Cal Poly Students Roam the LA River on Bicycles

Last Saturday found the Cal Poly Pomona Urban & Regional Planning 487 class on the streets of Elysian Valley, doing a site visit as part of their conceptual design plan to create a Neighborhood Gateway Center in this neighborhood on the West Bank of the Los Angeles River.

But this was no typical planning site visit. It was a bicycle tour of the neighborhood and LA River by 40 enthusiastic planning students, searching for the clues that make each community, including Elysian Valley, unique.

The morning started with coffee and overview presentations by LA River, CRA-LA, and neighborhood leaders at the Frank Romero Frogtown Art Studio on Blake Avenue.

Speakers included LA River Office Director, Dr. Carol Armstrong, CRA-LA liaison to the LA River Revitalization Corporation, Jason Neville, Friends of the LA River Executive Director Shelly Backlar, Dorris Place Elementary Principal Susan Grant, and CRA-LA Northeast Los Angeles River Study Area Planner and Team Leader, Allison Becker. Also in attendance for CRA were Jessica Cowley of the Neighborhood Design Studio, Outreach Coordinator Michael Cortez, and Technical Services Coordinator Alex Holsheimer.  Each short presentation helped orient the students to the neighborhood's history and character as well as opportunities and challenges for river restoration and community revitalization.

Then it was outside to the bicycles and a roving tour of the neighborhood and the river, via the newly opened LA River Bicycle Path, to visit landmarks, ask questions of the presenters who were posted at various stations throughout the community, and take pictures of buildings, green streets, and local color that will help them design an important new gateway community hub that will connect Frogtown, as it is affectionately called, with the LA River and beyond, including an imagined future bridge across the River to connect this neighborhood with Taylor Yard and the Rio de Los Angeles State Park on the East Bank.

Based upon the level of curiosity and energy at the site visit, expectations are high for a terrific final conceptual plan, which will be completed in March.  Check back then to see the final product.

Special thanks to local businesses Antigua Cultural Coffee House for providing coffee and Flying Pigeon LA for providing bicycles.

How about exploring your neighborhood from the seat of a bicycle?

Beginnings and Endings Along the Arroyo Seco

This past weekend was a poignant mix of beginnings and endings along the Arroyo Seco and adjacent Los Angeles River Elysian Valley region.

We celebrated a terrific new beginning with the Official Opening and Dedication of the Los Angeles River Bicycle Path which now offers walkers and bicylists a riverfront alternate transportation corridor with vistas of the LA River, White Heron, ducks, and local mountains. Many years in the making, this Bicycle Path (or as I'd prefer to call it, the River Path), now starts just northwest of the Arroyo Seco-Los Angeles River Confluence, winds its way through Elysian Valley/Frogtown and connects with the existing River Bike Path section to allow total connectivity to Griffith Park. At a more subtle level, this path facilitates wildlife migration between Griffith Park and the LA River.  The Dedication Ceremony, attended by approximately 300 people, included words of praise from Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti and other public officials.

Another beginning at the other end of the watershed is the new Ale House on North Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena, at the site of the old Pub. More living room than pub, the Ale House features a relaxed, non-hip, neighborhood hangout serving excellent British Ales, a variety of wines, and a yummy cheese plate to nosh on. Gail behind the bar keeps the atmosphere warm and friendly. It's a little stealth adventure to find it, since the old neon Pub sign is the only clue to its location, which probably is part of its charm. Think 'Cheers,' Altadena style.

On the endings side of the equation, this weekend saw final 'ArtBenders' for two landmark art studio/galleries at either end of the Arroyo Seco watershed. On the northmost end, Ben McGinty held his final 'show' and public gathering at his eclectic Gallery at the End of the World on Upper Lake in Altadena.  While Ben will continue to be a fixture at flea markets and art shows with his wares, the Gallery's closing marks his 15+ year journey to try to re-create the type of Altadena business neighborhood community that first brought artists to Altadena 100 years ago. The bittersweet farewell party brought together artists, locals and Arroyo art lovers for one final toast to Ben.

Down at the south end of the watershed just north of the confluence, Los Angeles Artist Icon Frank Romero and his wife Sharon geared up for their 29th Annual Xmas Art Sale, the last time the sale will be held at the Romero Frogtown Art Studio where Frank has held court for the past 30 years.  The Romeros have recently sold the studio to a promising young artist and will be relocating their studio to a new location soon. While the new location is not yet finalized, reliable sources indicate the Arroyo Seco region is the studio's likely new home.