Woodley Park (Los Angeles)

Woodley Park is a recreation area managed by the City of Los Angeles and located along Woodley Avenue between Victory and Burbank Boulevards in the Lake Balboa neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The area is located within the large Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area in the central San Fernando Valley.

Woodley Park
Location	San Fernando Valley, California, U.S.
Coordinates	34°10′46″N 118°28′44″W
Operated by	City of Los Angeles

The Tillman Water Reclamation Plant is adjacent to the park and surrounded by The Japanese Garden, a large Japanese garden open to the public.

Picnic area in Woodley Park.

Recreation

• Picnic areas
• Archery club and archer training grounds, some who have become world and Olympic champions in the late 1990s and early 2000s^[1][2]

Cricket

Main article: Leo Magnus Cricket Complex

Woodley Park has five cricket grounds in the Leo Magnus Cricket Complex, and draws many of the best cricket players in the Los Angeles area.^[3]

On many weekends, Woodley Park hosts a number of games of cricket being played by expats of Britain and Commonwealth counties, and British influenced countries, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the Caribbean.^[4]

The 1995 and 2002 U.S. national cricket championships were held at the park.^[3][5]

Events

Events in Woodley Park can/have included:

• Classic car shows.^[6]
• Bagpiping troupe weekly practice, in the late 1980s.^[7]
• Boy Scout Jamboree for the western Los Angeles County Boy Scout Council in 1999^[8]

• In approximately the mid 1970s Bonnie Raitt did free anti nuclear power plant concerts.

Crime

Woodley Park was a scene of major drug dealing in the mid-1980s, a drug "supermarket" that was one of the most notorious areas in the San Fernando Valley for open drug sales. Increased police patrols, undercover operations, and surveillance by civilian volunteers curtailed the scene.^[9]

• A stabbing death occurred in 1986^[10]
• the murder of a homeless man kicked to death by two dozen men after an argument in 1988,^[11] and shootings at two public events in mid-1992, including at a reggae festival^[12] and, fatally, at an African-American college Greek organization event.^[13]

Dog park

Approximately 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) of the park were set aside in the late 1980s as a dog park area.^[14] The city did not allocate funds until the 1990s for the construction of a fence needed for safer use by dogs and people.^[15]

References

1. Peterson, Lauren (August 5, 2000). "Straight Arrow: Montenegro, a World Champion Archer, Does His Best in Passing Sport to the Younger Generation". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
2. Becker, Tom (December 13, 1997). "Archery Tournament Lines Up Toys for Tots". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
3. Lazarus, Michael (July 6, 1995). "Cricketers' Proving Grounds : Recreation: Woodley Park zone matches help in selection of U.S. team". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
4. Broadbent, Lucy (June 2011). "Something Wicket This Way Comes: To the many things for which Compton is known, add a competitive cricket team". LA Times Magazine. Archived from the original on March 16, 2012.
5. Chavez, Stephanie (September 1, 2002). "Cricket Spreads Its Wings: Sports: U.S. players are vying for the national title in the British export today in Van Nuys. They have big plans for the little-understood game". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
6. Berger, Leslie (April 23, 1989). "Classic Cars Draw a Much Bigger Crowd Than Mother Earth". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
7. Wharton, Dave (January 4, 1987). "Peck of Pipers Practicing for Perfection Perk Up Sundays in Park". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
8. Diggs, Agnes (May 23, 1999). "Jamboree Attracts 6,400 Boy Scouts". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013.
9. Braxton, Greg (February 8, 1985). "Woodley Avenue 'Supermarket' : Police Say Drug Sales at Notorious Van Nuys Park Cut Significantly". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
10. "Van Nuys Man Held in Woodley Park Slaying". Los Angeles Times. November 8, 1986. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
11. "Local News in Brief : Tonga Native Gets 3 Years in Kicking Death". Los Angeles Times. December 7, 1988. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
12. Zamora, Jim Herron (May 27, 1992). "VAN NUYS : Shots Wound 2 at Park Reggae Festival". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
13. Chu, Henry; Martin, Hugo (April 6, 1992). "1 Killed, 4 Hurt in Gunfight at Fraternity Picnic". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
14. "Growling to Greet Dog Park Proposal". Los Angeles Times. July 15, 1989. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
15. Schwada, John (September 27, 1990). "Park Goes (for Good) to Dogs". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.