Plummer Park Great Hall/Long Hall

The 160 acres of land on which Plummer Park is now located was first purchased by homesteader and rancher Eugene Plummer in 1874. Later that year, Plummer developed four of the acres for his personal estate. This included construction of a ranch house which, at the time, was the only residence between Hollywood and the Plaza district. By the 1920's, Plummer was the oldest living continuous resident of Hollywood and his property was unofficially known as Plummer Park. Every year, Plummer would hold a massive picnic on the estate for Hollywood's "old timers"- most of whom were the original settlers in the region during the late 1800's.

In 1935, the County of Los Angeles designated the four remaining acres of Plummer Park as a Historic-Cultural landmark. Two years later, the county acquired Plummer Park for $15,000- roughly $270,000 today, when adjusted for inflation. As stipulated by the purchase contract, Plummer was permitted to live at his ranch on the park property until his death in 1943 at the age of 91. During the later years of his life, he held the position of historical guide for Plummer Park and could often be seen smoking cigarettes on the park's benches under his favorite pepper trees.

Work on Plummer Park began shortly after its purchase by the county in 1937. Its development was indicative of a larger movement of federal, state, and local government during the 1930's to provide quality park spaces for the public. Plummer Park's first building project- originally named the Plummer Park Community Clubhouse- was completed in 1938. Construction was aided by funding from the Works Project Administration, a New Deal program. Today, this building has the distinction of being the only structure in West Hollywood that was erected through a New Deal program. Later becoming known as Plummer Park Great Hall/Long Hall, the west section facilities (Great Hall) held a large auditorium. Meanwhile, the south section (Long Hall) facilities consisted of a public library and game room. Designed by Edward C. N. Brett in a Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style, the red clay tile roof, stucco exterior, and open-air courtyard pay homage to the Mexican-era ranchos once prevalent in the region.

With the incorporation of West Hollywood as a municipality in 1984, operation of Plummer Park- alongside all other public facilities- was handed over by the County of Los Angeles to the new city. During this time of the early 1980's, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was beginning to deeply alarm doctors and medical researchers, as well as their patients (many of whom were gay men) who had contracted the virus and were dying rapidly. Between 1985 and 1986, deaths from AIDS-related complications skyrocketed from 12,529 to 24,559. In 1987, the number of both cases and deaths nearly doubled, yet government funding for aid to the sick and dying remained inadequate. In response, the first chapter of a grassroots, non-partisan organization called ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) was formed in New York City on March 12, 1987. By the end of the year, ACT UP chapters had been established in multiple major cities across the United States- including in Los Angeles.

ACT UP/LA's first meeting was held in Plummer Park's Great Hall/Long Hall on December 4, 1987 and was attended by 400 people. That night, it was voted on that the group would hold its first protest against the US Immigration and Naturalization Service policies restricting the travel of HIV-positive people. Over the course of the following years, ACT UP/LA met every Monday at the Great Hall/Long Hall building and organized countless demonstrations outside of local government buildings and hospitals. In 1989, after weeks of nonstop protests and disruptions, Los Angeles County gave in to ACT UP/LA's demand for a dedicated AIDS unit at the Los Angeles County Hospital. During its peak, the organization opened a public office, published a newsletter, and had a mailing list with 2,200 names. Monday night meetings at Great Hall/Long Hall frequently packed the entire auditorium and courtyard.

Thanks to increased availability of aid programs and therapeutic treatments, ACT UP/LA disbanded officially in 1996. Plummer Park's Great Hall/Long Hall has continued to serve as a community meeting space in the years since, hosting live performances and other public events. In 2011, the Hall was slated to be demolished in order to build a new parking garage for Plummer Park, however the plans were put on hold after members of the West Hollywood community- including some surviving activists from ACT UP/LA- strongly protested the decision. Despite opposition to its nomination by the City Council, Great Hall/Long Hall was later placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 22, 2013.

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amfAR. HIV/AIDS: Snapshots of an Epidemic, amfAR. Accessed November 26th 2020. https://www.amfar.org/thirty-years-of-hiv/aids-snapshots-of-an-epidemic/.

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Ellenberger, Allan R. Eugene Plummer, the Last of the Dons, August 5th 2017. Accessed November 26th 2020. http://allanellenberger.com/eugene-plummer-the-last-of-the-dons/.

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Mills, James F. Renovating Plummer Park Is Back on WeHo’s Agenda, WehoVille. October 8th 2019. Accessed November 26th 2020. https://www.wehoville.com/2019/10/08/renovating-plummer-park-is-back-on-wehos-agenda/.

Oliviera, Michael C.; ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries. Finding aid to the ACT UP / Los Angeles Records Coll2011-010, Online Archive of California. 2011. Accessed November 26th 2020. https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8k64ghw/entire_text/#:~:text=ACT%20UP%2FLos%20Angeles%20was,Angeles%20County%20and%20Southern%20California..

ONE Archives. Plummer Park Great Hall Long Hall, University of Southern California Libraries. Accessed November 26th 2020. https://one.usc.edu/archive-location/plummer-park-great-hall-long-hall.