Griffith Park
Encyclopedia
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 4310 acres (1,744.2 ha) of land, making it one of the largest urban park
s in North America
. It is the second-largest city park in California, after Mission Trails Preserve in San Diego, and the tenth largest municipally owned park in the United States. It has also been referred to as the Central Park
of Los Angeles, but it is much larger and with a much more untamed, rugged character than its New York City counterpart.
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. After the property rush peaked, and supposedly spooked by the ghost of Antonio Feliz (a previous owner of the property) he donated 3015 acres (1,220.1 ha) to the city of Los Angeles on December 16, 1896.
Afterward Griffith was tried and convicted for shooting and severely wounding his wife in a 1903 incident. When released from prison, he attempted to fund the construction of an observatory
, planetarium
, amphitheater, 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.
In 1912, Griffith designated 100 acres (40.5 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. The aerodrome passed to the National Guard Air Service
. Air operations continued on a 2000 feet (609.6 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, but also 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
.
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.
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.
Hired as part of a welfare project, 3,780 men were in the park clearing brush on October 3, 1933, when fire broke out in the Mineral Wells area. Many of the workers volunteered or were ordered to fight the fire. Foremen with no knowledge of firefighting directed the effort, setting inappropriate backfires and sending hundreds of workers into a steep canyon. When the wind changed direction they were trapped. In all, 29 men were killed and 150 were injured. Professional firefighters arrived and limited the blaze to 47 acres (19 ha). Because of the disorganized nature of the employment, it took weeks to establish the exact death toll and identify the bodies. The Griffith Park fire remains the deadliest in Los Angeles history.
On May 12, 1961 a wildfire on the south side of the park burned 814 acres (329.4 ha). It also destroyed eight homes and damaged nine more, chiefly in the Beachwood Canyon area.
On May 8, 2007 a major wildfire burned more than 817 acres (330.6 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. It was the third fire of the year. The city announced a $50 million plan to stabilize the burned slopes.
, which was built to resemble a Greek amphitheater. Visitors can study the stars further north on Vermont Ave. at the newly renovated Griffith Observatory
and planetarium
where the trailhead to Mount Hollywood begins. In the distance, the Hollywood Sign
is located on the southern flank of Griffith Park's Mount Lee
.
The William Mulholland Memorial Fountain, which is dedicated to the engineer who built the first aqueduct that supplied water to the city, is located opposite the park entrance on Riverside Drive at Los Feliz. A miniature train and horse ride just up Riverside Drive. At Crystal Springs is the ranger station and visitor information, parking, picnic area, the location of the old zoo often used for filming and a merry-go-round. Further, through the golf course, the Los Angeles Zoo
, the Museum of the American West with ample parking between them and access to two freeways 5 & 134.
Curving west along Zoo Drive dotted with small picnic areas, nearly to Forest Lawn Drive, is an enclave where folks ride a miniature railroad operated by volunteers of the Los Angeles Live Steamers
11-3 on weekends or visit Walt's Barn
11-3 on 3rd Sundays. At Travel Town Museum
historic full sized railroad locomotive
s, passenger cars and streetcars
are the eye-catching portion of the collection highlighting transportation in Southern California which includes an exhibit hall, model train layout, picnic areas, a gift shop, and is encircled by the last of three miniature train rides in Griffith Park.
, athletic fields, along with several basketball
and tennis courts are on the grounds. The park also has a swimming pool which is open during the summer months.
The park is laced with many hiking and equestrian
trails within the Santa Monica mountain range far from neighboring residential districts. The local (Angeles) unit of the Sierra Club
has been leading free evening and weekend conditioning hikes in Griffith Park every week for almost 50 years.
A seasonal attraction during late November through December is the annual holiday light festival display sponsored by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
. Spectators can walk, cycle or drive their vehicles slowly through the dazzling displays.
The Griffith Observatory
sits atop the southern slope of Mount Hollywood. It 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
and The Rocketeer
. 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 it was used for Marty McFly's starting point when accelerating to 88 mi/h in the film's climax, and in the second movie 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
. The park was also featured in the Robert Altman
movie Short Cuts
. The Nickelodeon television show Salute Your Shorts
was filmed here. It is also featured in an episode of Remington Steele
where Laura Holt is trying to evade the police. It was the location for Adam Lambert
's music video for his single, "If I Had You". In John Rechy
's City of Night and 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 60s and 70s. It is the scene of similar activities in several novels by James Ellroy
. 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 1960's spy television series Mission: Impossible
.
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 craggy site of an old quarry, a tunnel in this canyon was used as the entrance to the Batcave
in the opening sequence of Batman
television series of the 1960s, and in numerous other shows. The natural "cave" walls are preserved by the many layers of paint used to make them 'look like rock.'
was added to the park in July 2010, bring the parks total acreage to 4310 acres (1,744.2 ha); and putting ahead of Eagle Creek Park
, Indianapolis
, Indiana, making it the 10th largest municipally owned park in the USA.
Prompted by the now rejected 2005 Griffith Park Master Plan Draft, a citizens movement emerged to advocate rejection of the plan, cooperating originally under the name "Save Griffith Park," and was incorporated in September 2010. The organization is active through a website, a quarterly newsletter, petition signings, and activism at Los Angeles City Council meetings.
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains are a Transverse Range in Southern California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States.-Geography:...
in the Los Feliz
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
Los Feliz, also Rancho Los Feliz is an affluent, hilly neighborhood in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, named after its land grantee José Vicente Feliz....
neighborhood of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The park covers 4310 acres (1,744.2 ha) of land, making it one of the largest urban park
Urban park
An urban park, is also known as a municipal park or a public park, public open space or municipal gardens , is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green space to residents of, and visitors to, the municipality...
s in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. It is the second-largest city park in California, after Mission Trails Preserve in San Diego, and the tenth largest municipally owned park in the United States. It has also been referred to as the Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
of Los Angeles, but it is much larger and with a much more untamed, rugged character than its New York City counterpart.
History
After successfully investing in mining, Colonel Griffith J. GriffithGriffith J. Griffith
Griffith Jenkins Griffith was a Welsh-American industrialist and philanthropist. After amassing a significant fortune from a mining syndicate in the 1880s, Griffith donated to the City of Los Angeles which became Griffith Park, and he bequeathed the money to build the park's Greek Theatre and...
purchased Rancho Los Feliz
Rancho Los Feliz
Rancho Los Feliz was a Spanish land concession in present day Los Angeles County, California given in 1795 by Spanish Governor Pedro Fages to Jose Vicente Feliz. The land of the grant includes Los Feliz and Griffith Park, and was bounded on the east by the Los Angeles River.-History:Given to Jose...
(near the Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
) in 1882 and started an ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
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. After the property rush peaked, and supposedly spooked by the ghost of Antonio Feliz (a previous owner of the property) he donated 3015 acres (1,220.1 ha) to the city of Los Angeles on December 16, 1896.
Afterward Griffith was tried and convicted for shooting and severely wounding his wife in a 1903 incident. When released from prison, he attempted to fund the construction of an observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
, planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
, amphitheater, 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.
In 1912, Griffith designated 100 acres (40.5 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
Glenn L. Martin Company
The Glenn L. Martin Company was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company that was founded by the aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin. The Martin Company produced many important aircraft for the defense of the United States and its allies, especially during World War II and the Cold War...
and Silas Christoffersen used it. The aerodrome passed to the National Guard Air Service
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
. Air operations continued on a 2000 feet (609.6 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, but also 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
Rodger Young Village
Rodger Young Village was a public housing project, set up to provide temporary housing for veterans returning to the Southern California area following the end of World War II.-History:...
occupied the area which had formerly been the Aerodrome. Today that site is occupied by the Los Angeles Zoo
Los Angeles Zoo
The Los Angeles Zoo , is a zoo founded in 1966 and located in Los Angeles, California. The City of Los Angeles owns the entire zoo, its land and facilities, and the animals...
parking lot, the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, soccer fields, and the interchange between the Golden State Freeway and the Ventura Freeway
Ventura Freeway
The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California running from Ventura to Pasadena. It is the principal east-west route through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. From Ventura to its intersection with the Hollywood Freeway in the southeastern San...
.
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
Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
detailed in her memoirs, The Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me. Over the years, a number of films were shot in the park.
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
Greek Theatre (Los Angeles)
The Greek Theatre is a 5,700-seat amphitheater, located at Griffith Park, in Los Angeles, California. It was built in 1929, opening on September 29 of that year...
, was completed in 1930, and Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory is in Los Angeles, California, United States. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest...
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.
Fires
On May 12, 1961 a wildfire on the south side of the park burned 814 acres (329.4 ha). It also destroyed eight homes and damaged nine more, chiefly in the Beachwood Canyon area.
On May 8, 2007 a major wildfire burned more than 817 acres (330.6 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. It was the third fire of the year. The city announced a $50 million plan to stabilize the burned slopes.
Attractions
Activities
Visitors can attend concerts under the stars at the Greek TheatreGreek Theatre (Los Angeles)
The Greek Theatre is a 5,700-seat amphitheater, located at Griffith Park, in Los Angeles, California. It was built in 1929, opening on September 29 of that year...
, which was built to resemble a Greek amphitheater. Visitors can study the stars further north on Vermont Ave. at the newly renovated Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory is in Los Angeles, California, United States. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest...
and planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
where the trailhead to Mount Hollywood begins. In the distance, the Hollywood Sign
Hollywood Sign
The Hollywood Sign is a landmark and American cultural icon in the Hollywood Hills area of Mount Lee, Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles, California. The sign spells out the name of the area in and white letters. It was created as an advertisement in 1923, but garnered increasing recognition...
is located on the southern flank of Griffith Park's Mount Lee
Mount Lee
Mount Lee is a peak in the Santa Monica Mountains, in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California, USA. The famous Hollywood Sign is located on its southern slope. The sign is visible north of the Mulholland Highway. A good view of it can be had by driving north up Gower Street from Hollywood...
.
The William Mulholland Memorial Fountain, which is dedicated to the engineer who built the first aqueduct that supplied water to the city, is located opposite the park entrance on Riverside Drive at Los Feliz. A miniature train and horse ride just up Riverside Drive. At Crystal Springs is the ranger station and visitor information, parking, picnic area, the location of the old zoo often used for filming and a merry-go-round. Further, through the golf course, the Los Angeles Zoo
Los Angeles Zoo
The Los Angeles Zoo , is a zoo founded in 1966 and located in Los Angeles, California. The City of Los Angeles owns the entire zoo, its land and facilities, and the animals...
, the Museum of the American West with ample parking between them and access to two freeways 5 & 134.
Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum
Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum is a non-profit public benefit corporation that was founded in 1956 by live steam enthusiasts for the purpose of educating the public about railroad history and lore, and to promote the avocation of live steam and scale model railroad technology. The...
11-3 on weekends or visit Walt's Barn
Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn
Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn is a museum located at the Los Angeles Live Steamers complex in Griffith Park. It is a miniature barn used by Walt Disney as a machine shop while operating his miniature "live steam" Carolwood Pacific Railroad layout in the backyard of his home in Holmby Hills, a...
11-3 on 3rd Sundays. At Travel Town Museum
Travel Town Museum
Travel Town Museum is a transport museum within Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California.Travel Town was dedicated on December 14, 1952. There is no charge for museum admission or parking...
historic full sized railroad locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s, passenger cars and streetcars
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
are the eye-catching portion of the collection highlighting transportation in Southern California which includes an exhibit hall, model train layout, picnic areas, a gift shop, and is encircled by the last of three miniature train rides in Griffith Park.
Recreation
The 9-hole Roosevelt Golf Course, two 18-hole golf courses, a baseball fieldBaseball field
A baseball field, also called a ball field or a baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The terms "baseball field" and "ball field" are also often used as synonyms for ballpark.-Specifications:...
, athletic fields, along with several basketball
Basketball court
In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor with tiles at either end. In professional or organized basketball, especially when played indoors, it is usually made out of a wood, often maple, and highly polished...
and tennis courts are on the grounds. The park also has a swimming pool which is open during the summer months.
The park is laced with many hiking and equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
trails within the Santa Monica mountain range far from neighboring residential districts. The local (Angeles) unit of the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
has been leading free evening and weekend conditioning hikes in Griffith Park every week for almost 50 years.
A seasonal attraction during late November through December is the annual holiday light festival display sponsored by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is the largest municipal utility in the United States, serving over four million residents. It was founded in 1902 to supply water and electricity to residents and businesses in Los Angeles and surrounding communities...
. Spectators can walk, cycle or drive their vehicles slowly through the dazzling displays.
Famous locations
With its wide variety of scenes and nearby proximity to Hollywood and Burbank, many different production crews 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.The Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory is in Los Angeles, California, United States. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest...
sits atop the southern slope of Mount Hollywood. It was featured prominently in the 1955 classic Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments...
. A bronze bust of the film's star James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
is on the grounds just outside the dome. Other movies filmed here include The Terminator
The Terminator
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...
and The Rocketeer
The Rocketeer (film)
The Rocketeer is a 1991 period superhero adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and based on the character of the same name created by comic book writer/artist Dave Stevens. Directed by Joe Johnston, the film stars Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino...
. The area of the park around the Observatory also appears as a location in the role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
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
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
movies. In the first movie it was used for Marty McFly's starting point when accelerating to 88 mi/h in the film's climax, and in the second movie 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
Toontown
Toontown is a fictional anthropomorphic city where animated cartoon characters, known as Toons, reside.-Description:In the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the whole city of Toontown is cartoonish, except for anything foreign to the city, such as people and objects from outside of Toontown...
in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
. The park was also featured in the Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
movie Short Cuts
Short Cuts
Short Cuts is a 1993 American drama film directed by Robert Altman. Filmed from a screenplay by Robert Altman and Frank Barhydt, it is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver...
. The Nickelodeon television show Salute Your Shorts
Salute Your Shorts
Salute Your Shorts is an American comedy television series that aired on Nickelodeon from 1991–1992 and in reruns until early 1999. It was last rerun on Nickelodeon GaS from July through September of 2003....
was filmed here. It is also featured in an episode of Remington Steele
Remington Steele
Remington Steele is an American television series, co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from 1982 to 1987. The series blended the genres of romantic...
where Laura Holt is trying to evade the police. It was the location for Adam Lambert
Adam Lambert
Adam Mitchel Lambert is an American singer, songwriter, and actor from San Diego, California. In May 2009, he finished as the runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol...
's music video for his single, "If I Had You". In John Rechy
John Rechy
John Francis Rechy, , is an American author, the child of a half-Scottish and half-Mexican father, Roberto Rechy, and a Mexican-American mother, Guadalupe Flores. In his novels he has written extensively about homosexual culture in Los Angeles and wider America, and is among the pioneers of modern...
's City of Night and 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 60s and 70s. It is the scene of similar activities in several novels by James Ellroy
James Ellroy
Lee Earle "James" Ellroy is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a so-called "telegraphic" prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels The Black...
. Griffith Park and Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory is in Los Angeles, California, United States. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest...
are significant in the Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
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 1960's spy television series Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
.
Bronson Canyon
Bronson Canyon
Bronson Canyon, or Bronson Caves, is a section of Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California that has become famous as a filming location for a very large number of movies and TV shows, especially westerns and science fiction, from the early days of motion pictures to the present...
, aka Bronson Caves, is a popular location for motion picture and television filming, especially of western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
and science fiction low-budget films, including Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). The craggy site of an old quarry, a tunnel in this canyon was used as the entrance to the Batcave
Batcave
The Batcave is the secret headquarters of fictional DC Comics superhero Batman, the alternate identity of playboy Bruce Wayne, consisting of a series of subterranean caves beneath his residence, Wayne Manor.-Publication history:...
in the opening sequence of Batman
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
television series of the 1960s, and in numerous other shows. The natural "cave" walls are preserved by the many layers of paint used to make them 'look like rock.'
Park hours and parking
The park is open 5:00 am to 10:30 pm. 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 pm, even though the park gates are closed to entering cars at sunset.Addition of Cahuenga Peak
100 additional acres around Cahuenga PeakCahuenga Peak
Cahuenga Peak is the 12th highest named peak in the Santa Monica Mountains and is located just west of the Hollywood Sign. It provides a spectacular 360-degree panorama of the Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley for those hikers willing to climb the road-less peak.-History:Howard Hughes...
was added to the park in July 2010, bring the parks total acreage to 4310 acres (1,744.2 ha); and putting ahead of Eagle Creek Park
Eagle Creek Park
Eagle Creek Park is the largest park in Indianapolis, and one of the largest municipal parks in the United States. It is located at 7840 W. 56th Street in Indianapolis, Indiana and covers approximately 1,400 acres of a reservoir and 3,900 acres of land. There are about 10 miles of paths within...
, Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana, making it the 10th largest municipally owned park in the USA.
Friends of Griffith Park
Friends of Griffith Park is a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization to promote "the enlightened stewardship of Griffith Park so it can survive and thrive in the 21st century."Prompted by the now rejected 2005 Griffith Park Master Plan Draft, a citizens movement emerged to advocate rejection of the plan, cooperating originally under the name "Save Griffith Park," and was incorporated in September 2010. The organization is active through a website, a quarterly newsletter, petition signings, and activism at Los Angeles City Council meetings.
See also
- Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Hollywood, Los Feliz and Griffith Park
- Hollywood Cricket ClubHollywood Cricket ClubThe Hollywood Cricket Club is an amateur cricket club in Los Angeles, California. It is a member of the Southern California Cricket Association. The club was formed in 1932 by British actor and cricketer Aubrey Smith....
External links
- Los Angeles Department of Recreation & Parks: Griffith Park
- Griffith Park History
- Griffith Park and Silverlake Blog
- Museum of the American West
- Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive The Griffith Park Fire
- Griffith Park Aerodrome
- Griffith Observatory
- Photograph of the Griffith Park Fire of May 2007