Flashback Fridays: A Brief History of Chavez Ravine and Dodgers Stadium in Photos

I sure hope you guys like photo posts, because I can not get enough of the photos of Echo Park in the USC Digital Library. The collection is full of awesome old photos, and I highly suggest you check it out.

Today, we are going to take a little photographic tour of Chavez Ravine and the early years of Dodger Stadium.

"They're playing ball in Chavez Ravine, 1957"

The text that goes with this photo reads, “Some day the Los Angeles Dodgers hope to be playing ball where Mrs. Barden Scott is playing with her three children, Richmond, 5; Matthew, 3, and Valerie, 18 months. She figures that when the Dodgers build their fancy new ball park in Chavez Ravine home plate will be just about where her home is. But first the Dodgers will have to buy up her place and a few others scattered through the area. Mrs. Scott is willing to sell, but some other owners aren’t.”

"Aerial shot of Chavez Ravine and surrounding area, 1959"

An aerial view of Chavez Ravine just before construction began on Dodgers Stadium.

“Dodger stadium (Chavez Ravine), 1961”

“Chavez Ravine Dodgers ball park, 1961”

Photos of Dodgers Stadium being built.

“Dodgers plant first tree in Chavez Ravine, 1961”

The text that goes with this photo reads: “The Dodgers will plant the first tree in the Chavez Ravine ball-park landscaping on Thursday morning March 9 at 9:30 am. The tree will be an ash — baseball bats are made from ash. Present will be Dick Walsh, Dodger Vice President, a bat boy in a Dodger uniform with a ball bat and Mrs. Carolyn Patterson, Chairman of Plant a Tree Week.” I want to know where this tree is!

“Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine at night, June 1, 1962”

A night game at Dodgers Stadium less than two months after it opened on April 10, 1962.

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Sunday: “LAB” at Fix Coffee in Echo Park

It’s that time again! Fix Coffee in Echo Park is hosting another Local Artisan Bazaar (LAB) Sunday (August 29).

Local artisans and crafters will be selling their wares, sidewalk chalk artists will be coloring up the area, and band African Cowboy will be playing starting at 4:00 pm. Bring your families, friends, and even dogs are welcome. For the kids, they have sidewalk chalk and a face painter.

The monthly bazaar is free, goes from 2:00 – 8:00 pm.

Fix is also holding a raffle for each bazaar, and are looking for a local and meaningful group to donate proceeds to. For more info, please contact Veronica screamingchica@mac.com

For more information, please contact Veronica Hunt at

Fix Coffee is located at 2100 Echo Park Ave (at Baxter).

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Happy 6th Birthday Masa!

A birthday celebration from a couple of years ago

It seems like yesterday we had just moved into the neighborhood and Masa had just opened its doors. It’s already be six whole years, and a lot of great stuff has happened: They serve awesome beer and wine, are very involved in the community, and recently introduced vegan pizza options to the menu. Happy birthday Masa!

As part of their traditional celebration, stop by Masa and grab a piece of Devil’s food cake with buttercream frosting tomorrow (Saturday, August 28)!

Masa is located at 1800 W. Sunset Blvd.

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Echo Park resident takes home the Comedy crown

This actually happened earlier this month, but I’m finally getting caught up on my TV-watching and I am very stoked for the winner of Last Comic Standing. Felipe Esparza was born and raised in Boyle Heights, but he now calls Echo Park his home. He’s hilarious and we look forward to seeing him around Echo Park!

Felipe is also a former Homeboy, and will be donating a portion of his winnings to Homeboy Industries!

Speaking of seeing him around Echo Park… Felipe, if you’re out there, tell us your favorite places you eat and drink in Echo Park so that we can stalk you for an interview, and get drunk together at the same time (wink, wink).

Felipe performs tonight in Los Angeles at the Ricardo Montalban Theater, but you can click here for other tour dates and places.

If you’re like us and don’t leave Echo Park much, you can check out some stand-up comedy at nearby Taix restaurant in the Lounge on Sunday nights. French Toast takes place every Sunday at 8:30 pm, and features comedians from Los Angeles, New York City, Comedy Central, HBO, and more. The best part? It’s FREE!

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Stop Motion Mini Film Festival at Echo Park Film Center

This Saturday, August 28th at 8:00 pm, Stop Motion Magazine will be hosting a stop motion film festival at the Echo Park Film Center. An array of stop motion short films will be shown that feature puppets, clay, sand, cut-outs, toys and legos. Prizes and awards will be handed out by professional stop motion animators. But the grand prize (the coveted “Purple Monkey” Award) will be awarded based on the audience’s decision!

Festival is open to everyone. Cost is $5. The Echo Park Film Center is located at 1200 N. Alvarado Street.

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Loft living in Echo Park: Definitely a trend

Sunsets must look nice from up high at the 1030 Alvarado Street project

Another high density live/work loft building in Echo Park, this one about to open up at 1030 Alvarado (just south of Sunset). Echo 1030, according to the website, is the “newest, greenest, and most contemporary live/work loft units for lease in Los Angeles.” The 20 units just next door to the Alvarado car wash actually do sound pretty nice: 18-foot vaulted ceilings, central heat and AC, solar reflective windows, and more. What makes them “green” is that it’s LEED Certified. But how long will the development fair and will they be able to sell the lofts?

More importantly, there is an empty lot at Chicken Corner, the Durbin project, that has been undeveloped for quite some time now. Sunset Five on Sunset Blvd. and Portia was having some trouble selling its lofts when it first opened. Developers want to build a 64-unit complex on Sunset and Rosemont, and there’s also an eight-unit live/work loft unit proposed for Echo Park Ave. and Avalon Street.

Just why might we be seeing so many developments of this kind in Echo Park these days? Darren Hubert, a local real estate agent, makes a good point. “They build them here because there is a group of residents in Echo Park that appreciate and will live and work in them.  We have one of the strongest arts communities in the city. We are on the cutting edge of the Urban movement in a city that was build around its suburbs. In Echo Park you still have a sense of community, a walking district, and parks close by. It is the best of what Urban LA has to offer yet you still have a community to be a part of.” And a strong community it is!

While Echo Park-ians (rather, me) certainly welcome the “green” living movement, we tend to be more of a makeshift gray water system, self-installed solar panel type of neighborhood. Sustainable living doesn’t always have to mean brand-new and dense residential structures, and naturally I’m a fan of the California bungalows around Echo Park. But now that’s it’s up and built – someone, someday, will take a look at 1030 Alvarado and say, “That’s were I want to live slash work!”

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Echo Park shooting last night results in death of a teenager

Today is a heartbreaking day for the family of a 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed around 11:30 last night near Temple Street and Union Avenue. The Eastsider LA and L.A. Now are both reporting that it may have been a gang-related shooting.

L.A. Now quotes LAPD Officer Bruce Borihanh as saying:

A male suspect walked up to the victim at the corner of Temple Street and Union Avenue about 11:30 p.m., Borihanh said. The suspect, described as 19 to 24 years old, fired multiple rounds at the victim with a handgun, striking the victim in the head and shoulder.

Lt. Wes Buhrmester of the Rampart Division told The Eastsider LA that the victim was in an argument with the suspect, who fired five rounds:

Right now (8:00 a.m.), the investigation is still ongoing.  Rampart Homicide Unit detectives responded to the scene, and are still here, piecing things together.  The victim has been identified and his parents notified and interviewed, however because he is a juvenile his name is being withheld at this time.

Thanks to The Eastsider LA and L.A. Now for keeping us in the know. Be safe everyone!

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Photo: Echo Park sunset

There was a real nice sunset tonight you can see from, well, Sunset Blvd! You probably saw the huge thunderheads over the mountains earlier today. Other areas didn’t fare as well as we did – a flash flood warning in parts of Southern California actually resulted in some crazy storms, including the following video from Lake Elsinore, which was also featured tonight on KTLA. Hard to believe that’s So Cal in August!

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Frogtown Artwalk: A tour of Elysian Valley studios and galleries

This Saturday marks the fifth annual Frogtown Artwalk event put on for studios and art galleries in nearby Elysian Valley area alongside the LA River. The artwalk is free, self-guided, and looks like a lot of fun!

This year you can expect a few things going on other than art exhibits (more than 30 studios are participating), including hula hoopers, DJs, an art and drum parade, outdoor screenings, drinks and live music. One of the films, which will be projected on an inflatable screen in Elysian Valley Gateway park, is about the history of Frogtown, and features photos and interviews with neighbors and artists.

Visit the website for Frogtown Artwalk for more information and a map of participating galleries and businesses.

Frogtown Artwalk
Saturday, August 28
5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Website
Press Release

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Lit Crawl2 at The Echo

There’s no better way to meet fellow Angeleno book-lovers and authors, and participate in a bar crawl at the same time!

Lit Crawl 2: It’s a F@cking Read-Off is an event put on by Pen Center USA and Stories Books (and in association with LitQuake and Good Reads). It starts at The Echo on Saturday, August 28th at 6:00 pm, where 11 authors will read their 8-minute compositions and the audience judges the work’s “originality, spirit and lyrical transcendence.” The louder the audience, the better the chance that author wins the read-off.

After the main event (which has no entry fee, by the way), the bar crawl starts and you’ll head to El Prado, The Gold Room, The Little Joy and The Shortstop. But you’ll need to know where to go and when, so follow PEN’s Twitter to get live crawl updates.

Stories Cafe is also hosting a couple of different things if you need a break from the crawl. Also at 7:00 pm they are hosting a “Why He’s My Ex” (by Krishna Devine and Jessica Hill) party, signing, photo taking, and Colt 45. At 8:30 pm the Lit Crawl 2 gang swings by for some beer, books and an open reading,

MCs are Laurie Ochoa and Joe Donnelly (editors of Slake Literary Journal) and Carolyn Kellogg of the Los Angeles Times.

Authors:
Katie Arnoldi
Allison Burnett
Gabrielle Calvocoressi
Dennis Danziger
Samantha Dunn
James Greer
Edan Lepucki
Joseph Mattson
Graham Moore
Neal Pollack
Rachel Resnick

Stories Books and Cafe is located at 1716 West Sunset Blvd.

The Echo is located at 1822 West Sunset Blvd.

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Melba Morris Ballet Studio closing

The Melba Morris ballet studio has been operating in Echo Park since 1988, but Thursday (August 25, 2010) will be the studio’s last day open.

The message on the answering machine says that the Echo Park location will be closing, and that the future location of the studio is uncertain. Melba may be doing some private coaching but will not likely be teaching on a daily basis.

Ms. Morris has been offering low-cost ballet and dance classes to the area for over 20 years. It’s a little sad to see the studio close, but we wish her the best of luck!

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Get inspired: Novel writing class in Echo Park

It's hard not to be inspired in Echo Park. Flickr photo via Alysa Pakkidis

Echo Park resident and novelist Tempany Deckert is offering a Beginner’s Novel Writing Class on Wednesdays, starting September 1. While the class isn’t free, you will get to:

Learn to write your very own novel in this fun, informative and inspiring class. Taught by eighteen time novelist, T. Deckert, you’ll learn how to develop characters, plot, structure and most important of all, have the discipline to complete your very own work of art. Anyone can write, but not many people can navigate their way through the entire novel writing process. In this class you’ll not only learn the tricks of the trade, but you’ll complete your very own book over the course of 10 weeks.

Cost of the class is $260, and class size is restricted to so sign up fast!

To reserve your spot, email Tempany@mac.com

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Donate to Blue Collar’s Military K9 Program

Flickr photo via The U.S. Army

Blue Collar in Echo Park has been collecting donations for their Military K-9 Program, in which the business sends military K9s in Afghanistan some much-needed dog items, including beds, shampoos, ear cleaners, medicines, joint support, treats, and grooming supplies. They were also accepting items for the K9 handlers such as bug spray, sun screen,vitamins, coffee, etc. They have had success collecting those donated items, but the boxes have become expensive to ship the items – just two boxes cost $100 to ship to Afghanistan.

They are asking for monetary donations or someone with a Postal Service business account to help by funding some of the shipping (they can only ship via USPS). They have four boxes that need to be shipped, and Blue Collar needs your help!

Stop in and talk to the folks at Blue Collar about how you can help.

Blue Collar is located at 1533 Echo Park Avenue.

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How high can you go? Avalon St. development criticized

The corner used to have a gas station. Flickr photo via mr. rollers

This skinny housing development was a topic of conversation at the Echo Park Improvement Association last week when a few of the residents next door to the proposed development expressed their discontent. The eight “live/work lofts” at Echo Park Avenue and Avalon Street tower over the neighborhood at four stories high (45 feet), and design-wise it doesn’t appear to fit in well with the rest of the 1920s-era homes in the neighborhood.

The nearly 8,000 square-foot lot covers both 1910 N. Echo Park Ave. and 1615 W. Avalon St. Each single-family unit is less than 19 feet wide and 39 feet deep, and three stories plus a ground-level parking floor that fits cars end-to-end. Cars pulling in and out of the units will have to navigate Avalon Street, a narrow street always packed with parked cars.

The resident who owns the home pictured directly to the left of the rendering (see above) is very concerned with with the density of the project, saying, “It is a clear abuse of how community planning intended the lots to be used.” The lots are zoned commercial (there used to be a gas station on the corner, pictured to the left), and developer Echo Park, LLC is asking the city to “sub-divide a commercially zoned lot,” allowing developers to build the 1,000 square foot units under the city’s small lot subdivision ordinance.

The neighbors have sent out emails and posted the following call-to-action on the Echo Elysian Neighborhood Council forum: “Avalon Street is used as a thoroughfare for residents of surrounding streets, and families with children walking to our many neighboring schools and day care centers. This proposed development is unsafe as currently planned. Residents surrounding the vacant lot are not against development, just the large inappropriate development currently proposed. Please help protect the character and safety of our Echo Park neighborhood. A quick call can make a big difference!”

September 1 is deadline if you’d like to express your opposition to (or support for) the project on Avalon Street. You can call or email Eric Garcetti’s office and let them know you are a constituent and a concerned resident of Echo Park.

Case number: VTT-70653-SL

Eric Garcetti’s phone: (323) 957-4500

Alejandra Marroquin is the Field Deputy for Echo Park. You can call her at the number listed above or email her at alejandra.marroquin@lacity.org

There are more reasons to oppose this project. Please email avalon.echopark@gmail.com if you’d like to learn more.

UPDATE:

The City is still accepting official comments on the development. Send an email to Sarah Molina-Pearson at sarah.molina-pearson@lacity.org

Related Articles:

  1. “Thin is in when it comes to new Echo Park homes.” August 18, 2010. The Eastsider LA
  2. “Slices of Echo Park life up for sale.” February 17, 2010. The Eastsider LA
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Cooling down at Echo Park Pool in 1958

Photo via USC Libraries

The Echo Park Shallow Pool in 1958, with the 101 Freeway in the background. This pool (located by the Rec Center) is now closed until further notice, but the Echo Park Deep should be reopening today after dealing with some cloudy water issues.

h/t USC Libraries for the photo!

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