"Cpl. Jose Vicente Feliz, received the first gift - 10 square miles of semiarid land that would become some of the priciest, most sought after real estate in the world. But before movie stars descended on the Rancho de Los Feliz, the land acquired a legend fit for Hollywood."
"Griffith's drunken attempt on his wife's life in 1903 scandalized polite California society and landed him in San Quentin for two years. Griffith tried and failed to market the scenic hillsides to home buyers who, it turned out, preferred to buy land that came without a family curse."
"Eventually, the legend of the curse lost its potency, as the motion picture and oil industries began to produce prosperous individuals whose desire for seclusion trumped rustic superstitions. They built large homes in the hills above Los Feliz Boulevard, where only the coyotes of Griffith Park could see what went on behind their privacy hedges."
Los Feliz's history spans from indigenous settlement through Spanish colonization when Cpl. Jose Vicente Feliz received a 10-square-mile land grant. The property changed hands through Lucky Baldwin and Col. Griffith J. Griffith, a mining magnate whose 1903 attempted murder of his wife created a notorious curse that deterred home buyers. Griffith eventually donated most land to Los Angeles, which established Griffith Park, one of the country's largest urban parks. The curse's power diminished as the motion picture and oil industries flourished, attracting wealthy individuals seeking privacy in hillside estates. A commercial district developed below Los Feliz Boulevard to serve affluent residents, while modest homes housed entertainment industry workers.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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