Silver Lake

Even More on Silver Lake

Located in the east-central region of Los Angeles, California is the neighborhood of Silver Lake. This area, originally and unfortunately named Ivanhoe in the 1900s, is now a residential and commercial town built around a city reservoir. Silver Lake was renamed in honor of the reservoir, despite the fact that it was not at all a lake and that water's color was not silver; instead Silver was a local politician who campaigned for the reservoir. Anyway.

Silver Lake is now known for its abundance of restaurants (yum), painted staircases (neat), hipster hangouts (also neat), and the many notable people who have made Silver Lake their home. It is often touted that Silver Lake "fully embraces the hipster lifestyle," though when prompted, no one could really explain what they meant by that.

Silver Lake is surrounded by Atwater Village and Elysian Valley to the northeast, Echo Park to the southeast, Westlake to the southwest, East Hollywood to the west, and Los Feliz to the northwest. It is bound by the Los Angeles River, Glendale Freeway, Effie Street, Coronado Street, Berkeley Avenue, Fletcher Drive, Virgil Avenue, Fountain Avenue, Hyperion Avenue, and the Hollywood Freeway. Try saying that three times fast.

Silver Lake's history before the mid-1900s isn't well-recorded, but it can be imagined that it was, like its neighbors, inhabited by the Tongva Native Americans before being colonized by Spanish explorers. In Los Angeles, it's common that the neighborhoods are named after prominent ranchos, or later renamed after whomever decided the town needed a railroad. Again, Silver Lake seems to be neither. Its original name, Ivanhoe, was Scottish, and its current name is after an obsolete lake. It should be noted that Silver Lake uses the Headworks Reservoir, found underground north of Griffith Park, for water resources.

Silver Lake's first time in the limelight was in the 1930s, during which Walt Disney built a large studio here. It was located on the corner of Griffith Park Boulevard and Hyperion Avenue, and later replaced with a much less exciting grocery chain store, Gelson's Market. Having originated here, you'll still see Hyperion used as a name within the Walt Disney Company and its subsidiaries, such as Hyperion Books and Disney California Adventure Park's Hyperion Theater. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Silver Lake was also the site of a studio for Tom Mix, who was known for his early Western films — no princesses or talking mice. Similar to Disney though, the Tom Mix studio site was replaced with the Mixville Shopping Center. Replacing things with shopping outlets seems to be a trend here. Interestingly though, it's believed that Tom buried his trust steed, a horse named Tony, on the property and therefore, under the Mixville Shopping Center.

Due to Silver Lake's signature hills and steep inclines, the neighborhood is filled with municipal staircases. They're used for pedestrian access up and down Silver Lake, so they're just like sidewalks but for hills. To be expected. The most famous stairways include the Descanso Stairs, Redcliffe Stairs, and the Music Box Stairs. The latter was a famous set of stairs from Laurel and Hardy's film called "The Music Box," released in 1932.

In the mid-1900s, Silver Lake became a prominent home to middle class working communities. Residents would travel to the manufacturing districts in downtown Los Angeles, which had been a hub for such industry at the time. As outsourcing took over in the 1970s, the neighborhood dwindled and experienced what some have referred to as "urban decay." This fall from manufacturing-grace gave the neighborhood the opportunity to reinvent, and Silver Lake became a space for gay subculture. It was considered the equivalent to San Francisco's SoMA neighborhood. Gentrification soon followed — somewhat in response to the urban decay and somewhat due to the changing culture — and added many independent boutiques, coffee shops, fitness studios, and restaurants to Silver Lake.

Silver Lake's presence in the LGBT community is one strong facet of its origin. Drag performer of the early 1900s, Julian Eltinge, built his home there and regularly performed until the city criminalized cross-dressing. Silver Lake was also home to Harry Hay, who was the founder of the first gay organization called the Mattachine Society. It is said with full sincerity that Silver Lake may have been the birthplace of the gay-rights movement, and its Black Cat Tavern had a police raid and riot in 1967 — two years before Stonewall.

Silver Lake offers plenty to do for those visiting. Among the public grounds of the reservoir are the Silver Lake Recreation Center, a city park, the Silver Lake Walking Path, two dog packs, and more. Of course, there's always the city's many nightlife hotspots and local eateries to try as well!