President's Corner

     Sometimes it seems as if the EPHS has nothing but preservation battles on its agenda. Whether it's convincing the city bureaucracy to protect and respect Echo Park's historic character or trying to talk a neighbor out of stuccoing their wood-shingled bungalow, preservation demands much of our time and energy.

 So it's relatively easy to forget that we are also a "historical society", devoted to researching and raising awareness of Echo Park's rich and interesting past.

     In order to make sure we don't lose sight of that part of our mission, I've asked Danny Muñoz, our newest board member, to become our point person on historical research and archives.

     A longtime Echo Park resident and founding member of the EPHS, Danny returns to the board with an ambitious set of goals: identify research topics, organize our document and photo archives, set up seminars on historic research and maintain relationships with other historical societies.

     Danny will also host our new monthly "History Happy Hour" at Barragan's Mexican Restaurant, 1538 Sunset Blvd. The gatherings, held at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of the month, will be a place for Echo Park history fans to share new findings and volunteer research in a casual surrounding.

     The change in leadership means that Isa-Kae Meksin is leaving the board. Isa remains as active as ever, however, helping to promote our display at our local post office and making research connections with the Huntington Library.

     And don't mistake our renewed emphasis on history as a sign we are going to retreat from fighting for our neighborhood. The EPHS been very active recently in seeking changes to the proposed Echo Park - Silver Lake Community Plan to make it more sensitive and less threatening to our neighborhood's historic character. We are also working to form the first Preservation Summit for Northeast Los Angeles.

     If anything, researching and raising awareness of our past will only help us convince others that our neighborhood's structures are worthy of respect and preservation. So, I hope to see you at one of our upcoming History Happy Hours at Barragan's. I'm buying the first round. Of nachos.