Griffith Park Lecture Series

Presented by Friends of Griffith Park

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Home Sweet Hut: The Rodger Young Village in Griffith Park

Guest Speaker: Mike Eberts, author of Griffith Park: A Centennial History

Griffith Park historian, Mike Eberts, will tell the fascinating story of Rodger Young Village. In 1946, spurred by the post-war housing shortage, this public housing project consisting of 750 corrugated steel Quonset huts, appeared practically overnight in Griffith Park. At its peak, some 5000 residents -- veterans and their families -- were grateful to call it home. With its market, hardware store, drug store and theater, the Village was like a small town. But in contrast to the de facto segregation that was then the norm, people of all races lived there. By the mid-1950s, residential development had caught up with housing needs and support waned for public projects. In 1954, the Village closed. A portion of its land was lost to freeway construction and the remaining acreage became the site of new facilities including the Los Angeles Zoo.