The canyon acquired its present name when it was purchased by Carman Runyon, who used as a retreat for hunting and riding.
In turn it was purchased by Irish tenor John McCormack who built a mansion he called San Patrizio, along with tennis courts, a swimming pool, and various guuest facilities. Many Hollywood stars rented the mansion from McCormack during his frequent European tours.
George Huntington Hartford II, heir to the A & P grocery store fortune, purchased the property in 1942, calling it "The Pines." He had plans for a major country club development designed by Frank Llyod Wrightbut the neighbors successfully fought its development. Wright did design a cottage for Hartford's friend George Handley, located near the upper part of the park called "Cloud's Rest." During the late 1950s Errol Flynn, having lost his home in an alimony fight, lived in the pool house of the estate below.
After Mayor Sam Yorty refused to accept the estate as a gift from Hartford in 1963 it was sold to Jules Berman, who also had development plans for the beautiful estate. He tore down the mansion and most of the structures for his luxury home subdivision, but again the neighborhood resisted. The city acquired the property for a park in 1984. There have been several fires in the canyon which have left only the foundations of the structures; the pool has also been covered over with dirt. The Handley house is the only structure now in the park.
(Based on the article "Uncovering a History as Wild as the Canyon Itself," Los Angeles Times, November 8, 1995, p.E1, and information provided by "The Friends of Runyon Canyon.")