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Each year PUBLIC ART IN PUBLIC PLACES reports the popularity of individual public artworks across the greater Los Angeles area refleted by number of visits.
These are the 10 most visited in 2024.
LOS ANGELES
LOS ANGELES
STILL L.A.'S MOST POPULAR, BY FAR -- Still at the top of the "10 Most Popular" since its 2008 installation, Chris Burden's array of vintage lampposts produces an especially mesmerizing effect as one walks among them. With scores of daily visitors, it is lighted and open 24/7 with security staff on hand due to its round-the-clock popularity. Featured by Google Arts & Culture.
EXTRAS: the nearby "big rock" Levitated Mass.
Best viewing time: sunset to duskLocation: Public Art "Urban Light", 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles (in front of LACMA)
At 2,754 feet long - that's about a half mile - it's hard to imagine a more impressive community and historic mural project in Los Angeles. Using the side of this flood control channel, it continues to be a work in progress since its 1977 beginnings, with more panels being added to extend the length to a full mile in time for the 2028 Olympics.
Best viewing time: daylight before 1 p.m.
Location: The Great Wall of Los Angeles, 12900 Oxford St., North Hollywood
L.A.'s ICONIC SYMBOL - Simon Rodia's 99-ft. towers are covered with "found objects" and surrounded by his whimsical mosaic and sculptural art, calling it "Nuestro Pueblo"/"Our Village."
Featured @ Google Arts & Culture.
EXTRAS: nearby Mama Watts sculpture and the Watts Towers Arts Center for guided tours.
Best viewing time: daytime Location: Watts Towers, 1765 E. 107th St, Watts, Los Angeles
These free-standing public art walls on the beach are continuously painted by the most talented graffiti artists in L.A., showcasing L.A.'s most original amateur art.
Best viewing time: daytimeLocation: Venice Public Art Walls, Beach at Ocean Front Walk at Winward Ave., Venice Beach, Los Angeles
FUNNY or SCARY? Jonathan Borofsky's 30-foot "Clown" has been freaking out folks along Main Street for three decades, and a 2014 restoration of the mechanical leg movement has added to the bizarre impression.
Best viewing time: daytimeLocation: Public Art "Ballerina Clown", 225 Rose Ave., Venice Beach, Los Angeles
At Fifth Street across from L. A. Central Library, this is by far the most enjoyable public art stair-step workout in L.A. The cascading river rock stream flows down from Robert Graham's Source Figure at Hope Place.
Best viewing time: daytimeLocation: Library Steps / Bunker Hill Steps, W. Fifth Street, Los Angeles
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
THE SECOND MOST VISITED: The artistic qualities of this Korean bell and pavilion are nothing short of stellar. The pavilion's brilliant colors and designs, traditional architecture, and mammoth cast bronze bell are delights for the eyes.
EXTRAS: sunshine, sea breeze, and first-rate view of Catalina Island on a clear day.
Best viewing time: daytimeLocation: Korean Friendship Bell Parking Lot, San Pedro
This unusual sculpture describes and directs a viewers' attention to hopefully experience "the green flash," the rare sunset phenomenon, from Mission Beach, San Diego.
EXTRAS: sunshine, sand, surf, and beach life and culture.
Best viewing time: minute before the sun vanishes over the horizon.
Location: Public Art "The Green Flash", 3200 Ocean Front Walk, MIssion Beach, San Diego
A famous "stealth" sculpture with a sense of humor, this piece by Ken Marshall evaded removal for years due to its popularity, and became bona fide when Pasadena officially, and wisely, adopted it in 2011.
Best viewing time: daytime & nighttimeLocation: Public Art "Fork in the Road", S. St. John Avenue, Pasadena
Honoring the highly decorated service of the World War II Navy cruiser USS San Diego and its crew, artists Eugene Daub and Louis T. Quaintance produced an especially moving tribute.
Best viewing time: daylight
Location: USS San Diego Memorial, 750 N. Harbor Drive, San Diego
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