On December 16, 1896, Griffith donated 3,015 acres of Rancho Los Feliz to Los Angeles and Griffith Park was born. Griffith insisted that this park would be a place of recreation and rest for the masses. When Griffith donated the land he specifically told the council, the park needs to be “a resort for the rank and file, for the plain people.” This donation was compared to a Christmas gift when Harris Newmark wrote that Griffith "so generously filled the stocking of Los Angeles with his immensely important gift of Griffith Park, with its three thousand and more diversified acres, magnificent heights, and picturesque roadways...the second largest pleasure ground in the world." Griffith had numerous plans for this park, which were held up by
