Great parks are physical expressions of our history and our aspirations. They tell the story of the people, past and present, who have claimed the parkland as their own, intertwined with the story told by nature, geology, wind and water.
Palisades Park, given to the City by Sra. Arcadia Bandini, Colonel Baker and Senator Jones, is a great park. Made great by the ocean and the palisades, its place as a connector between the City and sea, by its history and by all the forces, natural and human, that have created this public space.
I had the chance to meet with the Santa Monica Conservancy docents who will be at the Park on June 13, 2010 to welcome people to a tour of the park and to talk about the history, the landscape, and the events that make Palisades Park what it is today. www.smconservancy.org
Walking the length of Palisades Park from north to south was, as always, wonderful. But walking with the Conservancy docents and hearing their stories, I was also in the company of the Tongva/Gabrieleno Indians who lived for centuries on the coast we now call home. They truly lived lightly on the land and so there are few physical traces of the as many as 5000 Tongva who lived, in small villages, on the Southern California coast.
The plants have changed as well as the people, from the natives of the time of the Tongva to imports such as the Dragon Trees from the Canary Islands. Pink Melaleucas, twisted trees with ground-hugging branches, pink blossoms and whitish flaking bark and Australian Tea Trees with dark furrowed bark and small white flowers are signature trees in the Park and favorite climbing spots for small children. Eucalyptus trees, from Australia, were brought in by Abbot Kinney of Venice Canal fame. He hoped Eucalyptus would prove to be useful for construction. He grew them at an experimental nursery built on land also donated by Arcadia Bandini.
Iconic colonnades of Mexican Fan and Canary Island Palms echo the shape and form of the linear park, their image recognizable far beyond Santa Monica. Italian Stone Pines repeat linear patterns, each new planting design overlaying the past with the aesthetic of its own time. Now, again, working to save the palisades from erosion, we have returned to the native plants that express our commitment as a city to the principles of environmental sustainability.
The park is continuously reinvented. The Senior Center was originally the location of the North Beach Station of the Pacific Electric Railway. The new building, constructed in 1955 by architect Weldon J. Fulton, was given to the City by philanthropist Marcellus L. Joslyn, in memory of his wife.
The funicular that once spanned from the park to the beach is long gone, but the desire to re-create a way to get from the park to the beach is getting a new look by the City.
Along the recently created natural paths are a timeline of monuments that celebrate our history. The totem pole anchoring the northern edge of the park honors the Native Americans of our Country. Walking south through the park we come to the stone marker dedicated to George Washington by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Our walk takes us past the sculpture of Arcadia Bandini, surrounded by a formal rose garden; the Montana ridge, a ceramic bench designed to look like the rocks; the Craftsman Idaho gates with the emblematic Batchelder tiles; and, of course, the Pergola. At the south end of the park we relearn the ironies of history when we come to the monument dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Chichen. Unfortunately, their achievements have been lost to memory.
Everyone seems to agree the weather is perfect for playing in the park. Not too hot, not too cold, not too bright. The park is filled with people. Bicyclists in cycling outfits, joggers and walkers, grandparents and grandchildren, hand-holding couples, people and their dogs, photographers, people practicing yoga, people exercising with their trainers, chess players, and picnickers mix comfortably together. It was a pleasure to see the way each person made the park his/her own. It was also a pleasure to know that this has been a special place for generations, and, if we do our job as good stewards, it will continue to be a special place for the generations to come.
Knowledgeable and welcoming Conservancy docents will be in Palisades Park on Sunday, June 13 to share their stories with you. I, for one, raise my glass in a toast of gratitude to Arcadia Bandini. Her gifts to our City have not been well recognized. She was the daughter of one of the original Ranchero Families of Southern California, known as a good businesswoman, a gracious hostess and a generous philanthropist. I say, muchisimos gracias Arcadia Bandini. What say you?
