Cahuenga Peak

Cahuenga Peak

Cahuenga peak (left) and Burbank peak (right)
Highest point
Elevation 1,821 ft (555 m)  NAVD 88[1]
Prominence 1,030 ft (310 m) [2]
Coordinates 34°08′13″N 118°19′33″W / 34.136977578°N 118.325820847°W / 34.136977578; -118.325820847Coordinates: 34°08′13″N 118°19′33″W / 34.136977578°N 118.325820847°W / 34.136977578; -118.325820847 [1]
Geography
Location Los Angeles County, California,
United States
Parent range Santa Monica Mountains
Topo map USGS Burbank

Cahuenga Peak is the 12th-highest named peak in the Santa Monica Mountains and is located just west of the Hollywood Sign. It provides a spectacular 360-degree panorama of the Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley for those hikers willing to climb the roadless peak.

History

Howard Hughes acquired the peak and surrounding acreage in the 1940s with plans to build a house for his love interest, actress Ginger Rogers. Rogers broke up their engagement, so the area was left undeveloped. In 2002, a group of Chicago-area investors named Fox River Financial Resources purchased the 138-acre (56 ha) parcel along the ridge including Cahuenga Peak from the Hughes Estate for $1,675,000 according to Los Angeles County property records. The investors considered constructing five luxury estates on the property.

Conservation

Burbank Peak, Cahuenga Peak, and Mount Lee viewed across the Hollywood Reservoir

Los Angeles city officials said City Hall had received hundreds of letters pleading for the peak's protection, which prompted a campaign by city leaders and conservationists to raise $6,000,000 which they thought would be sufficient to buy Cahuenga Peak and turn it into an extension of nearby Griffith Park.[3] On February 13, 2008, Fox River Financial Resources released plans to sell the property for $22 million.[4]

That same month, The Trust for Public Land launched the "Save Cahuenga Peak" campaign to purchase the land from the investment firm for $12.5 million. As part of the campaign they draped the Hollywood Sign so that it read "SAVE THE PEAK". On April 26 it was announced that the campaign was successful. Though funds came from many sources, including $1.7 million in public money, it was the final-hour donations of $500,000 from The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation and Aileen Getty and $900,000 from Hugh Hefner that enabled the purchase.[5] In July 2010, more than 100 acres (40 ha) around Cahuenga Peak was officially added to Griffith Park.[6]

The peak is home to the rare Plummer’s mariposa lily, a population of coast horned lizards, and the echo blue butterfly.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Cahuenga 2". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
  2. ↑ "Cahuenga Peak, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  3. ↑ Pool, Bob (24 February 2006). "Striving to Save an Iconic View". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
  4. ↑ Leff, Lisa (17 April 2008). "Hollywood Sign Endangered By Real Estate Deal". Los Angeles: Huffington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  5. ↑ "Hugh Hefner Saves The Hollywood Sign". Beverly Hills Courier. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  6. ↑ Behrens, Zac (18 June 2010). "It's Official: Griffith Park Grows by More than 100 Acres with Addition of Cahuenga Peak". LAist. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  7. ↑ Goodyear, Dana (10 May 2010). "Hef's Peak". New Yorker. Retrieved 27 February 2014.

External links

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