West Hollywood : Hart Park Renovation OKd

The Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks has approved a long-awaited plan to renovate William S. Hart Park in West Hollywood, with work expected to begin next month.

The one-acre park, the former estate of the late silent-screen star William S. Hart, was deeded in 1944 to Los Angeles, which has allowed West Hollywood to lease the estate and operate it as a park since West Hollywood became a city in 1984.

West Hollywood officials are negotiating a 30-year lease that is the last “technical hurdle” before the $750,000 renovation, said Curtis Brown Jr., West Hollywood’s director of recreation.

The park, at 8341 DeLongpre Ave., includes the late actor’s two-story ranch house, which for several years has been used as a rehearsal hall by Actors Studio West. The group also operates a small theater on the property.

The studio is to conduct rehearsals elsewhere for several months during the park renovation, Brown said. The work will include re-roofing the house and extensive landscaping, including building a fountain that was Hart’s expressed wish when he donated the property two years before his death in 1946.