Local Resources: Griffith Park, Griffith Park Archives, Travel Town Archives, and Hollywood Museum Collection

By Beverly Mateer Taylor

Colonel Griffith J. Griffith was a Welsh miner who made a fortune in California gold speculation and settled in Los Angeles. In 1882, he purchased a 4,071-acre portion of Rancho Los Feliz that stretched northward from the northern boundaries of the Pueblo de Los Angeles. As a Christmas gift in December 1896, he deeded 3,015 acres of it to the City of Los Angeles, to be used as " ... a place of recreation and rest for the masses, a resort for the rank and file...."

Today, Griffith Park is the largest urban municipal park in the nation and provides municipal golf courses, museums, equestrian facilities, camps for boys and girls, an observatory and theater, picnic areas, and miles of hiking trails.

Within this park are archives of value to historians and genealogists. Be warned, however: These collections are not for the casual "give-me-dates-and-places" family-tree builder. They contain many primary and secondary information sources for the serious researcher who already has some information about the family and is willing to dig for the details, historical and personal, that make a family history come alive.

The major strength they share is in the details of Western living in the 19th and 20th centuries. Even though you might not find your specific railroad firemen or rodeo performers, you will be able to learn more about their work, the conditions they worked under, their salaries, etc.

The following are Griffith Park facilities that are of interest to genealogists and family-history researchers. Col. Griffith was an eccentric character, and Griffith Park's history has been just as colorful as the colonel's life was. The small area now occupied by the Travel Town Museum has been a prison farm worked by inmates from the city jail in Lincoln Heights, a Civilian Conservation Corps camp, and a WWII prison camp. A 19th-century Ostrich Farm gave way to a zoo, which later became a picnic area when the zoo moved to another part of the park. Post WWII, there was even a temporary housing project in the park for returning soldiers and their families. Fortunately, records of all these uses-and more-have been preserved and are available for use by anyone who makes an appointment.

In setting out to investigate the Griffith Park Archives, Travel Town Archives, and the Hollywood Museum Collection, I soon discovered they share the same telephone number in the administrative offices of the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. The three are maintained as separate entities on the same site and all are the responsibility of Management Analyst Tom Breckner.

Mr. Breckner reminded me of a tenacious reference librarian with his endless curiosity, determination to locate answers, and enthusiasm for his job. He views his role as both custodian of-and key to-the archives he maintains, and as a referral service to other organizations when he doesn't have the requested information on site. He is willing to answer some of the easier questions on the telephone, but for extended searches the patron must come and personally search the files.

THE GRIFFITH PARK ARCHIVES consist of official records, institutional publications, maps, architectural drawings, personal papers, and photographs relating to Griffith Park's operation and history, primarily from the 1930s to the present. Although some of the folders contain older items, most of the older files have been transferred to the Los Angeles City Archives. The photographs are primarily of scenery, buildings, and groups, and lack identification of individuals. There are maps showing what was where in the park at different times. There are records of the activities and uses that have been made of the park lands over the years, including the Depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) projects, the short-lived prison farm, and a POW camp during World War II. There are various botanical areas as well. THE TRAVEL TOWN MUSEUM preserves the railroad heritage of the west, especially the role of railroads in the development of Los Angeles and Southern California. The equipment is on display outdoors year-round on Zoo Drive in Griffith Park.

The photograph collection and the archives are located in Mr. Breckner's office, except when they are displayed in special exhibits at the museum site. The photographs document both the equipment on display and the general history of railroading in Southern California. These archives include personal collections of materials donated by retired railroad employees, as well as books, official records, diaries, journals, and personal papers. They also include such items as employee manuals and rules for train movement.

For the most part information is filed by subject, so a bit of prior knowledge about the individuals you are searching for is necessary. Information dealing with only one railroad company has usually been kept by individual companies. The Union Pacific has its own museum in Omaha, and the Southern Pacific materials are in the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.

THE HOLLYWOOD MUSEUM COLLECTION, which has been housed in a number of locations over the years, including the old Lincoln Heights Jail, was dispersed after being moved from the jail building. The collection includes Hollywood memorabilia, costumes, full-length films, movie stills, photographic equipment, sound recordings, interviews, scripts, books, and archival materials, including business records, scrapbooks, and documents related to the Hollywood film, radio, and television industries. The costumes and related materials are at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM); posters, press sheets, films, and award programs at UCLA; Hal Roach office files at USC; and other items are at the American Film Institute and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Since all of the items were gifts to the museum and the city retains ownership, a searchable database is kept by Mr. Breckner showing where each item is. Some of the receiving institutions have not incorporated these materials into their catalogs, so you need to start with this archive's database to get the exact title and description in order to request it at the appropriate location.

These three archives are located at 3900 West Chevy Chase Drive, Los Angeles, 90039-1221. The telephone is (213) 485-5520. Advance reservations are required to visit the archives, which are open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Although there is a website for the park, it provides no information about archive contents. Photocopies of documents and/or copies of photographs are available; prices vary depending on the item to be reproduced. Materials are not loaned for off-site use.

© Beverly Mateer Taylor. Used with permission.