Franklin Canyon Park is a public park located near Benedict Canyon at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains. The park comprises 605acre, and is located at the purported geographical center of the city of Los Angeles. The park features a 3acre lake, a duck pond and over five miles (8 km) of hiking trails. The lake and pond are visited by birds in the Pacific Flyway. The park was used for the hitchhiking scene in It Happened One Night, and the opening credits of The Andy Griffith Show. The lake was also frequently seen in the Nickelodeon show Salute Your Shorts.HistoryThe park traces its beginnings to 1914 when William Mulholland and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power built a reservoir in upper Franklin Canyon. The canyon was used by the family of oil baron Edward L. Doheny as a summer retreat. The 1930s began the frequent use of the canyon for filming. Claudette Colbert's famous hitchhiking scene from It Happened One Night was filmed in 1935. Today about 25 films are shot here annually. During the 1970s the canyon was spared from development through the efforts of conservationist Sooky Goldman and Congressman Howard Berman, which resulted in the creation of the park.
Reviews, get directions and information Franklin Canyon Park.
