1922: Allesandro Elementary School from Corralitas Drive

Unknown photographer, 1922 Hunter Terrace real estate brochure.
(Click on photo to enlarge.)



Photo: Diane Edwardson, 2008. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Of course, the 1922 brochure does not mention the 800 sq ft lots that were closest to the Red Car tracks, which were typical of neighborhoods immediately surrounding the trolley lines throughout Los Angeles. The lots closest to the tracks were small and more affordable. As you moved away from the tracks, the lots and homes got larger.

Most of the neighborhoods closest to the Red Car tracks were destroyed for freeway construction. Stroll down Riverside Place for a walk through the past. Many of the original 500 sq. ft. homes on 800 sq. ft. lots still survive.

Selling Points: Nearby Trolleys, School & El Nino

Unknown photographer, 1922 Elysian Gardens - Hunter Terrace real estate brochure. (Click on image to enlarge.)

"Last December, shortly after the heaviest rainfall in 32 years, automobiles were driven over every lot in Elysian Gardens." Considering the LA River was prone to flooding prior to being encased in cement, this was an important disclosure.

Riverside Terrace & The Corralitas Hillside

Photo: Unknown photographer, 1922 Elysian Gardens - Hunter Terrace real estate brochure. (Click on photo to enlarge.)


Photo: Diane Edwardson, 2008. Matches photo above from slightly higher ground. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The hills to the left of Elysian Park in the current photo, are the hills in the background (left) of the 1922 brochure photo above. Today, houses, freeways and trees obscure the exact matching views. Differences in lenses, format, lighting and atmospheric conditions make the hills look closer in the earlier photo. Similarly, neighbors often ponder how some days the San Gabriel Mountains appear taller than usual.

1922 Real Estate Brochure

Photo: Unknown photographer, 1922. (Click on image to enlarge.)

Over the next week, we'll look at the 1922 Elysian Gardens - Hunter Terrace real estate brochure and attempt to match as many of the photos with current views as possible. Earlier postings showed images of the 2 Freeway corridor and a map. Can you guess the location of the photo above? (Answer tomorrow.)

Hunter Terrace was named for the former Asa Hunter Estate. The 1912 map, below, shows the Hunters owning large tracts of land on both sides of "Los Felis Road," which later became Riverside Drive. The map from the brochure indicates Elysian Gardens as the area between the Los Angeles River and Los Felis Road: the neighborhood is also know as Elysian Valley and Frogtown.


Map: Plate 42, Baist's Atlas, Surveys of Los Angeles, G.W. Baist, 1912. (Click on map to enlarge.)

Miniature Golf on Lake View Ave.

Photo: Unknown Photographer, 1930. Photo shot from 2338 Lake View Ave facing northwest. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

A neighbor found this photo in a box left behind when he bought his house. Thanks to Adam and his neighbor, Russell, for sharing it.

Do you have family photos like the one above, or like the photos from a backyard on Corralitas, or from the Holyland Exhibition? Neighborhood history is revealed and is far more interesting when photos have people in them.

If you or your neighbors have any neighborhood photos you would like to share, please email them, along with pertinent information like: photographer, location and year to Diane Edwardson at redcarproperty@gmail.com. If you include a current matching photo, we can use that too. Click here for a map of the neighborhood this blog roughly covers.

Previous Downturn Lasted a Long Time

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 26, 2001. To neighbors' dismay, this house sat unfinished for several years on Lake View Ave. across from Rose Scharlin Co-op Preschool. Another inexperienced hillside developer started building the house before putting in the required retaining walls and running out of money. Photo shot from Corralitas Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Nightmare on Corralitas Drive

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 18, 2008. 2562 Corralitas. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

For years, the developer of this single family home kept coming to neighbors asking for their blessing to build a duplex on a lot with roughly 27' of street frontage on the narrowest portion of Corralitas Drive, where parking is the most difficult on the street. The neighbors would not support his request for variances.

Construction started in February 2007. Unfortunately, the developer hired a contractor who admittedly had never built in the hills before. The owner/developer died this summer and the DWP disconnected the power in August. At least a roof was put on it last week so perhaps there won't be too much of a mold problem later. With the economic downturn, it's likely we'll have this view for a while.

Developers Wonder Why Neighbors Get Hostile

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November, 2008. The DWP disconnected the power for the unfinished home on Corralitas Drive in August, when all work stopped on the house. Construction started in February 2007. Photo shot from Riverside Terrace. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Warplanes Over Silver Lake

Photos: Diane Edwardson, 11-14-08, 11:30 AM. No, George W. Bush did not send the military to quash another anti-Prop 8 rally. The B-52 Stratofortress was a part of a parade on Hollywood Blvd. that flew directly over Corralitas Drive. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Earthquake Fun on Corralitas Drive

Photo: Diane Edwardson, 2008. The view from atop Corralitas is what realtors call, "city lights." (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The 1994 Northridge Earthquake was just another reason for neighbors atop Corralitas to party. In any earthquake, the log cabin dwellers are always the first in the street. (It's best to get our front doors open in case the logs shift.) Leon's dog, Woofgang, found me tangled up in my sheets, as I'd fallen to the floor and couldn't get up. Kat made it to the front door and was already a part of the growing crowd in the street. Woof knew I was missing and brought me a wet tennis ball.

Throwing on a bathrobe, grabbing a flashlight and entering the kitchen, I was shocked. I had never seen the City below so pitch black. The power was out everywhere. Joining the always boisterous Corralitas crowd in the street in front of the log cabins, we took count of who was missing.

Jim V. jumped in his car to make sure the 2 Freeway ramps at Rosebud as well as Riverside Drive had not collapsed. (It was so dark, we could not see the 2 Freeway below us.) We would really be on our own if that happened, as emergency vehicles would have to be willing to take the Red Car Property to reach us - if no landslides blocked the canyon - and we would likely have to give them directions.

We quickly organized ourselves to check on our elderly neighbor, Inez; in addition to other neighbors who lived by themselves; check for gas leaks and check on Richard & Noriko's house, since they were out of the country.

As we rounded the corner on our way to check on Patti, we gasped when we saw no lights in Glendale at all. We knew it was bad. The sun wouldn't be up for hours. Aftershocks rumbled through. I'd never seen more stars in the sky above Los Angeles. We passed neighbors huddled inside their front doors who signaled to us with flashlights. Everyone was shaken, but OK. No one was having as much fun as Woofgang. Everyone was willing to throw the ball for Woof that morning.

We got to Patti as she was loading the truck to go to work. As a video journalist for a local station, she got the immediate pager message from Cal Tech: it was likely a 7.0 in Northridge. She asked us to check on her house once the sun came up and feed her cat since might not be home for a few days.

By the time we came back up the hill, Leon had made coffee and Peggy shared muffins she'd just baked the day before. We discussed food and water supplies and exchanged tales of earthquakes past. Jim R. and Ralph brought out battery operated TVs. We hung out in the street until the sun came up. No one could go back to sleep. As usual, the top part of Corralitas saw it as an excuse to party.

Days later, other neighbors told me they wished they'd joined us since we were all better adjusted in the days after the quake than those who had not joined the party. It pays to know your neighbors.

Even with only a 6.7 earthquake in Northridge, we were under a "boil water order" for 3 days. With a major quake on the San Andreas, we could be without water for weeks. Use today's "Great Southern California Shakeout" as an excuse to prepare for the next big earthquake. USGS has some good earthquake preparedness info on their website.

2 Freeway Terminus EIR Release Delayed

Photo: Diane Edwardson, 2008. Typical morning commute traffic on the 2 Freeway shot from the Corralitas Staircase. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Judy Raskin, chair of Echo Park Community Action Committee, reports release of the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the 2 Freeway Terminus Redesign is delayed until at least mid-December due to coordination efforts between CalTrans and MTA.

When the draft is released, the public will have 45 days to review and comment. Since the current schedule would release the draft EIR in the middle of the holidays, Echo Park CAC requested the release date be further delayed until January 2009. The public should not have to review these plans during the holiday season.

The MTA reviewed the design alternatives at last week's Echo Park Improvement Association meeting. According to Raskin, the MTA is creating confusion by labeling of one of the design alternatives as the "Locally Preferred Alternative." Raskin continues, "It does not mean the community (locally) prefers the alternative. Keep this in mind when the reports are issued. The Echo Park CAC has always supported the design now designated Alternative D."

The Silver Lake and Echo Park communities overwhelming supported Alternative D throughout the public scoping process.

1960: Grass Fire Above 2 Freeway Site

Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition, 1960. Grass fire on slope above the Red Car Property at Lake View and Silver Ridge. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Flag Day Parking Restrictions: http://www.lafd.org/redflag/
LAFD Hillside Brush Clearance Unit: http://www.lafd.org/brush/

We're reviewing the photographic history of our neighborhood surrounding the 2 Freeway, in anticipation of the EIR for the 2 Freeway Terminus Project.

Misguided Attempts at Freeway Beautification

Photo: Diane Edwardson, 2006. Corner of Corralitas Drive and Rosebud Ave. Following months of neighborhood uproar on Corralitas, the childish murals, initiated by a misguided neighbor in an attempt to thwart graffiti, were painted out with CalTrans gray paint. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo: Larry Schulte, 2006. Oak Glen overpass on the 2 Freeway, facing north. Murals on the Oak Glen overpass are routinely hit by graffiti vandals. Clean & Green periodically repaints the murals. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

We're reviewing the photographic history of our neighborhood surrounding the 2 Freeway, in anticipation of the EIR for the 2 Freeway Terminus Project.

2 & 5 Freeway Interchange: Mind-Boggling Array of Ramps

Photo: Lou McClean, 2005. 2 & 5 Interchange from Modjeska St. in the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract. (Click on photo to enlarge.)


Photo: 1973. 2 & 5 Interchange from Alvarado and El Moran in the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

We're reviewing the photographic history of our neighborhood surrounding the 2 Freeway, in anticipation of the EIR for the 2 Freeway Terminus Project.

Freeway Ramps Overwhelm Neighborhood

Photo: AAA of Southern California, USC Digital Archives, 1961. The 5 & 2 Freeway interchange seen from what is now the CalTrans maintenance yard across from Allesandro Elementary School on Riverside Drive. Formerly on the site of the CalTrans yard, the Elysian Valley Branch Library was demolished, not relocated, for freeway construction. To this day, Elysian Valley does not have a public library. (Click on photo to enlarge.)


Photo: Diane Edwardson, 2008. Trees and vining plants help take the edge off multiple freeway ramps crossing Riverside Drive, adjacent to Allesandro Elementary School. The ramps are overwhelming from below. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

We're reviewing the photographic history of our neighborhood surrounding the 2 Freeway, in anticipation of the EIR for the 2 Freeway Terminus Project.

Election Day Under the 2 Freeway

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 4, 2008. Riverside Drive under the 2 Freeway. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Voter turnout at Allesandro Elementary School was high this morning as evidenced by the parking on both sides of Riverside stretching almost all the way to Allesandro Ave. under the 2 Freeway.

We're reviewing the photographic history of our neighborhood surrounding the 2 Freeway, in anticipation of the EIR for the 2 Freeway Terminus Project.

1960, Grading on a Massive Scale for the 2 & 5 Freeways

Photo: 1960, Futterer, Holyland Exhibit. Shot from atop the slope adjacent to Lake View Ave. and Allesandro Way, facing northeast. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Klevens' home was on the lower portion of Corralitas Drive (on the left in above photo). Theirs was one of just six homes on that portion of Corralitas to remain after freeway construction. The typical house was less than 1000 sq ft.

Countless tons of earth were removed from the Red Car right-of-way, which was elevated on a graded slope from Allesandro Way north to India. The earth from the Red Car right-of-way, as well as from the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract and what is now a part of Elysian Park just off Riverside Drive and Newell Street, was used in elevating the 2 and 5 Freeways. Leftover dirt was subsequently dumped in these large open areas when construction finished.

We're reviewing the photographic history of our neighborhood surrounding the 2 Freeway, in anticipation of the EIR for the 2 Freeway Terminus Project.