The 100 Acre Park is being built directly adjacent to the Los Angeles River on the largest contiguous piece of land left along the river. This park represents the largest open space undertaken in Los Angeles since Griffith Park in 1896.

About the River: 17 Cities and 2100 acres of land touch the LA River. 1 million people live within 1 mile of the LR River. Over 10 million people, ¼ of Californians, live within a 1-hour drive of the LA River. 31 miles of bike paths along the LA River are already built. Several new pedestrian and bike and equestrian bridges have opened in the last few years. Dozens of revitalization projects are already completed. Dozens more are coming.

History: Its site is intertwined with the founding of Los Angeles. The land was a historical home to indigenous people. Tongva/Gabrieleno villages populated the riverside for hundreds of years. In 1769, the Spanish Portola expedition with Father Serra spent the night nearby and named the river, Los Angeles. In the first record written word in So Cal, Father Crespi rhapsodized about this “green, lush valley,” and is “very full flowing, wide river.” In the 1890’s it was bought by J. Hartley Taylor, who raised oats, barley, and hogs then built the Taylor Milling Company there. From 1911-1985 the original 244-acre property was owned by Union Pacific as a major train switching center.

The 43-acre riverside land (G2 Parcel) was purchased by the City of Los Angeles in March 2017 for $60 million for the purposes of providing a combination of park space, walking trails, wetlands, wildlife habitat, river access, public recreation, and acres of new publicly accessible open space in the middle of Los Angles. Due to its former use as a railyard, the G2 Parcel is a known brownfield requiring its soil to be remediated.

This new park space will restore a native plant palate to the area and provide habitat for important local and migratory species. The initial phase will focus on the Paseo Del Rio, a native habitat greenway, with funding already secured.

Importance. Los Angeles lies within a globally scarce Mediterranean ecosystem, which covers 2% of the Earth’s land surface, but accounts for 20% of all known plant species. The California Floristic Province is one of 25 global hotspots of rapid biodiversity loss. Over 90% of Southern California’s riparian habitat has been lost, along with 95% of its wetlands and 40% of its reptiles and amphibians. In addition, approximately 140 federally protected bird species are supported by the LA River. Our goal is to help restore much needed green space and wetlands to our community and wildlife. Read more about the benefits of Open Space.

There will many other benefits from the new Park and the major projects. Read about the Community Benefits here.