5/30/08
Griffith's Family Launches Move to Preserve Griffith Park

There is exciting news in Los Angeles! Griffith Park has been nominated for Historic-Cultural Monument status! The Griffith J. Griffith Charitable Trust hired the firm of ICF Jones and Stokes to prepare the application which was signed by Van Griffith, Colonel Griffith’s great-grandson. The application was delivered to the City’s Office of Historic Preservation on May 15. Monument status would help preserve the Griffith Park that we all know and love.

The HCM application - all 350 pages of it availabe for download in one big pdf here - identifies and describes in great detail all of the historic structures in the Park. It describes the wilderness area of the Park with its native plants and animals. In addition, it identifies numerous examples of “Park Style” retaining walls and culverts built be federal assistance programs in the 1930s.


This map is part of the application that is available for download here.

The Los Feliz Improvement Aassociation Board of Directors voted enthusiastically to support Griffith Park’s nomination. The Griffith Observatory and the Gabrielino Indian site in Fern Dell are examples of individual Historic-Cultural Monument sites in Griffith Park. Several other city parks and open spaces already have Historic-Cultural Monument status: Barnsdall Art Park, Echo Park, Lake Hollywood Reservoir and Mulholland Dam, Will Rogers Park, and the Venice Canal System to name a few. We feel that Griffith Park deserves no less.

Won’t you join us in supporting Griffith Park’s Historic-Cultural Monument nomination? Please write to your City Councilmember to express your support for the nomination.

The complete application is available for downoad here. Please be patient as it is a very large file - 40 MB. There is an excellent summary of the description and significance in the beginning of the application. The second half of the application is appendices with a detailed map at the end.

To find out more about the status of Historic Cultural Monument go to the web page of the City of Los Angeles' Office of Historic Resources.

Calendar
Griffith Park Master Plan Working Group
Monday, September 22nd, 6:30 - 8:30 PM, Friendship Hall, 3201 Riverside Dr. (south of Los Feliz Blvd.)

Sunnynook River Park: Design Discussion
Thursday, September 4, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM, Griffith Park Ranger Station, 4730 Crystal Springs Drive
Councilman LaBonge invites you to join him and the River Project Office as we discuss design plans for the new 3.4 acre Sunnynook River Park, as they reveal the current design plans and solicit comments from attendees. The flyer is here.
Griffith Park Master Plan Working Group
Ususally on the first Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m., Griffith Park Ranger Station Community Room
4730 Crystal Springs Drive

LAPD Community Police Academy
10 Thursday nights from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., starting September 4th
Learn about Laws of Arrest, Homicide Investigation, Identity Theft, Narcotics Enforcement, Domestic Violence, Role of Internal Affairs, Traffic Enforcement / DUI, Gang Enforcement and take a tour of Air Support. Enroll by August 27, 2008, call (213) 485-2548. More info here.
Barnsdall Art Park Foundation - Annual Gala
Saturday, September 6, 2008 Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd.
An Evening of Art & Architecture. The Barnsdall Art Park Foundation will be honoring Architect Brenda Levin at their Annual Gala. For further information visit www.barnsdall.org, email bapf2008@yahoo.com or call (323) 661-7299
Symphony In The Glen 2009 Fundraiser: “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly”
Saturday, September 20, 2008. Reception at 5:30 pm, Dinner at 6:30 pm, Show at 8:00pm. Upstairs Room at Vitello’s Restaurant, 4349 Tujunga Ave, Studio City
“Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” is featuring an homage to the Shelley Manne jazz version of “My Fair Lady”. This production of Mr. Manne’s highly–original version is unusual, imaginative and brings the great score of “My Fair Lady” into a new jazz focus. Fundraiser for the non-profit Symphony in the Glen. See the invite here.
Architecture & Beyond: Bret Parson
Thursday, September 18th at 6:45pm , Los Feliz Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library at 1874 Hillhurst Ave. on the corner of Franklin Ave.
Author and real estate consultant Bret Parson will delve into the work of architect Gerard Colcord who designed a wide variety of homes in Los Angeles of the 1960s, many that are prominently featured in motion pictures of the time. Mr. Parsons has written “Colcord – Home” on the architect’s life.

The lecture is free and open to the public.
LFIA Photoday
Saturday, November 1, 2 pm to 5 pm, at the Los Feliz Library, 1874 Hillhurst Av.
The LFIA's History Committee asks you to share your photos of Los Feliz and and its people. A sample of such photos has been used the our recent multi-media presentation at the Autry.
Friends of the Los Feliz Library - Used Book Sale
4th Saturday of each month
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Los Feliz Library
1874 Hillhurst Av.

Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council (GGPNC)
Third Tuesday of every month at 7pm at the Los Feliz Community Police Center
1965 Hillhurst, Los Angeles CA 90027