Taix French Restaurant

Plans to redevelop Taix fail to respect the historic character and scale of Echo Park

Taix French Restaurant

The Echo Park Historical Society has serious concerns about the proposal to redevelop the Taix restaurant site, based on the most recent renderings and project description presented to the Los Angeles Department of City Planning.

The development proposal unveiled last week is substantially different from what was shared previously in briefings with members of our board. Furthermore, the EPHS has not endorsed any of the concepts for the site.

The latest proposal is far short of respecting and referencing the historic character and scale of Echo Park. It is unacceptable.

The EPHS is opposed to the current concept for the Taix site. Our organization, which is dedicated to preserving and promoting the neighborhood’s historic and cultural heritage, would like to see substantial changes to the design of the project and its relationship with surrounding buildings and vistas.

Our organization is not opposed to development and recognizes the need for housing. We welcome innovative contemporary architectural design. But these goals can be achieved in a way that is sensitive to the neighborhood, allowing for the creation of new and beloved landmarks.

The EPHS and other neighborhood groups and organizations deserve a greater voice in shaping this project, which is planned on a critical stretch of Echo Park’s business district.

In addition, the EPHS supports efforts to nominate the Taix site as a Historic-Cultural Monument. Our organization looks forward to working with our neighbors, the developer, Councilman Mitch O’Farrell and other organizations in creating a project that respects the past of Echo Park while preparing for its future.

— Echo Park Historical Society Board of Directors

 

Join us for this Saturday’s Echo Park Stairway Tour

The Echo Park Historical Society’s Stairway Walking Tour on Saturday, October 12 at 10 a.m. includes the Baxter Stairs (possibly the city’s longest) as well as Fellowship Park, Red Hill, the modernist Harwell Hamilton Harris house and the restored long lost Lautner house.

This is a modestly strenuous tour that includes one long stairway and several steep hills. The tour is two hours long and shows how these forgotten stairways don’t just link the hills to the flatlands, but the past to the present.

Building interiors are not included.

Free for members, $5 for non-members. Meet at Elysian Heights Elementary School,1562 Baxter St, Los Angeles, CA 90026. (Baxter Street and Echo Park Avenue). For more information email EPHS@HistoricEchoPark.org.

Love Echo Park history? Join us Sunday at the Echo Park Lotus Festival!

The Echo Park Historical Society will be back at Echo Park Lake on Sunday, July 14 for Day 2 of the 39th Annual Lotus Festival.

Look for our booth filled with historical photo displays just north of the lotus bed (near Glendale Boulevard and Park Avenue).

Come meet fellow members and your Echo Park neighbors. We will be there from 11 am to 5 pm.

Echo Park Lake Walking Tour

In addition to our booth, EPHS member Dave Ptach will lead an Echo Park Lake Walking Tour on Sunday, July 14. The tour begins at 10 am and leaves from our booth.

The tour includes a discussion of the origins of Echo Park Lake, a tour of the edge of Angeleno Heights, the site of the American Institute of Mentalism and Angelus Temple. We also talk about the renovations of Echo Park Lake.

This is a slightly strenuous tour with three Echo Park staircases. Building interiors are not included. (Bring a hat, water and sunscreen — it’s going to be hot!)

Free for EPHS members and $5.00 for non-members, the walking tours begin at the Echo Park Historical Society booth located inside the Lotus Festival. To RSVP email  ephs@historicechopark.org.

We are looking for a few good volunteers at the Echo Park history booth

 

 

Our booth will be filled with historic photos of Echo Park

The Lotus Festival returns to Echo Park Lake this month, and the Echo Park Historical Society will be there with a display of historic photos. Please be sure to stop by. But, better yet, please help us staff our booth, which has traditionally offered a front row seat to the blooming lotus bed.

We are seeking volunteers who can donate two or three hours of their time during on either Saturday or Sunday, July 13 & 14 .

If you can help, please send an email to ephs@HistoricEchoPark.org. Let us know what times and dates you are available.

Join the Echo Park Lake Walking Tour during this weekend’s Echo Park Lotus Festival

 

Join us for Echo Park Lake Walking Tours during the Lotus Festival on Saturday, July 13 and Sunday, July 14 at Echo Park Lake. Tours begin at 10 am on both days.

Sponsored by the Echo Park Historical Society, the tour includes a discussion of the origins of Echo Park Lake, a tour of the edge of Angeleno Heights, the site of the American Institute of Mentalism and Angelus Temple. We also talk about the renovations of Echo Park Lake.

This is a slightly strenuous tour with three Echo Park staircases. Building interiors are not included.

Free for EPHS members and $5.00 for non-members, the walking tours begin at the Echo Park Historical Society booth located inside the Lotus Festival. To RSVP email  ephs@historicechopark.org.

Love Echo Park history? Then volunteer at the Echo Park history booth during the Lotus Festival

Lady of the Lake

The Lotus Festival returns to Echo Park Lake this month, and the Echo Park Historical Society will be there with a display of historic photos. Please be sure to stop by. But, better yet, please help us staff our booth, which has traditionally offered a front row seat to the blooming lotus bed.

We are seeking volunteers who can donate two or three hours of their time during on either Saturday or Sunday, July 13 & 14 .

If you can help, please send an email to ephs@HistoricEchoPark.org. Let us know what times and dates you are available.

Take the Echo Park Lake Walking Tour during the Echo Park Lotus Festival

Join us for Echo Park Lake Walking Tours during the Lotus Festival, 10 am Saturday, July 13 and Sunday, July 14 at Echo Park Lake, 751 Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90026Sponsored by the Echo Park Historical Society, the tour includes a discussion of the origins of Echo Park Lake, a tour of the edge of Angeleno Heights, the site of the American Institute of Mentalism and Angelus Temple. We also talk about the recent renovations of Echo Park Lake. This is a slightly strenuous tour with three Echo Park staircases. Building interiors are not included. Free for EPHS members and $5.00 for non-members, the walking tours begin at the Echo Park Historical Society booth located inside the Lotus Festival. To RSVP email  ephs@historicechopark.org.

Meeting Reminder: Find out how the Mills Act may save you money on your historic property

The Echo Park Historical Society will present a brief introduction to the Mills Act program for owners of historically significant properties during our quarterly meeting on April 24.

A representative from the Los Angeles County Assessor’s office will provide an overview on how the program works. The Mills Act is the single most important economic incentive program in California for the restoration and preservation of qualified historic buildings by private property owners.

Learn more about the Mills Act during the Echo Park Historical Society’s quarterly meeting at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, April 24 at Echo Park Branch Library, 1410 W. Temple St.

For more information contact us at ephs@HistoricEchoPark.org

Mills Act 2019–Echo Park Historical Society

Own a historic property? Learn how the Mills Act may save you money

The Echo Park Historical Society will present a brief introduction to the Mills Act program for owners of historically significant properties during our quarterly meeting on April 24.

A representative from the Los Angeles County Assessor’s office will provide an overview on how the program works. The Mills Act is the single most important economic incentive program in California for the restoration and preservation of qualified historic buildings by private property owners.

Learn more about the Mills Act during the Echo Park Historical Society’s quarterly meeting at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, April 24 at Echo Park Branch Library, 1410 W. Temple St.

For more information contact us at ephs@HistoricEchoPark.org

Mills Act 2019–Echo Park Historical Society

Join us for the Echo Park Stairway Walking Tour on Saturday, April 13

The Echo Park Historical Society’s Stairway Walking Tour on Saturday, April 13 at 10 a.m. includes the Baxter Stairs (possibly the city’s longest) as well as Fellowship Park, Red Hill, the modernist Harwell Hamilton Harris house and the restored long lost Lautner house.

This is a modestly strenuous tour that includes one long stairway and several steep hills. The tour is two hours long and shows how these forgotten stairways don’t just link the hills to the flatlands, but the past to the present.Building interiors are not included. Free for members, $5 for non-members.

Meet at Elysian Heights Elementary School,1562 Baxter St, Los Angeles, CA 90026. (Baxter Street and Echo Park Avenue). For more information email historicechopark@gmail.com.