Tag Archive for: Echo Park Lake Rehab

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Five awesome things about the new Echo Park Lake

Earlier this month, we shared some excellent news on Twitter and Facebook – Echo Park Lake will be officially and finally opening to the public on June 15! Although this is about a month later than we expected, the project is on time and under budget at $45 million (originally $85 million).

At a news conference/media preview of the lake earlier this month, elected officials and project heads shared thoughts on the project: “This has been an iconic setting for film, for literature, for art, for countless movies,” said L.A. mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti. “And like the surrounding neighborhood the park has fallen on some tough times. But the true beauty of Echo Park is reflected not just Echo Park itself, this lake, but the entire community here today.”

When the gates do open at Echo Park Lake on June 15, we think everyone will like the changes. Here are our top five favorite things about the new Echo Park Lake:

 1) The new Lotus bed

The Lotus bed is back in its original location

Back in its original spot, the Lotus bed started getting greener just last month when the Lotus leaves popped up above the water level. While the netting will remain over the plants for about a year to prevent birds from eating all the new plants, the Lotus blossoms have started to bloom, about a year ahead of schedule!

2) The Boathouse will be back

As soon as the city decides on what vendor to bring in (we vote for Homegirl Cafe!!), the boathouse will not only be a fully operating kitchen, it will also support the peddle boats once again! At next year’s Lotus Festival, the dragon boats will also launch off of the Boathouse’s deck.

3) The Boardwalks/Observation decks

There are two boardwalk-style structures around the lake that act as observation decks – one on the north end is a large wooden deck overlooking wetlands, the other on the West end is a concrete deck. Both have benches and some signage on the information of the lake, and are definitely going to be the coveted spots to chill.

Boardwalk on the North end of the Lake

Boardwalk on the West end of the Lake

4) The birds return!

Bird protecting its nest!

Although the number of birds declined at last December’s bird count, over the years there have been over 70 species of birds counted at the lake. Now that there is plenty of water and potentially lots of food, we expect a number of them to return – in fact at the media preview this month, we spied one with its next just at the shore!

5) The Festivals

The number one question we get asked every year is when the Lotus Festival and when the Cuban Music Festival will be celebrated at the Lake. Unfortunately this year there will be no festivals as the new sod needs some time to establish. But next year we can count on the famous dragon boat races and more!

Lotus Festival in 2011

Want to see more photos of the Lake? Click here to visit our Facebook album.

See you at the grand opening at June 15!

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Echo Park Lake rehab update meeting tonight

Screenshot from echoparklake.com

Tonight is a meeting of the oversight committee and odor monitoring group of the Echo Park Lake rehabilitation project. All are invited to attend to get updates about the project, and share information on how you think things are going.

Echo Park Lake Rehab Meeting
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 6:30 pm
St. Paul’s Cathedral, located at 840 Echo Park Avenue

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What they found at the bottom of Echo Park Lake

Photo from Above The Lake blog

We’re a few months into the Echo Park Lake rehab project, but besides the torn up sidewalks and construction vehicles, you wouldn’t really be able to tell the lake had been drained after the recent heavy rains. In addition to a few photos by Angelino Heights resident Steve (who took the above photo and posted it on his blog, Above The Lake), we have the official list from the city of what (and how many) was found in the lake after the draining. We’re not really surprised they found a couple of guns, but a telephone booth?! Check out the list below:

Park Trash Cans – 20
Construction cones – 36
Shopping Carts – 7
Portable Stereos/Boombox – 3
Pay Telephone – 1
Skateboard – 6
Parking Enforcement Boot – 1
Toilet – 1
Glass bottles – Hundreds
Model Boat – 2
Frisbee – 20
Weapons (guns) – 2
Office Chair – 6
Miscellaneous toys, Trash, Debris – Hundreds

Of course you can’t count every single thing, and once they start dredging the lake, they’ll probably find more items in the muck.

Check out more photos of the Echo Park Lake rehab project on our Flickr set.

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In case you missed it: Empty Echo Park Lake from above

Photo by Steven Nereo, published on The Eastsider LA

With all the photos of the Echo Park Lake rehabilitation project seen all over twitter, local blogs, and news sites, this is a first!

The Eastsider LA published a photo last week by Steven Noreo, who took the shot from a helicopter high up in the air. You can see some of the lime placed by construction workers to mask the smell of rotting fish (those that didn’t make it) and sediment.

Our photos aren’t as cool as this one, but we do have a Flickr set that we’re adding to as the project progresses.

We are already anxious to have the lake back

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A modern Echo Park Lake draining in pictures

1984 draining, via Gloria Sohaki and The Eastsider LA

Despite all the negative aspects of the Echo Park Lake rehabilitation project (the length of closure, the loss of a park, the sights and smells of the construction process), it’s fascinating to witness how thoroughly documented this entire process is. A lot of in-depth research online (we are limited… we admit) brings up little photographic evidence from past lake drainings prior to the 1980s, but we were excited to see images on a recent The Eastsider LA article displaying a very empty lake bed during the draining prior to the 1984 Olympics. Not only had the story’s contributor Rory Mitchel dug deep into the LA Times and Los Angeles City records, but Echo Park resident Gloria Sohaki had also contributed these photos from that last draining.

 

Photo by Conor Collins, uploaded today

Additionally, every day it seems there are more images of the status of the Echo Park Lake draining – this one today from a resident with a higher up view, and a whole website of daily images documented by resident Conor Collins. Add in the hundreds of tweets we’ve seen since the start of the lake rehabilitation project in August, and a webcam on EchoParkLake.com capturing hundreds of images every day, and we’ve got stellar documentation of the draining for the history books.

We’ve also been keeping a close eye on things, uploading photos to our Flickr page, and even joined up with the Odor Monitoring Committee to help with the process. In October we’ll learn about all the things they’ve find in the lake, so stay tuned!

Want to contribute? Feel free to share your photos on our Facebook page!

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Echo Park Lake Odor Monitoring Group meets for the first time

Volunteers of the Odor Monitoring Committee met with the Echo Park Lake Rehabilitation Team (CD13, Public Affairs Office, Department of Public Works, etc.) last Wednesday, September 7 to discuss the draining of the lake what to expect in the near future.

According to the meeting minutes, the rehab project is on schedule, with the lake draining to be complete in a couple of weeks. Here’s where we are at the project:

  • 89 Red Haired Slider turtles were removed and are on their way to the California Tortoise Club and their Tortoise and Turtle Adoption Program
  • 300 fish have been captured and relocated
  • Paving on the pathways have been removed
  • New storm pipes will be installed at the east side of the lake in a couple of weeks

The first Odor Monitoring Committee reported a slight smell of fish, but no dead fish were found so far and they will continue to monitor.

As mentioned in our last Echo Park Lake article, construction workers will be keeping track of what they find in Echo Park Lake as they drain it – from shopping carts to other treasures, we’re hoping there are some interesting items and not any dead bodies or anything in the muck.

If you catch unusual odors from the lake draining, please go to www.EchoParkLake.org/odorreportingprocedure.pdf, call (213) 978-0317, or email bpw.pao@lacity.

The next Odor Monitoring Committee meeting is scheduled for October.

Click here for the meeting minutes, which includes a question and answer section from the committee members.

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What will they find in Echo Park Lake?

Ever since we learned of the Echo Park Lake rehab project, we’ve been thinking: What in the heck are they going to find in the bottom of the lake?

The contractors will be keeping track of everything found in the lake, and hopefully at the next Odor Monitoring Group meeting we’ll learn what’s been found so far. And we’re optimistic they won’t find any (ahem) bodies… but certainly some illegal items made their way into the murky depths.

So now we are taking bets: How many shopping carts? Knives? Jewelry? Sunken boats? Tell us what you think!

In the meantime, here’s the latest from the EchoParkLake.org website:

Read more

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Maria the Goose takes up new residence away from Echo Park Lake

You may have noticed the slew of media interest in Echo Park Lake’s own Maria the Goose lately (unless you missed it all). Last week, Steve Hartman of Katie Couric’s CBS show was sent to the lake to interview Maria’s favorite human, Dominic Ehrler. Click here to watch the full CBS story, which aired February 28.

Today we learned from Chicken Corner that Maria was relocated last Friday to the Los Angeles Zoo ahead of the Echo Park Lake Rehab Project starting next month. Dominic told Chicken Corner in an email about the status of her new crib:

Maria has a two-room suite in the quarantine section of the zoo hospital. She will be monitored for things like worms and any other potential problems. … A minor foot problem will be taken care of. After the quarantine period is complete in about 30 days Maria will be moved to the exhibit area where she can be seen by all. The zoo will hold/display her until her ultimate destination is determined. The zoo personnel are all in love with Maria. She is safe and secure.

Dominic will definitely be able to visit Maria regularly, and told Chicken Corner she is doing well!

We’ll miss Maria, but we’ll also miss the lake and can’t wait for the project to be completed. In the meantime, feel free to donate to the Echo Park Animal Alliance, which is overseeing the care and protection of all the other wildlife in the lake that will be displaced during the project.

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Even Maria the Goose takes interest in Lake Rehab

A lot of us were at the Echo Park Community Parade on Saturday, but there was also another Echo Park Lake Rehabilitation Tour around the lake. This time, Maria the Goose joined in on the talk, raising the question: Where will the infamous goose go once the project starts?

Photo via LA Stormwater Facebook gallery.

Related Articles:

  • “Echo Park Lake Rehab EIR to go before City tomorrow.” Echo Park Now, November 22, 2010
  • “Echo Park Lake Restoration tour.” Echo Park Now, October 14, 2010
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