Tag Archive for: echo park

Road closures in Echo Park for Ciclavia

Ciclavia

For the first time since its start in Los Angeles four years ago, CicLAvia (a free, open streets event in which streets are closed in favor of bicycles and pedestrians) will be coming to Echo Park this Sunday.

The No Parking signs are already posted for the street closures along Glendale Boulevard and Bellevue, just south of Echo Park Lake. At the corner of Glendale and Bellevue is the “Echo Park Hub,” where there will be a DJ, a KPCC booth and food trucks like Fluff Ice, the Grilled Cheese Truck and Mandoline Grill.

Ciclavia will speak Thursday night at the Echo Park Improvement Association Town Hall on the street closures and what else to expect. The major concern with the event is cyclists making their way into Echo Park Lake, where skating and cyclists are not allowed.

The meeting will be held at Barlow Hospital in Williams Hall at 7:00 pm. All are welcome.

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A little bit of Echo Park in a Super Bowl commercial

radioshack-superbowl

Notice the vintage boomboxes in the background of the RadioShack commercial aired during the Super Bowl yesterday? The items on the shelf in the background had to look a little more like the ’80s for the commercial’s throwback theme (remember those music playing devices called a “boombox”?).

A few of these items on the shelf came from Echo Park’s vintage electronics store Rewind Audio, the store said in a Facebook post. In addition to selling great audio equipment, some items are available for renting for things like video shoots (shameless plug: you’ll see one such Rewind Audio boombox in my husband’s own music video).


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Echo Park storefronts transforming

A wave of recent restaurant and storefront closures (Villainy, Barragans, and more) in Echo Park has many wondering about the changing face of the neighborhood. But there’s been some new activity in those sad, dusty storefronts that will hopefully make Sunset Boulevard feel a little less empty.

nuvias_new

Photo via Villainy General Store

Former Nuvia’s

This restaurant space, formerly Nuvia’s and then La Botana, has been closed down for nearly two years. Located on the north side of Sunset between Laveta and McDuff, we thought we were getting a gastropub in the space back in 2012. But The Eastsider LA reports some new activity in the space – unfortunately the owners did not provide any details on what kind of restaurant. One things is for sure – we hope it’s not another pizza joint.

The owners expect to open in four months.

Dinette

Owner of Cafe Stella in Silver Lake, Gareth Kantner, purchased the building on Sunset where E’Pack Family Clothing Store plus the Sunset Snack stand is. Well, was. Recently the construction wall (what the heck do they call those?) went up around the storefront, a sign that the transformation into new take-out and dine-in sandwich shop has begun.

Kantner told The Eastsider LA they expect to open in February of this year. In addition to sandwiches like Lobster Rolls and Po’boys, there will be grilled meats, vegetarian dishes, and oven-baked pizzas.

Lassen’s

FINALLY something is being done to the former Save-A-Lot store next to the Walgreens at Sunset and Logan. The grocery chain shut down in March of 2011, and has been sitting vacant ever since. There were pipe dreams of a Trader Joe’s, and what appeared to be decent traction on a Fresh & Easy until the company went bankrupt.

Although we knew Lassen’s Natural Foods & Vitamins was taking over the location back in June, there is now some signage and a lot of activity in the building. We’re not sure when the store will open, however we’re not sure how well-received the location will be in Echo Park – the Lassen family has in the past made donations in support of Prop 8, which many aren’t happy about.

Trencher

Still a work in progress, despite hopes to open in December, Trencher took over a former Mexican/Salvadorian place (before that Phnom Penh’ Vietnamese) on Portia and Sunset. Expect pulled pork sandwiches, open-faced sandwiches, tofu banh mi, sliders, and more. We’re standing by for the opening any day now.

Barragan’s

Barragan’s held it’s farewell party in December, and the change of ownership notification lists The Lost Knight as the new business name under the control of Alan Moore. We’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about what this space will bring… what do you think? For now, the front doors of Barragan’s sit quietly in the shadows.

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Holiday guide to parking, trash and street sweeping in Echo Park

Coming from someone who just paid a very expensive expired meter ticket (a rare thing in my household), there’s nothing better than finding those sweet, sweet parking spots. Since today is Christmas Eve, you can avoid some tickets by parking a little smarter over the holiday – just not today. Official observance is on Christmas DAY – so be aware!

Meters

Always look at the signs – certain city parking regulations (such as state parking laws) are not enforced on national holidays. However, consider yourself free and clear on Christmas Day when there’s noone working to give you that ticket. Since this year Christmas Day falls on Wednesday, the holiday is observed that day. More info here.

The parking regulations/signs that are not enforced are:

  • Time Limit (ie one hour, two hour, four hours, etc.)
  • Parking Meters (unless posted to include holidays). Exceptions include, but are not limited to, areas around Venice Beach and in West Los Angeles. In these areas, the signs reflect “Including Holidays.”
  • No Parking Signs with specific time limits (i.e. 9:00am to 4:00pm, 8:00am to 10:00am)
  • No Stopping signs with specified time limits (i.e. 7:00am to 9:00am, 4:00pm to 6:00pm). This includes Peak Hour parking restirionts.
  • Preferential Parking (unless posted to include holidays)

The following safety violations are enforced on all days, including National Holidays:

  • Red zones, including bus zones
  • Yellow/White zones (on request only)
  • Alleys
  • Sidewalks
  • Handicapped Zones (also known as Blue Zones)
  • “No Parking Anytime” zones (including “Tow Away” restrictions
  • “No Parking Anytime” zones
  • “No Stopping Anytime” zones
  • All temporary “No Stopping” or “No Parking” zones
  • Requests for service, including, but not limited to, blocked driveways

Trash

Trash service will not commence on Christmas Day (December 25), but there will be a one day delay. So, in essence, Wednesday collection day will now be on Thursday. If you’re throwing away your Christmas tree already, consider recycling it.

Street Sweeping

Once again, Christmas Day (not Eve!) is the name of the game – as long as the sign says “Holidays Exempt” or something along those lines.

 

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Celebrating another July 4th in Echo Park

The past few years, we’ve made a nice tradition with our close friends of the usual July 4th BBQ and beer, followed up by an evening walk around Echo Park. Since the Dodgers were out of town, our normal visit to an overlook in Elysian Park to watch the Stadium fireworks was quickly replaced by plenty of unsanctioned pandemonium. In our part of the neighborhood, it turned out to be one of the largest celebrations we’ve ever seen.

And the entertainment was so plentiful, we didn’t even make it to our usual Echo Park Lake visit, which in past years has included homemade M-80s (hate those), young children shooting Roman Candles, palm trees on fire, and lots of garbage (ick!). Now that the Lake is open again, we expected there would be a return to illegal fireworks at the lake, but according to our Twitter followers it was fairly mellow, while the rest of the neighborhood sounded like a battlefield, loud booms sounding constantly off the hills from all directions.

Grand fireworks displays on this Echo Park street

These guys were prepared with safety goggles, helmets and a leather jacket

What was your July 4th experience in Echo Park this year?

Visit our Facebook page for more fireworks photos!

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Opening Day and more Dodgers news

The new Dodgers season is upon us!

For Echo Parkians, however, baseball season is bittersweet. It’s GREAT to be able to walk to the games and we love being Dodgers fan, but the traffic and the noise and fighting for a seat at the sports bars before the game…. Well, it can get a little hectic.

Opening Day

Opening Day is the worst. So prepare yourself. On Monday, April 1 the Dodgers take on the San Francisco Giants once again. Here are some details for opening day:

  • Pregame ceremony starts at 12:10 pm and will include a one minute fireworks display at 1:00 pm
  • Parking gates and stadium gates will open at 10:00 am
  • Street closures are as follows: Scott Avenue between Stadium Way & North Boylston Street; North Boylston between Academy & Stadium Way; Lilac Terrace between Stadium Way & Lookout to Stadium
  • The a-frame signs (“Local Access Only”) will be placed throughout the neighborhood
  • Early LADOT staffing at Sunset/Elysian Park & Academy/Golden State Gate C areas
  • Police officers will be monitoring all activity with a zero tolerance policy in mind
  • Scott Avenue gate will be open on opening day, but for exit traffic only

Report any non-emergency security concerns to our Neighborhood Focus line at (323) 224-2636.

Stadium Renovations

There have been a lot of changes at the Stadium, including installation of a sophisticated wi-fi network (YES!), a new clubhouse, and new “amenities” on all levels (we think that means restrooms).

All the renovations will debut at tonight’s Exhibition Game versus the Angels, which starts at 7:10 pm.

Craft Beer!

Admittedly the most exciting rumor circulating around Twitter isn’t the renovated restrooms (although that’s awesome). It’s the BEER! Word is Golden Road Brewing will be on tap, finally introducing craft beer to the craft services at the stadium (by the way, Shock Top is not craft beer).

With the growing craft brewery scene in Los Angeles, we hope this is just a starting point for Dodger Stadium to start supporting local craft beer. We’ll toast to that!

This should be an exciting year – with all the roster changes, fans are hoping this will be a winning year and the high ticket sales are reflecting just that. See you at the stadium!

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Echo Park’s vegetarian heaven, Elf Cafe, offering future discounts

As we reported last June, Elf Cafe is expanding its footprint and applying for a beer/wine license. Just recently, the nearly six-year-old vegetarian restaurant broke ground and is well on its way to getting that license!

Thankfully, the restaurant will not have to close down for any of the renovations as it takes over the next door space formerly known as Branche Boutique, so you can still get your amazing vegetarian food. For those fans of Elf Cafe, or those who are general fans of cool locals who have cool businesses, you can support the restaurant’s new endeavors with a limited time deal. Almost like a Groupon or Gift Certificate, Elf Futures allows you to purchase a gift certificate that is worth twice as much when you spend it. So, for instance, $50 gift certificate will actually gets you $100 worth of food and drinks… in the future. Get it?

Elf Futures will only be available through October 31, 2012, and redeemable from January 1, 2013 through January 1, 2014. They can be purchased at the restaurant during business hours.

Elf Café is located at 2135 W Sunset Blvd and is open Wednesday through Sunday, 6-11:00 pm.

 

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Filmed in Echo Park: Nude Data music video debut

On occasion I like to post about cool things filmed in Echo Park, but this one is particularly special because it’s the debut music video of our very, very good friends of Nude Data. Transplant Productions is the video production team extraordinaire, and we think they did a great job of highlighting some key Echo Park locations like Laveta Terrace, the bus stop at Sunset and Portia, Little Joy (briefly), and a local recording studio by the name of Out of Hand. The rest is Chinatown and Spring Street – all pretty cool locations.



So this is a bit of shameless promotion for my mates, but if you’ve got a music video or film of some kind that was filmed here in the neighborhood, drop us a line or share it on our Facebook page – we like to spread the love!

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Echo Park shows off its fireworks for the 4th

Having lived in the same place in Echo Park for just a few years now, we’ve seen the ups and downs of the 4th of July celebrations in the neighborhood. Echo Park Lake used to be the fireworks war zone, with roman candles, bottle rockets, spinners, even home-made bombs in this synchronized madness that’s hard to imagine now. And if you couldn’t tell from the loud booms and screeches and car alarms, this year has proven that the streets all over the neighborhood are just as crazy.

First up, chilling out with some beach chairs and our cameras at an Elysian Park road for views of the Dodger Stadium annual 4th of July fireworks. It’s one of few places in Echo Park where long-time families/neighbors and even hipsters come together to clap and cheer for the show.

A short walk around the corner and the best street fireworks are being set off every other minute. It’s easy to enjoy because, hey, they’re legal in some US state right?

It’s past 11 pm and things have quieted down, and the cats can relax a little bit. Hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July!

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Lotus Festival returning in 2012, sans Echo Park Lake

We’ve suffered through Lotus Festivals without dragon-boat races, and the past few years without the lotus blossoms themselves – but a Lotus Festival with no lake?

Planned for July 14-15, this will mark the 34th Lotus Festival in Echo Park – the past couple of years have been “scaled back” versions of the festival (it was canceled completely in 2009). We didn’t expect to have on in 2011, until plans to start the Echo Park Lake rehabilitation project were pushed back until later that year and the fest went on.

This year’s Lotus Festival will not be held at the lake, which is currently empty and completely gated up during construction. Instead, the parking lots between Echo Park Avenue and Lemoyne, south of Sunset Boulevard, will serve as the grounds. This will definitely be a “scaled back” version of the event.

The details aren’t finalized, but one thing’s for sure – there won’t be any Dragon Boat races!

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Photo: La Espiga Bakery gets social

After

This morning’s drive to work wouldn’t be complete without driving by our local bakery, La Espiga, on Scott Avenue and Glendale Boulevard. The wall along the Scott side usually gets pretty tagged up (they are always quick to remove it), but we noticed today it’s gotten a little bit of a different look. We like it – it’s a nice, warm color, and the artwork is all hand painted, down to the Facebook logo!

Make sure you Like them on Facebook, because everyone needs to be liked!

Before (ignore the graffiti, this was from a while back)

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The sounds of the LA Marathon

There’s a few inconveniences that come with living near the start of the LA Marathon, including street closures, parking restrictions. But for the most part, it’s completely doable.

And then come the helicopters.

The news ‘copters arrive as early as 5:00 am to film the crowds in Dodgers Stadium, the start line for the LA Marathon. While we’re a little used to the police helicopters that fly overhead, the trouble is that these ones STAY there. For hours. The noise is insistent, and unforgiving. They hover just a short distance from our quiet, sleeping homes, in the wee hours of the morning, until finally departing some time after the start of the race to follow the runners to the finish line.

We knew it would happen – and even asked Dodgers Stadium to remind the news media there are actual neighborhoods surrounding the stadium, but still it happens every year. Call me Mr. Scrooge, but it’s impossible to sleep despite ear plugs and a pile of pillows.

Time for a nap!

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“Parenthood” turns Echo Park into San Francisco

Screenshot via Hulu - click to view larger image.

Tuesday night’s episode of Parenthood opened up with a strangely familiar – but different – scene. As the characters walk into the frame, we realized this is the episode they filmed in Echo Park in front of The Echo, Two Boots, and then inside Origami Vinyl (you can see The Echo on the left in the above screenshot).

But there’s something a little different with the skyline – the colorful apartments on the right hand side, and the steep hills going up are all added in. While the first hill in the distance might actually be Reservoir Street, the rest is a graphic. It’s pretty strange to watch the clip as the camera pans over!

Another part later on in the episode is filmed at 1134 Lemoyne St. in Echo Park (where the pregnant character is standing outside). Both locations were filmed on or around January 23, 2012, and rumor-mill has it the production interfered quite a bit with surrounding businesses (they take up quite a bit of parking).

While Echo Park isn’t a stranger to filming, recently there’s been a surge of filming in Echo Park, Angelino Heights, and Elysian Park, including Taco Bell commercials, and other TV series like Southland and Up All Night.

Click here to watch the episode and pay attention to the first couple of minutes.

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Echo Park spots to curb your cravings for National Pizza Week!

This week is National Pizza Week, and what better way to celebrate than with a gallery of Echo Park’s most delicious pizzas? It should, after all, have its own food group.

Masa's Chicago deep dish (vegan style). Flickr photo via veganbakesale

Masa of Echo Park lures people from all over Los Angeles with its authentic Chicago-style deep dish pizza. In addition to the amazing service and ambiance at Masa (we love you guys!), the kick-ass owners and great food, they offer a hearty selection of vegan options (which includes a vegan deep dish option).

Read more

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Vote for Echo Park for Curbed’s neighborhood of the year

The annual Curbed Cup is back – where website Curbed LA pegs sixteen neighborhoods against each other, competing for LA’s best neighborhood by popular vote over several rounds. Echo Park went up for the challenge last year and lost to Old Bank (ultimately, Hollywood took the title).

Today, Curbed LA features Echo Park versus North Hollywood in round one. Here’s how Curbed LA describes our little neighborhood:

“What is this, 2006?” you’re surely asking. Yeah, yeah, Echo Park already happened (even the LA Times discovered it late last year), but all those hipster move-ins were just prelude to the bigger and badder gentrification now underway. This year, a tiny 1881 bungalow went for $695,000, a hipster flip went for $739,000, and Heyday Partners’ Dick+Jane townhouses both sold almost immediately for asking or close to it. The Smurf Village/Durbin and the small lot subdivision Morton Village both got reanimated this year, as did the Metropolitan Water District apartments on a neglected side of the neighborhood. EP’s namesake lake was drained for a rehab this year and even snooty Conde Nast Traveler wanted in on the neighborhood action.

So far, Echo Park has the lead at 65%. Click here to vote!

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