Griffith Park Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Griffith Park is a large park situated in the Santa Monica Mountains between Burbank and Los Angeles, California. It covers over 4107 acres (16.6 km²) of land, making it the largest municipal park in the United States.
After successfully investing in mining, Colonel Griffith J. Griffith purchased Rancho Los Feliz (located near the Los Angeles River) in 1882 and created an ostrich farm on the site. Although ostrich feathers were a popular aspect of the millinery trade in the late 1800s, Col. Griffith created the farm 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 (12 km²) to the city of Los Angeles on December 16, 1896. Afterwards Col. Griffith became better known for delusionally shooting at his high-society wife; when later released from prison he attempted to fund the construction of an observatory, planetarium, and amphitheater in the park. His reputation in the city was tainted by his eccentric actions however, so the city refused his money. Col. Griffith set up a trust fund with the promised money, and after his death in 1919 the city began to build what Griffith had wanted. The amphitheater was completed in 1930, and Griffith Observatory was completed 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.
Today, in addition to the Griffith Observatory and Greek Amphitheatre, Griffith Park hosts the Los Angeles Zoo, the Museum of the American West, two golf courses, the Travel Town train museum, a Merry-Go-Round, the Hollywood Sign, and many hiking trails.
The local unit of the Sierra Club has been leading free evening and weekend conditioning hikes in Griffith Park every week for almost 50 years. History
Attractions