“Imagine,” said George Allan Hancock, a California petroleum industry pioneer, “that this park be preserved.” That vision became Hancock Park.
Hancock Park is more than just a park. It’s a portal to the past. It is a vibrant space in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles.
George Allan Hancock donated 23 acres. He wanted to preserve the area. He also wanted to exhibit the fossils properly. That was in 1924.
Hancock recognized the scientific importance. He found fossils in the asphaltic deposits. He inherited the 3000-acre Rancho La Brea in 1883. It included the La Brea Tar Pits.
Hancock Park now includes the La Brea Tar Pits. It also includes the George C. Page Museum. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is part of it, too.
Until 1875, the bones were from domestic stock. They were also thought to be native mammals. Then scientist William Denton mentioned extinct fauna. It was at Rancho La Brea.
William Warren Orcutt studied the bones thoroughly in 1901. He was a Los Angeles geologist. He collected bones of saber-toothed cats. He also found dire wolf and ground sloth fossils. Orcutt brought attention to the La Brea Tar Pits. He showed the scientific community their value. They helped people understand the late Pleistocene fauna. They also contained flora of North America.
The park has open spaces. There are also landscaped areas. People walk here. They picnic and do other recreational activities. Hancock Park stretches across a large city block. It surrounds two museums.
The 1952 Observation Pit reopened in 2014. It had been closed since the mid-1990s. It is a repository for large Ice Age fossils. The Pit 91 fossil excavation also reopened in 2014. The skeleton of a Columbian mammoth was found. It was among the excavated discoveries.
The Pleistocene Garden recreates prehistoric landscape habitats. It represents the native vegetation. This area was the Los Angeles Basin long ago. The plant list came from 35 years of research. It represents four ecoregions. Coastal sage scrub thrives here. Riparian, Deep Canyon California oak woodlands, and California montane chaparral also grow here.
Hancock Park is a California Historical Landmark. The La Brea Tar Pits are a U.S. National Natural Landmark.
A renovation is planned for Hancock Park. The design was chosen in 2019. The renovation includes the Page Museum. There will be a new museum building. It includes a cafe and shop. Entrances will be renovated with canopies. Pedestrian paths will comply with ADA standards.
Visiting Hancock Park is a journey through time. You can see the past. It is a testament to preservation. The park reminds us of prehistoric Los Angeles. It honors George Allan Hancock’s vision.