Echo Park’s picturesque lake
BOUNDARIES: Alvarado St., Sunset Blvd., Bellevue Ave.
DISTANCE: About 2 miles
DIFFICULTY: Moderate (includes stairways)
PARKING: Free street parking is available on Clinton St. Please pay attention to posted signs.
Immediately northwest of downtown LA, this hilly district features some gorgeous homes, many with excellent views, and is convenient to many of the modish shopping and dining destinations that have popped up in the area, particularly along Sunset and Silver Lake Boulevards. Echo Park itself is also a draw; its picturesque lake is a convenient community gathering place and a distinctive focal point. Perhaps the most fascinating features of this neighborhood—the gorgeous Victorian homes of Angelino Heights—stand on a hill just east of Echo Park Lake.
Begin at the intersection of Clinton Street and Belmont Avenue, where Clinton Street ends east of Alvarado Street. Turn right to head south on Belmont. You’ll pass a stairway at the end of Clinton, which leads down toward Echo Park Lake.
At the intersection of Bellevue Avenue, turn left to follow the sidewalk that takes you to the steps leading down to Glendale Boulevard. The walkway, formerly marred by graffiti and litter, is nicely trimmed with bougainvillea and palm trees. Cross Glendale Boulevard at the bottom of the steps.
Once across the street, follow the pathway on your left down into 
Echo Park, and then bear right to continue on the path along the south end of the lake. Echo Park is a vibrant and scenic community center with a heavy Latino cultural influence; you may see a paleta (ice pop) salesman circling the lake with his cart. Mothers push strollers along the path, as kids take the paddleboats out for a ride and older gentlemen cast fishing lines out into the placid green water. At the far end of the lake, several jets of water spray high into the air. Continue to follow the path up the east side of the lake, parallel to Echo Park Avenue.
Back Story: LA’s Victorian Suburb
Before it was declared LA’s very first Historic Preservation Overlay Zone in 1983, Angelino Heights had survived boom and bust. Developers William W. Stilson and Everett E. Hall created this residential subdivision in 1886 as one of the city’s first suburbs—a unique housing tract composed of ornate Queen Anne and Eastlake Victorian homes that was conveniently located on the outskirts of the then-bustling downtown area. Unfortunately, a banking recession in 1888 put a stop to the development, leaving about 50 of these amazing homes to admire today; most of them are concentrated on Carroll and Kellam Avenues. The 1300 block of Carroll Avenue is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its heavy concentration of Victorians, most of which have been lovingly restored and maintained by the current owners.
Kensington Road, which borders this timeless Victorian oasis, came to be populated with distinguished Craftsman houses during a second wave of development in the early 1900s. As a result, Angelino Heights now offers a rare selection of finely constructed, beautiful homes and a combination of architectural styles not found elsewhere in Los Angeles.
When you reach the paddleboat rental area, about halfway up the east side of the lake, follow the stairs on your right out of the park, and cross Echo Park Avenue at the crosswalk.
Continue on Laguna Avenue, heading northeast, and pass a church on your left. This is a modest residential street populated mostly by older apartment buildings.
Ascend the Crosby Place stairway on your right (opposite 867 Laguna Ave.). The concrete steps are heavily coated in graffiti and bordered by overgrowth, but this vantage point affords a great view of the lake behind you. At the top of the steps, continue straight on Crosby Place. A striking gray Colonial Revival duplex sits on the southwest corner of Crosby Place and West Kensington Road. This is the first of many architecturally fascinating homes you will encounter as you continue on your walk through Angelino Heights.
Turn left on West Kensington Road. Another charming Colonial Revival home sits at 1005 W. Kensington. In stark contrast, a deep-orange, Spanish-style apartment building with a cactus garden in the front is right next door. Continue on West Kensington Road as it curves to the right, crossing Laveta Terrace. The houses on this street become larger and more elaborate as you head farther uphill; many of the Craftsmans date back to the early 1900s. The first Victorian you encounter, at 892 W. Kensington Road, looks incongruous among the many Craftsman and Colonial Revival homes.
A Victorian beauty in Angelino Heights
Turn right on Douglas Street and continue about two blocks to Edgeware Road. A somber Victorian, heavily shrouded by trees, on the southwest corner of Douglas and West Edgeware, has the look of a haunted house.
Turn left on East Edgeware Road. This street features a few historical Craftsman and Colonial Revival homes scattered among the mostly run-down apartment buildings that were built later in the 20th century. As the road curves south, a view of the nearby downtown skyscrapers opens up ahead.
Turn right on Carroll Avenue, where you’ll be transported into another era. Developed as a suburban housing tract for downtown professionals in the 1880s, the Queen Anne and Eastlake Victorian homes along the 1300 block of Carroll have been immaculately restored and maintained thanks to a devoted preservation effort, and they’re now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The juxtaposition of these intricately ornamented homes and the sleek downtown high-rises that lie immediately beyond is a sight to see. This street makes an excellent Halloween destination, as nearly all of the residents get into the spirit by decking out their old-fashioned homes with giant spider webs and hanging dummies. It makes sense, after all, that Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video was filmed here, at 1345 Carroll Ave.
At the end of Carroll Avenue, turn left on West Edgeware Road, where the quality and maintenance of the residences become more quaint. Head downhill toward noisy US 101.
Turn right on Bellevue Avenue, which runs parallel to the freeway. You also pass Echo Park Lake again, on your right.
Cross Glendale Boulevard at the signal, and then turn right on the other side to head toward the Clinton Street stairway you passed at the start of your walk. This is the second of three stairways along this block (the first was the Bellevue Avenue stairway you descended earlier).
A spook-tacularly decorated Victorian
Ascend the Clinton Street steps, a double stairway that leads back to the junction of Clinton Street and Belmont Avenue, where you began your journey.
Echo Park and Angelino Heights
Point of Interest
Echo Park and Echo Park Lake 751 Echo Park Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90026; 213-847-0929
