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RECREATION AND PARKS

CHAVEZ RAVINE ARBORETUM
Elysian Park is reached from the 5 or 110 freeways. The Chavez Ravine Arboretum is on the west side of Stadium Way near the Grace E. Simon Lodge.
(213) 485-5054
DRIVING DIRECTIONS Enter your starting address

Description:

The City of Los Angeles welcomes you to the first and oldest arboretum in Southern California . The Chavez Ravine Arboretum in Elysian Park was founded in 1893 by the Los Angeles Horticultural Society. Planting of rare trees in the Arboretum continued through the 1920s. Most of the Arboretum's original trees are still standing in their regal grandeur. Many of the trees are the oldest and largest of their kind in California and even the United States . Rich in history and displayed for your pleasure and education, these splendid, handsome trees are but an introduction to the more than 100 varieties from around the world that can be grown in our mild Southern California climate.

The Chavez Ravine Arboretum was declared a Historic Cultural Monument in 1967. Please help protect and preserve the Arboretum's trees so future generations can continue to enjoy these living legacies.

Admission to the Park and Arboretum is free. For more information visit the photo gallery or call (213) 485-5054.

Additional information about these and other trees, including their selection, planting, and care in the landscape, can be found in the following references:

Hodel, Donald R. 1988. Exceptional trees of Los Angeles. California Arboretum Foundation, Arcadia.

Hoyt, Roland E. 1958. Ornamental Plants of Subtropical Regions. Privately published.

Lane Publishing Co. 1988. New Sunset Western Garden Book. Menlo Park, California.

Mathias, Mildred E. (ed.). 1982. Flowering Plants in the Landscape. University of California Press, Los Angeles.

Staff of L. H. Bailey Hortorium. Hortus Third. Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., New York.

The authors are:

Teresa Proscewicz and Margaret Kelly Recreation and Parks, City of Los Angeles and Mary Brooks Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park.

The authors thank Donald R. Hodel, Environmental Horticulturist, University of California Cooperative extension, Los Angeles, and James A. Bauml, Taxonomist. The Arboretum of Los Angeles County, Arcadia for their assistance with this guide.

Design & Photography by Thos. K. Meyer.

The Trees

Numbers next to the names of the trees correspond to the numbers on the map on the other side of this guide. The numbers on the Map are the approximate location of the trees in the Arboretum.

NOTE: In order to download the map, it must be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader. To Download Acrobat Reader CLICK HERE

An asterisk (*) preceding a number on the list and map indicates that tree is identified with a label.