Griffith Park is a lot like a mysterious island. It is its own isolated corner of Los Angeles that exists in a bubble. While it hosts the famous staples such as the HOLLYWOOD sign, Greek Theater, and Griffith Observatory, it is also laden with bizarre nuggets of historical pieces that are worth revisiting.
For instance, there is the Old Los Angeles Zoo, a dilapidated amusement center in the middle of a forest in the heart of the city. I took a stroll through the ruins on a hike and photographed it as I went.
Sites like the above photo are common. A once enclosed encampment for large cats or primates lays open for you to waltz through. Graffiti is a Los Angeles staple, and there are many scenes in the area that are more paint than stone.
Then at times, the place can feel similar to a run-down prison or a haunted site. There is truth in both of those likenesses. The cages that these wild animals lived in were tiny, barely fit for a human, let alone a four-hundred pound tiger. (Note: I can’t actually verify there were tigers in there. I would hope not, anyway.)
While we explored each the buildings littered with broken glass and trash, the similarity grew between this site and sites like Eastern State Penitentiary, my favorite tourist attraction in Philadelphia. It feels haunting, cold, and forlorn. Nature has reclaimed large swathes of the site, and people had bent bars and ripped down doors to find a new place to drink or smoke. At times, you have to reset your brain from the medley of environments at play.
Some people do not like the creepiness of these places. Personally, I find it intoxicating. Places that have been worn down by the relentless force of time. Places like Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where as you gaze down an empty, half-sunlit hallway with a 300-year old crumbling stone fireplace and crooked photos of a bygone era lining the wall you start to feel your hairs stand straight on your neck.
The most alluring aspect of places like these is the silence. Besides the occasional shouting teen or woodpecker working on a tree trunk, nothing disturbs you. It is a sense of solidarity that is all the more bizarre when you remember that, hey, I’m actually in one of the largest metropolises in the country. But what is Tinsel Town without its quirks.
The history of the park is turbulent and has its own share of sorrow. It opened in 1912 with a total of fifteen animals on display. When it was renovated in 1930, the animals were put into steel cages roughly ten feet by ten feet. Before animal rights organizations, an animal’s life had little meaning to its owners. There are countless stories online on the state of the animals, many of which starved to death when budgets ran flat and meat shortages set in. The city decided the zoo needed to pack up its bags and move in 1966 to the current Los Angeles Zoo just around the bend.
Between each archaic building or rust-covered fence is beautiful forestry and mountain paths. The hiking around the park is pleasant and light, perfect for those who do not own a pair of expensive hiking boots. Even better are the regular stops you can make around the zoo that give your feet and legs time to rest and to gaze at creepy spray paint. It would be smart to watch your step, as in addition to the common wildlife hazards, there are several occasions of broken bottles strewn throughout the sites.
Who’s the guy who wants to drink PBR near Evil Squidward?
Los Angeles has the tremendous upside that people without a lot of money can get out and see some interesting sites. If you liked this article, be sure check back later: we have some interesting plans lined up to see an abandoned village and a shipwrecked coast, with even more explorations planned well into 2017.
Party on, mortals.
Dumpster Fire 