On May 9th the family of Colonel Griffith J. Griffith filed an application with the City requesting that Griffith Park be designated in its entirety as a City of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument (HCM), thus receiving the special status and protections that accompany this designation.  The consulting firm Jones and Stokes, hired by the Griffith Family at considerable expense, presented the formal application to Ken Bernstein, manager for the city's Office of Historic Resources.  The application includes a comprehensive study of the park by Jones and Stokes' architectural historians that describes the many elements of the Park that justify the designation.

All 350 pages of the application document are availabe as a pdf-file here, and the executive summary is available here.

An illustration from the application document.

The first step in the process has been completed, as of July 17th.  On that day both the Planning Department and the Department of Historic Resources signed off that the “application is complete and that the property may be significant enough to warrant further investigation as a potential Historic-Cultural Monument.”  Indeed, all the minimum criteria for getting this type of designation were met on many counts.

The Cultural Heritage Commission will next take up the application at its meeting on August 21st.  At that time, if the Commission follows the staff report and votes to investigate the application, the next step will be for the Commission members to tour Griffith Park some time in late August or early September. The staff report is available as a pdf-file here.

The application is unusual in several ways:  First, it’s the longest application the City has ever received.  Second, Griffith Park is the largest area ever nominated for a HCM designation.  Third, the Park itself includes some Historic Cultural Monuments which are already designated, such as the Griffith Observatory.

The Oaks Homeowners Association supports the Historic Cultural designation for the Park.  Among the reasons discussed that led to a unanimous vote by the Oaks Board was the conviction  that this designation would add an additional layer of protection against overzealous development, especially as  commercial enterprises continue to approach our financially stressed City with ideas for revenue generation.  The designation would also help uphold the covenants set forth by Griffith J Griffith, namely that Griffith Park remain a free public park, “open space – rustic and available to all.”  Furthermore, the designation would honor Colonel Griffith and his family. The Oaks has sent a letter supporting the application, it is available here.

Now we ask for your help!  If you, too, think the Park deserves this special recognition, please send an email or letter to Councilperson Tom LaBonge and the Commission. Contact information is below.  After all, The Oaks would not be the special neighborhood it is without Griffith Park at our back door.

Cultural Heritage Commission
Office of Historic Resources
L.A. Dept of City Planning
200 N. Spring Street, Ste 620
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Councilmember Tom LaBonge
200 N. Spring Street
Room 480
Los Angeles, CA 90012
councilmember.labonge@lacity.org

Mr. Jon Kirk Mukri
General Manager
Department of Recreation & Parks
City Of Los Angeles
1200 W 7th St,  Suite 748
Los Angeles, CA 90017
jonkirk.mukri@lacity.org