Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
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Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area ("Hahn Park") is a California state park located in Baldwin Hills, California, just south of the City of Los Angeles. The 319-acre[1] park is managed by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. As one of the largest urban parks in Los Angeles, some have called it "L.A.'s Central Park".
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[edit] Background
The Park is named after Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors member Kenneth Hahn (father of previous L.A. mayor Jim Hahn.
The area where the park is located was at one time inhabited by the Tongva aboriginal people. As Los Angeles quickly grew during the 20th century, only the park's rugged terrain protected it from being developed.
In 1932 the area was used as the site of the first Olympic Village[2] during the 10th Olympiad, which Los Angeles hosted. In 1984 Los Angeles again hosted the Olympic Games, drawing athletes from 140 nations. To serve as a continual reminder of the events, 140 trees have been planted together on the hills where the 1932 events took place. Each tree represents a nation that took part in the 1984 Olympics[3].
Between 1947 and 1951, the doomed Baldwin Hills Reservoir was built on the site. In 1963, the reservoir's dam collapsed disastrously, and the bowl of the reservoir is still quite evident today.
In the late 1940s, there were plans to build the aborted Laurel Canyon Freeway (SR-170) on a north-south path that would have dissected the park, where La Cienega Blvd. travels currently.
In the 1977, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn convinced Vice President Spiro Agnew to reuse the land for a park. Land acquired for the park includes former oil-drilling sites (some can still be seen), and territory near the Ballona Creek watershed that forms a partial wildlife passage out through Culver City to the sea.
[edit] Recreational uses
The Park offers several walking trails, and some of the best scenic vistas of Los Angeles. It is also an ideal place for a picnic, having 100 picnic tables in various parts of the park, as well as four playgrounds, a half basketball court, a fishing lake, two lighted baseball diamonds, a lit multi-purpose field, and a sand volleyball court. The lake is stocked monthly with trout or catfish, depending on the season[4].
[edit] In Media
The park has been as a filming location for several productions, including an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ("Under Your Spell").
[edit] Ecology
The park is home to gray foxes, raccoons, skunks, desert cottontails, possums, and the California quail, among other animals.
The Baldwin Hills area is also the nesting grounds of 41 species of birds[5], and the Los Angeles, Santa Monica Bay, and Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Society chapters offer monthly bird walks in Hahn Park.
[edit] Location
4100 South La Cienega Boulevard (Los Angeles, CA 90056) in Baldwin Hills. Latitude/Longitude: 34.0086 / -118.3644
The Park is somewhat difficult to access by pedestrians. The easiest way to enter is by car or bus, using the exit (ramp on right, follow signs) off La Cienega Blvd[6].
