Construction of the 5, or Golden State Freeway
The freeway cuts through the western part of Elysian Valley (“Frogtown”), isolating it from surrounding neighborhoods.
RELATED STORIES
Parks and Gentrification
During the 80s, Downey Recreation Center — one of the few public parks in Lincoln Heights — was inaccessible and uninviting. Still, as the only park in the area, neighborhood kids like Lazaro Arvizu Jr. found themselves there often. Located in between the Swiss Dairy Company Plant (now home to the newly built Albion Riverside…
Tires, Oil Changes, and Community Building
Since 1977, Pepe’s Tire Shop in Cypress Park has continued to provide quality service to its customers, growing into a true pillar of the community. Raised in the border town of Tecate, Mexico, Pepe arrived in Los Angeles in 1966 at the age of 17 and landed in the then-Italian neighborhood of Cypress Park. At…
Memories of a Neighborhood
Bobby Arcos grew up on a quiet street in Atwater in the 1970s — before it was known as Atwater Village. Around his childhood home on Glenhurst Avenue, he recalls the smells of the old Van de Kamps bakery, 50 cent ham and cheese sandwiches from Vince’s Market, and playing football, and baseball at John…
A Tree Grows in Elysian Valley Pt. 1
Ruben Molina and his family moved to Elysian Valley in 1958. Having arrived in Los Angeles from El Paso, Texas five years prior, his family had moved around between a hotel, duplexes and small homes in Cypress Park and Lincoln Heights before settling into the home on Glover Place. Ruben, now a dedicated community music…