EPHS News

EPHS seeking support for Echo Park design guidelines

2009-06-22T22:21:00.000-07:00

The Echo Park Historical Society is urging its members and residents to voice their support for a proposed set of city guidelines to protect the small and historic scale of buildings west of Echo Park Lake.

The guidelines for what planners call a Community Design Overlay would make it much more difficult to demolish historic structures. It would also recommend that any new structures and renovations fit into the historic character and scale of the existing neighborhood. The guidelines would not prohibit new construction or prevent property owners from remodeling their homes. They would simply protect the historic features of the neighborhood and force developers of giant projects, such as a 200-foot-long housing development proposed by Angelus Temple, to come up with smaller alternatives.

If you would like to support our effort, please contact us at ephs@HistoricEchoPark.org

Two Echo Park buildings declared historic landmarks

2009-04-11T09:47:00.001-07:00

The Los Angeles City Council voted last week in favor of declaring the Echo Park branch of the Bank of America and the former Echo Park Clubhouse as city historic-cultural landmarks. The two buildings were nominated by the Echo Park Historical Society, which hired Charlie Fisher to research the properties and file the application. Monument status not only recognizes the building's architectural and historic value but also provides additional protection against demolition or changes that would change the properties' historic features.

The Echo Park Clubhouse at 1004 Echo Park Avenue was built by the city in 1906 and was originally located on the current site of the Echo Park Recreation Center on Bellevue Avenue, south of Echo Park Lake. The Craftsman-style building was designed prominent Los Angeles architect Sumner P. Hunt as the city's second recreation center. Click here for more history and the landmark application.

The Bank of America building at the southeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and Echo Park retains much of its original character since being constructed in the late 1920s. A Bank of America office has operated from the same corner for about 80 years, making it one of the bank's oldest branches to operate from the same location. Click here for more history and the landmark application.

The two buildings join the growing list of city landmarks in the Echo Park area.

Pedal your way through Elysian Park history

2009-04-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

The EPHS Elysian Park Bike Ride will be held on Saturday, April 25 at 10 am. Explore the historic highlights of the Elysian Park's western edge (the route is limited to paved roads) during this 90-minute, guided tour headed by Matthew Dubois. Stops include Barlow Hospital, the old Navy Armory and Police Academy. Space is extremely limited. The tour is free to EPHS members and $5 for all others. RSVP to ephs@HistoricEchoPark.org

The tour begins in the parking lot of the Grace Simons Lodge off Stadium Way. See map below.

View Larger Map

It's here: the EPHS eNewsletter for April

2009-04-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

You can read an archived version of our monthly e-Newsletter for April by clicking here. Want to be put on our e-mailing list? Click here to sign up.

Angeleno Heights Historic District Workshop

2009-03-25T22:14:00.000-07:00

What is an HPOZ and what does it mean for those who live or own property in Angeleno Heights? Find out during this city-sponsored workshop on Saturday, March 28 from 10 am to 1pm at 534 E. Edgeware Rd. (click here for workshop details). Residents will also find out about resources to help maintain their historic properties. The workshop is free and open to all.

Tour the historic heart of Echo Park

2009-03-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

The EPHS will hold its Echo Park Lake Walking Tour on Saturday, March 28. The tour starts at 10 am and will include some of the neighborhood’s most prominent landmarks, such as Jensen’s Recreation Center, Angelus Temple and, of course, the lake. The tour takes about two hours to complete and includes several stairways. Building interiors are not included. Reservations required. The tours are free for EPHS members; we ask a $5 donation of all others. Please see the Walking Tour section http://www.historicechopark.org/ for details.

EPHS e-News for March 2009

2009-03-17T21:59:00.000-07:00

You can read an archived version of our monthly e-Newsletter for March by clicking here. Want to be put on our e-mailing list? Click here to sign up.

EPHS members invited to Historic Torrance Silent Auction

2009-03-13T06:24:00.000-07:00

As members of the Echo Park Historical Society, The Olmsted Districts Preservation Association--working to Save Historic Old Torrance for the kids of tomorrow would like to invite you to take advange of the "Members Only" pricing for our Preservation Extravaganza, a Very Fun Fund Raiser--Dinner & Silent Auction. The event will be held this Saturday night, March 14, at 6:00 PM at the Torrance Marriot South Bay, 3635 Fashion Way Torrance,California 90503. Ticket are $50 a person, BUT for MEMBERS ONLY the price is TWO for ONE--Two persons for $50 or $25 per person.

Please call to purchase your tickets and reserve your spot for this great evening which features the beautifully renovated Terrace Ballroom, a cash bar, great auction items, wonderful raffle items, a great dinner and dessert and of course, like-minded people who care about preserving the historical treasures of the past for the kids of tomorrow. CALL 310 493-5312 or 310 320-0269 right always.

Here are photos of last year's event: http://www.savehistoricoldtorrance.com/Extravaganza.asp

A bike ride through Elysian Park history - Sat. Nov. 1

2008-10-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

The EPHS Elysian Park Bike Ride will be held this Saturday, Nov 1 at 10 am. Explore the historic highlights of the Elysian Park's western edge (the route is limited to paved roads) during this guided ride. The 90-minute tour headed by Matthew Dubois will include stops at Barlow Hospital, the old Navy Armory and Police Academy. Space is extremely limited. The tour is free to EPHS members and $5 for all others. RSVP to ephs@HistoricEchoPark.org

The tour begins in the parking lot of the Grace Simons Lodge off Stadium Way. See map below.

View Larger Map

Climb the stairways of Echo Park this Saturday, Oct. 25

2008-10-21T22:08:00.000-07:00

Please join us for the Echo Park Stairway Walking Tour on Saturday Oct., 25 at 10 am. The walk includes the Baxter Stairs as well as Fellowship Park, Red Hill and the modernist Harwell Harris house (exterior only). Starting Place:Elysian Heights Elementary 1562 Baxter St. at Echo Park Ave Reservations are required. Click here for details

Echo Park Lake Walking Tour -- Aug. 30 (new date!)

2008-08-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

The Echo Park Lake Walking Tour originally scheduled for Saturday, August 23 has been postponed one week to August 30. The tour starts at 10 am and will include some of the neighborhood’s most prominent landmarks, such as Jensen’s Recreation Center, Angelus Temple and, of course, the lake. The tour takes about two hours to complete and includes several stairways. Building interiors are not included. Reservations required. The tours are free for EPHS members; we ask a $5 donation of all others. Please see the Walking Tour section http://www.historicechopark.org/ for details.

Judge blocks school district building plans

2008-07-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

The Right Site Coalition scored a major legal victory in the fight to prevent the Los Angeles school district from demolishing more than 2 blocks of Echo Park homes for a new school -- even though enrollment has been plunging. The school district now has to basically return to the beginning of its selection process or appeal the judge's ruling

The EPHS, a member of the coalition, has opposed the proposed 9A site because of the needless destruction of scores of old homes near Alvarado Street and Sunset Boulevard.

More details in the LA Times.

Elysian Park Bike Tour - Sat. July 19

2008-07-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

The EPHS launches it's first-ever bicycle tour on Saturday, July 19 at 10 am. Hit the historic highlights of the Elysian Park's western edge (the route is limited to paved roads). The 90-minute tour headed by Matthew Dubois will include stops at Barlow Hospital, the old Navy Armory and Police Academy. Space is extremely limited. The tour is free to EPHS members and $5 for all others.

The tour begins in the parking lot of the Grace Simons Lodge off Stadium Way. See map below.

View Larger Map

Explore Elysian Park

2008-06-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

Please join us on Saturday, June 28 at 10 am for the Elysian Park Walking Tour. The Elysian Park Tour, which is co-sponsored by Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park, focuses on the lesser known but historically rich eastern edge of the park.

This tour takes about two hours to complete and includes walking up and down hills and upon unpaved trails. Reservations required. Please visit the Walking Tour section of www.HistoricEchoPark.org for details.

The Story of Room 8 Cat

2008-05-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

The EPHS Quarterly meeting on Wed. May 14 at 7 pm will feature Roger Vargo and his presentation on Room 8 Cat, the feline who reigned supreme at Elysian Heights Elementary School during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Come share your Room 8 Cat stories and photos.

The meeting will be held at the Barlow Library and Barlow Hospital, 2000 Stadium way. The presentation on Room 8, which is free and open to the public, will be preceded by news and updates on historical society events and issues of interest to members.

Echo Park Lake Walking Tour - Sat., May 24

2008-05-04T08:42:00.001-07:00

The Echo Park Lake Walking Tour starts at 10 am and will include some of the neighborhood’s most prominent landmarks, such as Jensen’s Recreation Center, Angelus Temple and, of course, the lake. The tour takes about two hours to complete and includes several stairways. Building interiors are not included. Reservations required. The tours are free for EPHS members; we ask a $5 donation of all others. Please see the Walking Tour section http://www.historicechopark.org/ for details.

Church alters parking plans

2008-04-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

Some good news (we hope) regarding Angelus Temple's plan to build a giant parking structure between the Temple and businesses along Sunset Boulevard. In a recent meeting with EPHS, church officials indicated that they now plan to build the multi-level structure along Glendale Boulevard, sparing, at least for now, several old buildings along Lemoyne Street. This is an option the EPHS has suggested in previous meetings.

Locating the parking structure along Glendale Blvd. would still require the demolition of some church-owned buildings from the 1940s (they already demolished an older apartment court). However, keeping the parking garage on Glendale Blvd. (already a busy highway fronted by similar large commercial structures) would preserve the small-scale, older buildings on Lemoyne Street, which forms a pedestrian-friendly link between Echo Park Lake and the Sunset Boulevard business district. This plan would give the church the parking it craves and help preserve the area's historic fabric.

In another encouraging sign, EPHS president Kevin Kuzma and EPHS member Matthew Pope have been meeting with an Angelus Temple contractor working on several buildings the church owns nearby (Angelus Temple is perhaps Echo Park's single largest property owner) to inform them on building materials and designs that fit in with the neighborhood's historic character.

Explore Echo Park Stairways

2008-04-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

Please join us for the Echo Park Stairway Walking Tour on Saturday, April 26 at 10 am. The walk includes the Baxter Stairs as well as Fellowship Park, Red Hill and the modernist Harwell Harris house (exterior only). Starting Place:Elysian Heights Elementary 1562 Baxter St. at Echo Park Ave Reservations are required. Click here for details

The story of Room 8 Cat appears in Daily News

2008-04-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

The Daily News on Wednesday will present a special feature on Room 8 Cat, the feline mascot of Elysian Heights Elementary School. Don't miss it.

LAUSD Fails to Learn

2008-03-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

L.A. City Beat takes a look at the school district's effort to demolish more than two blocks of Echo Park to build a new school on Site 9A despite a sharp drop in enrollment and a flawed selection process. The story focuses on the the Villanueva family, which was forced to sell their home under the threat of eminent domain. Here's an excerpt:

"A year later, the family was served an eminent domain notice that they would be evicted from the house in which they had lived for 26 years. They ended up moving around the block, and have now joined other Echo Park community members engaged in a legal battle entering its third year over the massive swath of 49 mostly modest stucco homes that the school district has swallowed up in this once tight-knit neighborhood.

Declining elementary school enrollment and fierce local opposition raise questions not only about the district’s tactics in the name of its aggressive building program, but whether the upheaval in the neighborhood was even necessary. It’s hard to imagine that voters – if they could have known about the ruin it would mean for dozens of families here – would have generously approved three bond measures, totaling nearly $10 billion."

Click here for the full story.

Fargo Hill Climb This Sunday

2008-03-13T20:51:00.001-07:00

If you have not read it, the Spring quarterly issue of the EPHS News features a two pages of stories on the steep streets of Echo Park and Elysian Heights. If you want to experience these hills first-hand, then maybe this Sunday's annual Fargo Street Hill Climb is for you (or you can at least watch from the sidelines).

Elysian Park Walking Tour - Sat., March 15

2008-03-08T22:49:00.000-08:00

Please join us on Saturday, March 15 at 10 am for the Elysian Park Walking Tour. The Elysian Park Tour, which is co-sponsored by Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park, focuses on the lesser known but historically rich eastern edge of the park.

This tour takes about two hours to complete and includes walking up and down hills and upon unpaved trails. Reservations required. Please visit the Walking Tour section of www.HistoricEchoPark.org for details.

L.A. Heritage Day This Sunday, March 2

2008-02-27T21:38:00.001-08:00

The Echo Park Historical Society will be present at the first-ever Los Angeles Heritage Day on Sunday, March 2 from 12 pm to 4 pm. The event will be held at Heritage Square in Highland Park. More details on the Franklin Avenue blog and Heritage Square Museum

Echo Park Lake Walking Tour -- Feb. 16

2008-02-06T21:56:00.001-08:00

The Echo Park Lake Walking Tour originally scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 9 has been postponed one week to Feb. 16. The tour starts at 10 am and will include some of the neighborhood’s most prominent landmarks, such as Jensen’s Recreation Center, Angelus Temple and, of course, the lake. The tour takes about two hours to complete and includes several stairways. Building interiors are not included. Reservations required. The tours are free for EPHS members; we ask a $5 donation of all others. Please see the Walking Tour section http://www.historicechopark.org/ for details.

School District Loses Legal Battle

2008-02-04T15:21:00.000-08:00

A state court of appeal blocked the Los Angeles Unified School District from demolishing more than 2 blocks of Echo Park for a new school. Read the court ruling. The 9A site has been opposed by the Right Site Coalition, which includes the EPHS, in light of the destruction of historic resources, a flawed selection process and a sharp drop in enrollment that makes a new campus unnecessary. The demolition will be delayed as the lawsuit challenging the site returns to a lower court for review. More about 9A.