![]() Victories, like the outlawing of dog races in 1900, were small, and in 1906 a demolition derby featuring two speeding locomotives (which attracted 25,000 spectators) sent him over the edge. He became a city council member in 1901 and the president of the council in 1903. It took over ten years for Bowen to complete his mission. From that day forward he devoted his life and his career to shutting down "Agriculture Park," and in the process made himself a lot of enemies - and a career. ![]() Instead, he saw a rabbit being destroyed by a greyhound. Boys had been skipping out of Sundays at University Methodist across the street and he wanted to see why. Bowen pushed his way into the park one day, his Sunday School class in tow. In the morning they could taste the park's other delights - an amateur soccer game being played on one of the athletic fields, a walk around the barns or they could view one of the park's nastier traditions - brutal animal races and fights, which often ended in the creature's death.Ī square lawyer and deacon by the name of W.M. Later they could stay at the white clapboard hotel that went from being the home of park denizens to the local brothel. The track is one of the best equipped in the country, and many famous contests have been held."Īfter a draining day betting and biting their nails, guests, from racetrack enthusiast Wyatt Earp, to neighboring USC undergrads, could relax at the city's longest outdoor bar. In fact, the attendance at Los Angeles is ahead of the state fair meetings while the light harness race has more friends in that city than in any other place in the west. "Los Angeles is a bustling city and the people turn out in great numbers. ![]() Races in the newfangled automobile featured early stars like Barney Oldfield, whose world-record 55-second mile prompted the LA Times to proclaim "Barney Oldfield's attempt to commit suicide at Agriculture Park yesterday only resulted in a compound fracture of the world's automobile record." One enthusiastic visitor reported: ![]() Amateur cyclers competed in "piano races" for donated items which ranged from furniture to precious jewels. Top-rated horses from as far away as Kentucky competed in programs that one breeder called "the best offered in the west." Motorbike pioneer Earl Le Moine raced in exhibitions against the fastest horses he could find, and the Los Angeles Driving Club had membership that included the cream of SoCal society. A kind of perpetual State Fair of the Wild West, the park welcomed thousands of men and women of all classes looking to have a good time, and the speed freaks, bookies, prostitutes and jockeys who worked the park were happy to ensure they did.Ī racetrack, surrounded by a large grandstand, featured every kind of race you can imagine. Called "Agriculture Park," the 160 acres did feature farmers marketing their crops, but the main yield was of a more human variety. Two fake pyramids guarded the entrance, but what took place on the grounds was more like something out of ancient Babylon than old Egypt. This is a plague spot, infecting the entire community, and if left alone it will bring us all into ill repute." - W.M Bowen, 1898Īround 1871, a park was established just outside the boundaries of the city of Los Angeles, which until the late 1880s were at Figueroa and Exposition. "It became clear in a very short time that the vicious influences here were more than undoing the work we were trying to do in our Sunday school class.
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