South Los Angeles in Los Angeles County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Tom Labonge
1953 - 2021
"Mr. Los Angeles"
Photographed by Craig Baker, October 2, 2023
1. Tom Labonge Marker
Inscription.
Tom Labonge was a native Angeleno who championed our city, its history, and its monuments, among them the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and all that transpired within its turnstiles. A Los Angeles City Councilmember from 2001-2015 and Coliseum Commissioner from 2002-2015, his association with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum dates back to the early 1970s when he was a camera assistant for NFL films during Los Angeles Rams home games. His irrepressible love for L.A. spanned throughout his nearly 40 years as a dedicated public servant. His legacy includes major improvements at Griffith Observatory, the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens and the Los Angeles River. His crowning achievement was the acquisition of Cahuenga Peak which saved the land around the Hollywood Sign from development. He also worked tirelessly developing the Los Angeles Sister Cities peole-to-people international cultural program that encompasses cities around the world. Tom treated anyone he encountered with equal friendliness and respect, whether a city sanitation worker, a foreign dignitary or fellow hiker, his signature gift was a loaf of pumpkin bread made by cloistered Dominican nuns at the Monastery of the Angels in Hollywood. His signature sign-off was "Enjoy and love Los Angeles." No one loved Los Angeles more than Tom Labonge, truly an angel in the City of Angels.
Tom Labonge was a native Angeleno who championed our city, its history, and its monuments,
among them the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and all that transpired within its turnstiles.
A Los Angeles City Councilmember from 2001-2015 and Coliseum Commissioner from 2002-2015,
his association with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum dates back to the early 1970s
when he was a camera assistant for NFL films during Los Angeles Rams home games.
His irrepressible love for L.A. spanned throughout his nearly 40 years as a dedicated public servant.
His legacy includes major improvements at Griffith Observatory, the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical
Gardens and the Los Angeles River. His crowning achievement was the acquisition of Cahuenga Peak
which saved the land around the Hollywood Sign from development. He also worked tirelessly
developing the Los Angeles Sister Cities peole-to-people international cultural program
that encompasses cities around the world.
Tom treated anyone he encountered with equal friendliness and respect, whether a city sanitation
worker, a foreign dignitary or fellow hiker, his signature gift was a loaf of pumpkin bread made by
cloistered Dominican nuns at the Monastery of the Angels in Hollywood. His signature sign-off was
"Enjoy and love Los Angeles."
No one loved Los Angeles more than Tom Labonge, truly an angel
Location. 34° 0.846′ N, 118° 17.178′ W. Marker is in Los Angeles, California, in Los Angeles County. It is in South Los Angeles. It can be reached from Figueroa Street south of Exposition Boulevard, on the right when traveling south. Located at the Memorial Court of Honor within the Peristyle arches of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3911 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles CA 90037, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in California’s Transverse Ranges. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, on the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexicos Alta California.
Additional commentary. 1. Community Events In the 1990s, Tom Labonge was Assistant to Mayor Richard Riordan, and we rode together during
Photographed by Craig Baker, October 2, 2023
2. Tom Labonge Marker
the mayors community bicycle rides, including one that began here in Exposition Park. Toms son rode on a childs seat on the back of his bike, sleeping through most of the ride. Years later, during Councilmember Labonges community bicycle rides, I rode with Toms son when he was a young adult.
— Submitted December 16, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California.
Photographed by Craig Baker, October 2, 2023
3. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Peristyle
Credits. This page was last revised on December 17, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 16, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. This page has been viewed 208 times since then and 6 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on December 16, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California.
