Victory-Vanowen Park – North Hollywood CA

Description

The Annual Report from 1932-33 of the Los Angeles Board of Park Commissioners records extensive federal aid in developing the park:

“Victory Vanowen Park is one of the largest parks in the San Fernando Valley, with an area of a little over ninety acres. This park is bounded by Whitsett Avenue, Laurel Canyon Boulevard, and Calvert Street. An enormous amount of improvement work was done here with the help of the [Reconstruction Finance Corporation] R.F.C. and County Welfare labor.

New roads, a length of 6,110 feet, were constructed, which required the grading of 4,072 cubic yards of dirt, and installing 8,850 feet of redwood curbing. Curbing amounting to 1,000 lineal feet was placed along some of the walks. Considerable flood control work was accomplished, consisting of improving the channel a distance of 2,640 feet, and grading and removing 32,560 cubic yards of dirt. Thirty-one hundred forty lineal feet of rip-rap was built to prevent erosion. Forty acres of park property was cleared and thirty-five acres graded. In this work 120,000 cubic yards of soil was graded. Six hundred seventy-five new trees were planted to improve the park, and 16,145 flowering plants were put in. New lawns were planted on 1 1/2 acres. Seven hundred feet of new fence was constructed, and six new drinking fountains were installed at various points in the park. A total of twenty-three acres in Victory-Vanowen park were improved.”

Though Highway SR-170, built in 1952, now runs through the middle of the space, significant portions of the park area still exist around the highway.