Elysian Valley, Los Angeles

Elysian Valley, also known by the nickname of Frogtown,[1] is a neighborhood of more than 8,800 residents within Central Los Angeles, California, adjoining the Los Angeles River.

Elysian Valley

Frogtown
Neighborhood of Los Angeles
Dorris Place Elementary School
Elysian Valley as drawn by the Los Angeles Times
Elysian Valley
Location within Northeast Los Angeles
Coordinates: 34.09445°N 118.240366°W / 34.09445; -118.240366

Geography

Description

According to the Mapping L.A. project of the Los Angeles Times, the Elysian Valley neighborhood is flanked on the north by Atwater Village, on the northeast and east by Glassell Park, on the southeast by Cypress Park, on the south and southwest by Elysian Park and on the west and northwest by Echo Park and Silver Lake.[2][3] Street and other boundaries are: the Los Angeles River on the north and east, Riverside Drive on the west and Fletcher Drive on the northwest.[4]

History

In July 2019, it was reported that Frogtown was undergoing "inexorable change" due to gentrification.[5] With the announcement of a $1 billion restoration project for the Los Angeles River, also known as Alternative 20, many residents felt the pressure of new investment and development in the community, causing them to organize for lower density.[6] This push for low density from within the neighborhood is not new and was documented in an article as far back as 1987.[7]

Population

The 2000 U.S. census counted 7,387 residents in the 0.79-square-mile neighborhood—an average of 9,354 people per square mile, about the same population density as the rest of the city. In 2008 the city estimated that the population had increased to 7,781. The median age for residents was 31, about average for Los Angeles, but the percentage of residents aged 11 to 18 was among the county's highest.[4]

The neighborhood is moderately diverse ethnically, and the percentage of Asians and Latinos is comparatively high. The breakdown in 2000 was Latinos, 61.0%; Asians, 35.9%; whites, 9.7%; blacks, 1.1%, and others, and 2.6%. Mexico was the most common places of birth for the 47.5% of the residents who were born abroad, a high figure compared to rest of the city.[4]

The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $49,013, about the same as the rest of Los Angeles. The average household size of 3.4 people was high for the city of Los Angeles. Renters occupied 52.2% of the housing stock, and house- or apartment owners 47.8%.[4]

Education

Seventeen percent of the neighborhood residents aged 25 and older had earned a four-year degree by 2000, an average figure for the city.[4]

There is one school within Elysian Valley: Dorris Place Elementary, a Los Angeles Unified School District School at 2225 Dorris Place.[8] The school's facade has been a popular filming location for various commercials throughout the years and has appeared in at least four movies.[9]

Commercial corridor

There is a small commercial corridor on Riverside Dr. and a few small warehouses in the background of the neighborhood adjacent to the L.A. River.

Knightsbridge Theatre
Storefronts on Riverside

Religion

Religious congregations include:

  • St. Ann Catholic Parish on 2302 Riverdale Avenue
  • St. Mary Coptic Catholic Church on 2701 Newell Avenue
  • Kadampa Meditation Center on 1492 Blake Avenue

St. Ann's Catholic church has a significant relationship with Mexican immigrant residents, many of whom are originally from the state of Jalisco in Mexico. St. Ann's had annually hosted a saint statue from the city of San Martín de Hidalgo, where many residents were born. The church's parishioner breakdown has shifted from predominantly Mexican and Mexican-American to a growing Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American population.

References
  1. Isaac Simpson (20 August 2014). "L.A.'s Hottest New Neighborhood, Frogtown, Doesn't Want the Title". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2016. Its official name, Elysian Valley, is rarely used.
  2. "Central L.A.," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
  3. "Northeast," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
  4. "Elysian Valley," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
  5. https://capitalandmain.com/watching-another-los-angeles-neighborhood-gentrify-0717/,full.story Barron of Frogtown: Watching L.A. change with “the Willy Wonka of rusted metal"
  6. Jao, Carren. "Elysian Valley Residents Push for Smart Growth". kcet.org.
  7. McMillan, Penelope. "Elysian Valley : Frogtown Holds Bucolic 'Secret' Minutes From Downtown L.A." Los Angeles Times.
  8. "Elysian Valley Schools," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
  9. "Filming Location Matching "Dorris Place Elementary School - 2225 Dorris Place, Los Angeles, California, USA" (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-11-04.

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