Central Los Angeles : Goal of Event Is to Reclaim Area’s Past

The members of the Echo Park Improvement Assn. say their community has forgotten its history: the gorgeous vineyards that once speckled the landscape, the area’s first movie studio, and the many stories of the families who have lived in Echo Park for generations.

To reclaim its past, the association is sponsoring its first Echo Park History Day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., today at Barlow Hospital, featuring talks given by local experts and a tour of the Atwater Hilltop estate, one of the largest plots of privately owned land in the vicinity.

Besides the talks and tour, the association will kick off its efforts to collect oral histories of longtime residents, as well as any photographs that the public may have from Echo Park’s past.