LaBonge (Tom) Collection on Griffith Park, 1930-2018

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Summary

Title:
Tom LaBonge Collection on Griffith Park
Dates:
1930-2018
Creators:
LaBonge, Tom
Abstract:
Tom LaBonge worked for the city of Los Angeles for over 40 years. He was a staff member for City Councilwoman Peggy Stevenson, Councilman John Ferraro, and Mayor Richard Riordan. He served as City Council member for Los Angeles' Fourth District for 14 years, from 2001-2015. LaBonge was known as "Mr. Los Angeles" for his enthusiastic promotion of the city. He took a special interest in celebrating and improving Griffith Park. Encompassing over 4,210 acres in the heart of Los Angeles, Griffith Park is one of the largest urban parks in North America. The Tom LaBonge Collection on Griffith Park measures approximately 14 linear feet and documents a wide range of issues related to Griffith Park and the surrounding Fourth District. The bulk of materials are from 1990-2015 and include city planning files, research files, photographs, maps, artwork, and memorabilia.
Extent:
14 Linear Feet approximate
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Tom LaBonge Collection on Griffith Park, 1930-2018, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MSA.56; [folder number] [folder title][date].

Background

Scope and content:

The Tom LaBonge Collection on Griffith Park covers a wide range of issues related to Griffith Park and the surrounding Fourth City Council District. It includes planning documents, correspondence, meeting notes, reports, studies, legal documents, news articles, photographs, maps, press releases, promotional materials, and ephemera related to Griffith Park that were created or collected by Tom LaBonge. The topics related to Griffith Park within these materials include natural features, public attractions, wildfires, infrastructure, and civic events. The Tom LaBonge Collection on Griffith Park also includes hundreds of photographs taken by LaBonge of the natural landscapes, public attractions, people involved with the park, or events that occurred at Griffith Park.

Biographical / historical:

Thomas (Tom) Joseph LaBonge (1953 – 2021) was born in Los Angeles, California on 1953 October 6 to his parents, Mary Louise Learnihan LaBonge and Robert LaBonge. He grew up in Silverlake (an eastside neighborhood in Los Angeles, California) and was the seventh of eight sons. He graduated from John Marshall High School and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from California State University, Los Angeles.

LaBonge began a lifetime of public service by serving on Tom Bradley's Youth Council in 1974. He then worked for Councilmember Peggy Stevenson, served as Chief Deputy to Council President John Ferraro, Special Assistant to Mayor Richard Riordan, and Director of Community Relations at the Department of Water and Power. LaBonge ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 1993, losing to Jackie Goldberg. In 2001, LaBonge won a special election to represent the Fourth City Council District after the death of his mentor, John Ferraro. The Fourth district included Koreatown, Mid-Wilshire, the Miracle Mile, the Fairfax District, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Griffith Park, and parts of Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, and North Hollywood. As Councilman, he chaired the Arts, Parks, Health, and Aging Committee. LaBonge left the office in 2015 due to term limits.

LaBonge was known as "Mr. Los Angeles" because he was an enthusiastic champion of the city. He was also a life-long advocate for Griffith Park. He worked to expand Griffith Park, restore the Griffith Observatory, and supported the Los Angeles Zoo and Autry Museum of the American West. LaBonge has said that he was most proud of his work to acquire and preserve the 138-acre parcel of land around the Hollywood sign, known as Cahuenga Peak, for $12.5 million in 2010. LaBonge was an avid hiker and photographer. He was known to hike through Griffith Park almost daily and frequently led tours through the park.

He was also known as a "DIY" politician who was not afraid to get his hands dirty to clean the city that he loved. He famously carried shovels and rakes in the back of his car so that he could stop to clean up garbage or unclog drains as he drove around the city. The city of Los Angeles named a garbage truck after him.

LaBonge was married to his wife Brigid for 41 years and they had two children – Mary-Cate and Charles. He died on 2021 January 7.

References

Bogy, Richard. "Tom LaBonge." Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce. https://tolucalakechamber.com/tom-labonge/. Accessed 21 May 2024.

Oney, Steve. "Mister L.A." Los Angeles Magazine, 1 April 2009. https://lamag.com/news/mister-la1

Regardie, Jon. "No One Loves Los Angeles Quite Like Tom LaBonge Loves Los Angeles." LA Downtown News, 29 June 2015. https://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/no-one-loves-los-angeles-quite-like-tom-labonge-loves-los-angeles/article_c6c12a52-1c4d-11e5-b24a-f7e3bc06c5a8.html

Zahniser, David and Dakota Smith. "Former L.A. Councilman Tom LaBonge, known to many as 'Mr. Los Angeles,' dies at 67." Los Angeles Times, 8 January 2021. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-01-08/tom-labonge-la-city-councilman-dies

Griffith Park was founded in 1896 when Colonel Griffith J. Griffith donated 3,015 acres of land to the people of Los Angeles to be used for recreation and relaxation. Today, Griffith Park has expanded to 4,015 acres of open space and is one of the largest urban parks in North America. The park's elevation ranges from 384 to 1,625 feet above sea level and contains natural coastal-sage scrub, oak woodlands, and riparian habitats. The park hosts many public attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, Griffith Observatory, the Autry Museum of the American West, picnic areas, playgrounds, hiking trails, bike paths, Travel Town, and a merry-go-round.

References

"Griffith Park." City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. 2021. https://www.laparks.org/griffithpark/. Accessed 22 May 2024.

"Griffith Park: A Historical Cultural Landmark." Friends of Griffith Park, 4 December 2014. https://friendsofgriffithpark.org/griffith-park-a-historical-cultural-landmark/. Accessed 7 June 2024.

Dante's View is a two-acre folk garden situated at a tree-shaded viewpoint along the trail to Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. The garden was started by Dante Orgolini (1905-1978) in 1965. Dante Orgolini was an artist of Italian descent who grew up in Brazil and immigrated to Los Angeles. He also worked as an actor, foreign correspondent, translator, movie technical advisor, insurance salesman, and hotel manager. He began cultivating the garden in Griffith Park (with permission of Park Rangers) by hiking plants and gardening tools up to the viewpoint as a way to heal from a difficult divorce. Over time, volunteers joined the effort and donated their time and plants to help Orgolini create a terraced garden with rock walls, paths, steps, and picnic tables. This garden became a social focal point in Griffith Park and Orgolini hosted weekly Sunday parties with food and music for volunteers and park visitors.

Charles "Charlie" Edmund Turner (1905 - 1997) met Orgolini while hiking in Griffith Park and became a dedicated volunteer. Turner was a British immigrant and retired insurance clerk who took over as the volunteer caretaker of Dante's View when Orgolini died in 1978. Turner hiked up to the garden almost daily, maintained the pathways and plants, and continued hosting Sunday parties for 15 years. Speaking of his time working at Dante's View, Turner said "I made more friends here than I previously did in all the rest of my life." He was nicknamed the "Mayor of Griffith Park," received City commendations for his volunteer efforts, and the trail to Mount Hollywood was named the "Charlie Turner Trail."

Tom LaBonge and Turner were friends who regularly hiked to Dante's View together (usually 5-days a week). LaBonge took over as volunteer caretaker of Dante's View in 1993 when Turner was no longer able to complete the hike due to old age. Dante's View was badly burned by wildfires in 1990 and 2007. Many of the original plants were destroyed in the fires but the gardens were replanted.

References

Darden, Clare. "Dante's Legacy." Friends of Griffith Park, 27 December 2023. https://friendsofgriffithpark.org/dantes-legacy/. Accessed 6 June 2024.

Gordon, Larry. "New Hands to Tend Hillside Garden" Griffith Park: At 88, Charlie Turner ends 15 years as volunteer keeper of Dante's View overlooking the city. Riordan Aide Tom LaBonge will take his place." Los Angeles Times, 8 November 1993. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-08-me-54495-story.html. Accessed 7 June 2024.

Lichtblau, Eric. "Charlie Turner; Griffith Garden Caretaker." Los Angeles Times, 2 February 1997. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-02-02-me-24797-story.html. Accessed 6 June 2024.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Tom LaBonge, 2018.
Processing information:

Processing and finding aid by Molly Smith, 2024

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into four series:

City Planning Documents and Research Files, 1952-2018

Promotional Materials and Publications, 1970-2018

Photographs, 1939-2018

Artwork and Memorabilia, 2000-2010

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-09-03 16:21:32 +0000 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives and fill out the Researcher Application Form.

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Library and Archives at the Autry. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred citation:

Tom LaBonge Collection on Griffith Park, 1930-2018, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MSA.56; [folder number] [folder title][date].

Location of this collection:
4700 Western Heritage Way
Los Angeles, CA 90027, US
Contact:
(747) 201-8448
rroom@theautry.org
Website