In this entry of the Los Angeles neighborhood blog, we will cover Elysian Valley. To vote for a neighborhood, go here. To vote for a Los Angeles County community go here. To vote for Orange County communities, go here.
Pendersleigh & Sons' Official Maps of the Mideast Side and Elysian Valley
Elysian Valley is a small working class neighborhood in LA's Mideast Side, bordered by Fletcher to the north, the 5 freeway to the west and south, and the LA river to the east and south. It's surrounded by Elysian Park, Silver Lake, and Elysian Heights and, across the river, Atwater Village, Glassell Park and Cypress Park.
Elysium, in the Greek religion, was the part of the Underworld reserved for heroes. It includes the Elysian Plains and the Elysian Fields. Elysian Valley, however, is mostly populated by Latinos and Asians, both heroic and not. The demographic of the neighborhood is roughly 61% Latino, 26% Asian and 10% white.
The neighborhood is fairly green and lush. Although many homes sit on dirt yards, the streets are lined with trees and the LA River that borders it is almost like a jungle. At any time of the day, there are people fishing its waters, although orange foam makes me wonder if that's such a good idea. There are abundant carp, ducks, cormorants, herons and the occasional crawdaddy.
The neighborhood is a mix of residential and industrial. There are no commercial spaces in the neighborhood's interior aside from one market, the Lovely Service Market. On the northern border there are a few places along Fletcher including Altamirano Records and Mazda Miata Specialist. When the 5 was constructed in the 1950s, many residents of Elysian Valley were displaced and the commercial corridor that helped the neighborhood thrive in the 1930s withered and died. There is a sliver of the old main drag along Riverside, which is home to Won's Market, Paramount Pest Control, Rick's Drive-In, Warren Animal Hospital and Coco's.
The Dorris Place Elementary School has appeared in several movies, television shows, and commercials including High School High, an Aflac Insurance ad, an episode of Cold Case, the 2003 version of Freaky Friday and the short film, First Days. "'Neath the hills of Elysian, stands an honored place..."
The community was first known as Gopher Flats around 1900, when it was established for railroad workers. It got its nickname of Frogtown in the 1930s. Back before the river was flood controlled, there were thousand of Western Toads (not frogs) that invaded the neighborhood, with the last wave occuring in the 1970s. In the same decade, the name Frogtown ended up becoming associated with the local gang, Frogtown, who then numbered 3,000 members. The graffiti suggests they're much diminished now, with most of the heavy tagging done by Echo Park gangs.
Currently the neighborhood has, despite its proximity to downtown and the 5, an almost post-apocalyptic character. Crumbling industrial buildings are surrounded by razor wire with shredded plastic garbage caught on the spike and lush flora sprouts up amongst the decaying garbage and industrial ruins.
Heavily tagged, abandoned cars sit on sleepy streets with their doors left open. In fact, it seems like Frogtown's one of the most heavily tagged neighborhoods in the city, although there are officially sanctioned murals too. Each August, the small arts scene puts on The Frogtown Artwalk. Celebrity artist Shepard Fairey, has an art studio in a building near Worthen and Ripple.
At night, it's very dark, with very few street lights. With few through streets, it's almost all dead ends, and I've known people to get stuck up over there by knuckleheads with nothing better to do. The buildings above were painted in 1978 by Juvenile Hall inmates.
There are a couple of parks. Marsh Park features the large rattlesnake sculpture. Oso Park features a sculpture of a bear, and not the sort seen uphill in Elysian Park.
Relevant Tags
Shepard Fairey (7), Mideast Side (8), Hispanic Heritage Month (31), Los Angeles Neighborhoods (49), Elysian Valley (1), Los Angeles (111), Frogtown (1), Season 3 (9)Recent Posts From Eric Brightwell
Comments
YOU SEEM TO DO YOUR RESEARCH PLEASE CONTINUE.
SHUT THE FUCK UP AND STOP TALKING SHIT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YOU DONT KNOW ANYTHING SO DONT SAY SHIT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i went to dorris used to live on elmgrove
FUCK MECKO FART AND ANY OTHER ENEMY! FUCK YOU TOO!!! YOU KNOW NOTHING BITCH!!! MY BARRIO IS ALIVE AND WELL!!! FROG TOWN GANG COMING FROM THE PARKSIDE!!!
I THANK GOD FOR FROG TOWN, FOR ALLOWING ME TO GROW UP THERE, FOR HAVING HIS HAND ON ME THROUGH ALL THE MADDNESS, ONCE A MEMBER OF THAT GANG THATS ALL I LIVED FOR, NOW I LIVE FOR GOD, BUT TO SEE SOME OF THOSE COMMENTS YOU POSTED WOULD UPSET PEOPLE, BUT KNOW THIS MY FRIEND, "THAT IN EVERY HOUSE THERE IS PORCELIN FROG, THAT ON EVERY STREET THERE ARE FAMILYS THAT STILL HAVE DEEP ROOTS THERE, FROG TOWN IS LIKE A DRUG, ON A NICE DAY YOU HEAR THE WIND BLOW THROUGH THE TREES, AND THE FROGS SINGING" RIBBET, RIBBET, THE KIDS WALKING HOME FROM DORRIS PLACE, AND BUYING SOMTHING FROM "OLD LARRY'S MARKET, OR SAINT ANNS BELL RINGING AT 12'O' CLOCK, SEE THIS IS WHAT FROG TOWN IS ALL ABOUT, GOD BLESS THE PEOPLE, AND THAT LILLY PAD, AMEN
frogtown thass wasssuupp(:
emilio rivera is from the vario i here no one likes him though well his a khoun actor making billions an lives all aroun efe te ere owns 20 houses an takes care of his big ass famili michuacana fuck lefty keep trucha putos adam rivera big bad avenues
The homeboy Left is beloved by the true camaradas from the barrio. Original Frogs who respect the homeboy's success and the way he always represents without shame or regrets. The big sad Avenidas never could compare with the Pocos Pero Locos Efe Te Ere. Without their regulating padrotes, They Ain't Shit.
LIVED IN FROGTOWN WHEN IT USED TO BE CALLED LIL VALLEY ,OTHER NIEGBORHOODS , SUCH AS AVE'S, CYPRESS PARK, HIGHLAND PARK LIVED THERE ALSO, AS THE YEARS WENT ON IT BECAME ONLY FROGTOWN, I TOO WENT TO DORRIS PLACE , IRVING ,AND MARSHALL, GOT MARRIED IN SAINT ANNS CHURCH , AND BELIVE WAS THE ONLY WEDDING IN EFE TE ERE, TO SHOW UP ON THE PAGES OF LOWRIDER MAGAZINE ,WHEN THE MAG WAS FIRST STARTING OUT, I'VE HAD MY UPS AND DOWNS IN MY NIEGBORHOOD ,AS KID I'M SURE WE ALL HAVE. AS FOR MY HOMEBOY LEFTY, HOMIES TILL THE END, AS FOR JEALOUS PUTO FROM THE AVENUES , YOU PROBABLY DON'T EVEN HAVE A JOB, AND COLLECTING WELFARE , FROGS ARE EVERYWHERE , UNLIKE YOU AND YOUR HOMIES, YOUR STILL HIDEING IN HOLE IN YOUR OWN HOOD LIKE YOU GUYS ALWAYS DO FROGS LIVE ON
A.M. RETIRED 82 NOW LWOP AKA MOMMA'S BOY
FUCK FAGTOWN!!! THIS IS THAT OG 90026 VARR!O ECHO X PARQUE LOCOS 13 GANG!!! FUCK ALL FAGS! PURO ECHO PARK GANG ONLY!
sabes que all you lames from aves and echo park fuck all you lames I was fucking your homie loco from echo park in the county jail that fucking dummy had pens in his legs my homies ran his ass over on echo park ave and the aves lefty the homie shot his ass with a shotgun and out his ass a sleep... the efe te ere murders want some get some fool....the hitman c pueblo rana l.a puro sur 13 parkside frogtown murderers fuck toonerville
FTR at its best defended it's borders. at it's worst : a plague that harms everybody. nobody wants the trouble anymore and the community meets constantly to keep the knuckleheads down. the old days are over. frogs are everywhere because they are working, watching the young ones and being community members. anybody who wants to can be in this community, contribute to it, keep the kids safe. those who are all about creating problems are living in the past. for those who still bear the scars, move on. try something new man because the old is not working any more. the future is peace.
FUCK ALL THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS WITH THE COPS AND ALL YOU RATS,HERES A PIECE OF CHEESE CHOKE ON IT YOU BITCHS.
YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING STOP TRYING.