By Charly SHELTON

Last February, a sign was erected at the southwest corner of the park at New York Avenue and Honolulu Avenue. This park, historically and locally known as Hindenburg Park, is officially Crescenta Valley Regional Park. The sign erected read, “Wilkommen zum Hindenburg Park, The Historic German Section of Crescenta Valley Park.” There was an uproar raised and a fervor of perceived offense from people both within the community and from Southern California at-large. Reports from different councils and different people gave dates and names and legal actions concerning whether or not the name Hindenburg Park was still valid. The Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations was called to meet and hear reports from concerned parties in favor of and opposition to the sign. There was nearly equal support from both sides.

By early May, the decision was handed down that the sign would be removed and replaced with a more appropriate one. The Commission assembled an ad hoc committee of community members to agree on what the new sign should be. And now it is designed and in the approval stage.

“At the very western edge of [Crescenta Valley] park, behind the visitor’s center, before the County attained that parcel, was a private park known as Hindenburg Park. So the new interpretive panel will replace the old one that is there now under some oak trees,” said Ansley Davies, associate curator for the County of Los Angeles Dept. of Parks and Recreation.

The current interpretive panel, which is located within Crescenta Valley park off Dunsmore Avenue, is in dire need of replacement as years of weather have taken their toll. The interpretive text for the replacement panel was created by the ad hoc task force and photos supplied by the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley. The location of the controversial sign, at New York Avenue and Honolulu Avenue, will remain vacant and no new sign will be erected to replace the removed one.

With an issue of such controversy surrounding the interpretive panel, Davies said that her job of gathering the information and designing the graphic layout was not a task taken lightly.

“It was definitely challenging. There were people both for and against the sign that was removed, but I think that everyone did a great job working well together. I was very respectful of everyone’s opinion and I think, for the most part, everyone is pretty happy with the end result design that we’ve come up with,” Davies said.

Quotes for building the sign are now being solicited. The next step will be getting funding for manufacturing the panel and installing it. No timetable is yet in place for when work on the panel will be completed.

  Charly Shelton