Aliso Tree, the growth of the city of Los Angeles
Before the LA riots; before the internment of Japanese-Americans and the massacre of Chinese-Americans; before the land was ever conquered by Spain, Mexico, or the U. S.; before the genocide of Native Americans… by the river, within the community of Yang-Na, a sapling sprouted. The sycamore grew to become a 400-year-old local landmark, called, "El Aliso." Here, a French cooper hybridized the mission grapevine with cuttings from Bordeaux, and together with the terroir, cultivated a vineyard which gave birth to California's wine industry. Indigenous villages and immigrant orchards prepared the ground for what followed: a German brewery; a boxing arena; a mule market; an Edison Electric power station; an artist colony; a gym for indoor rock-climbing; the largest railroad passenger terminal in the Western United States… While the Aliso Tree is no longer standing, it continues to stand for a Los Angeles rooted in history.
"California may be the golden state but it is also a garden state. Innumerable gardens have been made since the Europeans first came, starting with the Franciscan missionaries. The gold rush was the defining period, leading to immense expenditures by newly rich miners."
"Its heart was sound, and its wood was, by virtue of its inherent nature, cross-grained and of the toughest kind. By conservative estimate the tree was at least sixty feet high, its general shape and proportion extremely graceful. Four feet above the ground the trunk measured twenty feet in circumference, and at a height of fifteen or twenty feet, it divided into several large branches which spread over an area some 200 feet in diameter."
"The beef and the sheep will all be roasted whole, in Spanish style, under the supervision of Senores Refugio, Botiller, and Carrasco, who have officiated at many similar fiestas. Beer ad libitum will be furnished. The viands will be served under the old aliso tree in the yard of the Philadelphia Brewery as soon as the exercises at the park are concluded."
