The Los Angeles River #7: Downtown Los Angeles & Vernon

Greetings fellow Canine Angelenos!

Welcome to Part 7 of my dog-centric look at our unique river.

Today we'll visit the industrial heart of Los Angeles County and explore an 8-mile gap in the LA River Bike Path that stretches from Frogtown to Vernon. 

This part of the river is difficult to get to. Miles of train track and massive industrial facilities run along both banks - leaving us with almost no safe or legal access. 

It's no wonder most Angelenos have only experienced this portion of the river through their car windows as they cross one of the seventeen bridges and freeway overpasses connecting Chinatown to Lincoln Heights, the Arts District to Boyle Heights, and crisscrossing Vernon.

Soaking my paws beneath the Atlantic Bl. bridge

But big changes are coming.

The revitalization of the river is moving forward and there are a variety projects planned, underway, or recently completed that will someday reconnect the citizens of Los Angeles to their river. Over the next several years, the city plans to turn our under-appreciated waterway into an asset that will make any dog proud to be called a Canine Angeleno.

For now, this is still largely an auto-tour adventure, but there are a few places to stretch our legs along the way.
 

Let's go for a r-i-d-e!
 

In Part 6, I finished my visit to the Glendale Narrows by "marking a spot" between the old and new Riverside-Figueroa bridges.

Feb. 2015: Lots of work still being done on the bridges. Follow the detour signs.

Looking west, we can see the eastern edge of Elysian Park. There certainly is a lot of fun to be had in one of the city's largest parks, but it deserves it own blog post and I'll share those discoveries with you in the near future.

For now we're going to follow the river downstream, which quickly passes under the Pasadena (110) Freeway.

From Elysian Park you can see the river flow toward the heart of the city.

Our first stop is in Lincoln Heights. The Ed P. Reyes River Greenway is a one acre 'parklet' that sits next to the Gold Line tracks. You can access it from the north end of Avenue 18 or the intersection of Avenue 19 and Humboldt St.

It was named after former City Councilman Ed Reyes, a friend of the LA River.

Its primary function is to clean storm water before it enters the river, but it also provides the neighborhood with a nice space to relax in and get their paws dirty. A path takes us along a tiny stream with a footbridge, benches, and info signs. There's a water fountain and trash cans too, but no poop bags.

It's L.A.'s first greenway built and managed solely by the Bureau of Sanitation.

When you're done at the greenway, drive south on Avenue 18 or Avenue 19 to Pasadena Ave. and take a right. To your right is the North Broadway bridge, once the longest concrete arch bridge in California. Drive over it and enjoy the views. 

The Gold Line overpass and the Broadway bridge.

Once over the river, you'll pass the south entrance to Elysian Park then enter Chinatown. When you get to College St. take a left. Take the next left onto N. Spring St. and in about 1/4 of a mile you'll come to the fenced off home of Los Angeles State Historic Park aka. "The Cornfield".

Partially opened in 2006, it closed in April 2014 for a major renovation. When it reopens this November, there will be 32 acres of new park and a great view of the river.

Downtown as seen from the 'Cornfield' when I visited in 2013.

Continue driving past the state-park-to-be. In a moment you'll pass some warehouses, then cross the North Spring St. bridge. As of Feb. 2015, it's being repaired and looks more like a construction site than a bridge. However, you get an excellent view of the Broadway bridge to your left before returning to Lincoln Heights.

Take a right onto Avenue 18, the next right onto Albion St., and the next right again onto Avenue 17, where you'll find the Downey Recreation Center. 

It's your standard city recreation center - community building, baseball field, basketball court, a couple of picnic benches and a playground. Some nice grass and a water fountain too...but no poop bags. What's different about this recreation center is the high fence that runs all along it's western border.

The fence and construction on the Spring St. bridge are signs of good things too come.

On the other side of that fence is the future home of Albion Riverside Park. Scheduled for completion in 2016, the park will be a 6-acre addition (with riverfront access) to the existing recreation center.

 Stuck my nose through the fence to get a sniff. See you in 2016!

When you're ready to continue, go south on Avenue 17 until it intersects with N. Main St. You could take a right and cross the North Main St. bridge, but today we're going to take a left and travel east for a minute.

As of Feb. 2015, the Main St. bridge is also being repaired.

Just past the San Diego (5) Freeway, take a right onto Daly St., then your next right onto N. Mission Rd. As you drive along N. Mission Rd., look to your right at the largest piece of privately owned property in Los Angeles: The Los Angeles Transfer Container Facility, better known as the Piggyback Yard.

Downtown looms over the Piggyback Yard.

You're looking at Union Pacific's Mission Rail Yard. It's the last of LA's great rail yards and the crown jewel of the city's revitalization plans for the river. The goal is to take this 125 acres of shipping containers and create a large riverfront park alongside commercial and residential projects. 

The Piggyback Yard, San Diego Freeway, and Lincoln Heights

N. Mission Rd. ends at E. Cesar Chavez Ave. Take a right to cross the Cesar E. Chavez bridge and get another quick view of the Piggyback Yard.

Take a left onto N. Vignes St., then the next left onto Ramirez St.. Continue straight onto Center St. as you go beneath the Hollywood (101) Freeway overpass.  

Stay on Center St. until, just past E. Temple St., you'll veer right onto Santa Fe Ave. Now it's time to get out the car and do some exploring.

As you travel south on Santa Fe Ave., you'll have access to the deck of the 1st St. and 4th St. bridges. Park near one of them and climb the easy to find stairs for a close-up view of Merrill Butler's bridge building handiwork and some great views of the city.

The Gold Line tracks into Downtown along the 1st St. bridge.

The 4th St. bridge with the 1st St. bridge in the distance.

While the 6th St. bridge doesn't have stairs to its deck from Santa Fe Ave., it does have Downtown's only easy access to the river itself. Walk under the bridge on a graffiti covered, concrete ramp that ends in the river channel. Even if you've never been here before, you've seen this place many times on TV and in movies.

Standing beneath the 6th St. bridge looking upstream.

Visit the 6th St. bridge soon because its been tagged as unlikely to survive a major earthquake and is scheduled for demolition in 2015. This great looking replacement bridge should be ready by the end of 2018.

6th St. is the longest of Downtown's bridges and the only one with a steel arch.

There is also easy access to the 7th St. bridge from Santa Fe Ave. Originally built in 1910, it's known as the "stacked bridge" because a second deck was built on top of the first one in 1927.

The stacking is easy to see from beneath the 6th St. bridge.

The neighborhood around Santa Fe Ave. is a popular film and TV location. Don't be surprised if traffic stops temporarily while the crew gets their shot.

The 7th St. bridge - shut down for filming.

After you've seen the 7th St. bridge, continue south on Santa Fe Ave. You'll go under the Santa Monica (10) Freeway overpass before taking a left onto E. Olympic Bl.

Cross the Olympic Bl. bridge (the 9th St. bridge until the 1932 Olympics) and you'll pass the historic 1927 Sears building. Take the next right onto S. Soto St.

Shortly you'll approach E. Washington Bl. Take a right. The E. Washington Bl. bridge is the last car bridge crossing the river in the city of Los Angeles.

Railroad bridges run beside the Washington St. bridge just before the river leaves LA.

Once you're back on the west side of the river, take a left onto S. Santa Fe Ave. You're about to enter the heavily industrialized city of Vernon, where you'll cross the river 3 times in about a mile by turning left onto E. 26th St., right onto S. Soto St., then left onto Bandini Bl. 

These bridges aren't as fancy as the ones in Downtown LA, but are vital as the river makes a sharp turn to the east, right through the center of the city.

Downtown and the Soto St. bridge near the border of Vernon and Boyle Heights

A great "piggy" mural can be found near Farmer John's on the Bandini Bl. bridge.

Another 1/2 mile or so east on Bandini takes you over the Downey Rd. bridge. Soon the river and Bandini Bl. turn slightly southeast, surrounded by warehouses and a tangled web of train tracks.

Stay on Bandini until you go under the Long Beach (710) Freeway overpass then take a right onto S. Atlantic Bl. Ahead of you is the Atlantic Bl. bridge. On the southwest corner of the bridge is a gateway that marks the start of the bike path to Long Beach - the last stop on today's journey.

At last! The path to Long Beach. I think such an important spot deserves a nicer gateway.

I hope you've enjoyed my river trek through the center of Los Angeles and that you'll join me again for my next blog. I'll be heading into South LA County and checking out some great parks along the way!



See you on the river!

Chloe Canine-Angeleno




Much of the information I've shared in this blog came from the following sources:

Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation

The Los Angeles Conservancy

KCET 

Down By The Los Angeles River

All photographs were taken by my pack leader, Jim Gross 

Everything else was discovered by getting my paws dirty and the extensive use of my nose. 



For info about places to visit upstream from Downtown L.A., click on the links below:

Part 1 - Western San Fernando Valley

Part 2 - Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area

Part 3 - Eastern San Fernando Valley

Part 4 - Burbank and Glendale

Part 5 - Glendale Narrows East

Part 6 - Glendale Narrows West

*The Parks of North Hollywood:

www.gotonoho.comGreetings Canine Angelenos!

Today's blog is all about the parks of my home territory...North Hollywood. I've discovered 10 places in NoHo's 10.2 square miles where a dog can roll in the grass and chase a squirrel or two; not too bad for a major city neighborhood I must say.

Now if your looking for peace and quiet, you probably won't find that here. The Hollywood Freeway (170) makes up the majority of North Hollywood's Western border and most of the neighborhood's parkland runs alongside it. But hey, if we were really worried about that we would live out in the country instead of the greatest city in the world wouldn't we?

There's a lot to love about my NoHo, so let's jump right in and cover ourselves with some dirt and grass:
  

(Click here to see what goes into my parks rating system.)

 

North Hollywood Park & Recreation Center

Rating: 3.5 Paws

11430 Chandler Bl.
North Hollywood, CA 91601

My park (I live a 5 minute walk away) is sandwiched between Tujunga Ave. and the 170 Freeway and runs from just North of the intersection of Riverside Dr. and Camarillo St. to Chandler Bl. near the Orange Line bus terminal.

This park has more squirrels than just about any place in L.A. - I get exhausted chasing them all.

Born in 1927 as Lankershim Park, it was the largest public green space in the San Fernando Valley for many years. Today it's divided into two sections by Magnolia Bl. 

The Southern section is a nice park with hundreds of shady trees, grass to roll in, and 1.6 miles of dirt trails to walk on. There are public restrooms, exercise stations, water fountains and trash cans, but no poop bag dispensers - a glaring omission in a park that is so popular with dogs. There are also quite a few picnic benches and a small memorial to the Californians that were killed on 9/11.

Cross Magnolia Bl. and you'll enter the Recreation center where there are baseball fields, tennis courts, a skate park, a roller hockey rink, a playground and a swimming pool alongside a public library and other city facilities. There is also a nice statue honoring Amelia Earhart, a long time resident of nearby Toluca Lake.

Oooooooooh that's nice....freshly mowed too.

The tennis courts and baseball fields recently underwent a major refurbishing and the newly planted grass is plush and extremely rollinable (I just made up a word!).

This park has become the center of outdoor activities in the increasingly popular NoHo Arts District and I visit it almost every day. Come on by for a visit and check out the rest of my great neighborhood while you're here. Many of the local restaurants have dog-friendly patios and they often give cookies and a bowl of cool water to us canines. Now that's what I call service.

Alexandria Park

Rating: 2 Paws

Laurel Canyon Bl. & Erwin St.
North Hollywood, CA 91601

A couple of miles North along the 170 brings you to the infamous Valley Plaza Mall. Once among the busiest and most cutting edge shopping spots in the country, it's now a "ghost mall" with an interesting story to tell. Pack Leader says you should watch these great videos about the mall's unique history.

Since dogs don't go shopping, the only thing that interests us around here is the neglected little park that sits between the parking lot and the freeway.

You're likely to have this park all to yourself because no one shops in a ghost mall do they?

It's only about 100 yards wide and 1/4 mile long, but it does have decent grass, a water fountain, some trash cans and a couple of picnic benches. It's also infested with gophers. Humans generally dislike gophers in their parks, but I enjoy digging up their little dirt mounds in hopes of catching one. Pack Leader tells me its never going to happen but that won't stop me from trying.

If you like digging for gophers, you need to visit this park.

Valley Plaza Park & Recreation Center 

Rating: 3 Paws

12240 Archwood St.
North Hollywood, CA 91606


At the Northern edge of the Valley Plaza Mall property, behind the Sears store, you'll find St. Clair Ave. and the South entrance to the Valley Plaza Recreation Center.

Tennis courts, baseball fields (including a Dodger's Dream Field for Little Leaguers), basketball courts, a volleyball court, a playground and a swimming pool can all be found surrounding your typical city-run recreation facility buildings. On the freeway side of the park, a short dirt pathway runs between the tennis courts and the swimming pool just South of Vanowen St. 

There's something for everyone, human and canine, to do here.

Cross Vanowen St. and you'll be in Valley Plaza Park, which stretches North to Gault Street. The park has a library, restrooms, exercise stations, lots of trees and a poorly maintained "lawn" that's far more dirt than grass. There are picnic benches and trash cans throughout the park but no poop bag dispensers.

The grass needs some TLC but its still a nice park with plenty to see and do.

In the Northwest corner of the park is a footbridge that goes over the 170 Freeway and takes you to the "Whitsett Fields" aka. the Valley Plaza Sports Complex.

You people should really spend less time in your cars and more time at the park...

Valley Plaza Sports Complex

Rating: 2 Paws

Whitsett Ave. & Vanowen St.
North Hollywood, CA 91605

If you play soccer or baseball in the Valley, then you know about this place. The North end of the park has some baseball fields and the South end is full of soccer fields. Usually it's packed with local athletes, but come early on a weekday and you'll have the fields all to yourself.

Pack Leader says I'm too short to play keeper.

Next to the fields are restrooms, water fountains, trash cans, picnic benches and even a concession stand on busy weekends. However, like all the parks in NoHo, there are no poop bag dispensers. I think I have to have a word with Councilman Krekorian about that...

Somebody left behind a soccer ball! The "finders keepers" law is in full effect here.

After kicking the ball around for a while, travel another mile or so North along Whitsett as it parallels the 170 to the intersection of Strathern St. and Whitsett Ave. near North Hollywood's border with Sun Valley. There are two more small parks there to investigate.

Strathern Park West

Rating: 2.5 Paws

12728 Strathern St.
North Hollywood, CA 91605

The official address of this park is on Saticoy St., but I don't recommend entering from there because of limited parking, the park is actually a couple of hundred yards down a broken glass covered alleyway, and there is no sign telling you the park is there. You should enter the park from the North end on Strathern St. or from the South near the end of Lull St.

This is definitely the least visited park in NoHo.

The park is a narrow half-mile long strip of grass between the 170 Freeway and Beeman Ave. There are no amenities except for a couple of benches and trash cans but I love this place because it's an unofficial off-leash park and very lightly used. If you want to get away from the crowds and run free, this place is just what the vet ordered.  

 

 Jamie Beth Slavin Park

Rating: 1.5 Paws

7965 Whitsett Ave.
North Hollywood, CA 91605

This is a tiny pocket park that is separated from Strathern Park West by the 170. It has a playground, basketball court, a few picnic benches, a water fountain, and a short paved pathway. While there isn't much to do, I must admit the grass is nicely kept and there is an abundance of gopher holes...if you're into that sort of thing.

It's tiny but its got the basics.

That's it for the parks that run alongside the 170. Now let's check out the rest of the neighborhood:

Tiara Street Park

Rating: 1.5 Paws

11480 W. Tiara St.
North Hollywood, CA 91601

North Hollywood's newest park is really just a playground for the kids but there is some nice grass to roll in as well as exercise stations, water fountains, trash cans, and restrooms for the humans. There's even a short pathway that goes around the entire park.

As a bonus, it's right next to an In-N-Out Burger which adds a delightful beefy aroma to the air. I highly suggest you talk your humans into sharing a Double-Double with you while you're there.

Whitnall Highway Dog Park

Rating: 2.5 Paws

5801 Whitnall Highway
North Hollywood, CA 91601

It's ragged looking and the grass is always in poor shape, but it's NoHo's only off-leash dog park so it's hard not to love. There are benches for the humans to sit on while they watch their doggies play and there is usually a kiddie pool to jump into. As with most dog parks, there are poop bag dispensers, water fountains and plenty of trash cans.

The park is split into big dog/little dog sections that are separated by a dirt parking lot.

This apartment building across the street has spectacular decor if you ask me...

Victory-Vineland Park & Recreation Center

Rating: 2 Paws

11117 Victory Bl.
North Hollywood, CA 91606

This small recreation center is right next to the Target store at the intersection of Victory Bl. and Vineland Ave. It's a tiny spot with just a single city building, a tennis court, a basketball court and a playground. Behind the building is a park large enough for two soccer fields and a few picnic benches.

It's not the biggest or prettiest park around...but its a park and I'm thankful it's here.

Chandler Bikeway

Chandler Bl. & Vineland Ave.
North Hollywood, CA 91601

At the Southeast corner of Vineland and Chandler is the Western entrance to the Chandler Bikeway. Its not really a park but it's a great place to take the dog on a stroll. It's also where you'll find one of my favorite things to roll in - the free mulch pile the city has set up for anyone who wants to take some mulch home for their lawn or garden. Pack Leader doesn't exactly approve of me rolling in the smelly mulch, but I can usually get a quick tumble in before he pulls me away.

The pathway runs for miles; deep into Burbank.

In the North Hollywood section of the bikeway are the Chandler Murals - a collection of amazing paintings on the street facing walls of the local businesses. The people who made these have some serious talent and they've created the "artsiest" street in all of NoHo - maybe all of L.A.

Of all the murals, this is my personal favorite.

This one is Pack Leader's favorite.

When you reach N. Clybourn Ave., you've reached the Eastern border of North Hollywood and the end of our adventures for today. 


I hope you've enjoyed exploring North Hollywood as much as I have and that my blog inspires you to check out one of L.A.'s most unique and fastest growing neighborhoods. Maybe I'll.....


...see you at the park!


Chloe Canine-Angeleno







Some of the information I've shared in this blog came from the following sources:

Universal City-North Hollywood: A Centennial Portrait
by Tom Link



All photographs were taken by my pack leader, Jim Gross

Everything else was discovered by getting my paws dirty and the extensive use of my nose.

The Los Angeles River UPDATE! - The San Fernando Valley Update 2

When I began my exploration of the Los Angeles River earlier this year, there were many places in the San Fernando Valley where access to the river was impossible or very impractical.

However, over the summer, a lot has changed and it seems like every passing month brings our river closer and closer to becoming an asset to Valley life instead of the concrete eyesore it's been for years.

In Update #1 I visited the Headwaters Greenway in Canoga Park and the North side of the Valleyheart Riverwalk Greenway in Studio City - two gorgeous new additions that opened this year.

Today I'm going to show you the latest piece of the 51 mile long puzzle the city is slowly putting together - the beautiful new bike path on the South side of the river that runs from the end of the Headwaters Greenway to the Van Alden footbridge in Reseda. 

Opened in late August, the bike path begins at the Mason Ave. bridge and makes it's way East for 2 miles. Along the way there are plenty of benches, water fountains, nice landscaping, and solar powered lights - but no poop bag dispensers. (I may have to start a Poop Bag Foundation or something to raise money for this issue that's all too common along the river.)

The path meanders along the Southern bank of the river and there is no access to the North side for this entire stretch - I imagine that's a project for another day.

The Mason Ave. bridge is where our journey begins.

As soon as you get on the path there is easy access to the water which, on most days, is barely deep enough to cover your paws.

Just 1/10th of a mile West of Mason brings you to the Van Owen St. bridge, where the river makes it's first of many slight turns to the South.

Access is through one of the pretty gates that are found along the entire length of the river.

A 1/2 mile stroll from Van Owen finds us at the Winnetka Ave. bridge, where you'll find a brand new exercise station similar to those found at many of L.A.'s parks and recreation centers.

Looking West at the beautiful mountains and the Winnetka Ave. Bridge.

Continue West for just over another 1/2 mile and the Corbin bridge appears just before the river takes it second slight bend to the South.

Foe some reason, we were the only ones here on a beautiful weekend morning....

A little more than 1/2 mile past Corbin is the Tampa Ave. bridge, near the busy intersection of Tampa and Victory Bl.

Everything is so new and clean around here - let's keep it that way.

Another 1/4 mile walk and we are at the end of the line, the Van Alden Ave. footbridge.

The Van Alden Ave. footbridge connects the trail with Reseda to the North and Tarzana to the South.

The first 3.09 miles from Headwaters is now complete...

That's the end of the road for now. Since there is no access to the North side of the river, this is an out and back trip of just over 4 miles... a great way to get some exercise whether you're traveling by paw or on a bike.


*Strange footnote:

On the day we visited, under each of the bridges (but nowhere else), there were dozens and dozens of spiders hanging from webs they made between the railings of the fence that separates the bike path from the river.

I've never seen anything like it before. If anyone has any idea why they do this please send me an email. Until then...



See you on the river!


Chloe Canine-Angeleno







Much of the information I've shared in this blog came from the following sources:

The Los Angeles Times


All photographs were taken by my pack leader, Jim Gross

Everything else was discovered by getting my paws dirty and the extensive use of my nose.