First developed in 1966 as the 'Civic Center Mall' with plazas, fountains and a Court of Flags,[2][3] it is now a part of the larger redevelopment known as the Grand Avenue Project, with its first phase having opened in July 2012.

[7] First proposed as a park by landscape architect Charles Mulford Robinson in 1907 inspired by the City Beautiful movement, but was never developed.

The Los Angeles Music Center's contract to operate Grand Park is expected to run until mid-2017; in addition, it earns in rents and fees charged to concessionaires and others.

In 2014, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved funding of $1 million for an independent nonprofit group, the Grand Park Foundation.

[13] In 2012, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors allocated $3.3 million for the first year's operations, mainly to cover logistics such as security and maintenance, with $100,000 for programming.

[14] Events will be coordinated by the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County, which also oversees the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The inaugural event featured Bandaloop, a professed vertical dance company of aerialists, performing against the backdrop of Los Angeles City Hall.

[14] The Community Terrace features a large picnic table and lawn area for gatherings and viewing visuals projected on nearby wall of the Hall of Records.

The first event, which included food trucks, art installations, light shows, concert stages, drew an estimated 25,000 spectators.

[19] On August 30–31, 2014, Jay Z's Labor Day Made in America Festival was held in Grand Park featuring, Imagine Dragons, John Mayer, Kanye West, and many other performers.

[22] On September 22, 2019, Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a rally at the park that was attended by around 10,000 Armenian Americans.