Echo Park

At the end of the 19^th century, a horse-drawn trolley rambled up a dirt road that is now Echo Park Avenue, which led into hills covered with fields of native grasses and wildflowers. If one person could be called a founder, it would be Thomas Kelley, the carriage maker turned real estate developer.

Kelley and his business partners sold off pieces of what they called the Montana Tract to individuals who built the business district along Sunset Boulevard and the densely packed homes and apartments that surround Echo Park Lake. Legend says the lake, which is actually a man-made reservoir, got its name after workers building the original reservoir said their voices echoed off the canyon walls. The “Lady of the Lake” statue was not added as a feature until years later. Enclaves of rich neighborhoods began popping up, eventually becoming the prestigious Elysian Heights and Angelino Heights areas for upper-middle-class Victorian–era Los Angeles from the late 1800s.

Recently a plaque honoring film industry pioneer Mack Sennett which states ‘THIS IS THE BIRTHPLACE OF MOTION PICTURE COMEDY’ was restored and placed in its proper location, along with Glendale Boulevard near Aaron Street in Echo Park. This was the first true site of Sennett’s sound stages, almost 100 years ago, and one could say what put Echo Park on the map, the movie industry! Similar to adjacent Silver Lake, the area thrived as part of the Edendale movie magic and its proximity to the downtown. Several silent comedies were filmed here as were several Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Our Gang, Ben Turpin, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, Charley Chase, Chester Conklin, and Three Stooges shorts.

As many middle-class white residents relocated to the suburbs after World War II, Mexican Americans moved into the area’s affordable homes, becoming Echo Park’s majority, along with smaller populations of Chinese, Filipino, and Southeast Asian immigrants. During this era, the neighborhood was shaped by the diverse and colorful artists, musicians, and intellectuals. Years later, the neighborhood was affected by the evictions at Chavez Ravine and the division of the barrios by freeway construction. An area that underwent years of racial hostility towards Mexicans in the low-income neighborhood, Mexican American youths part of the zoot suit riot culture, and later gang periods of the 1970s and 1980s, Echo Park has had its share of violent periods.

Today, however, Echo Park has stayed strong in its culturally rich foundation and is safe for the most part, although you might not want to take a late-night stroll on some streets. There is still plenty of movie-making magic happening here too, and street & music festivals happen a few times a year. Although Echo Park has changed dramatically over the past century, it has managed to retain the historic character and strong sense of identity that sets it apart in a modern and sprawling metropolis.