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GRIFFITH PARK
Now a Landmark
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| Courtesy Nerys Jones |
On January 27, 2009, the City of Los Angeles' City Council unanimously voted in support of designating Griffith Park in its entirety as Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM) #942, adopting the recommendation of the city's Planning and Land Use Management Committee (PLUM) and Cultural Heritage Commission.
To allay concerns over how to manage the park's vast array of historic resources,
the city's Office of Historic Resources will work with the Department of Recreation and Parks to develop a maintenance plan that identifies all elements to be protected under the HCM designation. Likewise, PLUM agreed to exempt pending projects from additional review by the Cultural Heritage Commission, including the proposed Autry Museum expansion project.
About
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Courtesy A.C. Thamer |
The largest interurban wilderness park in the United States, Griffith Park is a Los Angeles icon, a highly significant cultural landscape, and a vital resource for Angelenos from all walks of life. It dates from 1896, when Colonel Griffith J. Griffith and his wife Mary Agnes Christine (Tina) donated over 3,000 acres to the City of Los Angeles, “to be used as a public park for purposes of recreation, health and pleasure, for the use and benefit of the inhabitants of the said City of Los Angeles, forever."
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Courtesy Raphael D. Mazor |
Griffith Park has served these purposes ever since, becoming an integral part of the lives of generations of Angelenos. It is unique, even at a national level, for possessing a large-scale, mostly untouched landscape in the center of an urban metropolis. As a cultural landscape, which is broadly defined as a natural environment affected by human actions, Griffith Park is more than just its individual buildings, hiking trails, or recreational areas. It is the heart and soul of this city and a reminder of what was once here on an even larger scale.
Landmark Status
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Courtesy Beth Mateski |
In May, the Griffith Family Trust nominated Griffith Park in its entirety as an HCM to ensure that future developments are reviewed through a transparent public process and are compatible with the historic character of the park. The nomination was prompted by a master plan drafted a few years ago for the park that proposed several new commercial construction projects, including a hotel and an aerial tram; a new master plan is now being prepared.
Seeking to uphold Colonel Griffith’s original intent, the HCM nomination calls out a wide array of historic and natural elements for protection. It identifies thirty-six historically sensitive resources and areas, including buildings, trails, and natural features.
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| Courtesy Bill Cunningham |
It also includes a broad swath of wilderness area and park-wide objects such as retaining walls, culverts (enclosures for flowing water), and drinking fountains designed in the so-called Park Style seen in national parks of the era. These elements date to the 1930s Depression-era federal work programs, and the style continued to be used by the City’s Department of Recreation and Parks into the 1950s.
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Courtesy Beth Mateski |
Approval of the nomination by the City Council, brings Griffith Park the same status already given to city parks such as MacArthur Park and Echo Park. It will help protect the irreplaceable historical elements of the park—not only structures but also the invaluable open spaces that together create a cultural landscape unmatched anywhere in the U.S. Although it would not prevent further development outright, HCM designation will make sure that you and other citizens have the chance to voice your opinion on significant development proposals for the park.
Many thanks to Councilmember Tom LaBonge for his support of the nomination and to the community members who wrote letters and attended the hearings-- your efforts made a difference.
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