Corralitas Drive: Swingin' Grim Reaper

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 28, 2010. Happy Halloween. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Rose Scharlin: Halloween Hullabaloo

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 30, 2010. It didn't take much overnight rain to bring Lake Red Car back to life. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Rose Scharlin Co-op Nursery School will be using the Red Car Property tonight for their Halloween Hullabaloo fundraiser. The vernal pool, Lake Red Car, is adjacent to Rose Scharlin. If you're parking back there, wear your rainboots and PLEASE drive carefully. You are driving down the Red Car Property, where people walk their kids and dogs.

Corralitas Drive: Zombie Baboon Wants His Heart Back

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 15, 2010. Zombie baboons are bursting out of the ground at the Corralitas Insane Asylum. You need a need a zone change to operate an animal research lab in an R2 zone. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Corralitas Drive: Insane Asylum

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 13, 2010. An insane asylum is not allowed under R2 zoning. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

As with everything R2, it's open to interpretation whether group homes of 6 or more are allowed. The City is currently reviewing standards for R1 and RD zones.

Corralitas Drive: Killer Vines

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 25, 2010. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Silver Ridge Ave: Skull Manor

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 17, 2010. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Property: Fatal Coyote Attack Confirmed

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 24, 2010. Arrow indicates approximate location of the coyote attack was on the Lake View side of Red Car Canyon. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

This afternoon, a Riverside Place neighbor called and confirmed he witnessed the fatal coyote attack on a Fox Terrier on Saturday, around 4 PM. He said the blood curdling yelp of the dog was something he'd never forget. He described a very large coyote running off when the owner and his two large dogs ran up the hill after the small dog.

Coyotes don't just hunt at night. I've seen more coyotes around 10 AM, than any other time of day. We have a history of very large healthy coyotes in this neighborhood.

Coyotes will also hunt in packs. A few years ago, there was a pack of three of the largest coyotes I have ever seen, stalking me and my decrepit old 45lb (on-leash) dog. They also stalked a 6'3" tall neighbor with his three 100-lb dogs (on-leash) in the canyon. The coyotes were known to have a den near the canyon on Lake View.

The same three coyotes were seen routinely stalking mid-sized, off-leash dogs, using the parked cars for cover - day and night. One coyote would lure the dog close then at the last minute the other two would run out from between the parked cars. Luckily the owners were quick to chase off the coyotes and recall their dogs.

Keep your dogs on a leash. Do not leave your small dogs in your yard unattended.

For more info on living with coyotes, see the City's Animal Services Website.

See all our coyote posts.

Rick's Has A Spider Problem

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 24, 2010. Perhaps that's the last health code inspector hanging from the ceiling. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Disclaimer: I love Rick's. I've been eating there for 20 years. Family owned, Rick's has good food, excellent value, friendly staff and is always festive. They also have some photos of the historic Red Car Viaduct hanging on their walls. Rick's is at the corner of Riverside and Fletcher.

Giant Spiders Infest Red Car Neighborhood

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 15, 2010. This Corralitas Drive house beats the large spider on Riverside Place and giant Praying Mantis up the street. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Canyon: COYOTE ALERT!

Photo: C. Weir, October 25, 2010. Saturday, a coyote killed a dog in Red Car Canyon where it opens into the meadow. (Click on photo to read the text of the notice.)

This is not a Halloween post, but a reminder of the very real dangers of walking your dog off leash. Our sincere condolences go out to the owners of the toy fox terrier killed in Red Car Canyon on Saturday. Thank you for posting this notice in the canyon on the poop bag tree.

The steep banks and dense brush in the canyon provide excellent cover for a coyote. The lighting conditions in the canyon also give the smart predator an advantage. See our coyote post from July for photos of a coyote in Red Car Canyon.

See all our coyote posts.

Please keep your dogs on a leash. If you encounter a coyote, yell, make yourself larger, take an aggressive posture, wave your arms, throw rocks or sticks at it. We need to make coyotes afraid of people. NEVER let your dog chase a coyote.

Keep your trashcans covered, even if empty. If your trash or recycle bins have cracks or are broken , they are attracting rats, raccoons and coyotes. Call 311 and ask to have them replaced. You will need the serial number off of the trashcan.

Death Comes To Corralitas Drive

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 10, 2010. But then, when you live next to a freeway... (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Corralitas Cemetery

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 15, 2010. I'm pretty sure a cemetery wasn't grandfathered in when the City zoned the neighborhood R2. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Corralitas Drive: A Cemetery Is Not Allowed Under R2 Zoning

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 15, 2010.

Riverside Drive: Rock & Roll Half Marathon Sunday, October 24

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 22, 2010. No parking on Riverside Drive, north of Fletcher, between 1 AM and 4 PM, Sunday. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Rock & Roll Half Marathon will be wreaking havoc on parking and driving around Griffith Park, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Atwater, Echo Park and Downtown this Sunday. It would seem the appropriate time for a rock & roll marathon would be after dark, not at the crack of dawn on Sunday. Bands will be playing at every mile marker, including Riverside Drive near Fletcher.

Video preview of the course: The Eastsider

Plan ahead: route & road closures

Red Car Property: Trashcans at India St.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 15, 2010. Trashcans seem to be a permanent fixture on the Red Car Property at India St. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

These trashcans belong to homes that have Riverside Drive addresses that back up into the Red Car Property. So it's easier to walk a few hundred feet on semi-flat land to take out the trash, than to bother wheeling the trashcans in and out for trash day. People wonder why the Red Car Property becomes a dumping ground?

New Construction: Shouldn't The City Require Trashcan Concealment?

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 3, 2010. It may be taking forever to complete 2316 Silver Ridge, but their trashcans are concealed. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

In older hillside neighborhoods, trashcans often stay in the street or sidewalks long past trash day. Lack of space in garages, driveways and sideyards are usually the reasons for the ever present trashcans. In the 1990s, the City gave us 3 giant bins for every home. In an R2-zoned neighborhood like ours, which is primarily already existing duplexes, there simply isn't enough room for all the bins.

Remarkably, the City does not require developers in Hillside areas to build a concealed area for trashcans in new development. Nor do they even require it in small-lot subdivision, where developers are allowed reduced parking and setback requirements. Trashcan politics may seem trivial, but in tough economic times, first impressions count with home values.

Despite the lack of a requirement, faced with the challenging lot at this corner of Silver Ridge and Lake View, someone took pride in workmanship and created an large enough containment area for the three trashcans. Kudos!

Read more about small-lot subdivision and the lack of parking and trashcan space in The Eastsider.

2562 Corralitas Drive: Stalled Development Update

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 17, 2010. 2562 Corralitas Drive as seen from the Red Car Property. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

A developer broke ground for this house in February 2007. Neighbors on the narrowest part of Corralitas have endured years of stalled development. It may be closer to completion as they seem to be pouring concrete again Monday.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 17, 2010. When did this become acceptable plumbing on the side of a house? (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Developers wonder why neighborhood groups scrutinize plans for little things like rooftop equipment screening, trashcans and now, we have to review plumbing hookups?! Come on, developers and contractors: take some pride in workmanship!

Click here for all our 2562 Corralitas Drive posts.

2467 Corralitas Drive: It Will Always Be Known As The Corralitas Pits Of Doom*

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 17, 2010. The Corralitas Pits of Doom were filled in last week. Lets hope they clean up the trash as quickly as they filled in the pits. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

* 5:45 PM, UPDATE: One of the original developers responsible for the Corralitas Pits of Doom, Albert Y.M. Huang, mayor of the City of San Gabriel, resigned as mayor. He was arrested for assault and purse snatching last Friday.

I met Huang on site and talked to him a number of times in 2006 when they broke ground on the Pits of Doom. My concern was the preservation of the Corralitas Public Staircase since it was already in bad shape before they broke ground.

At the time, unaware of my community leadership, Huang boasted of his connection to City Councilmember Eric Garcetti and that he planned to landscape the triangular portion of vacant lot below the Corralitas Public Staircase because it would enhance the value of 2463 & 2467 Corraltias Drive.

Unfinished homes, ugly rooftops, graffiti, illegal billboard and the Pits of Doom, thanks for improving our neighborhood.

See all our Corralitas Pits of Doom posts.

Corralitas Drive: Praying Mantis

Photo: Corralitas Neighbor, October 17, 2010. A very large Praying Mantis took shelter from the rain in the door frame of a new house on Corralitas. (Click on photo enlarge and see her making eye contact with the photographer.) 
Saturday, at least three neighbors observed this Praying Mantis posing upside down on the side of a new house on Corralitas Drive. She is still hanging around as of today. Her body was about 4 inches long. One neighbor remarked, "she looks just like a dead leaf." Indeed, this predator uses its remarkable camouflage to lie in wait for unsuspecting insect prey.
Learn more about Praying Mantis on Bug Guide. 
October 19, 2010, UPDATE: This Praying Mantis is indeed clever. When she was hangs on the side of the house, she fully extends her body, legs and wings (that looked like leaves), so she appeared to be about 4 inches long. This morning, I observed her tucked up into the door frame, making herself small; she was about 3 inches long.

Lake View & Silver Ridge: Guard Zebra

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 10, 2010. It's hard to stay mad at endless construction that sports a guard zebra. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

2316 Silver Ridge: Stalled Development Update

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 10, 2010. Since construction began more than 5 years ago, some progress is better than none. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

See post: August 15, 2009

Corralitas Pits of Doom: Actual Progress!

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 10, 2010. Last week, a big pile of rocks was delivered to 2463 & 2467 Corralitas Drive and soil compaction began. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Almost exactly two years since a neighbor accidentally discovered the Corralitas Pits of Doom, work began to backfill and compact soil and finish the retaining walls at 2463 & 2467 Corralitas Drive. While construction of the homes began in August 2006, the Corralitas Pits of Doom had no protective covering since spring 2008. The neighbor discovered his dog in the bottom of a pit in October 2008. Luckily the dog was unhurt.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 13, 2010. Concrete was poured into a drainage swale and the retaining wall.

For the past two years, we documented the lack of action on the Pits of Doom, sending routine updates to CD13. This was an enormous failing of Building & Safety to do their job and protect the public from falling into the Pits of Doom from the uneven Corralitas Public Staircase.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 14, 2010. Soil compaction continued. Two weeks ago, there was still a good 12-foot drop from the Corralitas Public Staircase into the Pits of Doom (where these workers are standing).

Now, if Building & Safety would only enforce the rule on shielding rooftop equipment in Hillside Areas...see Ugly Rooftop Watch.

See all our Corralitas Pits of Doom posts.

Corralitas Drive: Neighborhood Watch

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 14, 2010. A discarded syringe lies a few feet from the sidewalk on Corralitas Drive adjacent to the 2 Freeway. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The allure of Corralitas Drive is its isolation from through streets. It also attracts dumping, graffiti vandalism, drug use and people having sex in vehicles. Be forewarned: the neighbors here will confront you and call the police if you are engaging is such activity here.

Lake View Ave: Please Repave

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 10, 2010. When the duplexes (above) were under construction in the 1980s, Lake View Ave. was already in dire need of repaving. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The City will use the budget as an excuse. How many boom & bust cycles have we gone through in the past 25 years?

Lake View Ave: Not A Walkable Sidewalk

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 10, 2010. In many older hillside neighborhoods, the sidewalk becomes the only place for trashcan storage. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Historic Viaduct Footings: A Magnet For Guerrilla Art

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 2005. The historic viaduct footings have always been a magnet for graffiti and guerrilla art. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

A commenter on The Eastsider's story, The frustrating job of protecting LA's history, referenced past guerrilla art on the viaduct footings. The following is a brief account of the TV art the commenter refers to.

Back around Christmas 2004, some TVs with alternate messages appeared on the historic viaduct footings. At first neighbors were bemused and applauded the witty commentary. As the weeds dried and the the months dragged on, neighbors grew increasingly weary of the guerrilla art that never seemed to go away and became an eyesore. The TVs became magnets for graffiti and other vandalism.

As brush clearance time came and went; the TVs remained. The City said the TVs were toxic waste and had to be disposed of properly. However, since the TVs were not a wooden structure built on a historic landmark in the VHFHSZ, that has to be cut apart with power tools, the TV guerrilla art was more easily removed. The TVs were removed about a year later (far too long for many neighbors' tastes).

The TVs continued to pop up periodically until someone started a guerrilla garden a few years ago. Even the guerrilla garden has been called into question because it too alters the historic landmark.

Click here for all our posts on the current guerrilla art/unpermitted alterations of the Historic Landmark Red Car Viaduct Footings.

Lake View Ave: Recycling

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 10, 2010. Fence on Lake View Ave. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Property: LA Frontrunners

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 9, 2010. LA Frontrunners stopped for refreshments on the Red Car Property. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Canyon: Recycling

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 1, 2010. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

How Many Times Do We Have To Say It?

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 1, 2010. Red Car Canyon. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Be a good neighbor. Pick up after your dogs, no matter where they poop, and throw it in a trashcan.

Neighbors stock a supply of plastic bags (above) in the canyon - do not throw the poop in this bag. Take the bagged poop to a trashcan. There are certainly lots of trashcans on our neighborhood streets

Corralitas Public Staircase: Tourists

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 3, 2010. The Corralitas Pits of Doom substitute for the Grand Canyon for these hardy urban hikers. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Last weekend, I encountered two groups of tourists on the Corralitas Public Staircase. One group was following a route from Silver Lake resident, Charles Fleming's book, Secret Stairs, A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles.

The second group (pictured above), outfitted with backpacks and climbing poles, was training for the Grand Canyon.

Click here for all our public staircase posts.

Click here for all the Corralitas Pits of Doom posts.

Currie's Ice Cream Shop: 1942

Photo: Bruce Wojcik, 1942. The Red Car Trolley crossed the Fletcher Viaduct, above Currie's Ice Cream Shop at Riverside & Fletcher Drives. (Click on photo to enlarge to see the giant ice cream cone on the corner.)

For years, I've had numerous requests from people who grew up in the area, for photos of Currie's Ice Cream Shop, "Home of the Mile-High Cone." Everyone had fond memories of riding the Red Car and having ice cream at Currie's. The type of email I receive on Curries is similar to the comments found on a 2006 post on The Peopletron Focus.

I am grateful to Richard Wojcik, who emailed his brother's 1942 photo of Currie's with a Red Car Trolley crossing the Fletcher Viaduct. Wojcik discovered us through Los Angeles Historian Photoblog.

HOME Restaurant (previously, Rudolpho's) now sits on the former site of Currie's at the corner of Fletcher and Riverside Drives.

Click here for all our historic Red Car Viaduct posts.

Click here for all our neighborhood history posts.

If you have old family photos of the Red Car Neighborhood (see map), please share them with us: redcarproperty@gmail.com.

Riverside & Fletcher: Twilight

Photo: Mynameismobydick/Flickr, September 25, 2010. A reader sent a link to his photos, shot atop the historic landmark Red Car Trolley viaduct footings. At least you can't see the unpermitted alterations in the dark. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Historic Viaduct Footings: Unpermitted Alterations Remain

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 2, 2010. The City notice to remove rubbish from would include the unpermitted combustible structure on the historic viaduct footings. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

More than seven months ago, unpermitted alterations began to the Red Car Viaduct Footings, (City of Los Angeles Cultural Historic Landmark #770). The City gave notice to remove the unpermitted alterations on June 20, 2010, but then failed to remove the structure.

Despite routine reminders to City Council President Eric Garcetti's office (CD13), the structure remains an eyesore and a fire hazard. Silver Lake Deputy Ryan Carpio failed to respond to several email reminders in the past month. But then, what's one more piece of crap to look at when you have power lines, ugly rooftops, major commuter streets and the 5 Freeway to clutter the view.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 2, 2010. Unpermitted alterations stand about 20' high atop the much abused historic landmark at Riverside & Fletcher. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

See all our posts on the unpermitted alterations.

The Eastsider has covered the alterations too.

Red Car Property: Beware of Dogs

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 2, 2010. Last weekend, several hikers and their dogs encountered a roving pack of vicious, intact (not neutered), male Chihuahuas north of India St. on the Red Car Property. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Backwards Beekeeping

Photo: Shawnda Thomas Faveau, summer 2010. Sunflower and bee on Corralitas Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Bees seem to be thriving in the Red Car Neighborhood due, in part, to neighbors planting flowers and sustainable beekeeping. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Learn more about backyard beekeeping and see Red Car Property neighbors, Russel & Amy, harvest honey in their backyard on Backwards Beekeepers.

Corralitas Drive: Metamorphosis

Photo: Shawnda Thomas Faveau, summer 2010. Passion Flower Vines in Shawnda's yard host scaring looking caterpillars. The caterpillars are welcome guests as they turn into butterflies. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Shawnda Thomas Faveau, summer 2010. A Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) drys out its wings, after emerging from its chrysalis. The underside of the wings have a distinct brown and white pattern.


Photo: Shawnda Thomas Faveau, summer 2010. A Gulf Fritillary shows off its completely different markings on the topside its wings, while resting on a Passion Flower Vine.

Read more about Gulf Fritillaries on BugGuide.

Corralitas Drive: Popular Telephone Pole

Photo: Shawnda Thomas Faveau, September 14, 2010. No wonder the hawks like this telephone pole. (click on photo to enlarge.)

Corralitas Drive: Baby Gopher Snake

Photo: Shawnda Thomas Faveau, summer 2010. In May this year, there were a rash of snake sightings near the Corralitas Public Staircase. Shawnda captured this image of baby Gopher Snake in her yard. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Canyon: Dead Skunk Alert

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 1, 2010. Keep your dogs on a leash if you don't want them rolling in dead skunk in Red Car Canyon. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

It looks like a dog killed a small young skunk in the canyon between Lake View & Corralitas. The back of its neck had clearly been attacked by a larger animal. Coyotes usually don't kill skunks. Another dog left a tennis ball with the skunk as if to entice it to get up and play.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 1, 2010. The tail of another skunk, killed a few months ago, appears to have been a chew toy for dog. This skunk's final resting place was about 50' away from its tail. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Corralitas Drive: Elusive Hawks

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 30, 2010, 9:34 AM. I heard a hawk calling to be fed as it landed in my neighbor's tree. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 30, 2010. Sadly, the light and distance kept me from getting a good shot or even identify the bird before it flew off toward the Red Car Property.

Regular readers are familiar with my ongoing quest to document our elusive neighborhood hawks. If you have wildlife photos or video shot in the Red Car Property neighborhood, please send them to us: redcarproperty@gmail.com.