From 1988-1995, TERA helped lead the “Save Our Eagle Rock” campaign to protect our community’s namesake landmark from a development complex proposed at the base of the rock. TERA helped to encourage the City of Los Angeles to eventually purchase the 2½ acre property that the Eagle Rock sits on in 1995 for $700,000 from an Encino-based businessman who owned the property.
The 50 foot tall Eagle Rock has been a cultural icon for as long as people have been living in this area. The indigenous Gabrieleno-Tongva people are believed to have used the rock as a natural protective barrier and shelter. Spanish colonial settlers called the geological formation “Piedra Gorda,” or “fat rock.” By the 1880s it had already started to be known by its current name, describing the wingspan-shaped shadow that forms on the side of the rock at certain times of the day.
Today, there is a small park at the base of the rock, with a short hiking trail that leads towards the rock.