MEMORIES:
PHOTOS:
“Brea” in Spanish means “tar,” making the famous southern California landmark, the La Brea Tar Pits, a redundancy – albeit a cool redundancy. Throughout most of the year, passers by can smell the occasionally pungent scent of asphalt and crude oil bubbling up from a petroleum deposit, one of many found in the Los Angeles basin. It was discovered in 1769 when the Portola expedition passed through Los Angeles. Evidence has shown that for thousands of years, the pits were used by local Native Americans as glue and waterproofing for baskets and canoes. Once western settlers came in, the tar was used for roofing. Once in a while bones would come up, though many just figured they were leftovers of unlucky cattle. It wasn’t until the very beginning of the 20th century that scientific expeditions began to take place, uncovering the rich history of Rancho La Brea.
Now, more than a hundred years later, visitors can discover artifacts at the George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries. Inside kids and adults alike can learn about California as it once was with a little help of what has been excavated from the site. 40,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age, mammoths and saber-toothed tigers dominated Los Angeles, in great contrast to the skyscrapers you can find today. Inside the museum are displays and replicas based on the research formed from site excavations. Outside, life-sized replicas of the giant creatures and fearsome predators are featured in and around the pits. But parents didn’t need to worry about their kids joining the jaguars and bison that have been found deep within the pits; they were safely fenced away.
Many a child has walked through the park and museum with awe. We were told it was real, we could see that it was real, and yet, it never felt real until you stepped into the tar that pushed its way up through the parking lot, or into the otherwise non-sticky fields of grass surrounding the museum and the pits.
