Anyone who has driven down San Vicente Blvd. has seen them. Stretching from 26th Street up to the VA Hospital on Brigham Avenue, are the famous Coral trees of Brentwood.
Saving Brentwood’s Coral trees has become a familiar quest for many in the area. No more so than for members of the Coral Tree Endowment Fund who are doing their best to save the collapsing trees.
The trees, designated by the City of Los Angeles as historical monuments in 1995, have lined the median on San Vicente Blvd. since the late 1950s. In the 1960s Los Angeles mayor Sam Yorty declared them the official trees of Los Angeles.
The Coral tree is not indigenous to the Los Angeles area. The member of the pea family comes from South Africa and exists mostly in tropical and sub-tropical climates with different varieties found in Venezuela, Japan, India and Thailand. The trees were planted in the median to replace the torn up tracks of the Red Line Trolley in the 50s, and have since become an iconic symbol of the Brentwood neighborhood.
“The trees mean everything to the community,” said Nancy Freedman, a member of the Coral Tree Endowment Fund and longtime resident of Brentwood. “People are always calling the Brentwood Community Council to make sure the trees are being properly watered and maintained.”
The concerns raised are valid, as these trees are quite fragile, with easy limb breakage and can be easily overwatered. The trees need to be pruned and maintained on a yearly basis, an operation which can take up to two weeks and is undertaken by a private company.
Although the trees are a recognized symbol of Brentwood and the greater Los Angeles area, they are not maintained by the City. This has become an increasing problem as maintenance costs for trimming and other activities can cost up to $30,000 per year.
“Because of budget issues in the 1980s, the City started trimming trees every five years,” explained Jim Thomas, one of the chairs of the Coral Tree Endowment. “The coral trees were collapsing.”
Thomas and others set up a group to make sure the trees were protected, and have been raising funds for over 30 years. Thomas said the interest compounded in the endowment was enough for years to maintain the trees, but now they need to raise money again.
Thomas remains optimistic that they will be able to raise the money to keep the coral trees right where they are. “People love the coral trees, Thomas said. “I can’t imagine San Vicente without them.”
To learn more or make a donation, visit the fund at: brentwoodcommunitycouncil.org/ resources-links/our-coral-trees or to make a donation by check: Brentwood Coral Tree Fund, 149 S. Barrington Ave, #194, Los Angeles 90049.
