Construction will begin this summer on a new wing and renovation of Swan Hall, one of three buildings constructed 95-years ago when the college moved to its current Eagle Rock campus. Swan Hall – designed by architect Myron Hunt – originally served as the men’s dormitory but it now houses the offices of faculty members, some of whom work in converted sleeping porches. The nearly $20 million project would add office space and seminar rooms in a new wing to the west side of Swan Hall, which sits near the main entrance to the college.
“This is the College’s most important building project,” said Occidental President Jonathan Veitch said in a statement. “Swan is a busy place for faculty and students, and its floor plan is woefully out of date. Through the Fletcher Jones Foundation’s generosity, the much-beloved Swan Hall will once again become one of the most important buildings on campus.”
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News & items from other parts of the blog and beyond. Updated during the day.
- Echo Park hillside courtyard complex moves closer to landmark status. Home & History
- Reps from City Attorney & Council District 13 scheduled to discuss the Echo Park Lake Swap Meet during Thursday’s Echo Park Improvement Assn. meeting. Echo Elysian Forum
- Eastside Crime Watch for June 21-27. Eastside 911
- More “bird of prey” parts found in Elysian Park. Eastside 911
Photo by r3vcls/Flickr
The City’s Council’s Planning & Land Use Committee on Tuesday agreed to declare a Sunset Boulevard courtyard apartment complex a historic landmark. The historic-cultural monument nomination of the Lento Brick Court, which steps up a hillside in the 1200 block of Sunset Boulevard, must now be reviewed and voted upon by the full City Council . The 1928 complex built by an Italian immigrant and hat maker was nominated by the Echo Park Historical Society (The Eastsider is a board member) as a “rare example of a mixed use complex of commercial store fronts and a residential hillside bungalow court.”
Related post:
Hillside bungalows in Echo Park may become historical landmarks. LAist
Three newly planted pines sit in the middle of what looks like a blue baseball (made from blue colored mulch) that has been created between the 110 Freeway off ramps leading to Dodger Stadium. There is no sign of who is responsible for the baseball-themed landscape but perhaps the Dodger groundskeepers had some extra time between games.
A murder at an Echo Park pot clinic and a shooting outside an Echo Park nightclub were the most serious crimes reported last week. Boyle Heights was hit with three violent robberies; two aggravated assaults were reported in Highland Park. Click on the link below for a break down of some of the crimes committed during June 21 – 27 as found on the LAPD crime map and EveryBlock.com:
Angeleno Heights, Echo Park & Silver Lake (90026)
The biggest crime news of the period was the fatal shooting at the Echo Park pot clinic and the shooting outside of the Echo nightclub that left three people injured. There were also two aggravated assaults in the northern edge of Echo Park and Elysian Heights (0n Valley View and and Cove streets). One violent robbery and three vehicle break-ins were reported in the western edge of Silver Lake.
Elysian Valley, Lincoln Heights & Montecito Heights(90031)
With the exception of a burglary and violent robbery in Lincoln Heights, most of the crime was vehicle related, including two reports of grand theft auto.
El Sereno & Monterey Hills (90032)
A trio of personal thefts and an aggravated assault were reported in the western edge of El Sereno
Boyle Heights (90033)
Three violent robberies, and aggravated assault on Sheridan and five stolen vehicles were among the crimes reported.
Atwater Village, Elysian Valley & Silver Lake (90039)
Crimes included a Silver Lake burglary on Glendale Boulevard; two stolen cars and violent robbery in Atwater; and an aggravated assault in Elysian Valley.
Eagle Rock (90041)
Two stolen vehicles and two burglaries were among the crimes reported.
Highland Park (90042)
Two burglaries, two aggravated assaults and a vehicle break-in were reported on or near Figueroa between Sycamore Park and Avenue 54.
Cypress Park, Glassell Park & Mt. Washington (90065)
An aggravated assault was reported in Glassell Park. A burglary and personal theft were reported in Mount Washington.
This weekly report is based on the LAPD’s online crime maps and police department reports filtered by ZIP code through EveryBlock.com. There are often discrepancies between the LAPD and EveryBlock statistics at the time when Eastside Crime Watch is compiled. Some crimes also fail to show up but might be added to the reports following the publication of this post.
Photo by r3vcls/Flickr
About two weeks after two women came across the headless body of a “bird of prey” in Elysian Park, another pair of park visitors came across the head of a large bird – but no body – in approximately the same location. A woman named Caitlan and a friend were out walking their dogs Tuesday morning when they came upon the large bird head on northern edge of Elysian Park overlooking the 5 freeway. Caitlin, who emailed a photo showing the head of a bird with a large beak, assumes these were parts of the same bird:
“Not sure what the body of the “large bird of prey” looked like, but maybe this head belonged to it … I would think that if this was some sort of natural bird death, there would have maybe at least been some bones or other guts or something somewhere NEAR the head. Nope, just a head. I flagged down a couple of cops driving through the park and told them about finding the bird head, mentioning the previous incidents. They told me they’ve seen coyotes and stuff in the park (not headless or bodiless) before, and that we should be fine with the dogs. I’m pretty sure they must have misunderstood and thought I was just scared of some big bird.”
Lion behind bars | Lincoln Heights
- 15-year-old Atwater Village girl dies from drug overdose after attending weekend rave. LA Times
- New cement flowing across the Arroyo Seco. 90042
- Why freeways have become so filthy. ABC7
- A first taste of Echo Park’s Xoia. Eating L.A.
- Dodgers celebrate the 4th of July with a 5th of July fireworks show. Echo Elysian Forum
- The Wild West never went out of style in Highland Park. 90042
- Will residents vote for a $39 a-year library tax? Daily News
- The fence comes down and the landscaping goes in at the Benjamin Franklin Library. LA Eastside
- Notes: Echo Park neighborhood council planning committee is seeking to fill two vacant seats – election not required … The Los Angeles City Council adjourned Tuesday in honor of Matthew Butcher, who was slain during last week’s Echo Park pot clinic shooting.
The organizers of a Boyle Heights Farmer’s Market announced today they have received the final permits needed to open a market at the Mariachi Plaza Gold Line station. About 25 vendors have been signed up for the market’s debut on Friday, July 9. The market, which will operate every Friday, will be open from 3 PM to 8 PM.
The idea for a Boyle Heights Farmers’ Market had been discussed for several years when cafe owner Juan Romero took up the cause. He spent three months to secure permits and finalize an arrangement with the Metropolitan Transit Authority to operate the first farmers’ market at a Metro train stop.
Photo by Martin LaBar/Flickr
Rendering of Sunset Flats at Sunset Boulevard & Rosemont Avenue
Only a block away from the traffic, noise and trash at Sunset and Alvarado, the Echo Park residents northwest of the busy intersection live in a relatively quiet neighborhood filled with a mix of century-old bungalows and apartments. But some residents fear they will be paying the price – in the form of more traffic, noise and a shortage of off-street parking – from new developments on Sunset Boulevard, which includes a 64-unit residential complex and a 150-seat supper club. The developers of the housing project (pictured above) are scheduled to appear tonight before the planning committee of the Echo Park neighborhood council. “It is as if developers are proclaiming war on our normally relatively quiet street” said one resident via email. “The biggest allure of our little pocket of Echo Park is that although it is so close to Sunset, it still has a quaint neighborhood feel.”
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Graffiti wall at Stories Books | Echo Park | Photo by Beth Zeigler
- A never-opened Silver Lake restaurant up for sale. Eater LA
- Eagle Rock house flipper/restaurant owner to run against Councilman Jose Huizar. LA Now
- Silver Lake’s Home Ec closing up shop. OC Weekly
- A dog named Murray has gone missing in Echo Park. Echo Elysian Forum
- Will a price chop attract house flippers to this 1906 Boyle Heights home? Curbed LA
- Happy 1st Birthday to Echo Park Now. Echo Park Now
- Happening Today: Echo Park neighborhood planning committee meets. Calendar Listings
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