Los Angeles State Historic Park

Los Angeles State Historic Park provides an extraordinary opportunity for recreation and education in the heart of Los Angeles.  Within its 32 acres of open space directly adjacent to Chinatown, you  can wander pathways and enjoy a view of downtown, as well as discover and celebrate the natural and cultural heritage of Los Angeles. 

You can run, walk, ride a bike, have a picnic, fly a kite and even look for urban wildlife such as birds traveling down the Pacific flyway. This place was once a fertile basin, and within a mile of the park is the last recorded location of Yang-na, a large Tongva village. The history of the Southern Pacific Railroad’s River Station, opened in 1875, includes a waterwheel, freight house, roundhouse, depot and station yard. Rows of deer grass now hint of the vanished railroad tracks, and you can stand and reflect on the travels of the thousands of people who arrived here from all over the country and world. 
 
On the north side, the Flat Iron Building is the second oldest industrial building standing in Los Angeles and dates from 1890. On the southern end of the park, the Capitol Milling Company building from 1883 is easily visible. Surrounding the Park are the historic and ethnically diverse communities of Lincoln Heights, Elysian Park, Solano Canyon, Chinatown, Chavez Ravine and William Mead Homes.