Griffith Park

Griffith Park

Griffith J. Griffith statue at the front of Griffith Park
Type Urban park
Location Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California, California
Coordinates 34°8′N 118°18′W / 34.133°N 118.300°WCoordinates: 34°8′N 118°18′W / 34.133°N 118.300°W
Area 4,310 acres (1,740 ha)
Created 1896
Operated by Los Angeles Department of Recreation & Parks
Visitors 10 million
Status Open all year
Parking See below
Designated January 27, 2009
Reference no. 942

Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers 4,310 acres (1,740 ha) of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America.[1] It is the second-largest city park in California, after Mission Trails Preserve in San Diego, and the eleventh largest municipally owned park in the United States.[2] It has also been referred to as the Central Park of Los Angeles but is much larger, more untamed, and rugged than its New York City counterpart.

History

After successfully investing in mining, Colonel Griffith J. Griffith purchased Rancho Los Feliz (near the Los Angeles River) in 1882 and started an ostrich farm there. Although ostrich feathers were commonly used in making women's hats in the late-19th century, Griffith's purpose was primarily to lure residents of Los Angeles to his nearby property developments, which supposedly were haunted by the ghost of Antonio Feliz (a previous owner of the property). After the property rush peaked, Griffith donated 3,015 acres (1,220 ha) to the city of Los Angeles on December 16, 1896.[3]

Afterward Griffith was tried and convicted for shooting and severely wounding his wife in a 1903 incident.[4] When released from prison, he attempted to fund the construction of an amphitheater, observatory, planetarium, and a girls' camp and boys' camp in the park. His reputation in the city was tainted by his crime, however, so the city refused his money.

Los Angeles River at Griffith Park, ca.1898-1910

In 1912, Griffith designated 100 acres (40 ha) of the park, at its northeast corner along the Los Angeles River, be used to "do something to further aviation". The Griffith Park Aerodrome was the result. Aviation pioneers such as Glenn L. Martin and Silas Christoffersen used it, and the aerodrome passed to the National Guard Air Service. Air operations continued on a 2,000-foot (600 m)-long runway until 1939, when it was closed, partly due to danger from interference with the approaches to Grand Central Airport across the river in Glendale, and because the City Planning commission complained that a military airport violated the terms of Griffith's deed. The National Guard squadron moved to Van Nuys, and the Aerodrome was demolished, though the rotating beacon and its tower remained for many years. From 1946 until the mid-1950s, Rodger Young Village occupied the area which had formerly been the Aerodrome. Today that site is occupied by the Los Angeles Zoo parking lot, the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, soccer fields, and the interchange between the Golden State Freeway and the Ventura Freeway.

Girls eating in the mess hall of Griffith Park Girls' Camp, circa 1920

Film pioneer D.W. Griffith (no relation to Colonel Griffith) filmed the battle scenes for his epic Birth of a Nation in the park in 1915, as Lillian Gish detailed in her memoirs, The Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me. Over the years, a number of films were shot in the park. For example, Flareup (1969) starring Raquel Welch.

Colonel Griffith set up a trust fund for the improvements he envisioned, and after his death in 1919 the city began to build what Griffith had wanted. The amphitheater, the Greek Theatre, was completed in 1930, and Griffith Observatory was finished in 1935. Subsequent to Griffith's original gift further donations of land, city purchases, and the reversion of land from private to public have expanded the Park to its present size.

World War II

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Civilian Conservation Corps camp contained within Griffith Park was converted to a holding center for Japanese Americans arrested as "enemy aliens" before they were transferred to more permanent internment camps. The Griffith Park Detention Camp opened almost immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, taking in 35 Japanese immigrants suspected of fifth column activity because they lived and worked near military installations. These men, mostly fisherman from nearby Terminal Island, were transferred to an Immigration and Naturalization Service detention station after a brief stay, but Issei internees arrested in the days and weeks following the outbreak of the war arrived soon after to take their place. Up to 550 Japanese Americans were confined in Griffith Park from 1941 to 1942, all subsequently transferred to Fort Lincoln, Fort Missoula and other DOJ camps.[5]

On July 14, 1942, the detention camp became a POW Processing Center for German, Italian and Japanese prisoners of war, operating until August 3, 1943, when the prisoners were transferred elsewhere. The camp was changed to the Army Western Corps Photographic Center and Camouflage Experimental Laboratory until the end of the war.[5]

Fires

Aftermath of the 2007 fire. Both visible and infra-red wavelengths of light have been used to make this satellite image. Vegetation appears in various shades of green, while the burned areas appear charcoal.

Hired as part of a welfare project, 3,780 men were in the park clearing brush on October 3, 1933, when a fire broke out in the Mineral Wells area. Many of the workers volunteered or were ordered to fight the fire. In all, 29 men were killed and 150 were injured. Professional firefighters arrived and limited the blaze to 47 acres (19 ha).[6]

On May 12, 1961 a wildfire on the south side of the park burned 814 acres (329 ha). It also destroyed eight homes and damaged nine more, chiefly in the Beachwood Canyon area.[7]

On May 8, 2007 a major wildfire burned more than 817 acres (331 ha), destroying the bird sanctuary, Dante's View, and Captain's Roost, and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people. The fire came right up to one of the largest playgrounds in Los Angeles, Shane's Inspiration, and the Los Angeles Zoo, and threatened the Griffith Observatory, but left these areas intact. Several local organizations, including SaveGriffithPark.org, have been working since then with local officials to restore the park in a way that would benefit all.[8] It was the third fire of the year.[9] The city announced a $50 million plan to stabilize the burned slopes. The trees along Canyon Drive were allowed to grow back naturally, having been re-seeded by bird droppings.[8]

Addition of Cahuenga Peak

One hundred additional acres around Cahuenga Peak were purchased with funds from a broad spectrum of donors, in addition to $1.7 million from the city,[10] and added to the park in July 2010[11] bringing the park's total acreage to 4,310 acres (1,740 ha).

Attractions

Other activities

Much of the park is wild, rugged natural areas with hiking and mountain bike trails and this terrain separates the park into many areas or "pockets" of activities. Within the various areas are golf courses, pony and train rides, tennis courts, picnic grounds and concessions. In 2014, two baseball fields were proposed on the east side of Griffith Park that would replace four acres (1.6 ha) of picnic area and remove 44 trees. The ball fields would replace the largest picnic area in the park that is often used for large family gatherings, cultural fairs and festivals, reunions and other special occasions. The plan may be altered to spare a sycamore that has been designated by the city as a "heritage tree" as a living artifact of Los Angeles history.[12]

Because there are numerous trails, Griffith Park is known as one of the best hiking spots in Los Angeles with its views of downtown LA and the Hollywood Sign. Since Griffith Park Zoo's closure in 1966, it has become a popular hiking destination in the park. The abandoned animal enclosures were left alone with the bars removed and picnic tables were installed in some areas, making it an easily accessible hike to all skill levels.

Famous locations

Griffith Park was the busiest destination in Los Angeles for on-location filming in 2011, with 346 production days, according to a FilmL.A. survey. Projects included the TV shows Criminal Minds and The Closer.[13]

With its wide variety of scenes and close proximity to Hollywood and Burbank, many different production crews have found new ways and angles to film the same spots and make them look different. One would be hard pressed to find a spot in Griffith Park which has not been filmed or taped.

Griffith Observatory.
Mount Lee with the Hollywood Sign.

The Griffith Observatory, which sits atop the southern slope of Mount Hollywood, was featured prominently in the 1955 classic Rebel Without a Cause. A bronze bust of the film's star James Dean is on the grounds just outside the dome. Other movies filmed here include The Terminator (1984), Disney's The Rocketeer (1991), Stephen Sommer's 2004 film Van Helsing, The Majestic (2001), and Yes Man (2008). The area of the park around the Observatory also appears as a location in the role-playing video game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, which is set in Los Angeles.

Griffith Park has many other locations familiar to moviegoers. It was used as a location in the first two Back to the Future movies. In the first movie (released in 1985) it was used for Marty McFly's starting point when accelerating to 88 mph (142 km/h) in the film's climax, and in the second movie (released in 1989) it was used for the "River Road Tunnel" scene when Marty was trying to get the almanac back from Biff Tannen. The same tunnel was used as the entrance to Toontown in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). The park was also featured in the Robert Altman movie Short Cuts (1993).

A sampling of television shows filmed here includes the Nickelodeon show Salute Your Shorts and an episode of Remington Steele in which Laura Holt is trying to evade the police. The park was also the location for Adam Lambert's music video for his single, "If I Had You". Griffith Park and Griffith Observatory are significant in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Future's End" (originally aired November 6, 1996). The crew are thrown into the past and Griffith Observatory discovers Voyager. The tunnel was also used in the 1960s spy television series Mission: Impossible.

In John Rechy's novel City of Night and non-fiction book The Sexual Outlaw, Griffith Park is the scene of gay pick-ups and public sex as well as numerous gay bashings and violence from the LAPD in the 1960s and 1970s. It is the scene of similar activities in several novels by James Ellroy, and in the movie L.A. Plays Itself.

Bronson Canyon, aka Bronson Caves, is a popular location for motion picture and television filming, especially of western and science fiction low-budget films, including Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). The site was also used as the location for the climactic scene in John Ford's classic 1956 western, The Searchers. The scene includes John Wayne cornering his niece, Debbie (Natalie Wood), in one of the caves with the apparent intent of killing her. He relents at the last moment, however and, in the film's most famous shot, picks her up in his arms and turns to carry her back home. Many fans of the film are startled by the revelation that this scene was actually filmed in urban Los Angeles, probably due to how well the shot is integrated into the rest of the picture's location scenery. The craggy site of an old quarry, a tunnel in this canyon was also used as the entrance to the Batcave in the opening sequence of the 1960s Batman television series, and in numerous other shows. The natural "cave" walls are preserved by the many layers of paint used to make them look like rock.

A pine tree in memory of Beatle George Harrison was planted in 2004 near the observatory. It died after a beetle infestation, and as at 2014 it is intended to replace it.[14][15]

The site of the Hollywood Sign on the southern side of Mount Lee is located on rough, steep terrain, and is encompassed by barriers to prevent unauthorized access. Local groups have campaigned to make tourist access to the sign difficult on grounds of safety, as the curving hillside roads in the area were not designed for so many cars and pedestrians.[16][17] The Hollywood Sign Trust convinced Google and other mapping services to stop providing directions to the location of the sign, instead directing visitors to two viewing platforms, Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood and Highland Center. Another, less remote area from which the sign can be viewed is Lake Hollywood Park on Canyon Lake Drive.[18]

Park hours and parking

Rugged hiking trail in Griffith Park

The park is open 5:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. All hiking trails and mountain roads close at sunset. Ample free parking is available on the south side off of Vermont Canyon Road inside the park; cars can be left parked at the parking lot next to the Greek Theater until 10:30 p.m., even though the park gates close to entering cars at sunset.[1]

Wildlife

One adult mountain lion is known to inhabit the park as of 2013.[19] An image of the cougar was captured on an automatic camera.[20][21][22]

Gallery

See also

Similar large municipal parks elsewhere

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Griffith Park
  2. ↑ "The 150 Largest City Parks" (PDF). The Trust for Public Land.
  3. ↑ Griffith Park
  4. ↑ "Death Summons Noble Woman", Los Angeles Sunday Times, November 13, 1904
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Masumoto, Marie. "Griffith Park" Densho Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13 Jun 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Fire of '33", Glendale News-Press, October 1–4, 1993. Accessed May 8, 2007.
  7. ↑ A Holocaust Strikes the Hollywood Hills, Otto Firgens, Los Angeles City Fire Department
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "City to repair fire damage in Griffith Park" Ashraf Khalil, Los Angeles Times May 11, 2007
  9. ↑ "Fire Forces Griffith Park Evacuations", KNBC.com, 11:27 pm PDT May 8, 2007
  10. ↑ "Hugh Hefner Saves The Hollywood Sign". Beverly Hills Courier. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  11. ↑ It's Official: Griffith Park Grows by More than 100 Acres with Addition of Cahuenga Peak. LAist (June 18, 2010). Retrieved on August 25, 2013.
  12. ↑ Sahagun, Louis (September 12, 2014) "Plans to add baseball fields to Griffith Park may draw legal challenge" Los Angeles Times
  13. ↑ "Top Film Locations for 2011". Los Angeles Times. December 15, 2011.
  14. ↑ Lewis, Randy (July 21, 2014). "George Harrison Memorial Tree killed ... by beetles; replanting due". Los Angeles Times.
  15. ↑ Lewis, Randy (February 20, 2015). "George Harrison tree -- killed by beetles -- to be replanted Feb. 25". Los Angeles Times.
  16. ↑ Bob Pool (8 October 2013). "Discontent brewing under the Hollywood sign". Los Angeles Times.
  17. ↑ Bob Pool (9 October 2013). "Hollywood sign tourists, sightseers annoy local residents". Los Angeles Times.
  18. ↑ Walker, Alissa (21 November 2014). "Why People Keep Trying to Erase the Hollywood Sign From Google Maps". Gizmodo. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  19. ↑ Steve Winter, Ghost Cats, National Geographic, December 2013.
  20. ↑ Keefe, Alexa (November 14, 2013) A Cougar Ready for His Closeup National Geographic
  21. ↑ "LA's Mountain Lion Is A Solitary Cat With A Knack For Travel". NPR. April 19, 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  22. ↑ Nijhuis, Michelle (April 20, 2015). "The Mountain Lions of Los Angeles". The New Yorker.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Griffith Park.
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