Historic Echo Park

Lady of the Lake: Echo Park's beloved statue

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 16:39:00 +0000

With the EPHS marking its 20th anniversary this year, we’re using our blog to celebrate some of our neighborhood’s finest landmarks. One of the most beloved is the Lady of the Lake, the statue produced in the depths of the Great Depression by Los Angeles sculptor Ada May Sharpless.

The Art Deco statue, with its gently curving features and Egyptian styling, stands on one of the choicest spots at Echo Park Lake: surrounded by rose bushes, and with a backdrop of the lake and the downtown skyline. The Lady of the Lake -- originally known as Queen of the Angels -- also stands on a base that pays loving tribute to L.A.'s landmarks and locales.

Take a closer look: One side has a relief of Los Angles City Hall, which would have opened not too many years before the statue was completed. A second side depicts shows the city at work: agriculture, factories, a railroad line, oil derricks and ships in the L.A. harbor. A third depicts natural spaces: the ocean, hills and mountains. The fourth shows off the Hollywood Bowl, the San Gabriel Mission, the Central Library and glorious sunshine.

The Lady of the Lake has traveled a bit over the years. When the EPHS was formed in 1995, the statue was sitting in a city storage yard, damaged and hidden from public view. Four years later, then-City Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, some persistent neighborhood activists and the EPHS successfully pushed for the statue to be restored and relocated to a spot near the boathouse.

When the lake’s $45 million renovation was completed in 2013, the Lady of the Lake moved again, to a peninsula not far from the lotus bed. That's where she first appeared in 1935, the year the Municipal Arts Commission agreed to place the Art Deco statue at Echo Park.

Sharpless, born in Hawaii and raised in Orange County, created the Queen of the Angels at a studio at 2970 London Street * in Silver Lake, according to a report in the June 1,1934 issue of the Los Angeles Times. The work was one of many commissioned as part of the federal Public Works of Art Project, part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, which put people back to work during the Depression.

The statue was completed in May 1934 and displayed months later along with the works of nine other artists by the Ebell Art Club. Although it was the centerpiece of the show, it failed to win over one prominent critic: Times art writer Arthur Millier.

Five years earlier, Millier had lavished praise on Sharpless, saying she had submitted the “star piece” of California Art Club’s annual exhibition. But after visiting the Ebell Club's art salon, he informed readers that Sharpless’ piece lacked much needed subtlety. “It is not her happiest work,” he sniffed. . Perhaps he didn't like the statue's deferential posture?

Sharpless, a USC graduate who studied in Paris during the 1920s, soon defended her work in a letter to Millier, who agreed only to publish tiny excerpts in the Jan. 27, 1935 edition of his “Brush Strokes” column. In one passage, she accused Millier of engaging in “superficial and destructive criticism." She also declared that the Queen of the Angels was "one of the best pieces of work I have done so far.”

Despite those rough early days, the Lady of the Lake went on to captivate visitors to Echo Park lake for decades. On her perch, she is an attraction for park goers looking to rest, relax and maybe capture a few photographs. Although the neighborhood has gone through many changes over the past 80 years, the Queen of the Angels stands tall, surveying the park and its many visitors.

To learn more about the Lady of the Lake:

http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/columns/lost-landmarks/the-lady-of-the-lake-the-depression-era-roots-of-echo-parks-unofficial-patron-saint.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Mae_Sharpless

* An LA Times story from 1933 said Sharpless lived at 1142 1/2 Seward St.

A new year for looking forward -- and back

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 05:12:00 +0000

Welcome to 2015! This mostly new year has special meaning for the Echo Park Historical Society. That's because the EPHS has reached its 20th year as a community organization. I have to say, where did the time go?

For those of you who are new to these parts, the EPHS was formed in 1995 by residents who saw something special in many of the neighborhood's historic features: the lake, the hills, the brick storefronts, the modest bungalows. EPHS volunteers researched old buildings and collected stories from some of Echo Park's longtime inhabitants. At community events and in promotional brochures, the EPHS talked up Echo Park's history and its noteworthy places --and the need to preserve them.

In those days, people in Echo Park had big worries about crime, especially the kind that involved gangs. They wanted more street trees, a challenge taken up by the Echo Park Improvement Association. And they wanted more restaurants and amenities. If you can believe it, there was a time when it was difficult to get a take-out cup of coffee in Echo Park.

Now there are plenty of places to find coffee, of course. Talk in the neighborhood has shifted from worries about stuccoing over wood siding -- an EPHS pet peeve -- to enormous development projects that can wipe out a handful of historic homes in a single swoop. But the EPHS is still kicking, working to highlight the people, places and natural spaces that have made our neighborhood such a great and interesting place.

So how will we celebrate our 20th year? One way will be to remind you of some of Echo Park's historic places and stories. We're not just talking about the big ones, like the Jensen's Recreation Center, which became a historic-cultural monument in 1997 at the recommendation of the EPHS. We also mean that modest cottage on a side street, with an interesting story or just an extra lovely exterior.

And so, onward into 2015.

Jim Schneeweis
President
Echo Park Historical Society

Join us for an End of Summer Movie Night at Echo Park Lake

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 06:37:00 +0000

Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell, the Department of Recreation and Parks, and the Echo Park Historical Society will present the film noir classic "Sunset Boulevard" - compliments of Paramount Pictures - on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. at Echo Park Lake. Before the film begins, the EPHS will hold a meeting and history discussion starting at 6:00 p.m.

Bring a blanket, chair and your own picnic and enjoy a movie under the stars. The film will be screened in the northwest corner of the park near the Glendale Boulevard and Park Avenue.

The Echo Park Film Center will screen some short student clips

Sharing Echo Park memories and photos at the Lotus Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 19:52:00 +0000

Logan Elementary circa 1970. Photo courtesy Eddie Barajas

EPHS volunteers have been busy at this weekend's Lotus Festival, where our booth and its display of historic photographs and info have attracted a lot of attention. Many newcomers have come by to learn about Echo Park history while many long time and former residents have also stopped to talk about what the neighborhood was like back in their day. In fact, one resident, Eddie Barajas, returned to share a photo taken of Logan Elementary School around 1970 shortly before the building at Logan and Montana streets was torn down and replaced with a new structure.

The photo shows his sister and brother posed by the street sign. Barajas, who has lived in Echo Park for about 50 years, said he remembers that the Logan playground was shut down one time for the filming of Adam-12. Thanks for the photo and memories, Eddie!

The booth will remain open until 6 pm today, Sunday, July 13, for the remainder of the Lotus Festival.

Join us at the Echo Park Lake Lotus Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 01:02:00 +0000

The Lotus Festival returns to Echo Park Lake this month, and the Echo Park Historical Society will be there with a display of historic photos. Please be sure to stop by. But, better yet, please help us staff our booth. We are seeking volunteers who can donate two or three hours of their time during on either Saturday or Sunday, July 12 & 13.

Shifts run from 9 am to 6 pm on Saturday and from 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday. If you can help, please send an email to ephs@HistoricEchoPark.org. Let us know what times and dates you are available.

Also, the EPHS will host a 90-minute walking tour on Sunday, July 12 at 2 pm that will include the lake, Angeleno Heights, and some large stairways. See you there!

Party like it's 1913: Helping an Echo Park bungalow celebrate its 100th birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 21:48:00 +0000

A reproduction of a vintage menu rests on a plate rail inside a 1913 bungalow on Lemoyne Street.

Talia and Daniela moved into an Echo Park home, not long before it reached its 100th birthday. They graciously agreed to write about the celebration held in its honor. Here's their story! -- EPHS News

By Talia Inlender and Daniela Gerson

Our Echo Park bungalow turned 100 on Dec. 15, or sometime thereabouts. The two-bedroom home on Lemoyne Street, built for Mrs. W.M. Rowland in 1913 at a cost of $1,656.50, still has many features from its earliest days: wood windows and clay tiles, wainscoting in the living and dining rooms; a built-in pantry with leaded glass.

A party guest visits the front porch.

The house, constructed by the United Building Equipment Company, is nestled on a hill in the Elysian Vista Scott Tract.
Sitting on the front porch, it is easy to imagine a quieter Los Angeles, with downtown still a short journey away by trolley or jalopy.

We love our home. Although it's new to us, it's one of the older ones in the neighborhood. When we moved in earlier this year, we knew that a celebration was in order.

So on December 15, we threw our home a 100^th birthday party. The theme, of course, was 1913. We scoured the Los Angeles Public Library’s collection of menus and recipes from the era, asking friends to bring dishes and drinks appropriate to the time. We dined on macaroni croquettes and sand tarts, and sipped sazerac and boating punch.

We researched movies that were filmed in or about 1913 – A Noise from the Deep, The Squawman, and Making a Living (Charlie Chaplin’s first movie). Vaudeville was the soundtrack, made possible by a Spotify station. Some of our nearest and dearest pulled out their feather caps, long skirts, and suffragist banners to bring the home’s original era alive with costumes.

It was a wonderful evening, one that we hope would make Mrs. Rowland proud of how her house has withstood the test of time. We’re optimistic about the next 100.

Does your home belong to the century club? Tell the EPHS your story!

Things got swinging in the backyard of this 1913 bungalow.

Become a member of the Echo Park Historical Society!

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Thu, 26 Dec 2013 17:49:00 +0000

Over the past few weeks, the EPHS presented a few of its gift suggestions for the 2013 holiday season -- books, music and videos to stir lovers of history and design.

We showed you glimpses of early Hollywood, from the whimsical location choices of the Three Stooges to the tragic tale of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. We told you about amazing photographs -- some depicting the working class lives of Chavez Ravine, others showing the domestic scenes created by Maynard L. Parker.

The holiday season is almost behind us. But there's always time to provide a much needed gift to the EPHS: a yearly membership with our volunteer organization! The EPHS turned a few years ago from a quarterly newsletter to an email notification system and an online blog. But although we no longer pay out for postage and printing, we still rely on membership dues.

Membership dues helped the EPHS to pursue and secure landmark designations for several important locations: the beatiful Jensen's Recreation Center, the stately Bank of America building, the lovely Lento brick courtyard apartments on Sunset Boulevard near Dodger Stadium. And of course, there was the crown jewel: a sweeping landmark designation for the cultural landscape that took in Echo Park Lake and its component parts: the bridge, the 1932 Spanish Colonial Revival style boathouse and long suffering lotus bed.

Your membership money has allowed the EPHS to team up with other, nearby neighborhood groups. And it has assisted with the nuts and bolts: the tiny brochures that highlight our neighborhood history; our post office box, web account and insurance policy; even the festive holiday potluck held this month for members.

So make this resolution for the new year: Become a member or just as helpful, renew your membership. At a modest price -- $15 for individuals and $25 for households -- it can help a small but dedicated group go a long way!

Click here to join or renew membership.

Echo Park Holiday Gift Guide: Room 1219 and the unsettling story of film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 17:45:00 +0000

One of the most unsettling tales to emerge from early Hollywood is the story of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, the silent film star who first made his major work in Edendale, the movie-making hub that encompassed part of present-day Echo Park. Arbuckle's career came to an abrupt end after he was implicated in the death of aspiring actress Virginia Rappe in 1921.

That story is the subject of Room 1219: The Life of Fatty Arbuckle, the Mysterious Death of Virginia Rappe and the Scandal That Changed Hollywood, published earlier this year. Author Greg Merritt revisits the circumstances that led to the meeting of Arbuckle and Rappe in a San Francisco hotel on a Labor Day weekend and tries to learn just what happened.

"My aim has been to peel away the accumulated fictions and present the true story of one of the neglected giants of cinema, an unfairly pilloried woman, and the greatest of all Hollywood scandals. This is a mystery story, but it's much more than that."

Merritt shows us the business of early Hollywood while retracing the lives of Rappe and Arbuckle. Although he inaccurately puts Keystone Studios in present-day Silver Lake instead of Echo Park, Merritt gives a fine overview of Arbuckle's days in Edendale -- first at Selig Polyscope, then under director Mack Sennett at Keystone -- before he moved on to the big time with Paramount Pictures.

Room 1219 introduces us to others in Arbuckle's orbit: Arbuckle's wife, the silent movie actress Minta Durfee; Arbuckle's nephew, the silent film performer Al St. John; and rising star Buster Keaton, who started his movie career in Arbuckle comendies and became one of Arbuckle's most ardent defenders.

Those stories are interwoven with the drama that plays out in San Francisco: a horrific death after an impromptu party; a prosecutor's decision to file murder charges; the newspapers that had a feeding frenzy over the case -- and reached a verdict long before a jury; the sudden ban on screenings of Arbuckle's movies.

Room 1219 can be ordered from such book sellers as Stories Books & Cafe in Echo Park and Skylight Books in Los Feliz, as well as online company Amazon.

To get a taste of Merritt's work, here's a fine Q and A from the the classic film blog Out of the Past.

Colonel Griffith's Observatory

noreply@blogger.com (Rory) — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 18:59:00 +0000

On December 16th, 1896, Griffith J. Griffith donated 3,015 acres of the Los Feliz Rancho to the city of Los Angeles, creating the largest urban woodland park in the country.

Today, Griffith Park and the Griffith Observatory are popular destinations for the people of Los Angeles, but the story of their donor is largely unknown to the millions of visitors who make use of his gifts.

In the latest installment of our ongoing video series about the History of Echo Park and Los Angeles, we venture afield to tell the story of "Colonel Griffith's Observatory."

Featuring Mike Eberts, author of "Griffith Park: A Centennial History"

Echo Park Holiday Gift Guide: Chavez Ravine, 1949

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 16:49:00 +0000

Chavez Ravine, 1949: A Los Angeles Story

If you have lived in Echo Park for a serious length of time, you probably long for some kind of time capsule, one that holds dozens, maybe even hundreds, of photographs of our neighborhood: its people, its buildings, its landscape, its mementos. Those images would reveal the things that have disappeared over the decades that we can't quite remember clearly or missed out on entirely.

Chavez Ravine, the area next to Elysian Park where Dodger Stadium now stands, was obliterated in the 1950s. But it has lived on as a sort of symbol of the cruelty of mid-20th century urban renewal. Fortunately for L.A., a time capsule from that community does exist, one created by a 20-year-old from Seattle.

In 1949, photographer Don Normark spent months taking pictures of the working-class, largely Mexican-American neighborhood of Chavez Ravine. The already talented photographer, who went on to work for Sunset Magazine and other publications, had no idea at the time that the village of around 300 families would soon be erased. In 1997, Normark showed a stack of 100 photographs to the former denizens of Chavez Ravine, allowing them to reacquaint themselves with a neighborhood that lived only in their memories.

The result was Chavez Ravine, 1949: A Los Angeles Story, a captivating book of interviews and black-and-white photos on the neighborhood that was razed, first to make way for housing projects, then a major league sports stadium.

The images in Chavez Ravine, 1949 show slices of life: a goat grazing on a hillside; a schoolgirl in her confirmation dress; a man repairing a tire; children outside Palo Verde School, which was shuttered and then entombed in dirt, covered up completely as Dodger Stadium was constructed.

Chavez Ravine, 1949 can be bought or ordered from such booksellers as Stories in Echo Park and Skylight Books in Los Feliz. For those looking to delve deeper, there is a 24-minute documentary available on DVD, which has appeared previously on public television.

Also available is Chavez Ravine: A Record by Ry Cooder, the album that serves both as a tribute to the neighborhood and a trip through 1950s Los Angeles -- the Red Scare, UFO sightings and the characters that populated the city: real estate developer Fritz Burns, architect Richard Neutra, LAPD Chief William H. Parker.

Released by Nonesuch Records, Cooder's 15-track album features a wide range of musicians and performers from East Los Angeles and elsewhere. Its songs are in English and Spanish, recreating the stories about the neighborhood swept away, first to make a (never built) public housing project, then a major league stadium.

On his record label's web site, the guitarist, singer and composer said he misses aspects of old L.A. -- "the texture of certain older neighborhoods, like Bunker Hill, a rural feel in urban places, like Chávez Ravine and the timbre of life there, and just peace and quiet."

Finally, Cooder also explores the city's past in "Los Angeles Stories," his first collection of fiction. The tales are set in the 1940s and 1950s in some of the city's oldest neighborhoods. As he promoted the book last year, Cooder mused on the way things rapidly disappear in L.A.

"I don't know any place as susceptible to this as Los Angeles," he told the L.A. Weekly. "You can go away for two weeks or five days. When you come back, it's 'Where did that corner go? Where did that tree go?'"

Echo Park Holiday Gift Guide: A slapstick comedy featuring The Three Stooges and our neighborhood's hilly streets

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 00:05:00 +0000

Throughout Hollywood history, Echo Park has been a sometimes gritty, sometimes beautiful, backdrop for filmmakers. Gang members stood outside Magic Gas in Mi Vida Loca (1994). Jack Nicholson's boat skimmed the surface of Echo Park Lake in Chinatown (1974). And of course, there are the scores of locally shot film shorts cranked out at the start of the 20th century by Keystone Studios, Bison Studios and other movie companies on the corridor now known as Glendale Boulevard.

Could there be a gift along these lines for a friend or family member buzzy about local history? Absolutely! In fact, there are quite a few. For today, we will focus on a delightful stocking stuffer: Three Little Beers (1935), a comedy short by the legendary Three Stooges that makes Echo Park's hilly streets a big part of the laughs.

Three Little Beers is directed by Del Lord, who turned to the Stooges after years of making silent comedies in Edendale (now part of Echo Park) with Mack Sennett's Keystone. The comedy short begins at Panther Brewing Co., where the trio is hired as beer barrel deliveryman, then moves to the Rancho Golf Course, where the Stooges offend and appall everyone around them. They are chased off the links in their beer truck, which is when this zippy little short reaches its frenzied finale.

That truck full of beer barrels careers into Echo Park, creating chaos on streets should be instantly recognizable: Echo Park Avenue, Scott Avenue, Delta Street, possibly Cerro Gordo Just before the 16-minute mark, there's a great shot of the Del Mor apartment building at Echo Park and Delta, with awnings on the space now occupied by Chango -- then identified as the Echo Park Drug Co. -- and trolley tracks nearby.

The discovery of that filming location by a Stooges aficionado received a prominent mention in The Three Stooges: Hollywood Filming Locations, a 336-page coffee table book by Jim Pauley that provides the settings for dozens of Stooges films. Pauley, a Stooges expert and contributor to Three Stooges Journal, explains in his introduction that he was trying to find the right public staircase for the 1941 Three Stooges short An Ache in Every Stake:

It was March 2001 and I was at a bookstore on Echo Park Avenue, looking for a book on Los Angeles stairwells, when word spread throughout the Echo Park neighborhood that a guy from Philly was looking for a set of steps used in a Stooges film. Several people, including an Echo Park Historical Society member, started taking an interest in what I was doing. One guy even drove me to a set of stairs he thought was the right one. Back at the bookstore, a woman informed me that I was actually standing on a Three Stooges film location from Three Little Beers! It turns out that the bookstore was on the ground floor of an apartment building that can be clearly seen in the film, when beer barrels roll through an intersection and knock down a police officer directing traffic.

This collection of photographs and tales about the Stooges is $39.95 and makes a dandy gift in itself. Incidentally, Pauley finally found the staircase for An Ache In Every Stake, which has the Stooges delivering not beer but ice, in a horse-drawn wagon. The steps, which he described as the holy Grail of Three Stooges filming locations, were discovered in Silver Lake at 2257 and 2258 North Fair Oak View Terrace.

Pauley suspects the location was picked by Del Lord, who had worked nearby at Keystone Studios and directed the film Ice Cold Cocos, a 1926 film that also features ice and deliverymen.

The Stooges locations book can be ordered from such retailers as Stories in Echo Park, Skylight Books in Los Feliz and Hennessey + Ingalls in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Three Little Beers is just one of 19 shorts found on The Three Stooges Collection Volume One: 1934-1936.

Amazon, among other companies, allows customers to buy Three Little Beers individually for $1.99 or as part of the entire first volume of Stooges comedies. Those who watch their entertainment on DVD can find the Stooges Collection at Amoeba Records, 6400 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood.

A holiday gift guide for that history-minded Echo Park shopper

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Sun, 24 Nov 2013 00:42:00 +0000

With the holidays lurking just around the corner, Echo Park shoppers find themselves faced with that yearly dilemma: just what will I buy my history-minded loved ones this year? Fortunately, the EPHS has a few ideas. Starting today, we will share some of them!

In today's gift-buying installment, we suggest one of the more extravagant gifts on tap for our neighborhood: Maynard L. Parker: Modern Photography and the American Dream, a gorgeous 280-page appraisal of the noted architectural photographer.

Maynard Parker made a long and successful career showing off idyllic scenes of residential California in the postwar era. The longtime Echo Park resident produced sumptuous images of domestic perfection for House Beautiful, Sunset, Architectural Digest and other publications, depicting of tidy gardens, ranch-style homes and mid-century modern designs.

Edited by Jennifer A. Watts, the book starts with Parker's early work, including photographs of art deco buildings that graced L.A. in the 1930s. Soon it offers many samples of Parker's signature residential photography, produced during World War II and afterward: a backyard barbecue in Encino, a gleaming kitchen in La Canada Flintridge, a model home in rapidly growing Pacoima.

The book gives full-page treatment to the 1943 cover of House Beautiful that showed off the Parker family home on Lemoyne Street in Echo Park, right off Cerro Gordo. There's a short essay by author Charles Phoenix on Parker's home movies, accompanied by stills of the Echo Park residence -- built by Parker himself.

Here's a fabulous mini-video to whet your appetite for the topic, courtesy of the The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens.

Published by Yale University Press in tandem with The Huntington Library, this hardbound edition can be ordered from such booksellers as Stories in Echo Park, Skylight Books in Los Feliz and Hennessey & Ingalls in Hollywood. At $65, it also can be purchased online from The Huntington Library, which houses the Maynard L. Parker Collection. It's definitely a treat!

You can buy and order books through our local book stores and online:

Echo Park Historical Society Quarterly Meeting & Pizza Fundraiser

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Sun, 04 Aug 2013 20:00:00 +0000

The Echo Park Historical Society will gather at Mohawk Bend on Tuesday night, August 6, for a presentation on the Washington Heights tract, the neighborhood that sits on the western end of Echo Park just west of Glendale Boulevard. Researcher and stalwart volunteer Rory Mitchell will give the presentation, which will also serve as the EPHS' quarterly meeting.

Mitchell will discuss not only Washington Heights but the Sunset Boulevard commercial district, the Jensen's Recreation Center sign and the Ramona Theater, which now houses Mohawk Bend.

The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at Mohawk Bend, 2141 Sunset Blvd, located between Alvarado and Mohawk Street. The meeting coincides with the Mohawk Bend fundraiser "Piece of the Pie," a promotion to benefit the EPHS during the month of August.

Each month Mohawk Bend creates a custom pizza and contributes a portion of the sales to a particular cause. In August, Mohawk Bend will offer the Historical Ramona pizza topped with cherry tomatoes, parmesan, red onion, rapine, cerignola olives and rapini. Anyone who orders this pizza will help support EPHS!

For more information, send an email to ephs@historicechopark.org.

The History of the Short Stop Bar, 1455 Sunset Boulevard, Echo Park, Los...

noreply@blogger.com (Rory) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 23:24:00 +0000

WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC CRIME SCENE PHOTOGRAPHY NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL VIEWERS

On the far eastern end of Sunset Boulevard, hidden from prying eyes by the ivy-covered cliffs made by the railroad in the 19th century, sits one of the most notorious bars in Los Angeles...

The Short Stop.

In honor of opening day at Dodger Stadium, let's lift a pint to this neighborhood mainstay, a building that's stood since 1925 and its strange and disturbing history.

Share it with anyone you've shared a drink with at the Short Stop!

Follow the Echo Park Historical Society on facebook at www.facebook.com/historicechopark

written & directed by Rory Mitchell (valleyspringlane.tumblr.com, facebook.com/valleyspringlane)
music by Adrian Arnold (soundcloud.com/ad-arnold)

Mack Sennett's Cyclorama

noreply@blogger.com (Rory) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 23:24:00 +0000

The next time you're stuck in traffic on Glendale Blvd, try picturing Mack Sennett's Cyclorama in its original location just behind OJ Plumbing on the southwest corner of Glendale Blvd and Effie.

Here's a short (13 seconds) video that tries to do just that:

Actors ran on treadmills as the matte painted background of the Cyclorama whirred behind them.

You can watch a child and a monkey escaping on a sailboat with the Cyclorama in action here:

http://youtu.be/IIeDCgvrVlA?t=1m33s

The two houses and the retaining wall at the top of the frame are still there on the east side of Glendale Blvd., silent witnesses to the Keystone Kops and the birth of film in Los Angeles.

2012 was the centennial celebration of Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios, but the coming years will bring the centennials of Chaplin's Tramp, Cleopatra, Triangle Films and Intolerance among others, providing ample opportunities to explore and celebrate the legacy of the silent films in Echo Park and Silver Lake.

Fatty Arbuckle: The bittersweet story of one of Hollywood's earliest funnymen

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 01:17:00 +0000

A century has passed since Keystone Studios opened its doors in the part of Echo Park once known as Edendale. But one of its enduring legacies is the movie career of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, one of the earliest kings of Hollywood comedy.

Fatty Arbuckle showed up at Keystone in 1913, causing comedienne Mabel Normand to remark that he was "the fattest thing" she'd ever seen. According to Betty Harper Fussell's "Mabel: Hollywood's First 'I Don't Care' Girl," Arbuckle was determined to show Keystone employees what he was capable of, plunging down stairs and then bouncing back up again to ask for a job. It didn't take long for other silent film performers, including actress Minta Durfee, to take note. Fussell wrote:

When Roscoe came to Keystone, he was twenty-six, 5' 10" tall and weighed 260 pounds. "Not soggy fat" Minta said, "but hard as nails." Like Mabel, Fatty was a skilled athlete -- a swimmer, acrobat and tumbler -- and as light on his feet as Zero Mostel. Dancing with Fatty, actress Louise Brooks remembered, was like dancing with a floating doughnut. With his blue eyes, blond hair and wide sunny grin, Fatty played the overgrown all-American boy that he was. For the first time, Mabel had a partner as young-looking and innocent as herself, and together they developed a style of kid comedy a decade before Laurel and Hardy or the real kids of Hal Roach's Our Gang.

Normand and Arbuckle became a potent comedy duo, performing together in 36 comedies together between 1913 and 1916 -- Fatty's Wine Party, Fatty and Mabel's Simple Life, Fatty and Mabel Adrift and Passions, He Had Three. One of those comedy features literally made movie history, according to Fussell: In 1913's A Noise From the Deep, Mabel Normand threw a pie into the face of Fatty Arbuckle, making movie history.

Arbuckle set the standard for the many overweight comedians who would follow in his footsteps. He brilliantly combined his physical comedy with expressions that were far more subtle than those made by many other Keystone performers, who tended to mug or exaggerate their expressions, said Simon Louvish, author of "Keystone: The Life and Clowns of Mack Sennett." To Louvish, Arbuckle was the "first true pantomime genius" discovered by Sennett, Keystone's impressario.

Like many others who sought salaries larger than Sennett was willing to pay, Arbuckle left Keystone. At the Comique Film Co. he helped nurture the budding talent of performer Buster Keaton. But in 1921, a scandal -- and a run-in with an unscrupulous prosecutor -- tragically cut his career short.

Police arrested Arbuckle in San Francisco on suspicion of manslaughter in a case that produced three separate trials, two ending in hung juries and a third producing an acquittal. The defense pointed out instances of destroyed and fabricated evidence, witness intimidation and testimony that quickly fell apart under scrutiny. On the third go-round, the jury not only acquitted Arbuckle but went so far as to issue a formal apology for the way he had been treated.

By then, however, he was finished with the public and was unable to resuscitate his acting career. Mack Sennett, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton all spoke out in his defense, without success.

Arbuckle died at age 46 in 1933, just as he was attempting a comeback.

Even by Hollywood standards, Arbuckle's story is an especially bittersweet one.

Edendale Film History: Keystone Studios turns 100

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 18:22:00 +0000

Charlie Chaplin filmed the opening scene for his first Mack Sennett movie, a 1914 production called “Making A Living,” according to the Silent Locations blog.

As you approach the 2 Freeway onramp, Glendale Boulevard is a pretty discouraging drive. North of Montana Street, it is a corridor marked by empty lots, little-used industrial buildings and brick storefronts that have seen better days. Yet 100 years ago, that same stretch of road was a hub of early Los Angeles movie-making. It was in 1912 that director Mack Sennett teamed up with two producers, Adam Kessel and Charles Bauman, to form the Keystone Film Company, a silent comedy factory that made stars of the heavy-set Fatty Arbuckle, diminutive spark plug Mabel Normand and a budding genius named Charlie Chaplin.

Keystone set up shop on Allesandro Street, now present-day Glendale Boulevard. It was not long before Keystone comedy shorts -- including 35 featuring Chaplin that were made in the span of a year -- became known for pie throwing, high-speed chases, mustache twirling villains and clumsy Keystone Kops. Here's a description of those days by Jeanine Basinger, from her excellent 1999 book "Silent Stars":

By the fall of 1914, Chaplin was becoming a real star and was advertised as one of Sennett's trio of popular comics, along with Arbuckle and Mabel: an issue of Photoplay presented a comic 'menu' that offered 'Charlie Supreme, Stuffed Arbuckle, and Normand Scrambled.'

Keystone, with Sennett at the helm, was nestled in the community known as Edendale. Years would pass before that name fell out of use and the area came to be considered Echo Park. Chaplin, Normand and others left for greener pastures, but Sennett and his Mack Sennett Comedies continued to work with many other talents: cross-eyed clown Ben Turpin, budding actress Gloria Swanson, comedian Harry Langdon, eventual crooner Bing Crosby, director Frank Capra and the wise-cracking W.C. Fields, who worked with Sennett in sound comedies in the early 1930s.

Sennett had relocated to the San Fernando Valley by 1932, the year his studio in Edendale had blown down in a storm. But in the depths of the Great Depression, his luck ran out. He was deeply leveraged and his distributor, Paramount Publix, fell into receivership in 1933, according to Simon Louvish's "Keystone: The Life and Clowns of Mack Sennett."

"The big studio went bankrupt and I with it," Sennett said in his autobiography, "King of Comedy." "I lost the studio, the mountain, the acres of land in Los Angeles -- I lost the whole shebang once upon a time valued at $15,000,000."

The Barber Shop, featuring W.C. Fields, was the last film released by Mack Sennett Productions, according to Louvish's account. Sennett received an honorary Oscar in 1938 for his career in film -- one handed to him by Capra. The following year, he did his last work in Hollywood.

One of the Sennett's studio buildings, now used a storage facility, at 1712 Glendale Boulevard has been designated as a city historic-cultural monument.

Signs of old Echo Park

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:23:00 +0000

Photo from The Eastsider

We love it when pieces of Echo Park's historic charm are restored, saved and appreciated. That applies to old signs, like the familiar giraffe sign on Temple Street. The Eastsider reported on how the new tenants of this brick building fixed up the old sign and had fun in the process, adding an "X-ray" of the giraffe's neck. Does anyone remember what business installed the giraffe? We would like to know.

Echo Park Rising-Historic Downtown Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 18:48:00 +0000

Explore the history of Echo Park, the Sunset Boulevard Business District and Washington Heights, Angelino Heights younger sibling during a trio of walking tours that will be held in conjunction with the Echo Park Rising music festival on Saturday, Aug. 25.

History, storytelling and urban archeology combine to transport 21st century Angelenos to the Los Angeles of the 19th and 20th century. Three tours will be held on Saturday, Aug. 25 at 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Meet at the United Methodist Church at the corner of Alvarado and Reservoir streets. RSVP to ephs@HistoricEchoPark.org.

Donate now to the Save Elysian Park-Stop Barlow Hospital Project Fund

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 05:09:00 +0000

Members of the the Echo Park Historical Society are working with a coalition of neighborhood groups opposed to a proposal by Barlow Hospital to build more than 800 homes on its property, which would demolish many of its historic structures and create a mini city right next to Elysian Park. But we need your help and financial support to help defray the costs of experts - from attorneys to traffic engineers - that have been hired to challenge this develpment as it is reviewed by government agencies.

Please donate what ever you can to protect Echo Park's historic legacy and character. Just click on the Donate button below to contribute online through PayPay or with a credit or debit card. Visit SaveElysianPark.org for more details.

Stop the Barlow Hospital Project & Save Elysian Park

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Tue, 22 May 2012 03:20:00 +0000

Members of the the Echo Park Historical Society are working with a coalition of neighborhood groups opposed to a proposal by Barlow Hospital to build more than 800 homes on its property, which would demolish many of its historic structures. Barlow's 25-acres sit right next door to Elysian Park, across the street from the Avenue of the Palms. Think of what kind of impact the construction and development of more than 800 residences - packed into large towers - would have have on Elysian Park.

Please visit SaveElysianPark.org for a summary of the issue and find out how you can help. We hope your support the effort and sign the online petition.

The History of Washington Heights, Echo Park

noreply@blogger.com (Rory) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 21:26:00 +0000

The 3rd installment in the documentary series, "The History of Sunset Boulevard" covers the history of the Washington Heights tract, the residential section as well as the commercial district along Sunset Boulevard.

The impending demolition of the Anna Zacsek Cottage and related buildings has spurred concern for the remainder of historic Sunset Boulevard as it winds its way through Echo Park.

It is also linked to at www.myhistoricla.org as part of the SurveyLA effort to document the History of Los Angeles. Please register at www.myhistoricla.org so you can vote for the Washington Heights Tract and other potential historic resources in Echo Park in order to call citywide attention to the unique history of Echo Park.

The Washington Heights section of Echo Park was laid out in 1887, between Reservoir Street on the north, Waterloo St. on the West, Marathon on the South and Alvarado on the east.

The earliest residence is believed to date to 1887, though most of the residences date from 1890 to 1915.

Sunset Boulevard runs through the middle of the Washington Heights tract and the commercial district along Sunset dates to 1910's and 20's, though the oldest commercial building dates to 1907, when an existing structure was added upon to build the K9 Loft.

This stretch of Sunset Boulevard allows one to see the semi-rural Los Angeles of the 19th century alongside the beginnings of modern, 20th century Los Angeles.

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Don't Forget: EPHS Quarterly Meeting on Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 05:08:00 +0000

Those familiar with Echo Park history have most likely heard of Angeleno Heights and Elysian Heights. But what about Washington Heights? The Washington Heights Tract includes a handful of blocks northwest of Sunset Boulevard and Alvarado Street. Located on a sloping parcel of land, Washington Heights rises from the brick storefronts of Sunset Boulevard to some large and impressive Craftsman-style homes on Elsinore and Reservoir streets. Who named and subdivided Washington Heights? To be truthful, we don't know! That's why the Echo Park Historical Society is launching a project to uncover the history and stories of Washington Heights.

If you live in Washington Heights (see boundaries below) or have any photos, documents or other information to share, please join us at our Spring Quarterly Meeting on Wednesday, March 28 at 7 p.m. at the Echo Park United Methodist Church, 1226 Alvarado Street. We will meet in the dining room, which is accessible through the parking lot facing Reservoir Street.

We will be making copies of photographs and other documents and recording any other Washington Heights information you might have. In addition to discussing and sharing the history of Washington Heights, the EPHS will also update you on our other ongoing projects. The meeting is free and open to the public but we ask that you RSVP.

The Washington Heights Tract is bounded by Sunset Boulevard on the south, Reservoir Street on the north; Alvarado on the east and properties on the western side of Waterloo Street. Of course we welcome photos, documents and stories from properties nearby.

View Washington Heights Tract in a larger map

Membership Renewal Reminder

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 05:06:00 +0000

Happy first quarter of the year, friends and supporters! We are changing and simplifying our membership renewal process. Instead of billing members individually, we ask that you pay your annual membership during the first quarter of the year.

Memberships cost $15 for individuals; $25 for household and $40 for businesses and organizations, Pay $250 for a lifetime and never bother renewing again, (or be bothered to renew!!! A great value.) Click here to renew your membership - or purchase a new one - online or by check.

EPHS has a number of events and projects scheduled for this year. Our relighting and restoration of the historic Jensens sign is finally coming close to completion, and various preservation and historic nominations of buildings are in the pipeline. Your membership fees

Spring Quarterly Meeting: Help us uncover the history of Washington Heights

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Park Historical Society) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:02:00 +0000