Los Feliz, Silver Lake, and Griffith Park

It's become clear to me as I've continued to write in this blog, that despite my initial fascination with the organization D LA (it's roads and trains and phone connections), I am truly a child of this company town. The history of theater and motion pictures and television broadcasts, back when cities were concentrated entities this defined Los Angeles. It still is a company town, but Broadway, Hollywood Blvd, the movie palaces have all been allowed to decay. Which to me is a bit sad.

As a result, I love it when I get pulled to look at another aspect of Los Angeles. Disneyland inspired me to write about Carthay Circle, and it's my other happy place that's inspiring today's entry; The LA Zoo.

Since I've written much about Hollywood and Downtown, I want to make sure I start from the beginning when talking about Griffith Park - since it really is an important part of Los Angeles history. I'll be referring (in my head) frequently to this star map from 1937, and going through the landmarks east of Hollywood. KCET linked to this map as context for a showing of A Star is Born (1937)

While most people know feliz from the phrase Feliz Navidad, in this case Los Feliz actually refers to Rancho Los Feliz; a 6,647 (27 square kilometers) acre land grant given to Corporal Jose Vicente Feliz by the Spanish government. His adobe house, built in 1830, still stands in Griffith Park on Crystal Springs drive.

That ranch got broken down into many parts. There is the 7 km-squared neighborhood of Los Feliz. Down the road is the 7 km-squared neighborhood of Silver Lake. Silver Lake is named for one of two concrete reservoirs in the neighborhood. That reservoir in turn is named for water board commissioner Herman Silver. The Silver Lake reservoir provides water for 600,000 Los Angeles households.

Walt Disney Studios on Hyperion, photo LAPL

East of the very large Silver Lake reservoir and the smaller Ivanhoe reservoir sat Walt Disney's original studio on Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake neighborhood. This photo is from 1936, one year before the release of Snow White. Disney had purchased the studio in 1925, and it's here in 1928 that Disney created Mickey Mouse and stared producing a series of Silly Symphonies type shorts. Snow White was also animated here, and the revenue from that movie was used to purchase the Burbank studio. Of course, if you read my last article, Hyperion Theater was the name given to the centerpiece of California Adventure's Hollywood area. 

Further north, at the corner of Los Feliz blvd and Riverside Dr. sat Victor McLaglen Field. McLaglen was a film star in the 1920s and 30s, and the field hosted equestrian events like polo and rodeos. 

North of both neighborhoods lies the immense Griffith Park. Colonel Griffith James Griffith (must be good to be a Colonel) acquired 16.5 square kilometers of Los Feliz in 1882. Griffith donated 12.2 square kilometers of that land to the city as Griffith Park.

Now in 1910, the City of LA annexed 7112 acres of land (the Los Feliz grant was 6,647 acres) as the East Hollywood edition (Hollywood was annexed weeks earlier). This chunk of land contained the whole rancho, which included a stretch of the LA river, the reservoirs, and Griffith Park. 

Greek Theater, Los Feliz 1937. Photo LAPL

Here's one of the centerpieces of Griffith Park, the Greek Theater. A 5,700 seat amphitheater built in 1929, and paid for by Colonel Griffith. Like the park, it belongs to the City of Los Angeles. The stage is modeled after a Greek temple, and designed for great outdoor acoustics. It's been used for concerts, plays, and graduations over the years. I saw Silversun Pickups here for the first time, a really great concert. 

Griffith Observatory, photo LAPL

Griffith also lends his name to the observatory, atop one of the park's many hills. Opened to the public in 1935, the observatory contains not only the great telescope, but an exhibit hall and a planetarium. It's one of the great LA landmarks, made popular around the country in James Dean's Rebel Without a Cause. There is a memorial to the deceased star at the observatory. 

LA Zookeeper, 1910

Not featured on the map but also in Griffith Park is the little bit that started this entry, the LA Zoo. The original zoo also bore Griffith's name. It opened in 1912 as the Griffith Park Zoo, about two miles south of the Zoo's current location. As you can see in the photo, zookeepers looked a bit different 100 years ago. The LA Zoo has long been a red headed stepchild compared to the leading So Cal Zoo in San Diego, although it has stepped up offerings in recent years. It's a favorite of media darling Betty White, and many other Hollywood philanthropists. 

So there you have it, one of the first ranchos in Los Angeles remains a natural preserve just north of downtown and east of Hollywood. Easy to ignore, it's an important cultural spot in Los Angeles, and one of my favorite places. And to think, most of it was built by WWII.