A mining millionaire paid $50,000 for 4,071 acres of Los Angeles land in 1882; 14 years later he gave 3,015 acres to the city, creating Griffith Park and the ground for its famous observatory
Photo credit (L-R): Wikimedia Commons; Visitcalifornia.com In 1882, mining millionaire Griffith J. Griffith paid $50,000 for 4,071 acres of ranchland in the Santa Monica Mountains, a purchase that would reshape Los Angeles for generations. Fourteen years later, in 1896, he donated 3,015 acres of that land to the city, creating what is now Griffith Park…