Hamlet in Encino

Michael Crosby on Facebook

Los Encinos State Historic Park, as I've said many times before, is one of the most history-drenched enclaves of Los Angeles. My favorite spot to commune with the past. It's where the Portola expedition camped with a village of Tongva on the first overland visit to California by outsiders. Its spring was a stopping point on the El Camino Real, the ranch was pretty famous for its Merino sheep in the late 1800s, and there's still a limestone farmhouse (and guitar-shaped pond) built by one of the French immigrants to inhabit the place. Last night Los Encinos also hosted an outdoor performance of Hamlet put on by Shakespeare by the Sea. Michael Crosby, a docent with the park, says on Facebook it may have been the largest adult audience ever to visit Los Encinos.