Oceans of Concrete: 2 & 5 Freeway Interchange

Photo: Kleven, 1960. Rosebud Ave on the Corralitas side of the 2 Freeway may be the road in the foreground (parallel with the bottom edge of the photo) prior to realignment for the 2 Freeway. The corner of one of these now cleared homes was in yesterday's post. Note the vast swath of homes cleared in Elysian Valley (on the other side of Riverside Drive) for the 5 Freeway. (Click on photo to enlarge.)


Photo: Kleven, 1961. Matches photo above. Note the shape of the Glassell Park hills in the background of each. It's hard to to tell exactly what you're looking at until you realize just how many on-ramps and off-ramps are in the 2 & 5 Interchange. (Click on photo to enlarge.)


Photo: Smith, February, 1971. Shot from a bit higher on the hill than the previous two photos, but it gives a good perspective on the oceans of concrete poured for the 2 & 5 Freeways. Yes, that's snow on the San Gabriels in the background. (Click on photo to enlarge.)


Photo: Edwardson, 2004. Thankfully, trees have grown over 46 years to help block the view of the 2 & 5 Interchange. (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.

Rosebud Ave. from Corralitas Drive

Photo: Kleven, 1960. (Click on photos to enlarge.) Several homes at the bottom of Rosebud Ave. were lost to freeway construction and realignment of Sunflower Ave. The house in the grove of trees on the Corralitas side of Allesandro Ave. was likely on Rosebud where it now runs under the 2 Freeway. (That home site will appear again tomorrow.) The house on the far top left side of Rosebud Ave. also appears in the photo below.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, 2008. Today, it's tough to match the same photo because the freeway retaining walls take up most of the frame. Climbing the Corralitas Staircase will give a better perspective on Rosebud Ave. in the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract.

Photo: Edwardson, 2008. Or, you can stand in just the right spot on the corner of Corralitas Dr. and Rosebud Ave. and see two more of the restored original homes on Rosebud Ave.

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

1960-1961, 2 Freeway Grading Hell on Corralitas Drive

Photo: Kleven, 1960. All photos shot from doorstep of 2445 Corralitas Drive. (Click on photos to enlarge.) Before the grading began for the 2 Freeway, you could walk across an open field to Allesandro Ave. and the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract from Corralitas Drive.


Photo: Kleven, 1961. First they cut down all the trees.


Photo: Kleven, 1961. Then the grading began.


Photo: Kleven, 1961. The pile of earth grew to obscure the once pleasant view.


Photo: Kleven, 1961. If you stood on the fence, you could just barely see over the pile of dirt. Note the house in the bottom right corner. The owner must have been one of the remaining holdouts to eminent domain. Neighbors, present at the time, tell of these holdouts frustrating the State. So the State just piled up the dirt next to and all around their homes until the owners finally sold or were arrested and removed forcibly by Sheriff's deputies. (Click on photo to enlarge.) Also worth noting are the three houses on Alvarado, which appeared in earlier photos from 1923.

Corralitas Grading Hell: Part 1
What part otf the neighborhood is this today?

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

1961, Grading Hell Comes to Corralitas

Photo: Kleven, 1960. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Kleven, 1961. 2437 is now the last house on Corralitas Drive.

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, Corralitas Drive: Tree-Lined Suburbia

Photo: Kleven, 1960. Corralitas Drive was once a tree-lined suburban street with front yards. This portion of Corralitas now lies under the 2 Freeway. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

In 1960, the Kleven family bought their home on Corralitas Drive. Over the next few years, the Klevens watched the State destroy the idyllic tree-lined street where kids played in the front yards. Like Futterer at the Holyland Exhibition, the Klevens had the forethought to keep a photographic record of the rapid changes that came with freeway construction.

Prior to the 2 Freeway, Corralitas Drive had two means of vehicle access. In exchange for losing our second vehicle accessway, we got a less than 10' wide public pedestrian access to Allesandro Way and Lake View Ave., adjacent to 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.

1962, Freeway Divides Silver Lake, Echo Park

Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition, 1962. Photo matches the last few postings from corner of Allesandro Way and Lake View Ave. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Holyland Exhibition lost all but six feet of their once lush front yard to the realignment of Allesandro Way when the State built the 2 Freeway through our neighborhood. What was once a trolley corridor was now an 8-lane concrete highway crossable only at Oak Glen Ave., where the State gave us an overpass. Any connection neighbors felt between the communities of Silver Lake and Echo Park through the corridor was destroyed by the freeway.

Next week: grading hell comes to Corralitas Drive.

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

1961, Earth Moving Begins

Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition, 1961. The 2 Freeway corridor from the corner of Lake View Ave. and Allesandro Way. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Earth moving for the 2 Freeway through our neighborhood began in 1961. According to neighbors present at the time, the freeway construction went remarkably fast. The State had not yet cleared all the homes from the path of the freeway on Corralitas Drive in 1960. We'll see the path of destruction on Corralitas next week.

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 Freeway Corridor Cleared of Homes

Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition, 1960. Looking southbound from the slope removed for the 2 Freeway at Lake View Ave. and Allesandro Way. (Click on photo to enlarge.)


Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition, 1960. Same location as above photo, reveals the swath of homes cleared for the 2 Freeway on the Silver Lake side. (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.

By 1960, the Red Car Trolley tracks were long gone. Homes south of Corralitas were cleared from the path of the 2 Freeway. In the top photo, note the striped brick building at the corner of Allesandro Ave. and Whitmore. It made an earlier appearance with a Red Car Trolley.

1955 - 1960, Eminent Domain Takes Homes For The 2 Freeway

Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition, 1960. Shot from Fellowship Parkway, looking at the Silver Lake side of the 2 Freeway site, after homes and Red Car tracks removed. (Click on photo to enlarge.)


Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition, probably 1955. Prior to track removal. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

In 1955, Pacific Electric decommissioned the Glendale Line. The Glendale Line survived longer than many other trolley lines, because the private right-of-way through our neighborhood allowed the trains to move faster (without car traffic) than on City streets.

The State declared eminent domain, taking homes in the paths of the freeways under construction throughout Los Angeles. The above photos provide a record of the homes removed for construction of the 2 Freeway near the Whitmore Stop. According to neighbors present at the time, many homes were moved to other parts of the neighborhood; around Allesandro Elementary School and Elysian Valley.

The Holyland Exhibition lost all but 6 feet of their lush front yard on Allesandro Way, which was moved right up to the building's front doorstep. The top photo also shows where the state cut into the adjacent hillside to make room for the 2 Freeway. In the coming days we'll review neighbors' ground level view of the destruction and radical landscape changes.

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

1905 - 1930, Neighborhood Building Boom

Photo: Security Pacific Bank, 1930. Pacific Electric Glendale Line. Note the grade change from the tracks to the forested area adjacent to the lower part of Corralitas. (Click on photo to enlarge.)


Photo: CC Pierce Photography, Title Insurance & Trust Co., 1905. Both photos were shot from approximately Cove and Alvarado. (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.

The Silver Lake side of what's now the 2 Freeway wasn't built until after 1924. Meanwhile, convenient rail and a more walkable neighborhood helped the Echo Park side grow prior to 1923.

Red Car Trolley at Whitmore Stop

Photo: Bill Volkmer, undated. Glendale Line at Allesandro Ave. and Whitmore Ave., currently the site of the 2 Freeway. (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.

Take note of the striped brick building directly behind the trolley in the photo above. It's on the corner of Allesandro Ave. and Whitmore Ave. It shows up in the background of this photo from the late 1920s or early 1930s. It will make appearances again next week, when our trip into the past gets to the 1960s. In fact, the brick building, along with the other buildings in the background, still stands today.

Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract Cut in 1905

Photo: Diane Edwardson, 2005. Modjeska Street entrance to Elysian Park from 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.

Unfortunately, we have no neighbors' photos from the early days of the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract, other than when it appeared in the background of photos posted earlier. However, the 1905 Articles of Incorporation for the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Association shed some light on the the design of the tract.

The Articles of Incorporation clearly state the purpose of the Association was "to acquire, operate and maintain permanent camp grounds in the County of Los Angeles." (In 1905, the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract was just outside Los Angeles City limits.) The purpose of such campgrounds was to hold meetings "devoted to the maintenance and spreading of the religion of Modern Spiritualism, its philosophy and its phenomena."

They designed the tract so there were hundreds of tiny lots subdivided and sold to their members. The tiny lots surrounded one large central lot for camping, meetings, "mediums," lectures and concerts. The typical lot size within the tract is 2500 sq. ft., with some as small as 600 sq. ft., surrounding the 3 acre lot in the center.

The large 3 acre parcel was later subdivided into 3 lots in the 1970s. In the 1980s, even though a series of engineers disappeared in the process, City Planning approved a zone change for 30 units, now since expired.

Currently, a developer is attempting to subdivide the 3 lots into 16 lots, which would require cutting down almost every tree on the parcel and removal and grading of 95% of the slope. Neighbors are currently appealing the approval by City Planning.

Paul Landacre, Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract Resident from 1925 to 1963

Print: Paul Landacre, Death of a Forest, 1937. (Click on image to enlarge.)

Whenever a fire burns in the Glendale hills at night, Paul Landacre's 1937 print, Death of a Forest, comes to mind. The image above would be the view from his house.

Paul Landacre, preeminent 20th Century American wood-cut artist, lived and worked in the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract for more than 30 years. His work reflected not only the neighborhood, but also the quality of light in the neighborhood.

Print: Paul Landacre, Margaret and Horace, 1947. (Click on image to enlarge.)

Landacre also portrayed the more mundane side of living in the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists' Tract. In Margaret and Horace, Landacre's wife, Margaret, tends the garden while their bulldog, Horace, snoozes nearby. Landacre, like many who live in the area today, was attracted to the seclusion and natural beauty of the wooded hillside of the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract.

1932, Snow on Allesandro

Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition, 1932. From the Holyland Exhibition, facing the Whitmore Red Car Trolley Stop on Allesandro Ave. (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.

Red Car Trolleys on Allesandro Street

Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition, undated photo, probably from the late 1920s or early 1930s. (Click on photo to enlarge.)
All October, in anticipation of the EIR for the 2 Freeway Terminus Project, we're reviewing the neighborhood history through neighbors' photographs.
The Whitmore Stop in the photo above, was shot from the rooftop of the Holyland Exhibition at the corner of Lake View Ave. and Allesandro Way. It was the terminus of the local Edendale Line. The larger interurban trolleys were on the Glendale Line, which proceeded north, past the Holyland Exhibition and through the private right-of-way now known as the Corralitas Red Car Property.

Holyland Exhibition: Neighbors Since 1924

Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition, 1924. Lake View Ave. was a dirt road and the neighborhood; rural. All photos courtesy Holyland Exhibition. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

1931: Sidewalks but no paved roads.

1934: The building grows; still no paved road.

Pre-WWII: Offered Palestine Tours.

Post-WWII: Israel Tours

Antonio F. Futterer founded the Holyand Bible Knowledge Society in 1924. It is a non-profit, interdenominational organization. Futterer's descendants still offer tours of the Holyland Exhibition today. Futterer's photographs of the neighborhood in addition to the Holyland building (at the corner of Lake View Ave. and Allesandro Way) chronicle change since 1923.

Futterer is the author of "Eye-Ographic" bible study. After years of research in the "Bible Lands," he realized the Bible and its lands are inseparable. The Exhibition incorporates the history of the Holy Lands in their visual method of bible study with photographs, art and artifacts.

The Exhibition also kept current with the changing times in the Middle East: offering "Palestine Tours" prior to World War II and "Israel Tours" after World War II. (See photos above.)

To this day, the Holyland Exhibition has a meticulously tended garden featuring native plant species of the Holy Lands. Photos, above, illustrate how large their front yard was prior to the loss of all but 6 feet to eminent domain for freeway construction.

2 Freeway Replaced Gardens

Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition, Probably late 1920s. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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

Both undated photos, above, show the Holyland Exhibition building in the background with congregation members in a garden, which is now under the 2 Freeway.

Religious Sects Settle Around Allesandro

Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition, 1923. View from the future site of the Holyland Exhibition at Allesandro Way and Lake VIew Ave. (Click on photo to enlarge.)


Photo: Holyland Exhibition, 1923. Mr. & Mrs. Antonio Futterer on the site of the soon to be constructed Holyland Exhibition. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

This month we're reviewing the history of our neighborhood surrounding the 2 Freeway in anticipation of the EIR for State Route 2 Glendale Freeway Terminus Improvement Project.

The Edendale and Glendale Red Car Trolley lines had a stop at Whitmore and Allesandro Ave. in 1923, mule teams cleared what was left of the forest around Lake View Ave. and Allesandro Way (see photos above).

The area seemed to attract a number of religious sects. The Semi-Tropic Spiritualists incorporated in 1905 and subdivided the hillside (in the top photo) to sell the lots to their members. Fellowship Parkway, primarily a staircase street in Echo Park (just out of frame in both photos above) also seems to have been founded by a religious group. The Holyland Exhibition, founded by Antonio Futterer, still owns a number of lots on Lake View Ave., Silver Ridge Ave. and Allesandro Way. All of these groups placed a high value on the environment, planting trees and lush gardens that are still appreciated today.

Juvenile Red-Shouldered Hawk on Corralitas

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 6, 2008. Hawk at 2562 Corralitas Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Yesterday, I watched mockingbirds, sparrows and little brown birds with black pointy heads harassing a young hawk. The construction site below has been silent for months. The hawk was comfortable just hanging out on the telephone pole, while the little birds took turns screaming at him.

UPDATE: October 8, 2008. A source at the Audubon Society thinks it might be a juvenile red-shouldered hawk. I thought it looked different from the young red-tailed hawks in the neighborhood.

Check out the Audubon Center in nearby Debs Park.
Consider donating to the Ojai Raptor Center, which took in two injured red tailed hawks from Corralitas Drive.

1922: Infrastructure Already an Issue

Photo: Hunter Terrace Elysian Gardens Real Estate Brochure, excerpt, 1922. Photo on the right cannot be duplicated without stopping in the middle of the 2 Freeway, so here's a link to a close approximation. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Hunter Terrace brochure proclaims, "Big improvements are under way and contemplated, both on Allesandro Street and Riverside Drive...and there is every assurance that in a short time there will be a viaduct spanning the river at Allesandro Street." No such viaduct was ever built at Allesandro.

By 1955, the State declared eminent domain and bought out homeowners in the area for construction of the 2 and 5 Freeways.

Perhaps the most telling line of the brochure is, "Los Angeles is now estimated to have a population of over 800,000. Transportation facilities are not keeping up with its rapid growth - buy where you have good car service."

The More Things Change...

Photo: Hunter Terrace - Elysian Gardens real estate brochure, 1922. Shot from Corralitas Drive looking south toward Glendale Blvd. (Click on photo to enlarge.)


Photo: Diane Edwardson, 2004. Photo matches the one above as well as one posted earlier, shot from Corralitas Drive looking south toward Glendale Blvd. Note the 3 homes circled on Alvarado Ave. have not changed much other than a coating of stucco. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Corralitas Pits of Doom

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 1, 2008. Pits of Doom between the Corralitas Staircase and 2467 Corralitas Drive.

The Corralitas developer who gave us ugly rooftops, a collapsing staircase and an illegal billboard, now gives us Corralitas Pits of Doom.

This evening, while searching for his missing dog for an hour and a half, a neighbor discovered about a dozen 3' wide by 6' to 8' deep holes, unprotected but covered by a thin, disintegrating blue tarp. The neighbor found his dog unhurt, but scared at the bottom of one of these holes. The dog chased after his ball and stepped into a death trap. It could have easily have happened to a child or even an adult since there is no fence around the site, nor even boards covering the holes.

The tarp has been covering the hillside adjacent to the Corralitas Staircase for months. Neighbors assumed it was to keep rain from eroding the slope further last spring. No one imagined it was merely camouflaging a bunch of death traps. We've asked City Councilmember Garcetti's office to get Building & Safety to take immediate action.

UPDATE: October 2, 2008. Building & Safety inspected the site and posted an order to comply by securing the site with fencing and "protecting the excavations."

UPDATE: October 6, 2008. The Corralitas Pits of Doom appear to have been covered with plywood over the weekend.

October is 2 Freeway Month

Photo: Hunter Terrace - Elysian Gardens real estate brochure, 1922. Shot from Corralitas Drive, looking south toward Glendale Blvd. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The freeways so dominate the landscape of our neighborhood. We are grateful to the neighbors who had the forethought to take photos and save brochures of what the area looked like before and during construction of the freeways. In 1922, there were still a few remnants of the forest cut down for subdivision of the Asa Hunter Estate. (See tract map below from 1912.)

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