The Pershing Square Station on Metro's B and D Lines is headed for a new name. Metro's Board of Directors voted unanimously to rename the downtown Los Angeles stop after Bridget “Biddy” Mason, a formerly enslaved woman who became a prominent landowner, entrepreneur and philanthropist in the city.
The board's action, reported by MyNewsLA.com, directs Metro to update station signage, maps, geographic information data and other wayfinding materials to reflect the new name. Before the vote, Esotouric described a motion proposing the name Biddy Mason Station for the stop serving the B and D Lines beneath downtown LA. The motion was introduced by Metro Board Chair and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and joined by Directors Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker, Holly Mitchell, James Butts and Hilda Solis, per the same account.
Metro's motion also calls for the agency to notify the city of Los Angeles, nearby businesses, community organizations and other stakeholders before the official rollout, and to run a public-awareness campaign through social media, its website and other channels. The motion was co-authored by Metro Board members Dupont-Walker, Mitchell, Solis and Butts, the MyNewsLA report notes. Mitchell serves as a Los Angeles County supervisor, Solis also serves as a county supervisor, and Butts serves as mayor of Inglewood.
Who Was Biddy Mason
Mason was born into slavery and was forced to travel from the South to California with her enslavers before she successfully petitioned a Los Angeles court for her freedom, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. She went on to work as a nurse and midwife, became one of the first Black women to own property in Los Angeles, and accumulated substantial wealth through real estate investments, the paper reports.
In 1866, Mason purchased a nearly one-acre site between present-day Broadway and Spring Street, between Third and Fourth streets, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy. That same stretch of downtown today holds Biddy Mason Memorial Park, a memorial honoring her located between Broadway and Spring streets and Third and Fourth streets. Mason's family has said the memorial park can be difficult to find because it sits next to a parking lot.
Bass said Mason overcame enslavement to become a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist who helped shape Los Angeles history, and that renaming the station recognizes her contributions and makes her legacy visible to Metro riders and visitors. Per Bass, Mason co-founded Los Angeles's first African Methodist Episcopal church and supported generations of Angelenos in need. Mitchell said Mason owned land parcels in what is now downtown Los Angeles, a history Mitchell described as sometimes overlooked, adding that John Pershing did not own land in downtown Los Angeles while Mason did. Dupont-Walker said the renaming honors Mason's role in founding the African Methodist Episcopal church in Southern California and keeps her story visible in public spaces.
Pershing's Namesake and the Pushback
The square traces back to 1866, when it was dedicated as La Plaza Abaja by Mayor Cristóbal Aguilar, before it was renamed Pershing Square in 1918 in honor of Gen. John J. Pershing, who commanded U.S. forces in Europe during World War I, according to the Los Angeles Public Library. Today the square sits at 532 S. Olive St. in downtown Los Angeles.
Not everyone has welcomed the change. Critics argued that removing the Pershing name would diminish recognition of military veterans and their contributions, according to MyNewsLA's report on the Metro station renaming. Todd Fine opposed the name change and said renaming the park unnecessarily would dishonor Pershing's legacy; Fine also warned that actions perceived as attacks on historical symbols could worsen concern about American democracy. City officials have described the renaming as a symbolic recognition of Mason's contributions to Los Angeles.
A Separate Park Vote, and a Lingering Discrepancy
The Metro board's station vote follows a separate action by the Los Angeles City Council, which approved renaming Pershing Square itself to Biddy Mason Park in September in an 11-0 vote, according to MyNewsLA. Esotouric reported on October 21 that the park was still called Pershing Square.
The push to honor Mason beyond the park and station dates back further. Kevin de León began efforts to honor Mason in 2022 after meeting her fourth-great-granddaughters, Cheryl and Robynn Cox, at a downtown Los Angeles tribute wall; the Cox sisters urged him to pursue additional recognition of their ancestor, per MyNewsLA. De León went on to secure City Council approval to designate a stretch of Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles as the Biddy Mason Legacy Corridor, though he later lost his 2024 re-election bid to Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado.
How Metro Has Handled Renamings Before
Metro's Property Naming Policy calls for input from cities, communities and stakeholders, Esotouric notes, and the agency has previously taken a methodical approach to similar changes. Before naming the Beverly Dr station in 2025, the report states that Metro spent more than two years on outreach, surveys and committee review.
Metro has renamed stations before for similarly significant figures. The agency previously renamed the Red Line terminus as the North Hollywood/Zev Yaroslavsky station and a Gold Line stop as the East Los Angeles Civic Center/Gloria Molina station, according to the Los Angeles Times. That same report notes the board earlier renamed three stations altogether, including one honoring Ethel Bradley, and that Metro staff had estimated changing signage would cost between $5,000 and $8,100 per station, not counting system-wide map and brochure updates.
