ELEVATE: Tales of the Los Angeles Parks

Tales of the Los Angeles Parks

EXCERPT + ILLUSTRATIONS FROM LEO POLITI’S 1966 BOOK

Facing page:

One day as I was painting in Elysian Park I saw a boy, a lone boy. I watched him wandering among the bushes and huge trees on the side of the hill. At times he stopped; he would disappear, then appear again. Very likely he was experiencing an exciting adventure. He made me think of the lovely song “Nature Boy” by Eben Ahbez.

Then I thought of Leonardo da Vinci’s own writings of his boyhood in the rugged Umbrian Hills of Italy, and of his adventures in the forests and grottos of the area. In his lone walks, through Nature untouched by man, he sought and found the glorious laws on which he based all his life’s work. The rolling hills, towering trees, the shrubbery, wild flowers, birds, the animals and insects lived in a perfect symphony.

Unfortunately, scarce or almost nonexistent are settings such as these—close to our city—which are accessible to the child where his fancy can play and his creative and esthetic instincts find fresh inspiration.

Therefore, it is imperative that what few patches of “wilderness” we have left must be preserved.

[...]

Around 1914 there was much controversy in the area about improving and beautifying the Los Angeles River bed. Mr. Frank Shearer who was then the superintendent of the city’s parks conceived the idea of Fern Dell to demonstrate in miniature the beautification that could be done along the Los Angeles River. To accomplish his ends he employed the Montgomery brothers, famous rock garden artists from New Zealand.

Many large rocks were brought to the dell and these, along with concrete, were used to create terraced pools along the stream. Walls of rocks and tree stumps were built. Then many new varieties of ferns and shrubs were planted, resulting in a place of planned beauty.

Half a century later Fern Dell is still beautiful. On week ends and summer days children catch fish – crabs along the banks of the brook. They compete to see who catches the most. Then they throw them back in the water. •

Leo Politi’s painting of Fern Dell, a natural area within Griffith Park.

Leo Politi