SoCal History: The Wild History Of Griffith Park
AirTalk is off this week, so we\u2019ll be supplying our podcast listeners with reruns of our Southern California history segments. Today\u2019s episode is on Griffith Park. If you\u2019d like to suggest a topic for a future SoCal history segment, email it to atcomments@laist.com.\xa0
\nGriffith Park dwarfs other city parks. Its 4,300 acres make it about five times bigger than New York\u2019s Central Park. And, unlike Central Park\u2019s man-made rolling hills, Griffith Park is a true urban wilderness, comprised of a chunk of the Santa Monica Mountains. The park, originally Tongva-Gabrielino land, was gifted to the city by Welsh philanthropist Griffith J. Griffith in 1896, who also provided funds for the Griffith Observatory and the Greek Theatre. Griffith is a divisive figure: in 1903, he assaulted his wife with a gun and subsequently served time in prison. According to Casey Schreiner in his book\xa0Discovering Griffith Park, in its lifetime, \u201cthe park has been home to an airfield, multiple zoos, a landfill, a Civilian Conservation Corps work camp, a pre-internment camp and prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, housing for veterans, and more.\u201d Joining us to discuss the history of the park and how Angelenos use it today are Mike\xa0Eberts,\xa0author of\xa0Griffith Park: A Centennial Historyand\xa0Casey Schreiner,\xa0founder of the site Modern Hiker and author of\xa0Discovering Griffith Park: A Local\u2019s Guide.