Echo Park Lake

Established in 1892, Echo Park was designed by landscape architect and Department of Parks superintendent Joseph Henry Tomlinson. Soon after opening, it became a popular Los Angeles destination for boating, picnics, and other recreation. As the city grew rapidly in the late 1800's, Los Angeles undertook a number of waterworks projects, including Reservoir Number 4, completed in 1870, which was converted into Echo Park Lake in 1892 to meet the need for more public parks. The park's picturesque landscape featured open lawns, groves of trees, and winding pathways along the lake's edge, and it took its name from an echo heard across the arroyo where the park is located. The existing boathouse on the lake's east side was built in 1932 with unemployment relief bond funding during the Great Depression, and the lake's iconic fountain was installed in 1984 as part of the city's hosting of the Olympic Games. Echo Park was declared City of Los Angeles Cultural Monument Number 836 in 2006 after its grounds and lake were nominated by the Echo Park Historical Society. The Lady of the Lake statue, officially titled "Nuestra Reina de Los Angeles," was designed in 1934 by California-born artist Ada May Sharpless through a federal Works Progress Administration public art project, and after being moved near the boathouse in the 1990s, it now stands again at its original location on the peninsula.

Los Angeles, California · United States