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Griffith Park

Public park in Los Angeles, California

Griffith Park

Summary

Public park in Los Angeles, California

FieldValue
photoFile:Ferndell griffith park.jpg
photo_captionFerndell bridge, Griffith Park
nameGriffith Park
typeUrban park
locationRanging from Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California in the south to the San Fernando Valley in the north
coords
area4310 acre
created
operatorLos Angeles Department of Recreation & Parks
visitation_num10 million
statusOpen all year
parkingSee below
website
embedded

Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, ranging from the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California to the San Fernando Valley. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the American West, the Griffith Observatory, and the Hollywood Sign. Due to its appearance in many films, the park is among the most famous municipal parks in North America.

It has been compared to Central Park in New York City and Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, but it is much larger, less tamed, and more rugged than either of those parks.Multiple sources:

  • The Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Commission adopted the characterization of the park as an "urban wilderness" on January 8, 2014. The park covers 4310 acre of land, making it "the largest municipal park with urban wilderness area in the United States." By another account, it is the largest wilderness park in the center of any major city worldwide.

History

Early history

Griffith Park was within the territory of the Tongva. The Tongva placename Mocovenga has been associated with the area just southwest of the Ferndell area of the park. Ferndell was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 112 in 1973.

Griffith donation

San Quentin]] prison register

After a career speculating in mining, Griffith J. Griffith purchased Rancho Los Feliz (near the Los Angeles River) in 1882 and later leased some land to investors for an ostrich farm there. Ostrich feathers were commonly used in making women's hats in the late 19th century.

However, Griffith's primary purpose was 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 and his wife, Christina, donated 3015 acre to the city of Los Angeles on December 16, 1896. It came with instructions: "Public parks are a safety valve of great cities...and should be accessible and attractive, where neither race, creed nor color should be excluded."

Griffith was tried and convicted of shooting his wife in the face and severely wounding her in a 1903 Santa Monica incident. When released from prison, he funded the construction of an amphitheater and observatory in the park. As his reputation was tainted by his crime, some objected but the city eventually accepted his money. An earlier plan approved by Griffith to build a funicular to the highest peak in the park never materialized.

1898}}–1910

Griffith Aviation Park

In 1912, Griffith designated 180 acres (73 ha) of the park, at its northeast corner along the Los Angeles River, for the Griffith Aviation Park, and under the management of his son, Van, an early aviator. Other aviation pioneers such as Glenn L. Martin, Bill Boeing, Donald Douglas and Silas Christofferson used it; afterwards the aerodrome was passed to the National Guard Air Service. Air operations continued on a 2000 ft-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.

Expansion

Girls eating in the [[mess hall]] of Griffith Park Girls' Camp, c. 1920

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, called 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.

In December, 1944 the Sherman Company donated 444 acres of Hollywoodland open space to Griffith Park. This large, passive, eco-sensitive property borders the Lake Hollywood reservoir (west), the former Hollywoodland sign (north), and Bronson Canyon (east) where it connects into the original Griffith donation. The Hollywoodland residential community is surrounded by this land.

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 fishermen 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.

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.

Protest

On 17 March 1968, in Los Angeles, to protest entrapment and harassment by the Los Angeles Police Department, two drag queens known as "The Princess" and "The Duchess" held a St. Patrick's Day party at Griffith Park, a popular cruising spot and a frequent target of police activity. More than 200 gay men socialized through the day.

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 in the northern part of the current park. 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 acre.

On May 12, 1961, a wildfire on the south side of the park burned 814 acre. It also destroyed eight homes and damaged nine more, chiefly in the Beachwood Canyon area.

Another fire occurred in the Toyon Canyon area. Repelled by the ugliness of the devastated area, Amir Dialameh replanted a portion of it himself by hand. Over the course of more than 30 years he tended the garden he built there, with the help of occasional volunteers. Amir's Garden is featured in Visiting... with Huell Howser episode 1306.

On May 8, 2007, a major wildfire burned more than 817 acre, 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 such 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. It was the third fire of the year. 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.

Addition of Cahuenga Peak

100 acres around Cahuenga Peak were purchased with funds from a broad spectrum of donors, in addition to $1.7 million from the city,{{cite news | access-date = 3 June 2010 | archive-date = March 14, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160314085507/http://bhcourier.com/hugh-hefner-saves-the-hollywood-sign/ | url-status = dead

Attractions

|fullscreen-option=1 |auto-caption=1 |shape-color1=#552583 |shape-outline1=#fdb927 |mark-size1=15 |mark-coord1 = |mark-title1 = Autry Museum of the American West |mark-coord2 = |mark-title2 = Bronson Canyon |mark-coord3 = |mark-title3 = Greek Theatre |mark-coord4 = |mark-title4 = Griffith Observatory |mark-coord5 = |mark-title5 = Hollywood Sign |mark-coord6 = |mark-title6 = Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum |mark-coord7 = |mark-title7 = Los Angeles Zoo |mark-coord8 = |mark-title8 = Travel Town Museum

  • Autry Museum of the American West
  • Bronson Canyon
  • Greek Theatre (Los Angeles)
  • Griffith Observatory
  • La Kretz Bridge
  • Griffith Park & Southern Railroad
  • Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round
  • Griffith Park Zoo - closed in 1966 and now used as a hiking and picnicking area
  • Heritage tree: a pine tree in memory of Beatle George Harrison was planted in 2004 near the observatory. It died after a beetle infestation, and as of 2014, plans have been made to replace it.
  • 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. 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.
  • Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum
  • Los Angeles Zoo
  • Travel Town Museum

A statue of a standing bear, created in 1976 by Noack Foundry based on the design of German sculptor Renée Sintenis originally created in 1932, is located in the park. Its plaque reads "To the people of the United States of America in gratitude for their aid, friendship and protection. Presented to our sister city, Los Angeles by the people of free Berlin". This is the same bear as that used to create the Golden Bear awards for the Berlin International Film Festival each year.

Other activities

Equestrian use of utility roads

Much of the park comprises wild, rugged natural areas with hiking and equestrian trails, and this terrain separates the park into many areas or "pockets" of activities. Within the various areas are concessions, golf courses, picnic grounds, train rides, and tennis courts. In 2014, two baseball fields were proposed on the east side of Griffith Park that would remove 44 trees and replace 4 acre of picnic area, 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", a living artifact of Los Angeles history.

After its closure in 1966, the grounds of the Griffith Park Zoo were transformed into a recreation area. Some of the former animal enclosures were left in place, and picnic tables were installed.

The annual Bell-Jeff Invitational cross country race has been held in the park on the last Saturday in September since 1973.

After 74 years in operation, the Griffith Park Pony Rides closed on December 21, 2022.

Hiking

View from the balcony at [[Griffith Observatory]] on [[Mount Lee]] and [[Cahuenga Peak]] with Wisdom tree visible to the West of the [[Hollywood sign

Griffith Park is a popular hiking area. Orientation maps are located at the entrance to the parking lot near Griffith Observatory. A service road leads from the observatory to numerous hiking routs on and around Mount Lee; however, the immediate area where the Hollywood Sign is located is closed to the public since the area is home to the main communication tower for the City of Los Angeles. Hiking up to Wisdom tree on Cahuenga Peak from the South-western slopes of Mount Lee is accessible. Visitors are expected to comply with safety requirements, and must be prepared and equipped adequately.

The Mount Lee Drive approach to the Mount Lee summit.

Trails leading to the Hollywood Sign can be accessed from several official Griffith Park entrances. These include the Mt. Hollywood Trail, which can be accessed from the Griffith Observatory parking lot off Vermont Canyon Road or from Vermont Canyon Road just past the Greek Theater, the Bronson Canyon / Brush Canyon Trail (3200 Canyon Drive, Los Angeles, CA), and a number of trailheads that begin near the Griffith Park Visitors Center off Crystal Springs Drive in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles (free trail maps are available at the Visitors Center). A once-popular trailhead originating at the top of Beachwood Drive was closed by court order in April 2017.

Mount Lee

Mount Lee's hiking trails and fire roads are part of Griffith Park; as such it's easy to get lost and be redirected. Maps of the trails and the land around the hills should be studied before attempting to hike the area for the first time.

Wildlife

An adult mountain lion, named P-22, inhabited the park from 2012 to 2022. An image of the cougar was captured on an automatic camera. P-22 is likely not the first mountain lion to have taken up residence in Griffith Park, although the duration of his stay was remarkably long. A mountain lion's body was found in Griffith Park sometime in 1996 or 1997, after being hit by a vehicle. Another mountain lion was sighted several times in Griffith Park in 2004 and rangers found evidence (including deer remains) to support its presence there.

An urban ecologist monitors wildlife within the park. The ecologist has also been conducting a raptor study in the communities surrounding the park through volunteers since 2017. Permanent signs on the Griffith Park Observatory deck warn of rattlesnakes in the surrounding area.

Urban coyotes abound in Griffith Park and are generally active at night. Park visitors report frequent sightings during the day and have had their dogs attacked by coyotes. Visitors are strongly discouraged from feeding Griffith Park coyotes including near "the base of Fern Canyon, where up to eight coyotes per day are present more or less continuously."

The newly created habitat of a Miyawaki forest near the Bette Davis Picnic Area has attracted Western toads from the Los Angeles River.

Geology

Much of the exposed rock in Griffith Park is marine or non-marine sedimentary rock of Neogene and Quaternary formations, including the Lower, Middle and Upper Topanga, as well as the Monterey and Fernando formations. Both inclined bedding and fossil-bearing strata are common. Also present is late Miocene intrusive rock, generally strongly weathered and easily cleaved, as well as some dikes and purple and gray andesitic extrusive rock bodies. Faulting as well as clear contacts between rock bodies are also common.

Climate

|Jan record high F = 91 |Feb record high F = 92 |Mar record high F = 92 |Apr record high F = 105 |May record high F = 109 |Jun record high F = 107 |Jul record high F = 113 |Aug record high F = 110 |Sep record high F = 112 |Oct record high F = 106 |Nov record high F = 100 |Dec record high F = 91 |year record high F= 113 |Jan record low F = 27 |Feb record low F = 30 |Mar record low F = 32 |Apr record low F = 37 |May record low F = 39 |Jun record low F = 39 |Jul record low F = 46 |Aug record low F = 46 |Sep record low F = 44 |Oct record low F = 40 |Nov record low F = 31 |Dec record low F = 25 |year record low F = 25

Notes

References

References

  1. Schreiner, C.. (2020). "Discovering Griffith Park: A Local's Guide". Mountaineers Books.
  2. "Griffith Park's Vision Plan".
  3. "Griffith Park".
  4. Llanos, Miguel. (2025). "Enlightened Egomaniac: The Life, Times & Crime of Griffith Jenkins Griffith".
  5. Beherec, Marc. (2024). "Reencountering Mocovenga: A Gabrielino Place Misremembered.".
  6. [http://www.ci.la.ca.us/rap/dos/parks/griffithPK/gp_narrative.htm Griffith Park] {{webarchive. link. (January 15, 2010)
  7. (17 December 1896). "Gift To Los Angeles: Capitalist G. J. Griffith Donates as a Christmas Present a Magnificent Park Site.". Los Angeles Herald.
  8. Rasmussen, Cecilia. (1998). "L.A. Unconventional: The Men and Women Who Did L.A. Their Way". Los Angeles Times.
  9. Llanos, Miguel. (2025). "Enlightened Egomaniac".
  10. Llanos, Miguel. (2025). "Enlightened Egomaniac".
  11. Llanos, Miguel. (2025). "Enlightened Egomaniac".
  12. (1939-11-10). "Extension of Guard Airfield at Griffith Park Held Illegal". The Los Angeles Times.
  13. Los Angeles City Archives, Piper Tech, Minutes of Meeting of Board of Playground and Recreation Commissioners, Monday, December 18, 1944
  14. Los Angeles City Ordinance 90638
  15. Quitclaim deed, Sherman Company, City of Los Angeles 2049 (Sherman Library and Gardens)
  16. Campa, Andrew J.. (2023-04-28). "Griffith Park's little-known history as a prison camp for Japanese, German, Italian immigrants".
  17. Masumoto, Marie. [http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Griffith%20Park%20%28detention%20facility%29/ "Griffith Park"] ''Densho Encyclopedia''. Retrieved 13 Jun 2014.
  18. Witt, Lynn, Sherry Thomas and Eric Marcus (eds.) (1995). ''Out in All Directions: The Almanac of Gay and Lesbian America'', p. 210. New York, Warner Books. {{ISBN. 0-446-67237-8.
  19. [http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/fire_of_'331.html "The Fire of '33"] {{Webarchive. link. (December 2, 2019 , ''Glendale News-Press'', October 1–4, 1993. Accessed May 8, 2007.)
  20. [http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/610512_BeachwoodCanyonFire/051261_BeachwoodCanyon.htm A Holocaust Strikes the Hollywood Hills] {{webarchive. link. (August 12, 2007, Otto Firgens, Los Angeles City Fire Department)
  21. "Amir's Garden - Since 1971". Amirsgarden.org.
  22. (October 16, 2005). "Amir's Garden- Visiting (1306) – Huell Howser Archives at Chapman University".
  23. [http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fire11may11,0,3633158.story?coll=la-home-center "City to repair fire damage in Griffith Park"] Ashraf Khalil, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' May 11, 2007
  24. link. (May 10, 2007 , [[KNBC]].com, 11:27 pm PDT May 8, 2007)
  25. [http://laist.com/2010/06/18/its_official_griffith_park_grows_by.php It's Official: Griffith Park Grows by More than 100 Acres with Addition of Cahuenga Peak] {{webarchive. link. (May 10, 2012 . LAist (June 18, 2010). Retrieved on August 25, 2013.)
  26. "Griffith Park".
  27. Tremaine, Julie. (2020-10-14). "The story behind the California attraction that inspired Disneyland". [[SFGate]].
  28. (July 21, 2014). "George Harrison Memorial Tree killed ... by beetles; replanting due". Los Angeles Times.
  29. (February 20, 2015). "George Harrison tree -- killed by beetles -- to be replanted Feb. 25". Los Angeles Times.
  30. Bob Pool. (8 October 2013). "Discontent brewing under the Hollywood sign". Los Angeles Times.
  31. Bob Pool. (9 October 2013). "Hollywood sign tourists, sightseers annoy local residents". Los Angeles Times.
  32. (21 November 2014). "Why People Keep Trying to Erase the Hollywood Sign From Google Maps". [[Gizmodo]].
  33. "Renee Sintenis, Standing Bear, Los Angeles".
  34. François, Emmanuelle. (2 March 2018). "The woman behind the Bär".
  35. Sahagun, Louis. (September 12, 2014). "Plans to add baseball fields to Griffith Park may draw legal challenge". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  36. (September 30, 1989). "Big Field Expected for Bell-Jeff Invitational". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  37. "Griffith Park Pony Rides Historical Marker".
  38. Scauzillo, Steve. (2022-12-22). "End of era: Children take last pony rides as city closes Griffith Park favorite".
  39. Scauzillo, Steve. (2023-01-08). "Historic structures at Griffith Park pony ride may hamper city's plans". Daily News.
  40. Rode, Erin. (April 23, 2025). "The tree near LA's Hollywood sign that Hugh Hefner spent $1M to save". SFGATE.
  41. Lopez, Steve. (2022-11-10). "A hike to L.A.'s Wisdom Tree calms post-election nerves. And the view is perfect".
  42. (2015-03-31). "The Easy Hollywood Sign Hike (Directions & Parking)".
  43. hollywoodsign.org
  44. (March 22, 2018). "Griffith Park groups lose legal battle over pathway to see Hollywood sign". Los Angeles Times.
  45. "Griffith Park Trail Map".
  46. Steve Winter, ''Ghost Cats'', [[National Geographic (magazine). National Geographic]], December 2013.
  47. Keefe, Alexa (November 14, 2013) [https://web.archive.org/web/20131114222015/http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2013/11/14/a-cougar-ready-for-his-closeup/ ''A Cougar Ready for His Closeup''] ''[[National Geographic (magazine). National Geographic]]''
  48. (April 19, 2015). "LA's Mountain Lion Is A Solitary Cat With A Knack For Travel". [[NPR]].
  49. Nijhuis, Michelle. (April 20, 2015). "The Mountain Lions of Los Angeles".
  50. (April 29, 2004). "A Mountain Lion Far From Home". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  51. Lovett, Ian. (2011-09-14). "Baying at the Bard, Appropriately and Otherwise". The New York Times.
  52. Kim, Dakota. (2023-03-02). "Go bird watching with an urban ecologist and learn about L.A.'s predators of the sky". Los Angeles Times.
  53. Hicks, Reva. (May 23, 2012). "Rattlesnake Warning: They're Shy, but Dangerous". NBC Southern California.
  54. (2022-01-26). "Actor Travis Van Winkle warns hikers after his dog was attacked by coyotes at Griffith Park".
  55. Carey, Matthew. (2017-06-18). "LA park rangers warn visitors: Stop feeding the coyotes!".
  56. Buckley, Cara. (2023-08-24). "Tiny Forests With Big Benefits". The New York Times.
  57. Wagner, Tara Lynn. (2021-10-25). "In the face of a huge climate crisis, can micro forests be the answer?".
  58. Helman, Daniel. (2012). "Public Geology at Griffith Park in Los Angeles: A Sample Teachers' Guide". Electronic Green Journal.
  59. "Griffith Park, CA Monthly Weather".
  60. "Zipcode 90027".
  61. Rode, Erin. (2024-01-26). "There's a secret mystery forest in the middle of this big city park".
  62. (December 15, 2011). "Top Film Locations for 2011". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  63. Palm, Iman. (2025-08-26). "City of L.A. approves $1M purchase of carousel that inspired Disneyland".
  64. (January 8, 2014). "A Vision for Griffith Park". City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.
  65. (October 30, 2008). "Historic-Cultural Monument Application for the Griffith Park". Cultural Heritage Commission.
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