On
September 15, 1936, American Legion post commander C. D. "Ace" Aseltine launched a drive to establish a huge recreation
park on the site of the bankrupt Rancho Country Club, formerly the property of
Los Angeles' famed Ambassador Hotel.
Realizing
the potential of the 125 acre tract (bounded by Pico Boulevard on the North,
Monte Mar drive on the south, Motor Avenue on the east, and Patricia Avenue on
the west) Cheviot Hills Post #501 of the American Legion worked for nearly a
decade to save the country club from residential development and to provide the
community with a unique recreational resource.
The
idea seemed natural to WWI Navy veteran and gas company engineer Ace Aseltine. At the
time, the country club site was leased from the federal government (which had
taken it over to satisfy tax liens), but the lease was about to expire. So the Legionnaires "pointed out that .
. . Los Angeles [had] not one single large park west of Western Avenue, [and
that] in view of this fact, Western Los Angeles was entitled to such a place
for recreational purposes."
The
plan garnered support from the mayor, city councilmen, a County Supervisor,
Congressman John F. Dockweiler, Hamilton High School
faculty, Emerson and Overland schools' PTAs, and numerous other civic
organizations, not to mention the other American Legion posts. And the work took their long commitment. It wasn't until about November 1942 that the
city began to lease the Rancho Country Club. And it wasn't until about 1944 or
1945 that plans began progressing to transfer the Country Club property from
the federal government to the city in exchange for Reeves Field at San Pedro.
After
years of effort, the private Rancho Country Club became the public Rancho Park
Golf Course, and the balance of the land was converted into Cheviot Hills
Recreation Center, a 40 acre park with a community building, an indoor gym, 5
ball diamonds, basketball courts, children's play areas, a football field, an
outdoor gym, a picnic area, a soccer field, 14 tennis courts, a swimming pool,
an archery range, and a band shell. Los
Angeles' flagship golf course now includes the nations' busiest 18-hole golf
course, a 9-hole executive par three golf course, a double decked driving
range, several putting greens, and a clubhouse with a restaurant.