Fire Season Lasts All Year 'Round...

Above: December 1960 Red Car Property grass fire (south end), Lake View and Silver Ridge in background. Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition

Click on photos to enlarge

Above: 2007 From Corralitas across Red Car Canyon to Lake View. Photo: Edwardson

Aztec Rising, a non-profit fire prevention crew, began clearing dead trees and trimming back thick vegetation on the Red Car Property slopes this week. They will be working in the area for the next several months under a grant secured by CD13. They will concentrate on problem areas like the Red Car Property, Los Angeles River and areas around Elysian Park adjacent to homes.

Aztec has done work on the Red Car Property slopes in the past few years, as well as a major problem area below the 2 Freeway adjacent to Riverside Drive and Corralitas Drive just last year. Neighbors are encouraged to bring cold drinks out to the crew when they're in your area. If you have any questions, you can speak directly to the crew: Enrique Hurtado is the supervisor, or contact Mitch O'Farrell in CD13: (323)957-4500.

Intersection of Riverside & Fletcher Drive

Above: Photographer unknown. After 1927.

All photos shot from Red Car Property facing intersection of Fletcher & Riverside Drive. Chevron Station in midground; Atwater and Glendale in background.

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

Above: Antonio Futterer, Holyland Exhibit, Silver Lake. 1960, during 5 Freeway construction.

Above: Edwardson, 2001

Corralitas Drive Ugly Rooftop Watch

Photos: Edwardson, 2007. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Fifteen homes, the size and scale of these two under construction on Corralitas Drive, are proposed for the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists’ Garden Lots. The Semi-Tropic lots are just across the 2 Freeway from Corralitas. Building & Safety doesn’t seem to enforce the rule about screening rooftop equipment.

Part 2

Part 2, close-up

Part 3

Update - Mountain Lion Sighting

According to Los Angeles Animal Services Wildlife Officer Randall, there was also a report of a coyote siting shortly after last week's reported mountain lion siting, in the area around Lake View and Silver Ridge. Officer Randall reports that 70% of mountain lion sitings turn out to be other animals, often coyotes or dogs. However, you never know if someone has as an inappropriate "pet," so be aware of your surroundings.

Officer Randall advises taking a photo of the animal as the easiest way to help identify it. Even if it's blurry or far away, it can help in identification. If you have a cell phone with a camera - use it to take a photo of the animal in question. (Cell phone cameras are also a handy way to take photos of stray dogs if you can't get a hold of the stray animal.) Or walk with a camera - there's always something interesting happening in the neighborhood.

Officer Randall had additional tips for identifying wildlife. Try to judge the size of an animal in relationship to the surrounding vegetation. Lighting conditions and slope can play tricks on the eye. A mountain lion's tail is about as long as his body.

If you do see a mountain lion report it immediately to Animal Services: (323) 225-WILD (9453) or Toll Free: (888) 452-7381 Ext: 1-4-1.

The biggest wildlife concern in our neighborhood is coyotes. Last week a Corralitas neighbor awoke to a chorus of coyotes going after a cat just off his deck, overlooking the canyon on the Red Car Property. He shined a flashlight on the offenders; six coyotes scattered. This time of year, the pups are grown and learning to hunt. Earlier this year, in the same canyon, three very large coyotes were aggressively stalking a 6'3" man walking his two 100lb dogs (on-leash) at 6AM. A few months ago, a neighbor reported a coyote den on Lake View just above the canyon between Corralitas and Lake View. Walk your dogs on a leash at all times, as coyotes are out at all hours, not just after dark.

Learn more about living with about coyotes, mountain lions and other urban wildlife at: http://www.laanimalservices.com/aboutani_wildlife.htm

Mountain Lion Sighting

This mountain lion is purely for illustration and is not the one reported in the story.

Photo: Diane Edwardson

I received an email from a neighbor reporting a mountain lion sighting this morning, near the south end of the Red Car Property. The neighbor reported sighting the large cat between houses near the southern intersection of Lake View & Silver Ridge. The neighbor looked up mountain lions and bobcats on-line and confirmed what she and her husband saw was a mountain lion. She reported it to Animal Services. A wildlife officer will investigate.

 

This is an unconfirmed sighting. I am merely passing information along in the event you think you've seen a mountain lion or bobcat in the neighborhood. You should report it immediately to Animal Services: (323) 225-WILD (9453) or toll free: (888) 452-7381. The Animal Services Wildlife Officer for our area is Greg Randall. If you see a mountain lion in the neighborhood: call 911 immediately.

 

Bobcats are found in Griffith Park and Elysian Park. The Griffith Park Mountain Lion found its way to Griffith Park a few years ago from the Verdugo Mountains via the Verdugo Wash and the Los Angeles River. It was considered a fluke that the cat found it's way to the park. Mountain lions prey on deer, which are native to Griffith Park. There are no deer or mountain lions in Elysian Park. For more info on mountain lions and urban wildlife: http://www.laanimalservices.com/aboutani_wildlife.htm

 

Since the Griffith Park Fire, wildlife has been turning up in neighborhoods where it has never been seen before. While it is possible that a mountain lion found its way here, it is very unlikely. It is more likely the big cat may be someone's escaped "pet." It is illegal to keep wildlife as pets without the proper permits, and totally inappropriate in an urban neighborhood.

 

Rim of the Valley Trail Corridor

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 23, 2007.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Every now and then, you see horses on the Red Car Property. The Corralitas Red Car Property is a key link in the Rim of the Valley Trail Corridor through Silver Lake between Griffith Park and Elysian Park. The equestrian trail was added to the Silver Lake Echo Park Community Plan in 1987. While equestrian use may not be the primary draw to this portion of the trail, it is a heavily used neighborhood recreational resource.

Semi-Tropic Spiritualists’ Tract Development Update 1-20-07

Photo: Edwardson, Semi-Tropic Spiritualists’ Tract

Future site of 14 homes?

January 20, 2007 -- City Councilmember Eric Garcetti’s staff hosted a community meeting with the developer of the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists’ Tract Garden Lots. Link to current area map: http://redcarproperty.blogspot.com/2007/01/development-alert.html

Subdivisions and zone changes go through a discretionary process in City Planning. Under CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act), the public has the right (and responsibility) to comment, in writing or in person, on the development’s impacts. The developer has filed for subdivision with City Planning. Currently, a public hearing has not yet been scheduled.

The three 1-acre lots (currently zoned R-1 for single family homes) were once a large garden for the tract of primarily 2,500 sq ft lots. The current development proposal is a “small-lot subdivision” into 14 lots: each lot between 3,000 – 6,000 sq ft, grouped around a private driveway from El Moran near Allesandro Ave., plus a large “open space lot” on the upper portion closest to El Moran and Peru St.

Small-lot subdivision is a new form of development allowing developers to subdivide into lots as small as 2,500 sq. ft. (City standard lots are 5,000 sq. ft.), with homes as close as 2 inches apart.

Citing the house fire two nights earlier on Baxter St., neighbors expressed concern regarding small lot subdivision in hillside areas. Since small-lot subdivision is a new program, the LAFD has yet to weigh in on how it should be implemented in hillside areas. Neighbors also wanted to know if the new development would be subject to “Red Flag Days - No Parking,” like many of the neighborhood’s streets.

While the developer stated it was not a gated community, many neighbors pointed out that it looks like one, and would be easy to gate, especially once the new residents saw the area homeless population.

The developer did not supply adequate before and after drawings of the hillside to evaluate the amount of grading that would take place with the proposed development. Although, the developer’s engineer stated it would be more than 6,000 cubic yards of cut (earth to be removed and recompacted or removed entirely from the site).

The development also shows 14 large flat rooftops visible from much of the neighborhood. Neighbors currently have a view of natural beauty of the hillside. With small-lot subdivision, where homes are closer together than on standard hillside lots, it would seem appropriate and desirable to have functional rooftop amenities like rooftop gardens and patios, or at least incorporate design elements into the rooftops as a fifth elevation.

While the developer stated he would be leaving a substantial portion of the upper lot as an “open space lot,” he has yet to contact a park agency, like the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, regarding either dedication or donation for public open space. Additionally, without public access from Allesandro through the development to the open space lot, it would not be usable open space for the community.

Above: 1912 Baist's Atlas, Surveys of Los Angeles, G.W. Baist

Andrew Sears, president of the Committee to Save Silver Lake’s Reservoirs writes to Councilmember Garcetti:

“What is needed is a holistic approach, creating connectivity between the 18-acre Elysian Park annex and the Corralitas Red Car Corridor. Now is our last chance to ensure that our parks, new and old, are connected and walkable. This connection, if properly implemented will protect the Rim of the Valley Equestrian Trail easement, and further the visionary concept of connecting Elysian Park with the LA River at Fletcher. Such a trail system, a long-term dream of the community, has been cited in the LA River Master Plan, and will help to improve the severely limited open space problems we have in the district.”

Sears continues, “Public access needs to be ensured through the proposed developed lot to allow for a pedestrian/equestrian friendly path between Allesandro and the Reserved Open Space above the lot. By 'friendly,' I mean at a grade suitable for horses and people on foot. As planned, the grade is extremely steep and in most areas is supported by retaining walls up to 13’. The failure to preserve that corridor will seal the fate of any hope for connected parks in the Silver Lake/Elysian/LA River area.”

The overwhelming reaction at the meeting to the developer’s plan was negative. While it is better than the earlier plan to regrade the entire hillside, it still has a long way to go before becoming acceptable to this community. Funds for outright acquisition of the lots by a park agency are limited. It is not unreasonable to expect a developer to work with the community toward an acceptable solution to both sides. The developer wants a discretionary action from the city to build his project. In return for added density and effects on the surrounding community; neighbors should insist on specific mitigations if the City grants subdivision and zone change, increasing the value of the developer's property.

Garcetti’s staff suggested the developer and the community work out their differences before this proposal goes to public hearing. No date for a hearing has been set. Garcetti’s staff will be taking our comments into their discussions about the Semi-Tropic Spiritualist’s Tract.

###

LA River Revitalization Master Plan Public Hearings

Photo: Edwardson, Egret Park on the Los Angeles River

The City has been working on a plan to revitalize the LA River.

Why should you care? The Corralitas Red Car Property and the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists’ Tract are walking distance to the Los Angeles River. Community Residents’ Association for Parks has advocated for improved pedestrian connections between our neighborhood and the river throughout the public scoping process.

Neighborhood map: http://redcarproperty.blogspot.com/2007/01/development-alert.html

Below is information regarding the next round of public meetings about the LA River Master Plan.

Notice of Availability for the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Report/Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIR/PEIS).

Both the LARRMP and its draft PEIR/PEIS will be available for public review for a period of 45-days beginning on Friday, February 2, 2007 and ending on Monday, March 19, 2007.

Three public hearings will be held during the review period to provide an opportunity for open discussion of the draft documents:

Saturday, February 24:
10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Hollenbeck Middle School, 2510 E. 6th St., Boyle Heights
Draft LARRMP Workshop: 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
Draft LARRMP PEIR/PEIS Hearing: 11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Tuesday, February 27:
6:30-9:00 p.m., Canoga Park High School Auditorium, 6850 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Canoga Park
Draft LARRMP Workshop: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Draft LARRMP PEIR/PEIS Hearing: 7:45-9:00 p.m.

Wednesday, February 28:
6:30-9:00 p.m., Metropolitan Water District Board Room, 700 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles
Draft LARRMP Workshop: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Draft LARRMP PEIR/PEIS Hearing: 7:45-9:00 p.m.

Members of the public may provide verbal, recorded comments during the hearing portion of each meeting listed above.

Copies of both the draft LARRMP and draft PEIR/PEIS may be viewed online at the LARRMP website: http://www.lariverrmp.org/EIREIS/environmental_documents.htm
or at the Atwater Village Branch Library, 3379 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90039, (323) 664-1353

Comments may be submitted by writing to:

Carol Armstrong
LARRMP Project Manager
1149 S. Broadway, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90015

Please note whether comments are intended for the LARRMP or for the PEIR/PEIS.

Comments may also be submitted via e-mail, as follows:

For the LARRMP, write to: engrplan@lacity.org
and
for the PEIR/PEIS, write to: engrpeirs@lacity.org

For more information, please call Mary Brooks at 323-669-7653.

Mary Brooks
The Robert Group
3108 Los Feliz Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90039
323-669-7653 direct
323-664-0922 direct fax
mary@therobertgroup.com

###

Red Tail Hawk Update

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 14, 2005

Brenda with the Ojai Raptor Center reports, after an examination by a veterinarian, the hawk we rescued was shot through the wing with either a small caliber bullet or bb-gun, a week or more before he crash landed on Corralitas. The wing was broken and infected, plus the hawk was severely dehydrated and thin.

After several days of treating the infection, they anesthetized the hawk to further assess the broken wing. Since it had been so long since the bird was shot, the bone was dried out and inoperable. Since the wild hawk was in such poor condition, and would not be releasable with an amputated wing, the veterinarian decided to euthanize the bird. If we had been able to rescue the bird a week earlier, it may have made a difference.

Our 2005 hawk rescue was much more successful. A not-fully-fledged hawk fell 80’ to the street below from his nest atop a eucalyptus tree, next to the log cabins. His leg was broken. I called the Wildlife Officer at North Central Animal Shelter, who referred me to Brenda with Ojai Raptor Center. Neighbors blocked off the street & sidewalk with “caution” tape and barricades, while we awaited Animal Control. The officer had to climb 15-20’ up the steep slope to reach the hawk who was attempting to get back to his tree. Throughout this drama, the hawk’s parents kept a threatening eye on us, while screeching the whole time. They were not pleased, but they would not have been able to get the baby back into the nest. The baby would likely have fallen prey to a coyote if we left it on the ground.

Photo: Edwardson, 2005. Angry red tail parent.

The hawk was transferred to the Ojai Raptor Center where they repaired his broken leg. During fledging season, the Raptor Center is overwhelmed with rescues. They even have an unreleasable surrogate mother hawk who helps feed the babies. Our hawk was later released in an area where there are a lot of red tails he could learn from.

The sibling of the one we rescued used to hang out on the decks of the log cabins. He frequented my neighbor who took some great photos of him. I once saw one of the hawk’s parents bring him a rat. The parent sat in the tree with the rat screeching until he flew the 20 feet from my deck to the tree. He seemed to prefer my deck to tree for a dining perch. His parent would have nothing of it, insisting he use the tree.

Why should we care about the hawks?

They are a vital link in the hillside food web. They help keep rats and gophers under control. So don’t use rat poison. The poison doesn’t immediately kill the rat, so the rat acts erratically once the poison begins to take effect. The rat falls easy prey to predators, like hawks and pet cats, which are then poisoned and die from eating the rat.

Red Tail Hawks and other raptors like to hunt on the big open spaces like the Red Car Property and the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists’ Tract. Many mornings you can see hawks sitting atop the telephone poles, then swooping down to catch some vermin. The steep topography of the Red Car and Semi-Tropic neighborhoods combined with the heat island of the adjacent freeways create ideal updrafts on which the hawks like to soar. It’s like Wild Kingdom in your own backyard, 5 minutes from Downtown Los Angeles.

Donate to Ojai Raptor Center: http://www.ojairaptorcenter.org/
More info on living with wildlife: http://www.laanimalservices.com/Wildlife.htm

###

Red Tail Hawk Rescue 2007

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, January 14, 2007

Corralitas Drive seems to be the place where red tails hawks come for help. A few weeks ago, I got a call from a neighbor who watched a red tail crash into the hillside next to his home. The hawk was hopping around a totally inaccessible spot on the hillside holding his wing away from his body. Plus, it was late in the day and getting dark.

The hawk went into hiding in the hillside brush the following day. I put word out on the Corralitas email list. Shortly thereafter, another neighbor called the first neighbor to say the hawk was hanging out in the first neighbor’s driveway – a good 100’ uphill climb from where he’d been the night before. Perhaps this was the sibling of the hawk we rescued less than two years ago, who used to hang out on the first neighbor’s deck (photo below).

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, June 24, 2005

The first neighbor called Animal Regulation, who did not seem anxious to come out. The hawk followed the neighbor around the street, trying to fly. The neighbor was able to snap a few photos before the hawk hopped back down the hillside (photo: top of page).

Three of us searched below the log cabins for the hawk. He camouflaged so well, it was no easy task to find him. We finally cornered the hawk with bath towels on a VERY steep portion of the hillside between the log cabins and the Corralitas Staircase. It was hard to tell if we even had the hawk in the towel because he was so lightweight. He didn’t put up a fight, although he did not want to let go of the towel after we carefully placed him in a box.

We took the hawk to animal control on Lacy St. and also called Brenda with Ojai Raptor Center, so they could pick up the injured hawk. (The City of Los Angeles sends their wildlife rescues to them since there seems to be no raptor rescuers in the City because of zoning rules.) You should always talk to Animal Control and a wildlife rescuer before you attempt rescuing wildlife.

Donate to Ojai Raptor Center: http://www.ojairaptorcenter.org/
More info on living with wildlife: http://www.laanimalservices.com/Wildlife.htm

Rescue Update

###

Glendale Blvd - Hyperion Bridge Improvement Draft EIR

Photo: Tom LaBonge. Hyperion Bridge looking south crossing the

LA River (left), 5 Frwy (center), Riverside Drive (right).

Hyperion Viaduct Complex crosses the LA River and the 5 Freeway at Glendale Blvd. It includes six structures. The Glendale Boulevard (northbound and southbound) and Hyperion structures are currently proposed for major improvement, with cosmetic improvement to the Waverly Ave. Bridge, addition of bike lanes and a realignment of the 5 Frwy offramps.

A public scoping meeting is required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to obtain your views of the proposed project and suggestions you might have for its improvement. Your input is very important and will be used to prepare the upcoming Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Please come, ask questions and express your opinions.

For your convenience, two meetings will be held. Each will have the same content and format.

Thursday, February 8, 2007
7 - 9 pm
Glenfeliz Blvd. Elementary School
3955 Glenfeliz Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90039

Thursday, February 15, 2007
7 - 9 pm
Silverlake Community Church
2930 Hyperion Avenue (near Rowena)
Los Angeles, CA 90027

The Notice of Preparation and Initial Study can also be viewed on the City's website http://eng.lacity.org/techdocs/emg/Environmental_Review_Documents.htm

The Project is fully described in an Initial Study (IS), which is available for your review at the following locations:

Atwater Village Public Library3379 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90039

Los Feliz Public Library1874 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Satellite Office, Satellite Office, Pres. Eric Garcetti, CD 13, 3700 Verdugo Rd., Los Angeles, CA

90065

District Office, Councilmember Tom LaBonge, CD4, 10116 Riverside Dr., Ste. 200, Toluca Lake, CA 91602

COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY: Feb 27, 2005

Please send your response to:
Wallace E. Stokes
City of Los Angeles
Public Works, Bureau of Engineering
Bridge Program
221 N. Figueroa Street, Suite 350
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone (213) 202-5580

Fax (213) 202-5518

LAFD Red Flag Days UPDATE

Photo: Futterer. 1934, Holyland Exhibition, Lake View Ave. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Many neighborhood streets are subject to No Parking on Red Flag Days – days with high winds and low moisture content in the vegetation. To see if your street is included and for more information see link in the message below from the LA City Fire Dept:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Red Flag Parking Restrictions [mailto:redflag@lafdtraining.org]
> Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2007 9:01 AM
> Subject: New Notification System for Red Flag
>
>
> The new notification system is working and in place. You can now be
> notified via voice messaging on you phone (any and all of 4 phone numbers)
> and/or email. Please go to our new site and register your information at:
>
> http://www.lafd.org/redflag/
>
> We thank you for your continued support in keeping the City safe.
>
> Thank you,
> LAFD
>

###

Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract 1923

Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition 1923. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo above is shot from what was the future site of the Holyland Exhibition at the corner of Lake View Ave. and Allesandro Way. Their founder, Futterer, documented neighborhood growth. The Holyland Exhibition will be the subject of a future post.

The clump of houses at the center of the hillside in the Semi-Tropic Tract are on Alvarado.

In the foreground, the mule team is clearing the forest for road building and subdivision. The Glendale (2) Freeway now runs through the part of the photo where the mule teams are working.

The Whitmore Red Car Trolley stop was at the intersection of Allesandro Ave. and Whitmore.

DEVELOPMENT ALERT

SAVE THE DATE! IMPORTANT MEETING

Saturday, January 20, 2007
10AM
Allesandro Elementary School Cafeteria, 2210 Riverside Drive

City Council President Eric Garcetti’s office will sponsor a community meeting to review a developer’s proposal to subdivide the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists’ Garden Lots. Contact: Mitch O’Farrell in CD13: (323) 957-4500.

Why should you care? The Semi-Tropic Spiritualists’ Garden Lots are visible from portions of the Red Car Neighborhood, including Corralitas, Silver Ridge & Lake View. The proposed development will affect views and set precedent for subdividing other large lots in the area, like the Red Car Property.

Like the Red Car Property, the three 1-acre Semi-Tropic Garden Lots were approved for a zone change to increase density during the 1980s building boom. Similarly, the zone change expired unused. Like the Red Car Property and the Menlo Property (the retaining wall on Riverside just north of Fletcher), the Semi-Tropic Lots have a long history of failed development. Currently, the three Semi-Tropic Lots are zoned R-1, or one single family home per lot.

Who were the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists?
In 1905, the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists Association incorporated and purchased the last tract of land in what’s now considered the last hill in Elysian Heights. The City tract still bears their name. In 1905, the area was just outside the City limits and was predominantly coniferous (semi-tropical) forest. Perhaps it was the inspiration for their name.

The Semi-Tropic Spiritualists subdivided the land into more than 175 lots of an average size of 2,500 sq ft, which they sold to their members. The tiny lots surrounded the 3-acre “Garden Lots,” on which they maintained a garden, allowed camping, musical performances and meetings. This followed a pattern of development common to the spiritualist movement in California at the turn of the last century.

Today, the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists’ Tract contains extraordinary native coast live oak (an endangered species) and California black walnut woodland (a threatened plant community).

Like the Red Car Property, the Semi-Tropic Garden Lots are in the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy’s Rim of the Valley Trail Corridor. Both properties are also within the Silver Lake-Echo Park Equestrian Trail, designated in the Community Plan.

###

Development History

Photo: Title Insurance & Trust Co., C.C. Pierce Photography, 1905 Pacific Electric Glendale Line looking north toward Glendale. Corralitas is the hill to the right of the tracks. (Click on photo to enlarge)

The Corralitas Red Car Property was a private right-of-way for the Pacific Electric interurban streetcar. The “Big Red Cars” ran until 1955.

Since 1955, a series of absentee owners have neglected the five lots. For more than 25 years, a series of developers tried and failed to develop the Corralitas Red Car Property. Even when successful in securing a zone change, developers repeatedly failed to build on the site.

The property consists of five large lots on more than 10-acres, approximately one mile in length, zoned R2 (one duplex per lot).

1896 Los Angeles Railway Local Edendale Line extends through a private right-of-way to Ivanhoe Hills, terminus at Fletcher, a dirt road near the Los Angeles River.

1904 Fletcher Drive Red Car Viaduct constructed for the Glendale Line. Pacific Electric officially opened the Glendale Line in 1906; bringing real estate speculation to the areas surrounding rail lines.

1922 “Hunter Terrace” subdivision, formerly the Asa Hunter Estate, advertised for sale. Subdivision brochure advertised lots for sale to the east of the Red Car Property: around Allesandro Elementary School, Corralitas Drive and Elysian Valley (Elysian Gardens subdivision). Brochure touts the proximity to the Red Car as a key selling point.

1924-28 Area streets paved for the first time. 1927: center span of the Fletcher Red Car Viaduct replaced with steel accommodating the paving and lowering of Fletcher Drive. The bridge was now 61’ above the roadbed.

1955 Glendale Line decommissioned, right-of-way removed from public service, property remained in private hands. Red Car tracks removed, but the viaduct remained on the hillside above Riverside and Fletcher Drives.

1959 Fletcher Viaduct and Riverside Drive Viaduct (at Glendale Blvd) torn down, 4 years after the last Red Car Trolley ran on the Glendale Line.

1960 Homes torn down via eminent domain for freeway construction on area streets. The Glendale (2) Freeway soon cut off Corralitas Drive from the community, leaving only one means of vehicle access through Rosebud Ave.  Considerable amount of earth removed from the Red Car Property for freeway construction. Later, the leftover dirt was dumped back onto surrounding large vacant lots, such as the Red Car Property.

1962 Glendale Freeway opens.

1981 Zone change approved (against Fire Dept. recommendations) 2433 Corralitas Drive (southern 2 lots of Red Car Property) from R2 (one duplex) to RD4 (40 Units). City Councilmember Peggy Stevenson did not support community opposition. *

* Zone change granted before adoption of the Silver Lake-Echo Park Community Plan in 1984, so it was not based on any official plan for the area.

1984 Zone change expired; property again zoned R2.

1987 City Council approved incorporation of an equestrian trail into any development of the site in keeping with the Silver Lake-Echo Park Community Plan.

1987 Zone change on 2433 Corralitas Drive for 40 units again approved against Fire Dept. recommendations. City Councilmember Mike Woo did not support community opposition.

1989 Extension for zone change approved against community opposition. Fire Dept. again objected and a provision added: the project limited to 25 units if a secondary access could not be provided.

1990 Zone change expired; property again zoned R2.

1995 City Planning Commission, by unanimous vote, defeats developer’s 40-unit zone change application. Community well organized; now represented and supported by City Councilmember Jackie Goldberg.

1996 Developer, in a large community meeting organized by Goldberg’s office, presented a vague notion that he might want to build 40 houses on the property. Community told him to come back with a specific plan.

1997 At a large community meeting hosted by Goldberg at Allesandro Elementary School, the community voted to back residents’ plan to: form a non-profit organization, Community Resident’s Association for Parks; partner with Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy; apply for ’92 Prop A competitive funds to purchase the Red Car Property; create a passive-use park on the entire site.

1997 Partnership did not receive funding.

1997 Developer purchases the 5 lots for $110,000 (public record).

1998 Developer applies for 12-lot subdivision, with a 7-acre dedication/donation to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. A maintenance fee would be assessed annually on the new lots to pay for park upkeep.

1999 Application tentatively approved by City Planning for 12-lot subdivision, pending approval from grading department.

2000 Developer notifies community that he is putting the property up for sale for $500,000. Subdivision not economically feasible. Subdivision never approved, property remains 5 lots, zoned R2.

2001 Developer purchases the 10-acre Corralitas Red Car property for between $300,000 and $400,000 (public records).

2001 Community Residents’ Association for Parks and Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy submits application for Prop A funding. $320,000 application approved by County Supervisor Gloria Molina as a link to the Los Angeles River. SMMC allocates additional funds to the project.

2001 At a meeting hosted by City Councilmember Eric Garcetti, developer notifies community of intent to file for subdivision of the 5 lots of Corralitas Red Car Property into a large number of lots: including 31 single family homes, 21 duplexes and a number of vacant lots to be offered for sale. City Councilmember Garcetti supports overwhelming community opposition to the plan; wants the site as a park.

2001 Mayor James Hahn accepts more than 500 letters and drawings from students at Allesandro Elementary and Rose Scharlin Pre-school. Mayor Hahn joins Garcetti stating, “Keep the Red Car Green!”

2002-03 Connect the Parks…Connecting Communities, a study linking parks, recreational facilities and schools with pedestrian friendly paths between Elysian Park, the Red Car Property and the Los Angeles River; published by Community Residents’ Association for Parks, with a grant from Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, administered by North East Trees.

2003 Developer does not respond to Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy offer for the Red Car Property. In the interim, developer submits application to City Planning for 75 homes, almost a mile of roadways and two miles of retaining walls and one small open space lot consisting of unusable slope.

2003 City Planning advises developer to revise and resubmit plans due to concerns from Departments of Transportation, Engineering, Zoning and Fire.

2003 City Council approves Los Angeles Cultural Historic Landmark status for the Fletcher Red Car Trestle Footings. Application was submitted earlier in the year by City Councilmember Garcetti to the Los Angeles Dept. of Cultural Heritage.

2004 Bureau of Engineering recommends disapproval of  75-home subdivision.

2005 Record rains reveal the extent of the Adelbert Landslide Zone on the north portion of the Red Car Property.

2005 Another developer drops plans for the Red Car Property after just four months on board. The property remains 5 lots zoned R2.

###

"Silver Lake's Stonehenge"

Ever wonder what those concrete blocks are on the hillside above the Arco Station at Riverside and Fletcher Drives in Silver Lake? Hope Urban, who grew up in the neighborhood, calls them “Silver Lake’s Stonehenge.”

What are those concrete blocks? Who put them there? What purpose did they serve? While many neighbors think of them as gravestones of failed Red Car Property developers, they’re actually a piece of Los Angeles History.

While the Fletcher Red Car Viaduct no longer exists, its concrete foundations stood silent vigil to the changing attitudes toward public transportation in 20th Century Los Angeles.

The Pacific Electric “Big Red Car” trolleys were a hugely popular means of transportation for Los Angeles, particularly among the neighborhoods on the Edendale and Glendale lines.
In 1904, L.C. Brand & Assoc. constructed the Fletcher Viaduct for Los Angeles & Glendale Electric Railway, then sold the Glendale Line to Pacific Electric in 1906.

The viaduct, or bridge, was huge: 453’6” long, and 40’9” high, of wood trestle construction. In 1927, a 97’ center section of the viaduct was replaced with steel, accommodating the paving of Fletcher Drive. Fletcher was also lowered; the viaduct then stood 61’ above the roadway.

The Pacific Electric Red Car created the horizontal development pattern for Los Angeles – the sprawl we have today. Everywhere a Red Car Line was planned, real estate speculators followed.

Locally, the Glendale and Edendale Lines brought settlement to the Ivanhoe Hills. Our Silver Lake neighborhood reflects the typical development pattern surrounding Red Car Lines. In the early part of the century, as soon as new Red Car lines were planned, real estate speculators bought up the land immediately adjacent to the tracks; carved it into tiny lots; sold the lots to working families to build their own homes.

Riverside Place is one such street where it’s not unusual to find 500 sq. ft. homes on 800 sq. ft. lots. Moving further out from the tracks, homes and lots get larger. The ensuing socio-economic diversity still surrounds the Red Car Property in Silver Lake today. Most neighborhoods adjacent to Red Car Lines were bulldozed for freeway construction. Thus, making our neighborhood unique.

Homes and neighborhoods were built with easy access to the Red Car stops, with stairways and walkways instead of streets. In 1955, the Glendale Line was decommissioned and the tracks removed in favor of freeway construction. Neighbors on Riverside Place voted to give up 10’ of their front yards so the City could pave the street to their homes. Today, many of those homes have no setbacks or driveways.

The Red Car Viaduct Footings are symbolic of changing attitudes toward public transportation in 20th Century Los Angeles. First, Southern Californians embraced the Red Car as an economical, efficient and popular means of public transportation. Mid-century, the Red Cars were forgotten in favor of automobiles and freeways. Late in the 20th Century, Southern Californians rediscovered the Red Car, studying a successful model of public transportation.
The Fletcher Red Car Viaduct Footings are more than just the foundation for a Pacific Electric bridge. The concrete blocks are a foundation for not only Los Angeles, but also the region. Settlers, real estate speculators and population growth followed the Red Car Lines, wherever they went.

In 2003, the Los Angeles City Council confirmed the action of the Cultural Heritage Commission, declaring the Fletcher Red Car Trestle Footings as Historic-Cultural Monument #770.

As one neighbor put it, “It’s an oddly beautiful testament to our community’s past. It’s a quirky kind of landmark that fits Silver Lake.” The Red Car Viaduct Footings bring a unique identity to our neighborhood.