City Parks Celebrate Centennial

In 1889, Plaza Park at El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Historic Park downtown was the first in what was to become a large system of Los Angeles city parks.

Now, the Los Angeles City Recreation and Parks Department is celebrating 100 years of operation, with 300 parks and 150 recreation centers. Mayor Tom Bradley has proclaimed 1989 the “Centennial Year in Los Angeles for Recreation and Parks,” and as part of the yearlong celebration, the 150 recreation centers are opening their facilities today free of charge with a “variety of activities from cultural events to sports activities and talent shows,” said Al Goldfarb, director of public information for the department. “Every center is doing its own thing.”

Telescopes May Be Examined

For instance, Griffith Observatory is honoring the centennial with free activities beginning at 10:30 a.m. today. Star-struck visitors will get a rare chance to examine the telescopes, such as the triple-beam solar telescope housed in the west dome on the Observatory roof, and the Zeiss 12-inch refracting telescope in the east dome.

In the Planetarium, free demonstrations will explore some of the questions astronomers faced 100 years ago.

Four city-operated museums in the harbor area are offering special activities and refreshments. Cabrillo Marine Museum in San Pedro is hosting “100 years at Cabrillo” from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. Free guided tours will examine areas rarely open to the public, including the marine laboratory, the quarantine-tank area and the life-support system of marine specimens. A marine photographic and artifacts exhibit from the original museum (built in 1932 as a bathhouse) reveals some historic facts about the area.

Also in conjunction with the anniversary, L.A. city lifeguards will demonstrate their proficiency with a program of water-safety instruction. Cabrillo Marine Museum is at 3720 Stephen White Drive, San Pedro; (213) 548-7562.

Chocolate Treats

For a more mouth-watering experience, especially for chocolate lovers, mosey over to the Banning Residence Museum, 401 East M St., Wilmington, where kitchen demonstrations of 19th-Century chocolate recipes are ongoing today, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., and you’ll be rewarded with free samples. The museum is in the restored 1864 home of harbor pioneer Phineas Banning. Information: (213) 548-7777.

Fife-and-Drum Corps

Nearby, at the Drum Barracks Museum, 1050 Banning Blvd., Wilmington, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., fife-and-drum-corps music and a video on the Civil War will give history buffs a good idea of what life was like in Southern California before the turn of the century. Information: (213) 548-7509.

At Maritime Museum in San Pedro, Port of Los Angeles, Berth 84, free tours and refreshments will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors can step into the “mari-time machine” to see what maritime travel was like from the days of Indian sea travel to the time of the modern liners. Information: (213) 548-7618.

Folk Dancing

In West Los Angeles, Robertson and Stoner recreation centers (on Preuss and Stoner avenues, respectively) are planning folk-dancing exhibitions. At Encino Complex in Encino, the musical “Dream of Dance” will be followed by a program tracing the development of dance. At Plaza Park, off Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles, a puppet show and performances by Ballet Folklorico are among the activities planned.

Call for information on schedules for other city recreation centers. For information on other centennial activities scheduled throughout the year, call the Los Angeles City Recreation and Parks Department, (213) 485-5555.