Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189 Public Domain. Release under the CC BY Attribution license--http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/--Credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library; From the California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California Send requests to address or e-mail given USC Libraries Special Collections specol@usc.edu
Description
Photograph of panoramic view of Echo Park, looking north toward Mount Hollywood, December 1911. In the extreme foreground, a wide road extends from left to right. Several large trees sit adjacent to the road on one side. In the background at center, a variety of trees surround the serene lake. Among the many trees shown, an arc of palm trees can be seen along the shore closest to the foreground. A footpath circles around the lake. Residential sites are visible in the area beyond the park. Three separate roads are shown with clusters of homes crowded on both sides of the street. Mountain ranges are visible in the distance extending from left to right. "Echo Park and its lake have always been a touchstone for the community that grew up around it. Initially, the area we now know as the park was a natural arroyo that filled with water from a spring-fed stream that originated at Baxter Street and flowed down what is now Echo Park Avenue. In 1888, Mr. Kelley and Dr. Wills donated the land to the city for the expressed purpose of creating a public park for the enjoyment of the people of Los Angeles. The paperwork was finally completed during the recession of 1889 and in 1891 park development began. The first Superintendent of Parks for the city was an English immigrant named Joseph Tomlinson who was assigned the task of creating the park. Mr. Tomlinson, being somewhat homesick for his favorite park in Derbyshire, England, decided to model the park after his favorite childhood place to play. At the same time, the reservoir was closed and the stream was capped. The park superintendent created a 16-acre lake where the reservoir had been. It cost $5,637.00 to create the lake that is now filled with city water. Once that was accomplished, the planting began on the other 15 acres of park. One day, while overseeing the work, Mr. Tomlinson thought he heard his workers talking during a break, but he knew they were across the park from him. The park had an echo! He knew what the name of the park would be! Unfortunately, the plantings he installed destroyed the echo, but the name remained. The park was dedicated and opened to the public in 1895. The famous bed of lotuses that grow in the lake at the northwest end of the park, the largest stand of lotuses outside Asia, is a mystery yet to be solved. One legend says that evangelical Chinese missionaries planted them for use as food, but no one knows the real story. They appeared some time in 1923 or 1924. Nonetheless, they remain a beautiful addition to the park and have inspired the city to sponsor the annual Lotus Festival that celebrates Asian and South Pacific Island cultures"
Type
image
Format
1 photograph : photonegative, b&w 10 x 13 cm. negatives (photographic) photographs
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