LA River Fishing
It’s a common practice for fishers or anglers to keep their best fishing spots a secret, as part of the appeal of recreational fishing is researching and discovering your own spot and keeping that good spot hidden. For newcomers, this practice might be daunting, but when Karen Barnett was first learning to fish, she didn’t…
Read MoreProposition 12
In 2000, California residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection Bond Act, known as Proposition 12, which allocated $2.1 billion to California State Parks to address hundreds of critical State Park System needs across California, particularly for high-density, park-poor areas. As the former Los Angeles…
Read MoreThe River Teacher
For more than ten years, Eric Kenyon White has lived on the LA River. After losing his home, Eric spent some time between shelters before living on the banks of the Glendale Narrows. This was not a choice Eric thought he would ever have to make, but life in the shelters was becoming increasingly difficult.…
Read MoreBuilding the Foundations
As Director and Founder of The River Project, and the former Executive Director of Friends of the Los Angeles River (FoLAR), Melanie Winter is no stranger to the many opinions people hold regarding the future of the LA River and its surrounding communities. Over the years, the development of high-rise luxury apartments, large commercial retail…
Read MoreParks 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…
Read MoreRiver Playground
“My dad worked the graveyard shift, so my mom took care of us, but my mom was busy oftentimes at the sewing machine meeting her deadlines. We got to go play when we didn’t have to support her.” Helen Leung cherished the moments when she and her sister were given free reign to explore the…
Read MoreMaking Art in Elysian Valley
For nearly thirty years, from 1980-2010, Chicano artist Frank Romero worked out of a colorful brick studio and gallery in Elysian Valley. It was here where Frank’s art universe of bright cars, looping freeways, staggering palm trees, and brightly colored canvases came to life. It was also here where Frank found a new muse in…
Read MoreThe Story Behind the “Orange Bridge” Pt.1
Over the years, many pedestrian bridges have popped up along the Glendale Narrows section of the Los Angeles River in Northeast LA. One bridge has a pointy mast that soars 60 feet into the sky, another is full of love locks rivaling the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris. The newest addition? A bright orange…
Read MoreThe Story Behind the “Orange Bridge” Pt. 2
The Taylor Yard Bikeway and Pedestrian Bridge, better known as the “Orange Bridge,” is not easy to miss, but many overlook the history behind it. Although it was just completed in 2022, the story behind this bridge goes further back. Part 1 of this tale recounts shady practices by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority…
Read MoreThe River and Elysian Valley
Decades ago, Ceci Dominguez remembers a very different LA River than the one undergoing rapid revitalization by way of nearby gentrification today. The word “river” might even be a bit generous here, as “flood channel” or “sewage line” could better describe its function in those days. “My kids would ride their bikes and wander down…
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