space sits a joyful splash pad, while surrounding areas, formerly composed of a series of stepped terraces, have been raised and flattened out with some 31,500 pavers to achieve greater accessibility. Trees now dot the plaza, as well, while an iconic Jacques Lipchitz-designed sculpture titled Peace on Earth has been restored and re-installed at the western end of the space. A monumental staircase has also been added to the side of the plaza that fronts with Grand Avenue, the bustling spine that runs through the area connecting the Music Center with Grand Park, also designed by RCH Studios, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Broad Museum, and Central Library beyond.  

A Robert Graham-designed sculpture titled Dance Door has been re-positioned, as well, and is now located in a garden beside the coffee shop, while a pair of monumental black granite donor panels formerly situated along Grand Avenue have been moved to the welcome center and dining areas.

The plaza is now open to the public and ready for use as the Los Angeles summer drags into its final months.