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
Community Meeting on the Hollywood Central Park Proposal
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008, 6 to 8 pm at Helen Bernstein High School, 1309 N. Wilton Place, Hollywood, CA 90028
The completed Hollywood Freeway Central Park Feasibility Study will be presented at this meeting. (Parking is available in the school structure. Entrance on Fountain Ave.) More details on this flyer.
Holiday Light Festival in Griffith Park
Daily November 24th - December 30th, along Crystal Springs Drive south of the Los Angeles Zoo parking lot
Wipe the dust of the old bike. Check the tire inflation and get ready to roll! The Holiday Light Festival bike night is Monday, Nov. 24 from 5:00 - 10:00 pm. This event is for everyone from the Tour de France winners to tricycles.

The walking only nights are from Tuesday, Nov. 25 through Sunday, Dec. 7, 5:00 - 10:00 pm. Free parking is available in the Zoo parking lot. Without cars you can actually hear the music. More info here.
League of Women Voters of Los Feliz: "Who's Got the Power?"
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008
10:30 am - noon , Los Feliz Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library at 1874 Hillhurst Ave. on the corner of Franklin Ave.
No, it's not political power; it's renewable energy power.
The League of Women Voters of Los Feliz will play a DVD on energy. Free of charge.
Public Meeting on the Prop. O Clean Water Project at the L.A. Zoo Parking Lot
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008
10:30 am - noon , Los Feliz Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library at 1874 Hillhurst Ave. on the corner of Franklin Ave.
The Department of Public Works, the Los Angeles Zoo, and Councilmember Tom LaBonge invite. The flyer is here. More info on the project is here, towards the bottom of the page.
LFIA Clean Up
Saturday, December 13th, 9 am to 12 noon
Help keep Los Feliz beautiful and spend a couple of hours picking up trash and painting out graffiti. Sign up for the next LFIA Clean Up by sending an email to beautification@lfia.org. Luncheon featuring Margaret Lohfeld's famous cheese cake to follow.
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