Join us each week as we hit the streets of an American neighborhood to explore its personality and “live like a local.” Piggybacking off our wildly popular #trybeforeyoubuy, realtor.com® and Airbnb summer sweepstakes, we tapped some of our favorite regional Instagrammers and asked them to use their smartphones to capture the flavor of the neighborhood they know and love—one filtered post at a time.
Los Angeles’ Echo Park is the kind of neighborhood people will say is revitalized, but not too gentrified.
Sure, there are third-wave coffee shops (Chango, Fix, and most recently, a Blue Bottle). You’ll see heavily tattooed librarian and lumberjack types cycling on fixed-gear bikes. And, of course, there are the health food groceries that sell reusable growlers of kombucha.
But here in Echo Park, community engagement is high, cool new restaurants and small businesses are aplenty, diversity is strong, and the gang violence of a decade ago has headed to different hills.
The vast spectrum of socioeconomic groups are together enjoying the fruits of this changing-for-the-better hood.
The crown jewel of a revitalized Echo Park is the tropical beauty that is Echo Park Lake. repost via @fireflyroad
A photo posted by realtor.com (@realtordotcom) on
Aug 8, 2015 at 1:36pm PDT
Echo Park’s central location is perhaps what first incentivized urban planners and developers to focus on fixing up the neighborhood.
Special attention has been dedicated to the neighborhood’s crown jewel, a man-made reservoir-turned-lake—aptly named Echo Park Lake. Here lotus flowers, ducks, turtles, and paddleboats are surrounded by palm trees, lush lawns, a jogging loop—and a few old-school dealers still trying to compete with the legal marijuana dispensaries.
Echo Park is biking distance from the currently revitalizing downtown L.A. (DTLA) and Chinatown. Silver Lake and Highland Park, along with Los Feliz, hug this charming hood, while Pasadena in the east and Hollywood to the west are all doable commutes. How? Echo Park is surrounded by four major freeways: The 5, the 2, the 110, and the 101.
Good morning from the Echo Park neighborhood in Los Angeles! Here we idle at the apex of Baxter Street one of the steepest streets in the entire US of A with a whopping 32% grade. repost via @cliffrenfrew
A photo posted by realtor.com (@realtordotcom) on
Aug 8, 2015 at 7:02am PDT
You can find beauty even on the smoggiest of days. Echo Park's closeby Dodger Stadium (Go Dodgers!) and a very Emerald City looking DTLA in the distance. repost via @kasim613
A photo posted by realtor.com (@realtordotcom) on
Aug 9, 2015 at 9:57am PDT
Whether you’re a Dodger fan or foe, the stadium isn’t to be missed. Its proximity to both DTLA and Elysian Park—with its wildflower-lined hiking trails—makes for an incredible juxtaposition.
The real stairmaster! A morning workout in Echo Park: The 230 stairs of the Baxter Stairway. Believe it or not, LA was once upon a time ago known as a magnificent public transportation city. It was connected via trolley, bus and train systems. Throughout that time, dozens of staircases were installed and used as crossings and connections for pedestrians. Today, the stairs for many are forgotten. Those in the know refer to the remaining stairs scattered throughout LA as secret stairways. Not only are they great hidden spots to discover, they can offer some incredible sweeping city views, and as we are feeling today, a killer workout. repost via @iechopark
A photo posted by realtor.com (@realtordotcom) on
Aug 9, 2015 at 5:48am PDT
Located within a stretch of LA stripmall along Sunset Blvd is 826LA, a creative non-profit, and it's magical, family-friendly, co-conspirator, the Time Travel Mart. The latter specializes in products imported from the past and the future. That means: Viking odorant, robot milk, robot toupees, robot emotions, mammoth chunks, and an ever-changing array of time travel-inspired oddities. Repost via @yamashira
A photo posted by realtor.com (@realtordotcom) on
Aug 9, 2015 at 12:24pm PDT
Can you still buy here? Echo Park real estate is still reasonably priced for buyers and renters. That means emerging entrepreneurs and small-time retailers can also take advantage of the changing landscape. Author Dave Eggers inserted one of his nationally beloved 826LA outposts—the youth and education nonprofit—into the hood, and its companion store, the Time Travel Mart, is a local treasure for families of all ages and imaginations.
Does this home look familiar? If you watched the TV series "Charmed" on the WB, the painted Victorian is Halliwell Manor! While the show was set in San Francisco, the home is actually in Echo Park and known as the Innes House. Repost via @specialmanspecimen
A photo posted by realtor.com (@realtordotcom) on
Aug 8, 2015 at 8:50pm PDT
The City of Angels doesn’t lack when it comes to architectural charm. Each neighborhood is an eclectic mix of design styles. In Echo Park, you’ll find your share of enviable Victorians, along with Craftsman bungalows, brownstones, and Pueblo and art moderne styles. Pop culture aficionados may recognize the painted Innes House as Halliwell Manor from the TV series “Charmed.”
Kind of feels like the "Melrose Place" of Echo Park. repost via @joshklaw
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Aug 9, 2015 at 2:19pm PDT
Love this sunny, yellow Pueblo-style, Native American-inspired home. repost via @weaziller
A photo posted by realtor.com (@realtordotcom) on
Aug 8, 2015 at 9:43am PDT
Red Stripe. repost via @yungmoonlight
A photo posted by realtor.com (@realtordotcom) on
Aug 9, 2015 at 3:43pm PDT
The northern stretch of Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park has seen property values rise, but the hipster resentment is still at a very low level. Why? Echo Park residents aren’t exclusive—rather they’re all contributors to the greater share community.
How cool is this?!! First it was Echo Park's lake revitalization that brought the community together in new and beautiful shared ways, now it's all about the forward-thinking of Blackbirds. The cluster of 18 homes tucked in the Echo Park hills and situated within a drought tolerant landscape, are part of a design solution to construct high quality dense housing where land is increasingly limited. (Hint: LA.) Each house, inspired by early 20th century craftsman cabins is under 1,920sf & built to conceal actual density. They surround a central courtyard designed to be multi-purpose, where landscape, parking & a stage for community gatherings and recreation all function as one. repost via @echoparkcool
A photo posted by realtor.com (@realtordotcom) on
Aug 9, 2015 at 4:57pm PDT
You can’t talk about a share community and cool neighbors without mentioning the forward-thinking arrival of Blackbirds. The long-awaited, 18-unit, low-density residential project designed by architect Barbara Bestor debuted earlier this summer.
A pink sunset over Echo Park Lake. repost via @echoparkforums photo by @daverundell
A photo posted by realtor.com (@realtordotcom) on
Aug 9, 2015 at 6:58pm PDT
Does this look like the kind of neighborhood you’d love to live in? Luckily for you, you can give it a try first.
Hasta pronto, Echo Park!
The post Live Like a Local: Instagramming Los Angeles’ Echo Park Neighborhood appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com.