Science & Tech
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Chester Stock, Ph.D. (January 28, 1892 - December 7, 1950), was a paleontologist who served as Chief Curator of Science at the Los Angeles County Museum and Chairman of the Division of Geological Sciences at the California Institute of Technology. Encouraged by the foresight and generosity of G. Allan Hancock, he inspired many co-workers in developing and preserving the treasures of Rancho La Brea. The observation pit at the west end of Hancock Park is a partially excavated deposit of fossils and bubbling asphalt enclosed in a circular building that first opened in 1952. With an excavation depth of 12 feet and located on the site of Pit 101, it demonstrates what the fossil localities looked like while being excavated. The building was dedicated in 1951 to Stock's memory, and he personally described many of the different kinds of fossil mammals recovered from the tar pits.
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