Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
Encyclopedia
California Department of Parks and Recreation
The California Department of Parks and Recreation, also known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 278 parks and 1.4 million acres , with over of coastline; of lake and river frontage; nearly 15,000 campsites; and of hiking, biking, and...
system. The Park is located in the Baldwin Hills, both a geographic landform feature and a southwestern district of the City of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, in Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The 319 acres (1.3 km²) park is managed by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. As one of the largest urban parks and regional open spaces in Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
, some call it "L.A.'s Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
".
The Hills
The Baldwin Hills were part of the homeland of the Tongva Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
people, inhabited by them for over 8,000 years. .
In the 1800s the area was part of the Spanish and Mexican Ranchos of California
Ranchos of California
The Spanish, and later the Méxican government encouraged settlement of territory now known as California by the establishment of large land grants called ranchos, from which the English ranch is derived. Devoted to raising cattle and sheep, the owners of the ranchos attempted to pattern themselves...
era, with the Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes
Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes
Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes was a land grant in present day Los Angeles County, California given in 1821 to Bernardo Higuera and Cornelio Lopez by Pablo Vicente de Sola, the Spanish Governor of Alta California. In 1843, this Spanish grant was confirmed by Mexican Governor Manuel Micheltorena...
and Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera
Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera
Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera was a Mexican land grant in present day Los Angeles County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Vicente Sánchez...
in and around the present day Park.
As Los Angeles quickly grew during the 20th century, only the rugged terrain of this section of the Baldwin Hills protected it from being developed.
In 1932 the area east of the park was used as the site of the first Olympic Village
Olympic Village
An Olympic Village is an accommodation centre built for an Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials, athletic trainers, and other staff. Since the Munich Massacre at the 1972...
ever built, for the 1932 Summer Olympics
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
, the 10th Olympiad which Los Angeles hosted. Los Angeles again hosted the Olympic Games, with the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
, drawing athletes from 140 nations. To serve as a continual reminder of the events, 140 trees have been planted together on the hills where the 1932 Olympics took place, with each tree representing a nation that took part in the 1984 Olympics.
Between 1947 and 1951, the Baldwin Hills Reservoir
Baldwin Hills Reservoir
The Baldwin Hills Reservoir was a water storage basin located on a low hilltop in Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, California. It was constructed between 1947 and 1951 by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power directly on an active fault line which was subsidiary to the well known nearby...
was built in the hills on the future park site. In 1963, the reservoir's dam collapsed disastrously, washing away residences in the canyon and flooding the landmark Baldwin Hills Village
Village Green, Los Angeles
The Village Green is a condominium complex in Baldwin Hills, a Los Angeles neighborhood. It is located between Rodeo Road and Coliseum Street, west of La Brea Avenue. The complex was built in 1942 as one of the most ambitiously planned communities in Los Angeles at the time...
(Village Green) at the hills' foot. The reservoir's empty bowl is still visible
In the late 1940s the city transportation master plan included building a new 'north-south freeway,' the aborted Laurel Canyon Freeway-SR-170, that would have bisected the Baldwin Hills and future park site where La Cienega Boulevard currently crosses the hills.
The Park
The Park is named after Los Angeles County Board of SupervisorsLos Angeles County Board of Supervisors
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five-member nonpartisan governing board of Los Angeles County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district. They were as of December 2, 2008:*District 1: Gloria Molina...
member Kenneth Hahn
Kenneth Hahn
Kenneth "Kenny" Hahn was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for forty years, from 1952 to 1992. Hahn was on the Los Angeles City Council from 1947 to 1952. He was an ardent supporter of civil rights throughout the 1960s, and met Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1961.-Biography:Hahn...
, also the father of former Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn and former Los Angeles City Council member and current Congresswoman Janice Hahn. The Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area first opened in 1983 as the 'Baldwin Hills State Recreational Area,' and was later renamed in 1988 to honor Supervisor Hahn and his preservation efforts here. Also since its opening the park has been expanded, as some of the adjacent oil well
Oil well
An oil well is a general term for any boring through the earth's surface that is designed to find and acquire petroleum oil hydrocarbons. Usually some natural gas is produced along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce mainly or only gas may be termed a gas well.-History:The earliest...
s have 'dried up' and the oil field
Oil field
An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...
land cleaned up and acquired.
In 1977, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn convinced Vice President Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
to reuse the land, from former oil-drilling sites, for a public open space park. At the time the area was also a very popular spot for the then new sport of motocross
Motocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
, locals calling it 'Motorcycle Hill'. Land was acquired for the park, and now includes land of the Ballona Creek
Ballona Creek
Ballona Creek is an waterway in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, whose watershed drains the Los Angeles basin, from the Santa Monica Mountains on the north, the Harbor Freeway on the east, and the Baldwin Hills on the south...
watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
that is a wildlife corridor
Wildlife corridor
A wildlife corridor or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities . This allows an exchange of individuals between populations, which may help prevent the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity that often occur within...
from the hills, through Culver City to the Ballona Wetlands
Ballona Wetlands
The Ballona Wetlands are located in Southern California, USA south of Marina del Rey and east of Playa del Rey. The wetlands once included the areas now taken up by Marina del Rey, Venice, and Playa Vista, extending north to about present-day Washington Blvd...
. Humans can also traverse this on the Ballona Creek bicycle path
Ballona Creek bicycle path
The Ballona Creek bicycle path is a six-mile stretch of Class 1 bicycle path in Los Angeles that parallels Ballona Creek for its entire length. It starts where Jefferson Boulevard veers south to spawn National Boulevard in Culver City, passes through Del Rey and Playa Vista, and ending joining The...
.
Recreational activities
Hahn Park offers walking and hiking trails with some of the area's best scenic vistas:- north to the Hollywood SignHollywood SignThe Hollywood Sign is a landmark and American cultural icon in the Hollywood Hills area of Mount Lee, Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles, California. The sign spells out the name of the area in and white letters. It was created as an advertisement in 1923, but garnered increasing recognition...
; - east to the Downtown Los AngelesDowntown Los AngelesDowntown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
high-rises and San Gabriel MountainsSan Gabriel MountainsThe San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...
behind them; - southeast to the Santa Ana MountainsSanta Ana MountainsThe Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately 36 mi southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside counties.- Geography :The range starts in the...
; - south to the Los Angeles Harbor area;
- southwest to Santa Monica BaySanta Monica BaySanta Monica Bay is a bight of the Pacific Ocean in southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn between Point Dume, in Malibu, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Its eastern...
and the Pacific OceanPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
; - west to the Santa Monica MountainsSanta Monica MountainsThe Santa Monica Mountains are a Transverse Range in Southern California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States.-Geography:...
.
The Park is an ideal place for picnics and family gatherings, having 100 picnic table
Picnic table
A picnic table is a modified table with attached benches, designed for eating a meal outdoors .-Uses:...
s in various picnic grounds around the park. The park also has four playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
s, a half basketball court, a lit multi-purpose field, and a sand volleyball court. Garden areas include a Japanese garden
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
with a stream and waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
. There is a a fishing lake, stocked monthly with trout or catfish, depending on the season.
Flora and fauna
The Park's native habitatCalifornia native plants
California native plants are plants that existed in California prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late 18th century...
is the Coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub is a low scrubland plant community found in the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of coastal California and northern Baja California. It is characterized by low-growing aromatic, and drought-deciduous shrubs adapted to the semi-arid Mediterranean climate of the...
plant community, with oak woodlands
California oak woodland
California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico...
in northern arroyos and bunch grass grasslands on the southwestern windy and exposed terrain.
The park is currently home to gray fox
Gray Fox
The gray fox is a mammal of the order Carnivora ranging throughout most of the southern half of North America from southern Canada to the northern part of South America...
es, raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
s, skunk
Skunk
Skunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...
s, desert cottontail rabbit
Cottontail rabbit
The cottontail rabbits are among the 16 lagomorph species in the genus Sylvilagus, found in the Americas.In appearance, most cottontail rabbits closely resemble the wild European Rabbit...
s, possum
Possum
A possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails...
s, and the California quail
Quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...
, among other animals.
The Baldwin Hills area is also the nesting grounds for 41 species of birds, and the three Los Angeles, Santa Monica Bay, and Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Society Chapters offer monthly bird walks for bird watching in Hahn Park.
Park Location
- Entrance: 4100 South La Cienega Boulevard, Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, California 90056.
- In the Baldwin Hills.
- Latitude/Longitude: 34.0086 / -118.3644
- The Park is somewhat difficult to access by pedestrians. The easiest way to access and enter the Park is by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation SystemLos Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation AuthorityThe Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the California state-chartered regional transportation planning agency and public transportation operating agency for the County of Los Angeles formed in 1993 out of a merger of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the...
-Metro LocalMetro LocalMetro Local is a bus system in Los Angeles County operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority . This retronym designation was placed to differentiate it from the Metro Rapid service...
Busses or by private automobile off of La Cienega Boulevard. .
In Media
- The park has been used as a filming locationFilming locationA filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage...
for films, videos, and television; including:- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
- Buffy the Vampire SlayerBuffy the Vampire Slayer filming locationsMany scenes in the movie and television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer were shot on locations in and around Los Angeles, California.- Schools :...
- the "Once More With Feeling" episode. - The golf scene in the film Swordfish (film)Swordfish (film)Swordfish is a 2001 crime-thriller film, directed by Dominic Sena and starring John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle and Vinnie Jones. The film is an action thriller that was also notable for Halle Berry's first topless scene...
, in the adjacent oil fieldOil fieldAn oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...
. - The music video for Dr. DreDr. DreAndre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
and Snoop DoggSnoop DoggCalvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
's Nuthin' but a G thang.
- The park is mentioned in the song The Ice Plant AmphitheaterA Picnic on the 405A Picnic on the 405 is a record by folk-singer John Craigie. It was released in 2007 on Zabriskie Point Records. It is his fourth album, and his most involved project to date. Again being backed by The Accidental Poets, Craigie brought in a few more musicians to beef up the sound for this record...
by folk singer John CraigieJohn Craigie (musician)John Craigie is an American singer-songwriterwho currently resides in San Francisco, CA. Hailed as a "Modern-Day Troubadour" in the style of Woody Guthrie and Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Craigie has been touring the United States for the past 6 years, playing in a diverse style of venues including...
. - The park is featured in the video game, Midnight Club: Los AngelesMidnight Club: Los AngelesMidnight Club: Los Angeles is the fourth video game in the Midnight Club series of racing video games, not including Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix. It was officially announced for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on January 11, 2008 by Rockstar Games. The game was developed by Rockstar San Diego...
.