In the unincorporated neighborhood of View Park, you’ll find this pristine and peaceful walking trail on a steep edge of the neighborhood. And it’s one of the most charming outdoor spaces I’ve seen near South LA in a while.
This week we’re taking a look at the Reuben Ingold Park, a bluff-top park with a quarter-mile walking trail that’s hedged by lush shrubbery and neat plants. It sits on the western edge of the View Park neighborhood, overlooking Baldwin Hills.
This park is a namesake for Reuben Ingold, the former president of the Los Angeles Investment Company. Ingold, who rose through the investment company ranks, from title clerk to president, is known for developing the View Park and Ladera neighborhoods. In fact, before this area was developed, part of it was used as the hosting site 1932 Olympic Village.
Ingold, a wealthy Angeleno, donated 3.5 acres of land to Los Angeles County in 1971–but I can only assume that part of that land was turned into this park.
The park, which was built in 1972, was originally named Mt. Vernon Parkway, but former supervisor Kennth Hahn and the Los Angeles County board of supervisors rededicated the park in Ingold’s honor in 1978.
Here’s a quick fun fact for you all: Ingold’s name is actually misspelled across all of the LA County signage across the park, on the official plaque, and on the LA County website. In over 50 newspaper articles where Ingold is mentioned, and his tombstone, his first name is spelled “R-e-u-b-e-n,” like the sandwich. LA County Parks spells it R-u-e-b-e-n. But they did spell it correctly on the park’s largest sign.
The Reuben Ingold Park is a part of the Park to Playa Trail network, a 13-mile regional network of 7 trails that spans between the Crenshaw district to Playa Del Ray. In fact, this park is connected to the Stocker Corridor Trail by a flight of stairs.
The park overlooks Stocker Street and the nearby Norman O. Houston Park.
Along the vibrant padded trail you’ll find workout exercise equipment, kinetic art, tall trees, lush shrubbery and beautiful flowers. On an early Saturday morning, I saw dozens of residents happily exercising along the trail. There’s also tons of street parking next to the park, and a a parking lot that is shared with the Stocker Corridor Trail off of Overhill Drive.
The Rueben Ingold Park is certainly a jewel in the View Park neighborhood–thanks to its recent 2008 renovation.
That’s all for this episode, and I hope that you guys learned something new, and even consider giving this park a try during an early Saturday morning workout.