This
video provides a pretty good visual about the beginnings of Swiss Park and about what kind of community Duarte was back in
the 1950s.
The only
surviving Swiss Park in Southern California is in Whittier, where the
Swiss Society moved to after the City of Duarte condemned the Swiss Park there
in 1984. Here someone is selling a postcard of Swiss
Park in Duarte for $8. The City of Duarte, as opposed to the city of
Duarte, condemned Swiss Park after a wind storm that brought down a lot of
trees. The City of Duarte used it as an excuse to condemn the park on
behalf of the real estate developers who built Swiss Park, the townhome
complex. Condemnation of the park was announced in 1984, but in 1982 you can find here the City of Duarte's attempt to take the land from Swiss Park for redevelopment purposes. Here is the legal proceedings if anyone cares to read them.
The location of the original Swiss Park in Duarte was set just
behind The Trails Restaurant. This map features 966 Swiss Trail Road,
which sits at just about the center of where the old Swiss Park was situated.
do you know where the old park was located?
ReplyDeletediydan, I posted a map. Zoom in on the map to see the outline of buildings on Swiss Park. Swiss Park was situated in that square just above that red balloon. The collection of larger, rectangular structures on the map, corralled between Swiss Trails Road form the old Swiss Park. The smaller structures south of Swiss Trails Road was The Trails' parking lot. The restaurant, of course sat on Huntington between Crossroads Ct. and Waterfall Way.
ReplyDelete