100 goats are put to work downtown

The brush-covered hillside lot, called Angels Knoll, is topped by a grassy park that is maintained by the city.

Eventually, the lot is slated to become the site of a third mixed-use California Plaza tower.

At lunchtime, a steady stream of California Plaza office workers came to the small park to get a close-up peek at the goats, some of which were leaping into the air to snag a taste of tree leaves hanging over the lot.

On the corner below the hill, a street musician belted out a bluesy jazz tune on his saxophone.

"Instead of jazz, they should be playing Rodgers & Hammerstein," suggested one of the office workers, Michael Alexander. The Mount Washington resident is in charge of the California Plaza arts program.

"You know which one I'm talking about: the 'Lonely Goatherd' song from 'Sound of Music.' "

Alexander whistled a few notes from the tune, which most remember as the yodeling song.

Busily lunching on their weed buffet, Bunker Hill's goats didn't even look up.

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bob.pool@latimes.com