March 11th, 2023
Thai Town → Frogtown → Lincoln Heights → Highland Park → South Pasadena
[16.46 miles]
The Los Angeles River wasn’t always a giant concrete gutter. Over 80 years ago, the river was once free-flowing and frequently flooding. Before the arrival of Europeans, it supported native species of fish like rainbow trout, river shrimp, and Chinook salmon. Its path was unstable and unpredictable, and the mouth of the river moved frequently from one place to another.
Prior to the completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, it was the primary drinking source for the city. In the 1930’s, after a series of devastating floods, the Army Corps of Engineers completely encased the river’s bed and banks in concrete producing the river we see today.
The river is largely polluted with industrial and residential discharge. The majority of pollutants in the river can be attributed to stormwater pollution. Los Angeles is largely paved with concrete and asphalt, which doesn’t allow rainfall to be cleaned through groundwater filtration. Instead, the majority of rainfall – polluted with toxic chemicals, lawn fertilizers, grease, and engine oil – runs off into the river.
In recent years, efforts have been made to make the river more accessible to the nearly one million residents living within walking distance of its banks. At 51 miles long, the river flows through 17 cities and terminates at the Pacific Ocean at Long Beach. You’d be forgiven for not knowing the city has a river, although it has appeared in more movies than one can count – most notably this scene in Grease. (eerily, the river looks almost exactly as it does today, save for the newly constructed 6th Street Bridge).
All this to say, the Los Angeles River holds a certain undeniable mystique prompting me to walk the River Greenway Trail running adjacent to nearby Frogtown. There you can descend the concrete banks and walk inches from the polluted water. Recent stormwater drainage has caused the river to swell significantly and dump trash along its edges. Walking neighborhoods, speaking with residents, and visiting businesses is one way to engage with a city. The trash a city’s inhabitants produce tells an alternative story.
Trees miraculously grow from the river's basin. Their gnarly roots act as giant nets, catching anything and everything floating down river. I saw disassembled shopping carts, stereo parts, hub caps, shoes, furniture, and even discarded identification cards. It’s easy to adopt an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ attitude, but the volume of trash and variety of items reaching the rivers banks are a sobering reminder that everything discarded must go somewhere.
Despite all the trash and pollution, the murky brown water of the river presently supports non-native fish species, like carp, largemouth bass, tilapia, and bluegill, as well as a variety of bird species including egret, heron, ducks, geese, and doves (among others). All of these species nest or live off the resources of the river.
Walking the river is a real treat. A true highlight of this series. The city severely lacks walkable green space, making the River Greenway Trail a much needed gem.
Nearby Frogtown (aka Elysian Valley) reminds me of Vinegar Hill in Brooklyn. Both neighborhoods are remarkably charming, adjacent to bodies of water, and isolated from nearby neighborhoods due to freeway construction. Attempts to revitalize the Los Angeles Riverfront, including the development of the River Greenway Trail, have made Frogtown more desirable to developers and those interested in property investment. Bandit signs are pasted throughout the neighborhood. WE BUY HOUSES. CASH. If it wasn’t already clear, the neighborhood is going through the process of gentrification. The housing stock is largely humble single family bungalows and stuccoed Spanish Revivals with fruit bearing trees (lemons, oranges, kumquats, etc.) in the front yard and fragrant flowers lining the fences.
If developers haven’t already demolished a home and replaced it with a soulless new build, then they are completing renovating a property and stripping it of all redeeming qualities and character. The popular aesthetics of contemporary renovation are deplorable. Large and unflattering windows, sharp edges, fake wood, astroturf, and cheap lawn furniture. An unfortunate trend seen throughout every major city in the United States.
There’s nothing to eat within walking distance of Frogtown. A true food desert resting below the feet of Dodger’s Stadium and I was hungry. The kind of hunger that makes you weak in the knees, but I persisted. Imagining a warm meal, waiting for me somewhere. From the River Walkway, along the intersection of the 101 and 5 freeways, through an industrial corridor, to a much needed meal at Maya’s Restaurant on the edge of Lincoln Heights. Three Carne Asada tacos with rice and beans. I couldn’t have imagined a more appropriate meal. It’s no secret that Los Angeles’ strong suit is Mexican Food and I cannot get enough of it.
The rain foiled my plans yesterday and in retaliation, I decided to walk very far. All the way to South Pasadena. My weather app predicted dry conditions, but I was covered in light mist throughout the better half of the day (although not enough to regret leaving my newly purchased umbrella at home).
Mapping a route is one thing. Walking that route is another. To reach South Pasadena, I chose an indirect route that weaves through the incredibly steep hills and winding roads of Lincoln Heights and on to Montecito Heights. Two neighborhoods I knew nothing about, nor the rugged and unmaintained terrain that would precede me.
To reach the top of Lincoln Heights, I had to climb Minnesota Street – the steepest incline I’ve encountered throughout this series of walks. At the top is a 360° view of the entire city. Fog obfuscated the downtown skyline and the San Gabriel Mountains but I could still see miles and miles of roads and urban sprawl. On a clear, sunny day, I’m certain you could see all the way to Catalina Island and beyond.
I continued on a narrow paved lane, which turned into a semi-maintained dirt road. It was unclear if I was walking on someone’s property, even though my map said it was open to the public. The ground beneath my feet was wet and muddy. The hills were covered in lush, green grass and scattered with homes. At the highest point is a small cottage and two radio towers serving as a transmission station for the Los Angeles Police Department. For decades, they’ve used the land for free, but a recent sale of the land (and new landlord) is forcing the LAPD to pay more than $5,000 a month to use the land. I’m sure they can find the funding.
The dirt path eventually turned into an unmaintained trail that spit me out in the middle of Montecito Drive which was lined with homes and people walking their dogs. I could hear a large group of children playing, but couldn’t see them anywhere. Their playful shouting filled the neighborhood. Down a ways, a tight curving road revealed a group of young girls having a water balloon fight. A surreal sight, especially after walking through the quiet hills and quasi-isolation of the dirt path.
Drivers navigated the area as though they’ve never seen someone walking along the street in their lives. There wasn’t any side walk, so each time a car would come flying around the corner, they’d press their brakes, and cautiously drive around me.
At the bottom of Montecito Heights, I crossed the Arroyo Seco on a pedestrian bridge and continued up Figueroa Street into the neighborhood of Highland Park – one of Los Angeles’ first subdivisions. The main drag on Figueroa has rapidly gentrified in recent years. Mom and pop shops have been replaced with hipster coffee shops, restaurants, and bars. The kind of establishments that don’t usually last long and turn over frequently. Don’t get me wrong, there are likely worthwhile places of businesses here doing their best, but many bring a certain attitude that strips the neighborhood of its character and has no relationship to the community that has existed here for decades…I digress. I still stopped at Civil Coffee for a much needed macchiato – a walker’s coffee drink of choice.
The gold line runs through the neighborhood and takes passengers downtown or all the way to Azusa in the San Gabriel Valley. At a train crossing, I waited for the train to pass for almost five minutes. A small crowd accumulated while we waited. Impatient bikers looked both ways and crossed the tracks.
Down York Boulevard, a pandemonium of red-crowned parrots loudly squawked from the top of a palm tree outside of a Jack in the Box restaurant. These birds are not native to Southern California, but are the descendants of wild caught parrots imported before the practice was banned in the United States. One way or another, these birds escaped or were intentionally released by their owners. This isn’t unique to Los Angeles, although always jarring. It’s common to see non-native parrots in cities throughout the United States. They’ve surfaced in Queens, San Francisco, and even Chicago.
I reached South Pasadena just as the sun was setting. The area was incredibly quiet, lined with large trees, and filled with well maintained homes. I read the area is a popular stand-in for Midwestern and Northeastern towns in movies and television shows. I’m amazed at how easily one can feel they’ve gotten away from the city here in Los Angeles. South Pasadena (and even Highland Park) are no exception.
My feet, sensing the day was coming to an end, began to hurt. I’ve done a good job of taking care of my feet. Toe socks really help prevent blisters, but four days and about 65 miles walking has its way of punishing your body.
All and all, a lovely day of walking here in beautiful Los Angeles. So far this series has been a great experience. I already don’t want the trip to end. Another visit is in store, someday. You could spend a lifetime walking these streets.
Thanks for reading as always. Means a lot.
More tomorrow,
Alex
The amount of garbage in your riverbank photo is shocking and not typical, but a byproduct of the unusual rains. We wonder if there's any plan to clean it up, since the river is a jurisdictional no man's land.
Great to see you made it up Minnesota to Flat Top, and if you visit the Natural History Museum, you can see the unique prehistoric whale's skull that was discovered on that hill! https://www.instagram.com/p/CjJUf6BPuKO/?hl=en
Great pics, loved the photos of the trees in the river, and the info about what lives in it!