Picture a bustling orchard in 1887. That’s where our story of Center Park begins. Not the Center Park you know today. No. This was a different Center Park. A ten-acre paradise nestled within a larger development called Central Park Tract. It lay beyond Los Angeles city limits in the Vernon farming district. Imagine picnickers enjoying lunches under orange and lemon trees. Children swinging from pepper tree branches. Older folks resting in the shade. The Los Angeles Times called it the pride of the Vernon countryside.
This wasn’t just any park. It boasted mature fruit trees a wise design choice by architect Ezra F Kysor. Beds of flowers ornamental palms and a picturesque pepper tree allée added to its charm. As the surrounding area boomed into Vernondale Center Park became a beloved retreat. It was a truly modest park compared to its namesake in Manhattan. But it held a special place in the hearts of its residents.
However Center Park’s existence was threatened. It remained privately owned. When Los Angeles annexed much of Vernon residents petitioned the city to buy the park. Kysor offered it for $4500 a generous offer. But the city refused. They argued Kysor had already given up the land’s title. This sparked a legal battle reaching the state Supreme Court. The court sided with Kysor in 1899.
By then Los Angeles had already chosen another site for a park South Park. Center Park’s fate was sealed. It survived a few years as a public space. Then Kysor divided the land into housing lots. On December 12 1904 workers cleared the orchard. Even the beautiful pepper trees were cut down. 49th Place a paved roadway replaced them. Center Park was gone. Its memory lives on though. A reminder of a simpler time a lost paradise. A testament to the ever-changing landscape of Los Angeles. A poignant story of a park that once was.