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!
10 Responses to “A modern Echo Park Lake draining in pictures”
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I’m a Five generation Xicano Angeleno and Why does the Print Media Insist !, On Calling Echo Park/Silver lake/Los Feliz “The EastSide”!?…BOYLE/LINCOLN HEIGHTS/ EAST L.A./EL SERENO/ROSE HILLS/CYPRESS PARK/HIGHLAND PARK/MOUNT WASHINGTON ALL EAST OF THE RIVER IS THE “EASTSIDE” ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND WILL ALWAYS BE!…STOP THE GENTRIFIED FALSE PERCEPTIONS AND HOMOGENIZED IDEALS OF WHAT WAS, IS, ALWAYS WILL BE……XICANO EAST LOS ANGELES!…..What is the strategy to Ignore it and it will go away!?, Create Illusionary Safe Boundries for the new ENCROUCHING COLONIAL Hipsters with visions of rockstars,popstarts famous chefs,models and movie stars as desirable nieghbors….But Xicanos oh no!???. LOOK MS.”KELLY” get it RIGHT.
Hmm I’ve never been accused of promoting the “colonization” of Echo Park by hipsters before. Are you really from Hidden LA?
Nice way to represent Hidden LA – that is, by displaying a complete lack of reading comprehension skills.
I don’t dispute your definition of the “Eastside”…but this article does not refer to Echo Park as “the Eastside”. Yes, a local blog called “The Eastsider LA” is linked here…but I’ve never seen this blog refer to Echo Park as The Eastside. you are kind of preaching to the choir over here. also this isn’t print media FYI.
Anyone who calls the parts of town immediately west of Downtown LA ..THE EASTSIDE clearly hasn’t lived in LA long enough to call themselves an Angeleno.
It’s as if they have only experienced the westside -Hollywood, La Brea, Santa Monica, Culver city, Venice, West Adams, Hancock Park, Silverlake etc AND THAT’s LA, of course and Echo Park, Silverlake, Los Feliz is on the eastern part of their limited experience of this city…SO THAT’S THE EAST SIDE!!!! makes sense now doesn’t it???
If you had any experience in this city there wouldnt be any confusion about the names…
This reminds me of people who mis-pronounce LaCienega, or Sepulveda, or Cahuenga… a dead give away of someone fresh off the boat!
I’m not sure what Emilio Antikool’s nonsensical rant is for or against.
Astute Reader is right – we don’t refer to Echo Park as “the eastside.” In fact, we’ve brought up the debate many times before (just not is this article) because there are many historical, cultural and socioeconomic arguments for and against defining this border in LA. We’ve always left it up to our readers!
Why are the hipster “guys” at Chango coffee shop thinner than the hipster chicks, and the skinny jean look is disturbing. Note to hipster guy at Chango, eat a cheeseburger.
So sad to see it this way! my Grandparents lived not too far from the lake, and I remember this place like yesterday.
Emilio, xpez, and jesse, you guys are unbelievably unoriginal and boring with your righteousness. Why don’t you go and serve the communities you feel are so threatened by nomenclature and change rather than farting in the comments on this innocent blog?
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