The Silver Lake area is located just five miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles and just east of Griffith Park. The district gets its name from the Department of Water and Power’s Silver Lake Reservoir, which was named after Herman Silver, a member of Los Angeles’ first Board of Water commissioners.    The Department of Water and Power established these reservoirs in the early 1900s as part of the city-wide system of water storage & delivery that today has only 10 open reservoirs remaining.

As part of the program, Echo Park and the other neighborhoods will be promoted in local and national travel and entertainment publications as well as in a series of colorful street banners. In addition, the convention bureau will also publish and distribute an Echo Park guide with a description of the neighborhood and a suggested itinerary. How about a paddle boat ride across the lake, followed by a shopping trip on Antique Row and then drinks at Les Freres Taix?

The convention bureau will rely on local Neighborhood Tour Organizations to come up with the itinerary and identify events–such as the Echo Park Arts Festival and The Cuban Festival–that would be of interest to visitors. Also, local organizers would be called upon to put together a guided tour for groups that express interest in exploring local historic sights or artist studios.

If you have any suggestions for stops on guided or self-guided tours, please contact Jesus Sanchez at (213) 250-4155 with your suggestions. Also, volunteers who are knowledgeable about the neighborhood are needed to lead small group tours.