Trying to find park historian

[Oss Rae]

As part of a research project I'm doing about some silent movies made in 1914, I've been figuring out shooting locations in Greater L.A. (have found 11 so far). It occurred to me that contacting a park historian might be helpful for some of the trickier ones, but so far I've tried contacting Friends of Griffith Park and the local Sierra Club Central Group to no avail. (Years ago the Central Group had a park historian, but I don't think he's around anymore.)

One of the mysteries is the cave in the scene below. It appears to be in Griffith Park, but it's too small to be Bronson Cave (and oriented differently in relation to surrounding mountains).

I'm guessing perhaps the rock quarry in Bronson Canyon may have at one point had an additional cave nearby that for some reason was filled in, but I haven't been able find any mention of such a thing in old L.A. newspapers. The L.A. Library put this question to their history department, but they were stumped and suggested possibly hiring a professional researcher.

The movies also feature a number of waterways, which I haven't been able to identify either.

Any thoughts? Thank you!!

[Brian]

Wow, Oss Rae, that You Tube clip was utterly charming!

I don't think I was ever aware that there is such a position as park historian. What about a film location historian? I got that idea from Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley in Hollywood, a very popular thread two years ago. I ran a search on John Bengtson's WordPress blog for "The Patchwork Girl of Oz" and came up with nothing, but his site is so huge that you might find some answers or inspiration there -- and he's still at it:

silentlocations.com/

According to the Wikipedia page for "The Patchwork Girl of Oz," "Much of the film was shot on the grounds of the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego. Other scenes were presumably filmed at The Oz Film Manufacturing Company's studio facilities in Los Angeles, located on Santa Monica Boulevard. Notable cast members, one uncredited, were future producer/director Hal Roach and comedian Harold Lloyd. The two of them, after meeting on this film, worked together for several years."  Of course that doesn't mean that the cave wasn't closer to the studio, but the San Diego location might explain the bodies of water. Maybe somebody who works at Balboa Park has information about the shoot.

[Oss Rae]

Thank you, yes I'm familiar with the claim that some of the movie was filmed in Balboa Park, San Diego. If true, it would have been for one of the ensuing silent Oz movies. One setting has features in common with Balboa Park, though so far I haven't found an area of Balboa that matches up exactly. Based on my research, the first movie, "Patchwork," was filmed mostly, if not entirely, in and around Los Angeles. It's been said that the scene featuring Hal Roach and Harold Lloyd as extras was filmed in San Diego, but neither of their biographies mention San Diego.

John Bengston's work has actually been very helpful for me. He narrates the video I recently posted in another thread about Chaplin, Lloyd, and Keaton locations in and around Olvera St. and the original Chinatown.

When I was involved in the Sierra Club's Central Group, there was one guy very knowledgeable about the histories of L.A.'s parks (I guess from fighting to protect them so many years), but he  isn't around anymore. 

This is the aforementioned scene with Hal Roach and Harold Lloyd. Unfortunately, the characters look like grotesque racial caricatures.

There are a few rocky places in Chatsworth where this could have been filmed (e.g, Iverson Ranch)--presumably those pits are set pieces brought to the location--but I also suspect an area of Griffith Park.