My trip to Hollenbeck Park in Boyle Heights was an interesting look at what was before and what is today. Before going to the location I researched the park and it’s rich history while at the Los Angeles Public Library on our field trip. The park was opened in 1892 and donated by John Edward Hollenbeck who became the namesake after his monetary and land donations to the city of Los Angeles. The park had appeared to change dramatically over the course of the years and is no longer the picturesque Victorian era park that it had originally been conceived as. Long gone was the cast iron Victorian bridge and European style. While the original bridge that spanned the man made lake was taken down, a replacement came in 1970 made of wood and concrete. The park is spread over nearly 21 acres of land and is a lush sanctuary away from the chaos and stress of the surrounding urban area for people and animals alike.
The park was also much larger than I had originally expected. Its lake became the centerpiece and the park’s shape took on an elongated oval shape with the lake stretching nearly from one end to the other. The park’s overall typography was bowl shaped creating a sort of refuge from the streets and the noise of the freeway that runs along the western edge of the park. While walking the path around the pond I noticed just how much wildlife called the park home. There were many species of ducks, geese, and various other water birds. The birds seem to enjoy the space just as much as the people and is probably an easy source of food for them when people come to feed them. Tall old trees dot the perimeter of the park with a miraculous hanging Oak stretched out over the water toward the middle of the lake. Its roots taking hold firmly as the tree hung precariously over the waters edge.
While in the park I observed the people who visited the space. There were teenagers at one end standing on the bridge cracking jokes and exchanging laughs, couples laying on blankets kissing under the shade of the tall trees, and an elderly Hispanic gentleman who seemed to have a particular attachment to one of the geese. He walked back and forth along the edge of the water calling the goose by name and led him from one side of the pond to the other. The goose and the man seemed to be close friends and he was even able to intense the goose to come out of the water to say hello.
As I continued walking I observed him from afar, a mother and daughter walked by in astonishment that the man was able to commune with the animal. The old man insisted that the child say hello and meet his good friend. As the girl approached nervously the old man assured her that she would be ok and that the goose was very friendly. The goose appeared to study the child for a brief moment then continued to approach her cautiously, the child laughed and then ran behind her mother for safety, peeking out from behind her legs at the goose. The old man began to chuckle slightly as the woman thanked the old man and continued walking along the pond with the child holding her mother’s hand stile grinning eagerly at the goose then up at the old man.
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