Plummer Hosts Fiestas
Around 1880, Eugenio Plummer began expanding his land holdings, eventually accumulating more than 1,000 acres, including the 142 acres in Bolton Canyon he purchased from Greek George Caralambo. Eugenio paid George just $450 for the land (equivalent to about $14,000 today) and sold it three years later for $3,400 (approximately $85,000 today). In 1922, an 88-acre section of the canyon called Daisy Dell would become the site of the Hollywood Bowl.
In 1881, Eugenio married Maria Amparo La Moraux, a court reporter. They lived in the Plummer family home on the ranch and later raised their daughter, Frances, there. Eugenio was in his forties when he first became associated with preserving the Cahuenga Valley’s past. He hosted meetings of the Vaquero Club, an organization dedicated to preserving Californio culture. The meetings at Plummer Rancho featured barbecues, outdoor dances, and demonstrations of horsemanship.
In 1923, Eugenio Plummer held the first La Fiesta de Los Angeles, a celebration of Hollywood’s Californio cultural roots. It would be held annually for the next nine years. A 1925 Los Angeles Times article previewed that year’s event:
“It is under the friendly shade of the giant pepper trees of his historic home place that the old settlers will enjoy their reunion. Señor Plummer will tell them of the days when he, as a small boy, escaped in a sailing vessel with his mother from Guaymas, Mexico, under cover of darkness while Maximilian’s French fleet was bombarding the town, and after shipwreck and other hardships, finally made his way to the Pueblo de Los Angeles. Then he will tell how his mother took on a government claim of 160 acres in Hollywood, successfully fought off Gringo land grabbers after horsewhipping one on the courthouse steps, and developed one of the finest cattle ranches in the Cahuenga Valley.”
Now in his seventies, Eugenio was established as Hollywood’s resident storyteller and keeper of the past. “Señor Plummer will also tell of how he owned the [recently opened] Hollywood Bowl,” the Times reported, “in the days when Tiburcio Vasquez, the bandit, lurked in its shadows and Greek George, the camel driver, pastured his caravan there.”
Establishing the Park
Over time, Plummer’s investments in land failed to pay off, largely due to bad timing. If he had held onto the land into the 1930s, it would have been worth millions. In 1883, however, he sold the 142-acre Bolton Canyon property, including the future site of the Bowl, to the Burnoff & Teal Company for just $2,400. Homes in that part of the Hollywood Hills sell for millions of dollars today.
In the 1930s, when the country was reeling from the effects of the Great Depression, Eugenio sold off the rest of the land, except for a few acres around the family home on the Santa Monica Road. Already known as Plummer Park, in 1935 Plummer’s six remaining acres were designated as a local landmark. That same year, the Plummer family home on the property was designated as State Historical Landmark No. 160. Built in 1878 by Eugenio and his brother Juan, it was known as the “oldest house in Hollywood.”
The following year, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), as part of the federal government’s Depression-era program, began construction on Great Hall/Long Hall in Plummer Park. The Spanish colonial-style building, which cost $65,000 ($1.5 million today), included a library, reading room, a dining area for 300, and an outdoor patio that could seat an additional 600 people under ancient olive trees.
In the end, Eugenio Plummer went bankrupt, and the county foreclosed on his land. By arrangement, he was permitted to live there indefinitely, serving as the official park guide. The 1878 Plummer House was used as the park superintendent’s office as well as headquarters for the local Audubon Society. Eugenio moved into a newly built home near the park.
After at least one false start, the county finally bought the unofficial park land from Plummer for $15,000 (around $328,000 today). He was there on December 3, 1938, for the dedication ceremony that officially opened Plummer Park. He remained active at the park for the next five years.
In 1942, Eugenio Plummer dictated his memoir, Señor Plummer. He died the following year at 91 years old. Though Eugenio Plummer’s status as the last of the dons endured well into the 20th century, it has faded in recent years. Today, hundreds of people visit Plummer Park every month, but few, if any, know who the park was named for or what he represented.