Will Rogers Memorial Park
Location
Shaped like a triangle, the park is surrounded by West Sunset Boulevard, North Canon Drive and North Beverly Drive. It is across the street (south side of Sunset) from the Beverly Hills Hotel. It covers an area of 5 acres (2.0 hectares).
Overview
The park includes a pond with fish and turtles, and a fountain in the middle. It also includes lawns, rose gardens, tall palm trees, a dragon tree, winding asphalt paths, and men's and women's restrooms. It also features two bronze plaques about the history of the park, and a smaller plaque about the Beverly Hills Garden Club.
History
The park was constructed in 1912 and dedicated in 1915, becoming the first public park in Beverly Hills.
In 1921, scenes of the Charlie Chaplin film The Idle Class were filmed at this park. In 1932, some scenes of the film Pack Up Your Troubles, featuring the double act Laurel & Hardy, were filmed in the park.
It was called the Sunset Park until 1952, when it was renamed the Will Rogers Memorial Park in honor of Will Rogers, who served as the first Honorary Mayor of Beverly Hills from 1926 to 1928 and frequented the park often with his family. On May 18, 1957, a plaque was added to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Beverly Hills Garden Club.
As explained on one of the historical plaques, the park was rededicated in 1997 and renovated in 2005.
On April 7, 1998, singer George Michael was arrested for committing a "lewd act" by Marcelo Rodriguez, a plainclothes officer of the Beverly Hills Police Department, in the restrooms of the park. The singer parodied the arrest in his video of Outside, which led the police officer to sue him for US$10 million for "humiliation, mental anguish, emotional and physical distress" because of the video.
In September 2014, the fountain was renamed the Margaret J. Anderson Fountain, in honor of the first owner of the Beverly Hills Hotel.
In October 2014, 160 Beverly Hills Centennial Roses, a type of floribunda rose registered for the city's centennial, were planted in the park. The dedication took place on October 5. The rose garden is the result of a donation from Dr. Keith Zary, a rose breeder.
Gallery
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Sign of Use and Conduct of the Will Rogers Memorial Park -
View of the Margaret J. Anderson Fountain in the Will Rogers Memorial Park -
View of the Margaret J. Anderson Fountain in the Will Rogers Memorial Park -
Bronze plaque about the Will Rogers Memorial Park in Beverly Hills, California -
Another bronze plaque about the Will Rogers Memorial Park -
Plaque of the Beverly Hills Garden Club in the Will Rogers Memorial Park -
Dragon Tree (Dracaena draco) in the Will Rogers Memorial Park -
Turtles in the Will Rogers Memorial Park -
Koi fish in the Will Rogers Memorial Park
References
- ^ Google Map
- ^ Sue McAllister, Pop Singer George Michael Arrested in Restroom of Beverly Hills Park, The Los Angeles Times, April 9, 1998
- ^ John M. Glionna, Beverly Hills Steps Up Patrols to Stop Cruising, The Los Angeles Times, May 29, 1998
- ^ City of Beverly Hills: Will Rogers Memorial Park: City Landmark Assessment And Evaluation
- ^ City of Beverly Hills: City Parks: Will Rogers Memorial Park
- ^ Marc Wanamaker, Beverly Hills, 1930–2005, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2006, p. 11 [1]
- ^ Entertainment: George Michael faces $10m lawsuit, BBC News, September 14, 1999
- ^ FOUNTAIN—At the request of Cultural Heritage Commission Chair Maralee Beck, the Beverly Hills City Council has agreed to dedicate the existing fountain in Will Rogers Memorial Park, The Beverly Hills Courier
- ^ Victoria Talbot, 'Beverly Hills Centennial Rose Dedication This Sunday at Will Rogers Memorial Park', The Beverly Hills Courier, October 3, 2014, Vol. XXXXVIIII, No. 39, p. 4