While walking through Echo Park, one can quickly deduce that a rapidly growing diverse group of people call this community their home. During our walk through the various neighborhoods within Echo Park, we came across people of various backgrounds such as Caucasian, Latino, African-American, Asian, and Middle Eastern. Some of these "insiders" had been living in this community for generations (for example: Peter Shire, a local artist and his family) while others were new residents or immigrants from another country.
When asked to give reasons why her and her husband remain living in Echo Park, Donna, Peter's wife, praised its central location in Los Angeles and their ability to get anywhere fairly quickly, for example the beach, Pasadena, and Downtown L.A. True to her explanation, the community of Echo Park is surrounded by 3 major freeways (the 2, 101 and 110) and bisected by Sunset Blvd, which reaches from Downtown to Malibu Beach. A young college student we interviewed in the library explained that he loved living there because of the night life at local clubs and bars like "The Echo" and "Barragan's Cantina," but also expressed how he would ultimately like to move to a "nicer and safer" neighborhood.
Local graffiti clean up crew
The youngest person we interviewed was Miguel, a 12 year old resident who took part of a graffiti clean up crew during the summer vacation months. His favorite things about Echo Park included the Echo Park Lake, the community pools, how his friends lived nearby and the restaurants. He mentioned that some of the things he disliked about his neighborhood were some of the dirty streets, the tagged walls and dark alleys where "gang members hang out."
All Echo Park residents expressed a deep satisfaction with their community and its available resources, restaurants, and recreational activities despite a sense of danger at night due to gangs who reside in the area. Although still a concern, violent activity in Echo Park has significantly decreased, according to a local law enforcement agent who spoke to us on our second visit. Ultimately, local "insiders" love their community because of its history, the diversity of the people who reside there and all day and nighttime activities available.
Video of local, Tupac Zapata, as he explores Echo Park Lake
Video of local, Tupac Zapata, as he explores Echo Park Lake
Links to some of the places locals enjoy:
City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks (Echo Deep Pool)
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