A heartwarming tale of stealing the right thing
By Los Angeles standards, Echo Park Lake is old. Completed in 1870 as a reservoir, it was converted into a recreational lake in 1892. Landscape architect Joseph Henry Tomlinson planted the shores with large swaths of lawn, willows, and California fan palms and designed a pathway that follows the water’s edge. Old-timey photos show park visitors throwing a line out in hopes of catching a fish.
By 1920, lotuses had made an appearance in the lake and quickly flourished. In July 1980, the annual Lotus Festival was launched. Over the next few decades, hundreds of thousands of people from around the world came to see the floating blossoms, said to be the biggest display of lotuses on the planet. But by about 2006, the cherished flower was showing signs of decline. In 2008, the LA Times reported there were just “twelve tattered leaves” remaining. Many reasons were given to try to explain their heartbreaking disappearance. Few knew that in 2005, a Los Angeles gardener, enchanted by the flowers, had furtively cut off a stalk of tubers and tucked it away in his car.
Info
Address Echo Park, 751 N Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90026, +1 213.481.8577, www.laparks.org/dos/aquatic/facility/echoParkPaddle.htm | Getting there Paid lot behind Sunset Boulevard between Logan and LeMoyne Streets; unmetered street parking | Hours Daily 9am–1/2 hour before sunset; closed Thanksgiving & Christmas| Tip Stop in to the lakeside cafe, Square One at the Boathouse for lunch or breakfast and choose from a family-friendly menu that emphasizes farm-fresh and organic ingredients.
While many smart people put their heads together to figure out how to bring back the now iconic flower, the thief had propagated his booty successfully and was selling the aquatic plants. Rumor of his lotus mongering got out. He was approached by a representative of the landscaping company charged with restoring the lotuses to the lake. The flower robber fessed up and now, Echo Park Lake has the same blooms it did in 1920. You’ll find the thin stalks, at times soaring up to five feet high and topped with thick white and pink petals, stretching out of a carpet of large, cuplike leaves. Spread across the pond, their beauty hits you like a sucker punch.
Today, you can enjoy the lotuses up close by taking a ride on the shimmering lake – which also offers a lovely view of Downtown LA – in a pedal boat, canoe, or gondola.
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