One L.A. Attraction Slowly Disappears; One L.A. Eyesore Is Slowly Dismantled

(Pic credit: Los Angeles Times)

The Los Angeles Times reports that the ugly parking lot off of 1st and Olive -- you know the one, it's that terrible structure you park in when you go downtown for jury duty -- is finally going away.

When it was built, the Times notes, city leaders complained -- and were promised that it was a temporary parking fix. That was nearly 40 years ago:

Even before it opened in 1969, the "Erector set" parking lot at the corner of 1st and Olive streets downtown was one of Los Angeles' most reviled structures.

Richard G. Mitchell, head of the Community Redevelopment Agency, complained that it was just another monolith of concrete, asphalt and steel atop Bunker Hill. The mass of girders and slabs, perched atop what look like stilts, "fights you," Mitchell said. He predicted it would have a "depressing effect" on downtown.

Robert Bolling, president of the Southern California chapter of the American Institute of Architects, agreed, warning that the structure would have a "deleterious effect on the fabric of the city."

At the time, the 1,062-car structure's saving grace was that it was temporary. Planners promised the "portable parking structure" would be dismantled and moved somewhere else, replaced by a more fitting form of architecture.

(Pic credit: Los Angeles Times)

Meanwhile, the Times also digs into the mystery of the disappearing Echo Park lotus plants. As everyone has noticed in recent years, the plants -- which inspired the park's annual Lotus Festival -- have been dying off at an alarming rate. The paper writes:

Only 30 blossoms appeared in 2007, down from hundreds the year before. Park employees blamed cold weather and drought. When the lotuses bloomed too late for the 2006 festival, cool winter and an extra-hot June were considered the culprits. When the 2004 blooms came early, some cited an extra-hot May.

The lotuses' recent strange behavior remains a mystery, park staff told the Echo Park Advisory Board at its regular meeting Tuesday.

"No one can give you a rational scientific explanation," said board member Isa-Kae Meksin. And their condition this year? "It's too early to tell," Meksin said. The underwater plants don't send up new green shoots until late April or May.

The lotus problem is unrelated to the 13 turtles found dead at the park last year, said Stephen Moe, the park department's water manager.

The lake is scheduled to be drained and cleaned in 2010; park officials hope the removal of contaminants in the water might lead to healthier, more plentiful plants.