The Park

I came here last Sunday for dinner with friends and it was amazing. My burger was cooked perfectly, there were coloring books for the child in our party and everyone was super nice.

1400 Sunset Blvd
at the corner of Douglas
in Echo Park, CA.

Tel: 213/482.9209

Dinner hours:
Wed/Thurs/Sat/Sun    5:30-10:00
Tues/Fri    6:00-10:00
(reservations recommended)
Lunch hours:
Tues – Fri    11:00-2:30
Brunch hours:
Sat / Sun    10:00-2:00

The Park Prix Fixe Deals
—Speakeasy Tuesdays—
Ticket price: $15 (includes 3 course meal)

—Friday Supper Club—
Ticket price: $20 (includes 3 course selection from our regular menu)

Wednesday is $5 Burger Night!
Munch a 6 oz. sirloin burger or homemade veggie burger with your choice of side for only $5

Read more

The Onion and The A.V. Club present:

OUR DUMB BOOK EVENT

with Division Day, Tom Lennon, Ben Garant, and Megan Ganz

At the Echoplex, Thursday, April 1
7:30 pm
$10, 18+

Posted on The Echo website:

Beautiful people of Los Angeles, reschedule your Botox appointments. Put that anal bleaching on hold. Stop doing whatever other lazy L.A. stereotype we can’t think of, and point your Prius in the direction of Echo Park: We’re coming to see you.

That’s right, the multimedia caravan around our Inventory book is coming to the Echoplex on April 1, and this time we’re bringing with us our siblings, The Onion—who have their own awesome book to promote. (Buy them together for a low low price here!) For one night only, staff members from both publications will be on hand to read, show videos, talk, and generally goof around for your enjoyment.

And we won’t be alone. Joining us will be Tom Lennon and Ben Garant (of Reno 911!, The State, and a bunch of other stuff), reading their guest lists from Inventory, Important Things With Demetri Martin writer—and former Onion scribe—Megan Ganz, L.A. band Division Day, and others TBA. It’s going to be crazy and fun, and you should most certainly come.

The Echoplex, located at 1154 Glendale Blvd.

Hundreds of people gathered at the Cuban human rights rally today at the lake in Echo Park.

Quite a few gatherers dressed in white at the rally

George Lopez & Perez Hilton at the rally (via Twitpic)

Sunday vendors managed their usual spots despite the crowds

Part Time Punks this Sunday March 28 at The Echo is featuring the Slumberland Records 20th anniversary show. Featured bands include: Boyracer, Brown Recluse, Devon Williams, Go Sailor, Henry’s Dress, Neverever, Pants Yell!, Summer Cats, and The How.

The show is $15 and all ages; doors at 7:00 pm. Click here to purchase tickets in advance.

The Echo is located at 1822 Sunset Blvd.

In case you’re wondering what Part Time Punks is, from their website: Part Time Punks is a club that takes over noted Echo Park live music venue, The Echo on 1822 Sunset, every Sunday night. The night focuses heavily on obscure and classic music coming out of America, the UK and Europe in 1978 to the present: Punk, Post-punk, Punk-funk, New Wave, No Wave, Hardcore, Indie-Pop, Twee, Grunge, Electro, Minimal-Synth, Shoegaze, Baggy.

Echo Park Ave. Art Walk is back! Join local businesses, artists, and musicians on Saturday, April 3 from 12 noon – 6:00 pm. Participating businesses are located from Blue Collar to Fix Coffee on Echo Park Avenue.

While we don’t have a complete list of businesses, vendors and activities yet (check back later for details) there will be quite a few activities, including art, performances, music, sidewalk chalk, and more. This time, all business are responsible for booking artists and entertainers, so anyone interested in submitting artwork should contact Echo Park Avenue businesses directly.

What: Echo Park Avenue Artwalk
When: Saturday, April 3, 2010 from 12 noon – 6:00 pm
Check out the Facebook page for contact info

On Sunday, March 28 at 2:00 pm at the Echo Park Lake, Cuba’s Ladies in White are leading a “march of solidarity” to bring awareness to human rights issues in Cuba.

According to the Roots of Hope website, the event will include some celebrity supporters of the cause:

Join Academy Award Nominee Andy Garcia, comedian & actor George Lopez, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton and hundreds more in a march of solidarity with Cuba’s Ladies In White – the mothers, daughters, wives and sisters of Cuban prisoners of conscience – and all those who struggle for peaceful nonviolent change in Cuba.

Everyone involved in the march is encouraged to wear white.

The Miami Herald has also a detailed article on the Ladies in White and its cause.

If you have any questions, please contact Cubans In LA at cubansinla@gmail.com

Echo Park, El Carnal (pt.2) Acrylic on 7.5″ x 10″ panel.

As seen from the parking lot south of Sunset, between Logan and Echo Park Ave.

On Sunday, March 28 the Echo Park Film Center will be teaching a workshop for adults entitled “Intro to 16mm Cinematography and Hand Processing.” They will be teaching basic camera operation, shooting techniques and hand-processing. No previous filmmaking experience necessary. All equipment and materials will be provided by EPFC. Cost is $75 or $60 for EPFC members. The class starts at noon and goes until 5:00 pm.

Echo Country Outpost is hosting the Amanda Jo Williams Yes I Will, Mr. Man Record Release Show on Saturday, March 27 at 6:30 pm.

5 Bands, $5 at the door, free tequila!

It’s a romp in the woods with moonshine-soaked hillbillies fighting for love and the American dream. A banjo this time, a dancing percussionist next time, Amanda Jo notably has a musician surprise or two at each performance. For March 27, she’ll have two stand-up bassists, a rhythm section, and, as always, the inimitable guitarist 5-Track, whose guitar howls and coos like a wolf on opium. The show gets even better with glam folk band He’s My Brother She’s My Sister, story-telling dreamer Henry Wolfe, as well as Woodstock folk artist and legend Paul McMahon, who taught Williams to play guitar, and the wild stomping Matthew O’Neill.

For more information about the bands, click below:

Amanda Jo Williams
He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister
Henry Wolfe
Paul McMahon
Matthew O’Neill

Presented by: L.A. Record & White Noise & Metl Reserva Especial

Click here to RSVP on the Echo Country Outpost Facebook page.

Echo Country Outpost is located at 1930 Echo Park Avenue

via Echo Park Historical Society Facebook page

Join the Echo Park Historical Society on Saturday, March 27 at 10:00 am for the Elysian Park Walking Tour. The tour 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 are required and can be made to ephs@HistoricEchoPark.org.

The tour is free to EPHS memers and $5 for all others. The tour begins at the Fremont Monument (pictured at left) near North Broadway and Elysian Park Drive. Please visit the Walking Tour section of
www.HistoricEchoPark.org for information about other tours.

Glendale Blvd (Los Corredores) acrylic on 14.5″ x 13.5″ panel. This is my most recent painting, the second I’ve done since 2010. Before my guest blogger spot is up (ends this Sunday), I plan to get one more painting completed. Enjoy!

From a resident on the the Echo Elysian Forum:

In the past week we’ve had at least four car break ins that I’ve noticed plus my own car. We are in a strange pocket of EP – our streets bound the small portion of Elysian Park, Lilac Terrace and a small section of Montana and Elysian Park Drive. Coupled with that fact is the ongoing back and forth between LAPD and Parks about who patrols our area. And we’ve had a lot of gang tags. Personally, we call everything in we can, but I’m not sure if everyone in our area does the same.

We’re heading into Dodger season worried more about safety and far less about parking. We can handle parking. But we need a police presence in EP. When I first moved here 7 years ago we had patrol car cruising around that we saw at least twice a day.

Most of all I just want to warn my neighbors to take everything out of their cars that can be seen (phone chargers, loose change, any sort of portable electronics) and to call everything into NE division that happens – don’t just shrug your shoulders, say “it’s Echo Park” and move on… we deserve a safer neighborhood. I’m not talking Beverly Hills… I’m just saying we should be able to park on the streets and not have a 100% chance of break ins.

For you folks out there, the non-emergency phone number for the police is 877-275-5273. The direct line for the Northeast Division is 213-485-2563

There’s also the Echo Park Security Association, they have a meeting coming up on March 28 where you can find out how to get the group to patrol your neighborhood.

Be safe everyone!

from the Echo Park Historical Society

This week’s flashback comes to us straight from the Echo Park Historical Society. They are definitely the go-to source for “the oldest existing business in Echo Park”: The Bank of America building on the southwest corner of Echo Park and Sunset. It was built sometime in the 1920s and was “partially a new construction and partially a redesign” of an earlier structure. The design of the building was done by Morgan, Wall & Clements, a prominent architectural firm of the time. They were also responsible for the Mayan, the Wiltern, the El Capitan Theatre and the Citadel in Commerce!

The above picture shows how the intersection appeared in 1942. The photo below shows how it looked in the 1951. I love both of these photos because it really gives you a sense of how a neighborhood changes… and how it remains the same. I didn’t know the Laguna Apartments were already there by 1942! Notice how the gas streetlamp has been replaced by an electric one by 1951? And see the streetcar tracks? The Pacific Electric Railway operated all over southern California. The streetcars had stopped running by the mid-1950s (when automobiles took over), but back in the day, Los Angeles had a comprehensive public transit system.

from the Echo Park Historical Society