Where was Monkey Island?

While the address of Monkey island read 3300 Cahuenga Blvd. the actual address is now a public park with no indication that monkey island existed. There are some interesting foundations just on the other side of the freeway.
This closely matched the description of Monkey Island. Its a prime place and ... who knows... the numbering of the streets may have very well changed in the past 80 years.



This may simply be the remains of the estate that once was at the corner of Barham and Cahuenga. The interesting thing is that it has a mock hill and a little cave and about a 150 foot foundation.



This is a photo of the new Hollywood freeway going thru the Cahuenga pass. (note that creepy bathhouse-esque FANSCAPE building is at the corner of Barham and Cahuenga. its still there. Who knew it was that old!)
The red "circle" is the address of Monkey Island and the green "circle" is where I found the mystery foundation on the other side of the freeway. This foundation is inside the fenceline of universal studios. It is not a set. it is clearly the foundation for an outdoor plaza of some sort. There was an estate here at one point but I have yet to find pictures of it. The only picture I have located with the estate partially visible is :

Its interesting to see the trolly tracks down the center of the freeway. These went all the way to Vineland Ave.


The original post:

Monkey Island
This unusual amusement was located at 3300 Cahuenga Boulevard, on the Valley side of Cahuenga Pass—the Times usually described it as on Ventura Boulevard. Operated by Adolph Weiss, Monkey Island opened December 9, 1938. A large herd of monkeys, numbering in the hundreds, roamed over an "island" about 150 feet long, with a 40-foot plastic mountain, surrounded by moats and covered with netting. There were palm trees, swings and billy oats for the monkeys to amuse themselves, and waterfalls where they could keep cool. Visitors paid to come in and watch the monkeys and feed them peanuts and vegetables. When the moats were drained in August, 1940, about 100 monkeys fled. Weiss calmly told police "they'll be back," and most apparently did return at feeding time. Escapes were common. Filmaker Warren Miller recalls monkey island:
"I had come to visit a new tourist attraction that was built right near the first Valley stop on The Pacific Electric Railroad, the route of the Big Red Cars. Some investor had built a 40-foot-high, fake plaster and cement mountain and surrounded it with a 20-foot-wide moat of slimy, green, stagnant water. The attraction was 100 undernourished, morose monkeys sitting on the concrete mountain watching you watching them. For 10 cents, you could watch the monkeys. For another five cents, you could buy a bag of peanuts and throw them to the monkeys."
When Monkey Island closed is unknown. It is now a city park.