Exposition Park Rose Garden - From Racetrack to Roses

Exposition Park Rose Garden - From Racetrack to Roses

Photo: MikeJiroch, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)

A stop on USC Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Finish with something gentler. The Exposition Park Rose Garden is a sunken garden of about seven acres, laid out in 1927 with 15,000 rose bushes. Today it holds more than 20,000 bushes in well over 200 varieties, arranged in formal beds around fountains and pergolas.

The ground has a lively past. From 1871 to 1911 this was Agricultural Park, used for fairs and horse racing, before the county turned it into a civic park with museums and the Coliseum.

The garden has had to be saved more than once. In 1986 a plan to dig it up for an underground parking garage drew loud public protest, and today it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. You may recognize it from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the film Book Club.

Check the park's website for current hours before you go. Find a bench, breathe in, and enjoy the quiet next to one of the busiest campuses in the city.

Getting here: Walk north from the Coliseum toward Exposition Boulevard, about four minutes. The sunken garden lies in the heart of Exposition Park, beside the Natural History Museum.

Did you know?: Before it became a protected landmark, the garden was also eyed as a practice field for the Los Angeles Raiders football team.

Photo op: From the garden's raised edge, look across the rose beds toward the central fountain with the Natural History Museum behind it.

More on Wikipedia: Exposition Park Rose Garden · Exposition Park

Stops on this tour

  1. Tommy Trojan - The Warrior at the Heart of Campus
  2. Bovard Auditorium - Where Film School Began
  3. School of Cinematic Arts - The House That Lucas Helped Build
  4. USC Village - Hecuba Meets Tommy
  5. Leavey Library - Built for the Digital Age
  6. Widney Alumni House - Where USC Began in 1880
  7. Doheny Library - A Grieving Family's Gift
  8. Alumni Park - The Campus Living Room
  9. Hahn Plaza - Rally Central
  10. Mudd Hall of Philosophy - A Monastery for Thinkers
  11. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum - Three Olympics, One Stadium
  12. Exposition Park Rose Garden - From Racetrack to Roses