Losing Don Pío’s Place

A Flawed Monument to Los Angeles’ Distant Past Could Close

The one-time home of Pío de Jesus Pico IV, last governor of California during Mexican rule, is wedged between the 605 Freeway and train tracks, and crisscrossed overhead by jets closing in on Long Beach and Los Angeles International airports. Since 1927, it’s been the site of Pío Pico State Historic Park. It had been one of 70 parks scheduled to close on July 1 because of cuts in state funding, but a major donation by the city of Whittier, along with the support of private donations, raised $40,000 to …