Visiting Travel Town

I love being out and about exploring the area but dealing with traffic can get really old really fast. Every time I head from one place to another I make sure to check traffic and try to find the quickest route possible. When recently driving home from Warner Bros. Studio I did just that and found myself cutting through Griffith Park to save time. As I was traversing the park I passed Travel Town, a spot that I had long been wanting to see, and decided it was the perfect time to finally pay it a visit.

Travel Town has been tucked in a corner of Griffith Park since its founding in 1952. The brainchild of William Frederickson Jr., at the time the city’s superintendent of recreation, it was to allow children the opportunities to get up close and personal with various modes of transportation. Thanks to donations from Southern Pacific, Standard Oil and Knott’s Berry Farm, among others, the area soon filled up with trains, fire engines and other historic vehicles.

In the decades since multiple generations of children have visited Travel Town and discovered the array of artifacts on display. To this day it remains a popular place for families to visit and though I was there on a weekday there were quite a few visitors riding the miniature train and enjoying the exhibits.

Since I consider myself a kid at heart I felt right at home viewing the artifacts on display. Because of covid I couldn’t go inside any of the rail cars but they were still so fun to see from the outside.

Trains make up the bulk of the exterior artifacts but inside the exhibition hall are some truly fascinating vehicles.

I love the Carnation milk truck! Having grown up in Southern California I have fond memories of eating Carnation ice cream especially when visiting Main Street in Disneyland. Speaking of Disneyland…

Before Travel Town my only experience with circus cars was via Casey Jr. It was fascinating to view authentic animal cages up close even though it was upsetting to see how small they were. Thank goodness we have come a long way with animal welfare.

I also really enjoyed seeing utilitarian vehicles from the days before motors. I had never considered that gas meters were once delivered via horse cart!

Thanks to a well timed detour I finally made my way to Travel Town and spent an enjoyable afternoon viewing beautiful transportation artifacts. With free admission and access to Griffith Park it’s the perfect place for visitors of all ages.