I started this by going to Echo Park to check out the status of the lotus plants. No news to report there, so I decided to climb the steps to Angelino Heights, the last remaining bastion of Victorian homes in Los Angeles. There are 84 steps and I made it half way before I stopped for just a second to catch my breath and take a photo. Then on to the top. There are, by the way, hundreds of these public stairways in Los Angeles and they are very popular with urban hikers. I plan to hike a number of these stairs over the next few months and will post about them.
There are other Victorians here and there around the city, but Angelino Heights is famed for these homes. There are even tours of the area offered for $5 or $10 by the L.A. Conservancy. Other Victorians are located at the Heritage Square Museum which you can reach by taking the Gold Line Metro. The homes in Heritage Square actually make up a museum that no one lives in.
Now about Angelino Heights. It was the third major neighborhood in the City of the Angels. First there was Olvera Street, now an narrow walking street near Union Station crammed with touristy stuff and a couple of very interesting old adobe homes from back when L.A. was founded in the late 1700s.
Next, as the city grew, the wealthy moved to Bunker Hill and built Victorian mansions. When Bunker Hill became too crowded the good (wealthy) citizens of Los Angeles moved to Angelino Heights, in particular onto Carroll Street. These homes are still private residences today. The Victorian homes on Bunker Hill were torn down or relocated to Heritage Square back in the 1980s.
Okay. Here are a few of the homes you’ll see when you take a tour. The Conservancy tour guides are very knowledgeable about details of architectural styles. I recommend them!
