Fiesta Park

Fiesta Park
Tenants
Address	12th and Grand
Location	Los Angeles, California
Coordinates	34°02′24″N 118°15′51″W / 34.040056°N 118.264279°W / 34.040056; -118.264279
Surface	Natural grass
Opened	1894
Closed	1916
USC Trojans football (NCAA) (1897–98, 1904–06, 1916)

Fiesta Park was a grandstand and sports and entertainment venue in South Park, Los Angeles, California. From 1894 to 1916, it served as venue for various exhibitions and festivals, as well as a field for USC Trojans football games.

History

Fiesta Park was located in a block bordered by Grand Avenue, 12th Street, Hope Street, and Pico Boulevard. This lot had originally belonged to Victor Ponet, a banker and undertaker who also founded Evergreen Cemetery.^[1] From 1894 to 1916, it served as a venue for La Fiesta de Los Angeles, a springtime parade and festival celebrating Los Angeles' multicultural heritage.^[1] In 1901, then-President William McKinley was an honored guest at the Fiesta during a trip to the West Coast.^[1]

Around the turn of the century, the grounds were used for a variety of sports and entertainment events, ranging from football and baseball games to pony races to a production of "Faust".^[2] A number of minor league baseball teams played at Fiesta Park, including the Los Angeles Trilbeys and Los Angeles Echoes.^[3] The grounds served as the home field for the Los Angeles Rangers soccer club, a side composed primarily of expatriate Englishmen. In 1910, Fiesta Park was covered with a canvas big top and pressed into service as the venue for the Los Angeles Auto Show.^[4] This event coincided with a move by many of the California schools from football to rugby, so following the 1910 Auto Show, Fiesta Park was used primarily for tented exhibitions, though bleachers were restored in time for the 1916 football season. The USC Trojans (then called the Fighting Methodists) played several football games in the 1890s and all of their 1916 home football schedule at Fiesta Park.^[5] Fiesta Park also served as a home field for St. Vincent's College (now Loyola Marymount University)'s football team.^[5] Occidental College also played some home games in the stadium, as did numerous high school teams, particularly Los Angeles High School and Polytechnic High School. Following World War I, the festival was discontinued and the grandstands were transported to Bovard Field.^[5]

References

1 2 3 Cecilia Rasmussen (April 27, 2003). "Downtown's Fiesta Began as a Multicultural Celebration". Los Angeles Times.
↑ "La Fiesta Park Entertainment". Los Angeles Times. May 16, 1897.
↑ "Sporting". Los Angeles Times. November 29, 1897.
↑ "Fiesta Park for Auto Show: Seventy Thousand Feet is Immense Floor Space". Los Angeles Times. January 27, 1910.
1 2 3 "USC Football History" (PDF). grfx.cstv.com.

USC Trojans football

Venues	Athletic Park (1895–98) Fiesta Park (1897–98, 1904–06, 1916) Chutes Park (1900) Prager Park (1903) Bovard Field (1904–10, 1914–15, 1917–22) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923–present) Howard Jones Field (practice)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Notre Dame (Jeweled Shillelagh) UCLA (Victory Bell) Stanford

Culture & lore	Traveler George Tirebiter Giles Pellerin "Fight On" Spirit of Troy Student Body Right Tommy Trojan Athletics scandal 1967 "Game of the Century" "Bush Push" 2007 Stanford game

People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

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