People
Arthur B. Benton: A Master of the Arts & Crafts Movement
Angelino Heights resident Arthur B. Benton played a major role in promoting the Arts & Crafts movement in California. He was the designer of several notable Craftsman mansions in Angelino Heights and was also credited with designing other regional landmarks, including the the Mission Inn in Riverside. Read more
Philip L. Dike: Water Colors Captured California Landscape
During the 1930s and 1940s when he lived in Elysian Heights, Dike continued to build his reputation as one of California’s most prominent water color painters and as an influential artist at Walt Disney studios. Read more
Paul Landacre: A Progressive Printmaker
Wood engraver Paul Landacre and his wife, Margaret, were part of an artistic bohemia that lived in the hills of Elysian Heights. His work was considered among the best in the nation. Read more
Estelle L. Lindsay: L.A.’s First Council Woman
Lindsay, who remained a syndicated newspaper columnist until her retirement at age 80, ran unsuccessfully for state assembly in 1912 and 1914, but won a high-profile seat on the city council in 1915, the first woman to gain major municipal political office in this country. Read more
Carey McWilliams: American Prophet
Author, lawyer and activist Carey McWilliams, who lived in Echo Park during the 1940, was a major player in progressive politics and wrote extensively on the conditions facing California farm workers. Read more
Maynard L. Parker: Focus on Mid-Century Style
Maynard L. Parker was an architectural photographer whose work appeared for much of the 20th century in House Beautiful, Architectural Digest, Sunset Magazine and many covers for the Los Angeles Times Sunday magazine. Read more
Leo Politi: An Artist of City Life & People
The prolific artist, who lived at 934 W. Edgeware Rd in Angelino Heights, was well known for his drawings and paintings of Olvera Street and the long-demolished Victorian neighborhood of Bunker Hill. His illustrations were featured in more than 20 childrens’ books. Read more
Aimee Semple: Evangelist & Entertainer
The late Sister Aimee mixed religion and entertainment to emerge as one of Los Angeles’ most powerful religious leaders during the early part of the 20th Century. Her temple and church–a national historic landmark–that sits next to Echo Park Lake continues to serve as the heart of an evangelical empire. Read more
Mack Sennett: A Film Visionary
This silent film visonary’s studio helped establish Edendale, which now is part of Echo Park and Silverlake, the heart of the region’s movie industry years before Hollywood became established. Read more
Grace E. Simons: The Defender of Elysian Park
The journalist and activist lead efforts to save Elysian Park from attempts to turn portions of the city’s second largest park into a convention center and other ill suited uses. Read more
Jake Zeitlin: Cultural Pioneer
This bookseller and art dealer opened what is considered one of Los Angeles’ first contemporary art spaces where he championed the city’s pioneering artists, including some fellow Elysian Heights residents. Read more
Room 8 Cat
This famous feline served as the mascot of Elysian Heights Elementary school for more than 15 years, winning over the hearts of students, teachers, parents and people across the nation. Read more
The Korb Family
A member of the Korb family lived in the same Victorian-era bungalow, which appeared in a popular movie, on Morton Avenue for more than 90 years. Read more
Lois Gross
Decades of Echo Park parents and their kids shopped at Gross & Horn, the children’s clothing store owned by Lois Gross and her sister. Read more
Holway Twins
Twin sisters Dorothy and Elenore Holway were witness to a period that most Echo Park history enthusiasts have only read about. Read more
Victor Segno
For $1, mentalist and publisher Victor Segno sent out “thought waves” from his School of Success, which was set atop the bluffs overlooking Echo Park Lake. Read more
Edward Middleton Manigault
A World War I veteran who exhibited in the nation’s first major exhibition of modern art, Manigualt found refuge at the top of Elysian Heights in Fellowship Park. Tragically, he starved himself to death while fasting to promote his creative energy. Read more
Palmer Morton Scott
One pioneering Echo Park family may have cornered the market on neighborhood street names. Read more
