Started in1888 and completed in 1914 the park grew from 9 acres to 60 acres. The physical changes to the park’s landscape have changed over time with the wants and needs of the city inhabitants. Keywords: Green Space, health, Native American, Settlers, changes. Located in the North Western portion of the city of Pomona, California nestled up against an Eastern-facing hillside lays Ganesha Park, the largest and oldest of the cities parks. Completed in 1914, the park looked vastly different than it does today. The flat short grass that lays upon the open green spaces of today were once long wild grasses and shrubs dotted the area growing as they pleased. Eucalyptus was planted by the land-owner of the time but the Redwoods have been growing in the area for over a hundred years longer. At one time a shallow river, The San Jose Creek flowed free and easily through the area only to be confined by the natural rocks and flooded with the rains seasonally. Atop the small hills one could have seen an unhindered view to the seasonally snowcapped peak of Mt. Baldy while peering in the direct opposite one could view the whole valley down below to the now Chino Hills. At sixty acres in size the park offers many modern amenities such as basketball courts, tennis courts, two playgrounds for children, a swimming pool along with a community center, and multiple picnic tables with BBQs (City, 2017). Amongst its many trees there is a 120 3 year old Eucalyptus tree and a 250 year old Redwood tree grove where Pomona’s residents can relax and wander beneath their shade (Pomona, 2017). The Park offers many attractions throughout the year to include music concerts, a Juneteenth Festival, and during the summer the pool is open to the public for free swim. There are open green spaces which allow people and families to use the park in a way that fits their needs be it for a birthday party, yoga, have a picnic or to just kick a ball around, the wide open spaces are to be used in a variety of ways. History of Pomona The area of Pomona was originally inhabited by the Gabrielino and Togva Tribe of Native Americans, plus a few smaller tribelets, but was taken by the Spaniards during the Mission Era of California. After the native tribes had been removed from the land the missions gifted it to two men, Ricardo Vejar and Ygnacio Palomares, in the 1830’s when California was still Alta California and under the control of Mexico and Spain (Brackett, 1920). The area became know as Ranch San Jose, jointly owned by the two men and their family. The signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe in 1848 brought California into the United States, Eastern pioneers slowly came by railway to the West to settle and begin their new way of life through farming and business. 4 The Mediterranean climate of the area allowed almost anything to grow and flourish in the valleys and as such Pomona quickly became apart of the growing citrus crops living up to its namesake, Pomona the Roman goddess of fruit. Cattle were also raised in the valley for the leather trade and slowly but surely the area that would become Pomona grew one ranch at a time. In 1875 Ricardo Vejar sold his plot of the land to a group of speculators who then turned the land into the city of Pomona (Edmunson, 2011) until it became incorporated to Los Angeles in 1888. Patrick Tonner was apart of that group of speculators and would end up with the portion of land that would eventually become Ganesha Park. In 1968 an archeological survey of the area was done. It was found that the area had once been a campsite; per the Togva it was a village named Toibinga, possible variations in spelling being Toibingna or Toibi (Togva, 2017). The archaeological site was then registered according to the Archaeological Site Survey Record of the University of California with the designation CA-LAN-208, it was also recorded by the Native American Heritage Commission at the same time. Through research and excavation of the area it was correlated that the people of the village had died from the smallpox epidemic during that time (Gallivan, 2007). Important Figures in the Construction of Ganesha Park 5 Patrick C. Tonner In 1888 Patrick C. Tonner bought several acres of land in the area that would soon become the setting for Ganesha Park. He made his own improvements to the land by planting various trees to include the Eucalyptus trees and by adding various man made features around his land. A few years later the City of Pomona would buy nine acres from to start building Ganesha Park, Tonner would end up donating another three acres that were connected to the nine. By 1914 the park had finally stopped growing and the final estimate of acreage was around sixty (Brackett, 1920). During that time the park looked nothing like it does today, it was mostly wildly grown bushes and grasses along with the occasional tree and the San Jose Creek that meandered freely through the park. Tonner was tasked with naming the park for which he named after the Hindu God Ganesha, known for being the god of good things and water (Gallivan, 2007). Moses Petty A native of Illinois, Moses Petty played an active role in the planning of and layout of Ganesha Park. A farmer by trade and discharged from military service due to injury, Moses moved to the new small city of Pomona with his family to farm. He was soon responsible for the grading of the streets of Pomona and was made the Ganesha Park 6 superintendent during its early years (Brackett, 1920). The layout of the park remains mostly the same since his day. Thomas Williams Thomas Williams was an affluent individual in his time, a contractor and designer by trade, he was responsible for drawing up the plans for many of the fancy and historic houses in the surrounding Southern California area. He was responsible for the building of the homes behind Ganesha Park; in this manner he brought the people of Pomona closer to the park (Brackett,1920). Ernest Ferree A native of Kansas, Ernest Ferree came to Pomona in 1911 for work in the plastering trade. Ernest’s father had been a plasterer by trade as well and as such Ernest became an expert in it and construction due to lifelong exposure to the trade. He was his own contractor after being discharged before seeing active service in the war, as such when Ernest returned to Pomona his business was the only one to hold the contract for aiding in the building of the Greek Theatre (Brackett, 1920). G.H. Waters was also an active participant in the development of the city and also assisted Ferree in the building of the Greek Theatre (Edmunson, 2011). The theatre was planned to sit above the park within the hills, it 7 had its own street and was connected to the then “Lover’s Lane” that went along the hillcrests at its sides (Allen, 2012). Joseph M. Paige Joseph Paige was considered a proficient and very influential public official who was the Chairman of the Parks, Roads and Improvement Committee of the Chamber of Commerce in Pomona. Aside from the long job title Paige was the mastermind behind the idea of adding the Greek Theatre to Ganesha Park. His job also allowed him to add two other parks to the area, Lincoln and Garfield Park, both of which were as popular as Ganesha Park in that time and day. Joseph Paige was the official superintendent for Ganesha Park after becoming the Chairman of the Parks, Roads and Improvement Committee. (Brackett, 1920) The Building of Ganesha Park Chairman Joseph Paige supervised the building of Ganesha Park’s Greek Theatre and the smaller neighboring parks that would follow. Under his eye the WPA built a cobble stone bridge over the San Jose Creek and also lined the creek bed with cobblestones. It is not known who actually built the cobblestone stair cases and the wandering foothill trails but it was said that it had the most beautiful views of any place in 8 the world (Gallivan, 2007). The reflecting pool that had once been a top one of the hills has long since been filled in with dirt and plants. The park, like many parks in that day, was not a place for children and social activities but for solitary wanderings and pensive thoughts along with areas for fitness activities. The park had mostly walking paths, to include those that went up the nearby hill, that lazily spread throughout the area. Cultivated gardens now occupy the green spaces that once held wild grasses and shrubbery. Order was made of nature’s chaos and turned into fountains with reflecting pools. A public pool was built, named the Ganesha Plunge, in 1915 and was an instant hit with the locals in the area. River rock pavilions were built and placed throughout the park. In 1916 the Greek Theatre was completed atop the nearby hill. It held many musical concerts, plays and pageants. Eventually the Greek Theatre even played it part in a graduation ceremony for the class of 1956, though soon after the Theatre was demolished. There were rumors that the outdoor theatre was too cold in the evenings (Allen, 2012), while in other reports it was the building of the nearby San Bernardino Freeway that doomed the Theatre by the noise of the passing vehicles (Gallivan, 2007). Modernization of Ganesha Park 9 Ganesha Park by its very history is a park of change. It’s layout consistently changes with the times, actively adding new things and removing the old. The older pavilions have been removed and remade to be quite a bit larger than its predecessor though the style of the pavilions remains nearly the same. The pool was renovated in 1957, the only black mark against the pool was that it was drained once a week, only after the one day when minorities had been allowed in the pool. These days the pool is used by all of Pomona’s residents during the day in summer whenever they wish and remains a popular activity for all. Some of the gardens have been removed to room for basketball half courts but the hill trails still remain. Technical updates have been done as well, such as the equipment for maintenance of the park and the public facilities have also been updated. In 1934 a dedication ceremony was held by the Pomona Valley Pioneer society to remember those who settled the valley and to dedicate a monument to them. The monument portrays the first three Spanish soldiers that sat beneath a tree to rest and partake in the river water that was flowing nearby. The eight-foot monument these days is difficult to get to since there is no nearby parking and no sidewalks to access the monument (Blackstock, 2016). The Native Americans and Ganesha Park 10 Prior to the Spanish settling the area of Pomona there were the Native Americans from many Tribes, to include the Tongva and the Gabrielenos, who lived and called this area home. They were forced from the hills and their villages to convert to Christianity and live and work with the local missions causing an outbreak of smallpox devastating their population. By 1910 only six percent of the population would remain in the area (Gallivan, 2007). Today, to respect and honor the population of Native Americans that once peopled the valley, the park has asked the public to help honor the Native Americans by making carvings from dead wood from the park. The public art project was met with great success and the final pieces that were installed into the park were designed after a school art competition, the local wood carver, John Mahoney, then carved the winner’s designs. Each carving is meant to help tell the story of the Native Tribes of the area and in the beginning of the Redwood Park stands an upright bear, symbolizing healing. The carvings are of redwood, which was used to symbolize family and growth and to also symbolically represent the City of Pomona and it’s Native American Tribes (Le, 2017). Conclusion 11 Ganesha Park started in 1888 with only nine acres that grew over the years to final out to around sixty acres. It is home to some of the oldest redwood and eucalyptus trees in the area along with being one of the largest green spaces in the city. The park has turned itself into a place of self-improvement, whether physical or mental, a place for social gathers by the offering of city wide events and activities, and a place to honor the past and those who came before us to settle in this area. Ganesha Park is an ever-changing landscape that strives to keep itself relevant to its inhabitants.
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