Dateline>City of Angels

An old gnarled trunk forms an eerie arch in the so-called “Badlands” of Elysian Park.

Originally part of El Pueblo de Los Angeles’ common lands, the 600-acre tract was officially established as the city’s first public park in April 1886. Today the green space offers stunning city views and is home to the Police Academy, Dodger Stadium, Grace Simons Lodge, and a former Navy / Marine Armory now used as an LAFD training center. Yet long before their appearance, the locale had already witnessed plenty of history and lore.

You might even say that Los Angeles owes its very existence to this place.

The historic Portola Expedition encamped near the park’s present-day Broadway entrance in 1769. Greatly impressed by the area’s natural beauty, they recommended it as the ideal site for the future City of Angels.

The town’s first Zanja Madre was also fed by a massive wooden water wheel situated along the L.A. riverbank nearby, and eventually by a small reservoir constructed in the park’s canyons.

Moreover, for decades treasure-seekers have believed that early pobladores like the Avilas and Picos buried their valuables in the park to safeguard them from raiding privateers and advancing American troops. No one has yet been able to prove the legend, which may also be connected to the story of a shrieking White Lady said to haunt the trails and hillsides. Some assert she keeps a lonely vigil over the lost belongings, while others claim she was the victim of a brutal post-World War II murder.

Then again, perhaps she’s an errant spirit from L.A.’s first Jewish cemetery, which once stood somewhere near Chavez Ravine.

Unfortunately, there were no signs of treasure, ghosts or gravestones when I snapped this photo with my trusty Nikon D70s just around sunset the other evening [1/50 sec. @ f10, 18-70mm lens]. With darkness — and the park’s curfew — closing in, I reluctantly hopped back in my Jeep and put it in gear, leaving exploration of these unsolved Elysian Mysteries for another day.