echo park Archives - Rodeo Realty

March 7, 2018

Echo Park Lake debuts new swan pedal boats

Swans have arrived at Echo Park Lake just in time for spring. Well, sort of. The pedal boat services at the lake are under new management, and part of the change includes an upgraded fleet of swan-shaped pedal boats available for rental. Wheel Fun Rentals has taken over the pedal boat rental space previously run by Chaffin & Reeves (doing business as Echo Park Lake Pedal Boats Canoe & Gondola). The first day of new service was this past Saturday, and it included the debut of the aforementioned swans.

According to The Eastsider the previous operators were outbid by Wheel Fun for the rights to manage the rentals in a decision approved by the Department of Recreation and Parks this past September. Chaffin & Reeves had provided pedal boat rental services at the lake since the extensive renovation of the area that took place in 2013.

Riders are prepped for a swan boat ride. Photo by Brian Champlin / We Like L.A.

We Like L.A. spoke to assistant manager Tom Oddo, who was has worked at the pedal boat rental space for the past 10 months, and was kept on during the transition of service providers. Oddo said the newer boats represent a significant upgrade, both in terms of size and the notable addition of canopies to shade pedal-boat riders on the open water. A small swan boat can accommodate two adults and two children under 10 years old. A large swan boat can hold up to five people. Presently about half the fleet has been swapped out for the new swan models, but the plan is to convert all of the boats in the near future.

Rentals cost $11 per hour for adults and $6 per hour for children (ages 2-17). This is a $1 increase for both adults and children compared to the old rates. Weekdays are your best bet if you want to guarantee rental availability, as weekends tend to sell out quickly. Once summer begins Oddo told We Like L.A. he expects to see high demand every day of the week.

A swan pedal boat glides across the lake. Photo by Brian Champlin / We Like L.A.

Boat rentals are available year-round, seven days a week from 9 a.m. to sunset. The boathouse is located on the eastern side of Echo Park Lake, adjacent to Beacon at 751 Echo Park Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90026.

Article courtesy of We Like LA.

October 19, 2017

Expo Park's Natural History Museum Plans For Makeover

At 104 years old, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is due for a new look. That’s exactly what it’s getting from Los Angeles architecture firm Frederick Fisher and Partners, which released concept designs Wednesday to show their vision for updates to the museum’s west and south sides.

The Natural History Museum’s new “West/South Project” is intended to make the space more welcoming and accessible, Frederick Fisher & Partners noted in a Wednesday statement; preliminary concepts include smoothing out stairs and and adding new points of entry from Exposition Park to refashion the museum’s southwester perimeter into a “front porch” complete with a new lobby and Welcome Center.

Additionally, the museum’s existing Jean Delacour Auditorium wing, currently used for storage, will be replaced by a new, three-story rectangular glass structure; the L.A. Times points out that the Natural History Museum already has one glass-cube entry hall, the Otis Booth Pavilion added to the museum’s north side in 2013, but this cube will distinguish itself with large-scale vitrines set into its façade to show off objects from the Museum’s various collections. The museum will also be topped by a brand-new rooftop restaurant offering panoramic views, which L.A. could always use more of. The concepts are all still preliminary.

A projection of the Natural History Museum’s new south façade, which will function as a “front porch” to welcome guests. (Photo courtesy of Frederick Fisher & Partners)

Los Angeles County is pumping $2.5 million into the Natural History Museum’s expansion for further design drawings over the next 6 to 9 months. In a Wednesday statement, L.A. County Board Chairman Mark Ridley-Thomas Exposition Park called the museum “the anchor” of Exposition Park, which includes the California Science Center and the California African American Museum in addition to a host of other destinations—and will welcome the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art sometime in 2021. The west and south sides of the Natural History Museum being updated are the ones that will directly face the Lucas Museum, because here in L.A., even our county buildings know the importance of kissing up to celebrities.

A projection of the museum’s new lobby, welcome center and theater entrance. (Photo courtesy of Frederick Fisher & Partners)

The “West/South Project” is aimed at improving the aspects of the Exposition Park museum campus that were not addressed by the decade-long “NHM Next” remodeling program that was completed in 2013; to that end, Frederick Fisher & Partners also plans to bring a multi-purpose theater to the complex, intended to serve as a “vital gathering place for the community and neighborhoods around Exposition Park.”

Article by LAist.