Elysian Park is a neighborhood in
Central Los Angeles, California. It is a predominantly low-income community, and has a population of more than 2,600 people. A city park,
Elysian Park
Elysian Park is one of the largest parks in Los Angeles at 600 acres (240 ha). Most of Elysian Park falls in the neighborhood of the same name, but a small portion of the park falls in Echo Park.
The park was created by city ordinance on April 5, ...
,
and
Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...
are within the neighborhood, as are an all-boys Catholic high school and an elementary school.
History
On August 2, 1769, the
Portolá expedition
thumbnail, 250px, Point of San Francisco Bay Discovery
The Portolá expedition ( es, Expedición de Portolá) was a Spanish voyage of exploration in 1769–1770 that was the first recorded European land entry and exploration of the interior of ...
(the first Europeans to see inland areas of California) camped close to the
Los Angeles River
, name_etymology =
, image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg
, image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge
, image_size = 300
, map = LARmap.jpg
, map_size ...
near what is now the southeastern corner of the city park.
California Historical Landmark #655 (
Portolá Trail Campsite) is at the park's Meadow Road entrance.
Geography
According to the
Mapping L.A. project of the ''Los Angeles Times'', the Elysian Park neighborhood is flanked on the north and northeast by
Elysian Valley __NOTOC__
Elysian Valley, commonly known as Frogtown, is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California, adjoining the Los Angeles River. It has two parks, both maintained by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA). The Frog ...
, on the east by
Lincoln Heights, on the southeast and south by
Chinatown and on the southwest, west and northwest by
Echo Park
Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east. The culturally diverse neighborhood has become known f ...
.
["Central L.A.,"]
Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times'' Street and other boundaries are: the northern apex at Exit 138 of the
Golden State Freeway
Interstate 5 (I-5) is a major north–south route of the Interstate Highway System in the United States, stretching from the Mexican border at the San Ysidro crossing to the Canadian border near Blaine, Washington. The segment of I-5 in ...
, thence southeasterly along the freeway, southerly along the
Los Angeles River
, name_etymology =
, image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg
, image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge
, image_size = 300
, map = LARmap.jpg
, map_size ...
, westerly along North
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, northwesterly along Stadium Way, Academy Road and northerly along Elysian Park Drive.
["Elysian Park," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times'']
/ref>[''The Thomas Guide, Los Angeles County'', 2004, pp. 594, 634]
Population
The 2000 U.S. census of the Elysian Park neighborhood counted 2,530 residents in its 1.65 square miles, which includes all the city park land as well as Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...
—an average of 1,538 people per square mile, one of the lowest population densities in Los Angeles county. In 2008 the city estimated that the population had increased to 2,659. The median age for residents was 31, about average for Los Angeles; the percentage of residents aged 11 to 18 were among the county's highest.[
The neighborhood was moderately ethnically diverse. The breakdown was ]Latinos
Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spaniards, Spanish and/or Latin Americans, Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include a ...
, 47.6%; Asians, 43.4%; whites
White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.
Description of populations as ...
, 3.1%; blacks
Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...
, 2.1%, and others, 3.7%. China (32.3%) and Mexico (27.3%) were the most common places of birth for the 54.4% of the residents who were born abroad, a high figure compared to rest of the city.[
The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $28,263, low for Los Angeles; a high percentage of households had an income of $20,000 or less. The average household size of 3.1 people was high for the city of Los Angeles. Renters occupied 81.9% of the housing stock, and house- or apartment owners 18.1%.][
]
Education
Thirteen percent of the neighborhood residents aged 25 and older had earned a four-year degree by 2000, an average figure for the city.[
The schools operating within the Elysian Park neighborhood borders are:]["Elysian Park Schools"]
Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times''
* Cathedral High School, private, 1253 Bishops Road. It was founded by Archbishop John Joseph Cantwell
John Joseph Cantwell (December 1, 1874 – October 30, 1947) was an Irish-born American prelate of the Catholic Church. He led the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1917 until his death in 1947, becoming its first archbishop in 1936. Cantwell wa ...
as the first Los Angeles Archdiocesan high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
for boys in fall 1925. The Christian Brothers have operated the school since its opening. It was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites which have been designated by the Los Angeles, California, Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria.
History
The Historic-Cult ...
number 281 in 1984.
* Solano Avenue Elementary School, LAUSD
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...
, 615 Solano Avenue. In 1955, the school, which then had 230 pupils, was honored as one of the 221 schools given a California Distinguished School award.[ The ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that:
]At Solano Avenue Elementary School, things are done right. Parents chip in, teachers stick around for years, children learn, and the surrounding community claims it for their own. The campus is a thing of pride-no graffiti or trash problems here.[
]
:Principal John Stoll noted that nearly half the children began school speaking limited English, having been raised in Spanish or Cantonese-speaking homes. The school was "adopted" by the Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
in 1980, and it was known for sending the student choir to Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...
to sing the National Anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...
before a ballgame. It is a Solano tradition to hold culmination ceremonies at Dodger Stadium. The class of 2001, however, did not have this privilege. [Marilyn Martinez, "Pride at Solano Helps Earn It State Honor," ''Los Angeles Times,'' June 18, 1995, page 8]
/ref>
Park
The park is one of largest in Los Angeles at . It is also the city's oldest park, founded in 1886 by the Elysian Park Enabling Ordinance. It hosted shooting
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles ...
as well as the shooting part of the modern pentathlon event for the 1932 Summer Olympics. In 1964 the Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park was founded to prevent the City of Los Angeles from constructing the Municipal Convention Center on of park land.
In 1968, it hosted a hippie "Love-In."
Figueroa Street Tunnels
The Figueroa Street Tunnels take northbound State Route 110 (the Pasadena Freeway) through the park.
Solano Canyon
Solano Canyon is a canyon within Elysian Park and also the name of a residential district at the southern extremity of the Elysian Park neighborhood, directly north of the Los Angeles State Historic Park
Los Angeles State Historic Park (LASHP) is a California State Park within the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. Also known as the Cornfield, the former brownfield consists of a long open space between Spring Street and the tracks of the Me ...
. The district is bisected near its southern tip by the Arroyo Seco Parkway
The Arroyo Seco Parkway, also known as the Pasadena Freeway, is one of the oldest freeways built in the United States. It connects Los Angeles with Pasadena alongside the Arroyo Seco seasonal river. It is notable not only for being an early f ...
, and it shares a border with Chinatown (Los Angeles)
Chinatown is a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles, California, that became a commercial center for Chinese and other Asian businesses in Central Los Angeles in 1938. The area includes restaurants, shops, and art galleries, but also has a resi ...
.
Solano Canyon was also an old name for a ravine in the Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California.
Geography
The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains.
The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...
that was later named Runyon Canyon."M'Cormack's Wife Arrives," ''Los Angeles Times,'' January 14, 1931, page A-10
/ref>
See also
* Elysian Park Fault
Elysian Park Fault is an active blind thrust fault located in Central Los Angeles, California. Approximately 20 km (12.4 miles) long, the fault is believed to able to produce a destructive earthquake of magnitude 6.2–6.7, about every 500–1, ...
, an earthquake-producing fault named after the park
* Ned R. Healy
Ned Romeyn Healy (August 9, 1905 – September 10, 1977) was a member of the Los Angeles, California, City Council in 1943 and 1944 and a member of Congress from 1945 to 1947.
Biography
Healy was born August 9, 1905, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, w ...
, L.A. City Council member (1943–44) and member of Congress (1945–47), opposed slant oil drilling under the park
* List of districts and neighborhoods of Los Angeles
* List of parks in Los Angeles
There are numerous parks in the city of Los Angeles, California
This list does not include parks in the enclaves of
* city of Beverly Hills
* city of Culver City
* Ladera Heights (unincorporated Los Angeles County)
* Marina del Ray (unincorporat ...
References
External links
History of Elysian Park
Elysian Park neighborhood crime map and statistics]
SolanoCanyon.org
Solano Canyon can be seen on the horizon of this 1873 photograph, labeled No. 50, as published in "The Story of Fifty Years: Where the City: In Which Southern California and the Los Angeles Times Grew Up Together," ''Los Angeles Times,'' December 4, 1931, page E-3.
{{Olympic venues shooting
Elysian Park, Los Angeles,
Parks in Los Angeles
Neighborhoods in Los Angeles
Central Los Angeles
Northwest Los Angeles
Municipal parks in California
Santa Monica Mountains
Populated places in the Santa Monica Mountains
Venues of the 1932 Summer Olympics
Olympic modern pentathlon venues
Olympic shooting venues
1886 establishments in California