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Griffith Park — Los Angeles’ Unofficial Graveyard
With its substantial parklands and varied landscapes, Griffith Park is often used in the media to be used as jungle brush, desert and summer camps. Due to its expanse and rough terrain, the land is also the perfect dumping ground for bodies, suicides and accidental deaths.
“Another one? They’re always finding bodies up here.” — Lynda Burdick, employee at Griffith Park.
The park, which sits on the eastern edge of the Santa Monica mountains, is one of the largest urban parks in North America. Its attractions include the Hollywood sign, Bronson Canyon, the Los Angeles Zoo, Griffith Observatory, an amphitheatre and a golf course.
The Park was used as housing for veterans during World War II. The camp became the Army Western Corps Photographic Centre and Camouflage Experimental Laboratory, until the end of the war.
Griffith Park has seen major fires in its history. In 1933, 29 civilians lost their lives, trying to fight the fire. It was one of the deadliest fires in U.S history with over 150 treated for injuries.
The 2007 fire burned over 800 acres, destroying the bird sanctuary, Dante’s View, Captain’s View, and forced the evacuation of hundreds of locals from their homes. The city announced a $50 million plan to steady the burned slopes to ensure there wasn’t a collapse.
Since its construction, Griffith Park has been seen as a backdrop in numerous films and TV episodes. In 2016, La La Land was filmed at the Griffith Observatory, making use of the country’s third oldest planetarium. Other screen mentions include The Terminator, Back to the Future, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, to name a few. It’s been used in music videos too, including Simple Plan’s Untitled, and Adam Lambert’s If I Had You.
The Park has seen 10 million visitors and is home to many wild animals, including mountain…
