It's a story of another of the many men who immigrated to America and then made their way to California to make a great fortune in the boom following the Gold Rush. Griffith J. Griffith dealt in real estate, among other ventures, and is best known for his bequest of land that became Griffith Park, sometimes referred to as the Central Park of Los Angeles, but much bigger.
At the entrance to Griffith Park, off Los Feliz Boulevard, stands a 14-foot bronze statue of a proud, portly Victorian gentleman. He is Griffith J. Griffith, who donated 3,015 acres of the former Rancho Los Feliz to Los Angeles in 1896, to be used specifically as a park for the “plain people” of the city. His face, decidedly noble and assured, lords over his “princely gift” to the city, which is no doubt one of L.A.’s greatest public resources. While portraits and photos of Griffith are plentiful, there are hardly any in existence of his wife, Tina — from whom a great part of his fortune and prestige sprang — and none after the year 1903. Because that year, Griffith J. Griffith shot his wife in the face, permanently disfiguring her.
As you can guess, the prominent city benefactor led a private life that was more complicated than his public persona would lead one to believe. Read the story of Griffith J. Griffith at KCET. -via Metafilter