Looking at a Southern California Automobile Club map of the Los Angeles Freeway system from a few years back, it’s easy to see how freeways have affected the Los Angeles community, and not in a good way. Granted – these roads have made our commute faster – or have they? Getting from the valley to downtown has, for many, become a traffic nightmare so drivers looking for alternative routes, sometimes race through Griffith Park. With a fair number of commuters using these Park roadways, officials have been forced to close roads which – while angering some – has had a beneficial effect. Vehicle-caused wildlife deaths have been reduced, and Park users are now able to safely recreate.

But let’s step back for a moment to a much earlier time
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In 1896, when Col. Griffith donated land for what was to become Griffith Park, the Los Angeles population hovered at around 75,000. The original gift consisted of 3,051 acres of parkland, and was situated approximately 5 miles north of downtown, a fairly long journey by buggy or horseback. While many officials scoffed at the notion that this parcel would eventually become the shining gem of the expanding city, Griffith’s vision of the future was spectacularly prescient.

But there was one huge flaw – the massive traffic congestion we’ve come to associate with living in the city. Very quickly, as the city grew, L.A. came knocking at the borders of Griffith Park. By 1920, according to one L.A. census, the population had grown to 500,000 and by 1940 the population again swelled to several million. Griffith’s gift became a necessary respite from the craziness of city living although it was becoming clear that area roadways were inadequate for traffic. Something needed to be done.

Enter the state

Beginning in the mid-1930s California recognized the rapid growth of communities throughout the state, especially in-and-around Los Angeles. Wartime manufacturing plants had created a need for housing – and roadways – which was compounded once wartime veterans returned to the area. Ultimately the Golden State Freeway (I-5) was conceived – a route that would tie the northern portion of the state to the southern point, and supposedly alleviate some of the growing pains in Los Angeles.

As work progressed well into the 1950s, the new roadway arrived at the northernmost edge of Griffith Park where it proceeded to split the parkland into two sides (the L.A. River also acted as a barrier). Slicing the Park created huge problems as area residents including the Los Feliz Improvement Association, the L.A. Parks Commission, L.A. Mayor Norris Poulson, and Griffith’s son Van (Griffith J. Griffith had died in July, 1919) were vehemently opposed. Earlier, Mayor Poulson had proposed an alternative route to the east of the river – through Glendale. According to Paul Haddad’s book, Freewaytopia, Poulson referred to the alternative route as “dumps, cow pastures, and vacant land” which would be more appropriate to freeway construction. Mike Eberts’ Griffith Park: A Centennial History also discusses the standoff: Recreation and Parks General Manager, George Hjelte had voiced concerns about the route, albeit late in the game. L.A. Councilman Ernest E. Debs then pushed back against his objections stating Hjelte was for the project before he was against it. Hjelte shot back, suggesting the full scope of the project had not been forthcoming at the time he voiced approval in 1947.

In the end, 200 acres of prime Parkland were destroyed to construct the freeway through the park – land that at one time, housed baseball diamonds, a pony track, model airplane runway, miniature railroad, archery range and more, according to Freewaytopia. Another wrench was tossed into the mix, courtesy of L.A. City Attorney Roger Arneberg who voiced concerns about a potential lawsuit from Van Griffith* which might have brought construction to a halt. Arneberg’s concerns were alleviated when Griffith filed suit against the state. Unfortunately for Griffith, Superior Court Judge A. Curtis Smith concluded the state trumps all (including Parklands). However, the state of California did pick up costs for shifting some of the recreational facilities to other areas, adding further encroachment into the Park.

Griffith Park was again trimmed with construction of the 134 freeway which connected the 101 freeway to Pasadena. This portion of the Ventura Freeway clipped the upper part of Griffith Park, separating the space occupied by the Ferraro Soccer Fields from the area where the L.A. Zoo and Autry Museum are situated. Again, this state-sponsored construction was created in order to alleviate traffic flowing west. Unfortunately it’s done little to make life better for most drivers.

Today, Griffith Park is a fragmented Park with snippets of land detached from the Mother Plot. The area along Riverside Drive adjacent to Los Feliz Boulevard constitutes one such snippet. And there are others – Bette Davis Park and the Equestrian Center on the Burbank side of the Park, Pollywog Park, the Maintenance Yard and a small 9-hole golf course – both in Atwater Village.

Looking toward the future, we’re facing more crossroads

No longer are Angelenos able to jump on a freeway and travel to downtown in 15 minutes or less – an argument used in the ongoing discussion for the Golden State Freeway construction. It’s time to recognize these roadways act as concrete barriers to wildlife making crossings from Griffith Park into other areas extremely unsafe. Now that the Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is well underway (construction is slated to be completed in 2025), it’s time to consider more crossing bridges, or tunnels leading from the easternmost edge of the Santa Monica Mountains – which is Griffith Park – to other green spaces like the Verdugo Mountains and the Angeles National Forest, currently blocked by freeways and residential zones.

*Van Griffith’s lawsuit against California hinged on the original gift language which stipulated that the Parkland would revert to the family if Griffith Park was used for anything other than recreation­.

~Kathryn Louyse, FoGP Board Member