Runyon Canyon Park

Runyon Canyon Park is a convert|160|acre|km2|sing=on park in Los Angeles, California at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, managed by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. [ [http://www.laparks.org/ City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks ] ] The two southern entrances to the park are located at the north ends of Vista Street and Fuller Avenue in Hollywood. The northern entrance is off the 7300 block of Mulholland Drive. A fire road that is closed to public motor vehicle access runs roughly through the center of the park between the northern and southern entrances along Runyon Canyon itself, and there are numerous smaller hiking trails throughout the park. The highest point in the park at an elevation of 1,320 ft (402 m) is known as Indian Rock. Because of its proximity to residential areas of Hollywood and the Hollywood Hills, celebrity sightings are not uncommon.Brownfield, Paul [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-bateman4-2008jul04,0,2082305.story 'Hancock's' Jason Bateman enjoys the Hollywood climb] Los Angeles Times. July 4, 2008 "Nestled in the hills to the west of the Hollywood sign, Runyon Canyon is a see-and-be-seen hiking circuit, heavy on the unleashed dogs. On a recent weekday morning, Jason Bateman was easily the most recognizable actor on the mountain."] The park is also noted for having a fairly liberal dog policy, with dogs allowed off-leash in 90 of the park's 160 acres. [ [http://www.laparks.org/info/dogparks.htm City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks ] ]

History

Runyon Canyon Park was bought by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the City of Los Angeles in 1984 from its last private owners, Adad Development, for use as a city park. "No Man's Canyon" was the English name first given to the gorge which lies above Franklin at Fuller Avenue, and extends north to Mulholland Drive. It is reputed to have been a seasonal campsite for local Gabrielino/Tongva Indians, who hunted in the area known to them as the Nopalera.In 1867, "Greek George" Caralambo, aka Allen, received the convert|160|acre|km2|sing=on parcel by Federal patent in appreciation for his service in the US Army Camel Corps. Allen became famous by association when legendary bandit Tiburcio Vasquez was captured while hiding out at his abode in 1874. Alfredo Solano, a prominent civil engineer, civic leader, symphony patron and one of the founders of the Los Angeles Athletic Club, purchased the canyon the year after Vasquez was hanged in 1876. Solano held the canyon as an investment before his widow, Ella Brooks Solano, sold the majority of the land to Carman Runyon in 1919.

Runyon, recently retired from a successful coal business in the East, came out with his new bride to enjoy the California climate. Unfortunately, the marriage failed, and Carman moved to Hollywood and met and married Ellen Hunt. The new Mrs. Runyon was an accomplished horsewoman and the Runyons purchased the canyon to use for riding and hunting, building a small bungalow near the Fuller Avenue entrance. Runyon lent his name to the canyon, the road and Carman Crest Drive before he sold the estate in 1930 to John McCormack, the world-famed Irish tenor. McCormack had fallen in love with the estate whilst here filming "Song O' My Heart" (1929), an early all-talking, all-singing picture, and his salary for the picture went to purchase the property and build the mansion he called "San Patrizio", after Saint Patrick, which he and his wife lived in until they returned to England in 1938. Remains of terraced gardens and buildings can be seen below the Vista gates.

McCormack toured frequently and in his absence the mansion was often rented out to celebrities such as Janet Gaynor and Charles Boyer. The McCormacks made many friends in Hollywood, among them Will Rogers, John Barrymore, Basil Rathbone, C. E. Toberman and the Dohenys. After his farewell tour of America in 1937, the McCormacks deeded the estate back to Carman Runyon expecting to return at a later date. The war intervened, however, and, his health broken by a wartime concert tour, McCormack died in 1945.

George Huntington Hartford II, heir to the $80 million A&P Grocery fortune and patron of the arts, bought the property in 1942, moving into the mansion and renaming the estate "The Pines". Frank Lloyd Wright and his son Lloyd Wright, who had offices in Hollywood, were commissioned to draft ambitious plans for developing the lower canyon as a 'cottage hotel' and erecting on the ridge above a daringly futuristic "play resort" country club. When neighborhood opposition to the design put the project on hold, Hartford had Lloyd Wright design and build a pool pavilion on the crest of the hill at Inspiration Point, facing Hollywood. Schemes were later proposed for galleries in the canyon, but after 1955, Hartford began to spend more time in New York where his Gallery of Modern Art was eventually built. In the mid 40s, Hartford wrote an adaptation of "Jane Eyre" called "Master of Thornfield", which ran for 2 weeks in Cincinnati and starred Errol Flynn as Mr, Rochester. This partnership led to Flynn staying in the pool house briefly in 1957-8 and is the origin of the legend that "The Pines" was Flynn's estate. In 1964, Hartford offered the property as a gift to the city, but this was turned down by Mayor Sam Yorty. As Lloyd Wright recalled in 1977, "Here was this very wealthy man and he wanted to give something very stunning to Hollywood. The Chambers of Commerce, the hotel owners and the various businesses were jealous of the park, and with the help of the City officials, the City refused to give us permits. Hunt(?) was so angry that he wanted to get out immediately and sold the property at a low price to Berman, who then destroyed the mansion and let the place run down."

Jules Berman, who had made a fortune importing Kahlua, saw the estate potentially as a "Tiffany development, a beautiful subdivision of 157 luxury homes". After purchasing the canyon in 1964 he razed Son Patrizio and the guest houses to the ground to avoid paying taxes on the deteriorating structures. His "Huntington Hartford Estates" development, trading on the name of its famous former owner, encountered resistance led by park activist Daniel deJonghe. The project was stopped in 1978 before building had even begun. The Lloyd Wright pool house remained standing until 1972, when a fire in the canyon destroyed all but its natural stone foundations.

Between 1994 and 1999 two parallel subway tunnels for the Metro Red Line were mined underneath the park. The tunnels run approximately from the southeast corner to the northwest corner of the park boundaries and are located deep underground. [http://www.hatchmott.com/documents/adobe/Grouting%20of%20TBM%20Rock%20Tunnels%20for%20LA%20Subway.pdf]

Walks and trails

There are three ways to enter Runyon Canyon; two entrances at the bottom of the park in the south, and one at the top, in the north.

When entering at the bottom of the canyon the walker can choose to go around the loop clockwise or counter-clockwise. Going clockwise involves gradually climbing up as one makes one's way towards the back of the canyon, swinging around to the east ridge to the panoramic Clouds Rest and then coming down the steep slope and steps to Inspiration Point, before taking up the central fire road back down to the Fuller Ave entrance. Going counter-clockwise is a much more energetic climb up the steps and steep slopes between Inspiration Point and Clouds Rest, before the long and gentle road back down. Allow 30-45 minutes for these routes.

Entering from Mulholland there are a couple of short hikes up Indian Rock to the highest point in the canyon with 360-degree views including the valley to the North. The alternative route follows the fire road round the rock and splits off towards the Western High Way or goes towards Clouds Rest and a choice of circuits.

There is the western trail which, from the southern approach at Vista, starts just inside the secondary gates (where dogs can be let off their leashes) and takes the hiker along the spine of the ridge to the second highest point in the canyon with magnificent views to the West and South. This is a considerably more taxing climb than the previous routes described and if followed by a descent via either the fire road or the eastern ridge route will take between 60-90 minutes. Taking in Indian Rock will add another 10-20 minutes.

There is another lesser-known route through the bottom of the canyon which starts by the sharp bend in the lower fire road. From here just follow the path past the ruins and over the foundation slab and then along what would once have been the river bed, and eventually you will emerge at the bend at the back of the canyon before the final rise up to Clouds Rest. The last bit of this route is a bit of a scramble but most of the rest of it is less strenuous than the climb between Inspiration Point and Clouds Rest.

Directly opposite where the Lower Canyon Trail joins the fire road, there is another steep hike over the Middle Rock which comes out by the electricity pylon just south of Indian Rock, and to the right is another river bed walk, which brings you out just north of the Lloyd Wright house.

The upper canyon trail is home to a variety of wildlife including birds, owls and hawks; snakes and lizards; and deer and coyote. Additionally, there are several hundred plant species throughout Runyon Canyon including black sage, elderberry, California sagebrush, wild buckwheat, golden yarrow, laurel sumac, scrub oak, sugar bush and toyon.

Trivia

* The bench overlooking Los Angeles featured near the end of "Seinfeld" episode 42, "The Trip, Part 2", is located in the park.
* Singer Rozz Williams' ashes were scattered in the park after his suicide.
* In the 1920s, Outpost Estates once had a sign not unlike the Hollywoodland sign (which later became the Hollywood sign). The OUTPOST sign is still on the hilltop, buried in the weeds. It was one of the largest neon signs in the world. Even the original foundation and electrical junction boxes survive.

References

External links

* [http://www.laparks.org/dos/parks/facility/runyonCanyonPk.htm Runyon Canyon Park at the Department of Parks and Recreation site]
* [http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=3755 detailed photos and a map of the trails from everytrail.com]
* [http://www.gosleepgo.com/node/620 Runyon Canyon] at GoSleepGo.com
* [http://lamountains.com/parks.asp?parkid=122 Information and photographs from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy]