Historic Status For Griffith Park Considered

The great-grandson of Col. Griffith J. Griffith, who bestows most of what is now the largest municipal park in the country to LA, wants more historic preservation protections for the park. Griffith Van Griffith (seriously, that's his name) and his family trust have formally applied for Historic Cultural Monument status, which if approved, would make the park the country's largest historic landmark. The Cultural Heritage Commission will be reviewing the 350-page application on Aug. 21. Granting historic status to the park would not only protect the landscape (the Observatory is already protected), but also "scores of historic Spanish Revival, Moderne and Greek Revival structures built prior to 1958 - from the Travel Town Museum of vintage locomotives of the San Fernando Valley to the city's largest public pool, the 1927 Municipal Plunge of Los Feliz. Even the park's Depression-era bathrooms, drinking fountains and retaining walls would be preserved." While the Sierra Club supports the nomination, City Councilman Tom LaBonge is a bit more cautious. LaBonge has asked the parks department to study how a Griffith Park monument would affect city water, power, and sewer systems. [Image of Griffith Park Traveltown train by flickr user nuovostrada].
· Great-grandson of Griffith Park donor leads historic-monument status effort [DailyNews]