Highland Park Police Station
Encyclopedia
The Highland Park Police Station on York Boulevard in the Highland Park
section of Los Angeles, California
, USA
is the city's oldest surviving police station. Closed in 1983, the station is now operated as the Los Angeles Police Museum. It has been designated as a Historic Cultural Monument and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
Built from 1925-1926 at a cost of $100,000, the station opened in April 1926 in a ceremony attended by Chief Edgar Davis
and Police Commissioners Birnbaum, Insley and Webster.
A number of big cases were handled out of the Highland Park station; it was that Det. Robert Grogan pursued the "Hillside Strangler
s", Angelo Buono, Jr.
. and Kenneth Bianchi. In the early 1980s, the building was cited for failure to meet seismic safety standards and was described as a "Shake and Bake Hellhole". The radical Symbionese Liberation Army
(the group that kidnapped Patty Hearst
and engaged in an infamous shootout with the LAPD in 1974) planted a bomb in the Highland Park Station in 1973, but it proved to be a dud.
In 1942, future LAPD Chief Daryl Gates
was arrested and briefly held at the Highland Park station after punching a police officer; in 1963, Gates returned as a police captain in command of the station. He later wrote, "Never dreaming I would voluntarily return to the station where I'd been brought in for punching a cop, I showed up for work, eager to continue trying out my talents as a boss."
The station was closed in 1983 as the Los Angeles Police Department
moved its Northeast Division to a new location. With the vacant station threatened by demolition, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission declared the building a Historic Cultural Monument (HCM #274) in January 1984; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
two months later in March 1984. It is the only precinct police station in California listed on the National Register. (The City of San Diego Police Headquarters, Jails and Courts building is also registered.)
Highland Park, Los Angeles, California
Highland Park is a neighborhood in Northeast Los Angeles.-Geography:Highland Park is located along the Arroyo Seco. It is situated within what was once Rancho San Rafael of the Spanish / Mexican era...
section of Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is the city's oldest surviving police station. Closed in 1983, the station is now operated as the Los Angeles Police Museum. It has been designated as a Historic Cultural Monument and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Built from 1925-1926 at a cost of $100,000, the station opened in April 1926 in a ceremony attended by Chief Edgar Davis
James E. Davis (police)
James Edgar Davis was Chief of Police of the City of Los Angeles Police Department from 1926–1931 and from 1933-1939. During his first term as Police Chief, Davis emphasized firearms training. Under Davis, the L.A.P.D. developed its lasting reputation as an organization that relied on brute force...
and Police Commissioners Birnbaum, Insley and Webster.
A number of big cases were handled out of the Highland Park station; it was that Det. Robert Grogan pursued the "Hillside Strangler
Hillside Strangler
The Hillside Strangler is the media epithet for two men, cousins Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, who were convicted of kidnapping, raping, torturing, and killing girls and women ranging in age from 12 to 28 years old during a four-month period from late 1977 to early 1978...
s", Angelo Buono, Jr.
Angelo Buono, Jr.
Angelo Buono, Jr. was an American serial killer. Buono and his cousin Kenneth Bianchi together are known as the Hillside Stranglers.-Early life:...
. and Kenneth Bianchi. In the early 1980s, the building was cited for failure to meet seismic safety standards and was described as a "Shake and Bake Hellhole". The radical Symbionese Liberation Army
Symbionese Liberation Army
The Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
(the group that kidnapped Patty Hearst
Patty Hearst
Patricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber....
and engaged in an infamous shootout with the LAPD in 1974) planted a bomb in the Highland Park Station in 1973, but it proved to be a dud.
Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates was the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992.-Early life:...
was arrested and briefly held at the Highland Park station after punching a police officer; in 1963, Gates returned as a police captain in command of the station. He later wrote, "Never dreaming I would voluntarily return to the station where I'd been brought in for punching a cop, I showed up for work, eager to continue trying out my talents as a boss."
The station was closed in 1983 as the Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
moved its Northeast Division to a new location. With the vacant station threatened by demolition, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission declared the building a Historic Cultural Monument (HCM #274) in January 1984; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
two months later in March 1984. It is the only precinct police station in California listed on the National Register. (The City of San Diego Police Headquarters, Jails and Courts building is also registered.)
Los Angeles Police Museum
The building now houses the Los Angeles Police Museum, including photographs, uniforms, badges, squad cars, a paddy wagon, and bullet-riddled vehicles. The museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the third Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.See also
- Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments on the East and Northeast Sides
- List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles
- History of the Los Angeles Police DepartmentHistory of the Los Angeles Police DepartmentThe history of the Los Angeles Police Department is long and complex.- Early history :California Gold Rush Los Angeles was known for its violence, gambling and "vice" and lack of effective civil law enforcement. It was reputed to have the highest murder rate in the United States at the time and...
External links
- Los Angeles Police Museum - official site