Elysian Park, Los Angeles facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elysian Park
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 Elysian Park
Location in Los Angeles
Elysian Park
Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Los Angeles |
| City | Los Angeles |
| Time zone | Pacific |
| Area code(s) | 213/323 |
Elysian Park is a cool neighborhood located in Central Los Angeles, California. It's famous for being home to the huge Elysian Park city park and the awesome Dodger Stadium, where the Los Angeles Dodgers play baseball! You'll also find a high school for boys and an elementary school here.
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A Glimpse into Elysian Park's Past
Elysian Park has a long history! On August 2, 1769, a group of explorers called the Portolá expedition set up camp near the Los Angeles River. These were the first Europeans to explore the inland parts of California.
Today, you can find a special marker, California Historical Landmark #655, at the park's Meadow Road entrance. This marker shows where the Portolá expedition camped.
Exploring Elysian Park's Location
The Elysian Park neighborhood is surrounded by several other cool areas in Los Angeles. To the north and northeast, you'll find Elysian Valley. To the east is Lincoln Heights.
If you head southeast and south, you'll reach Chinatown. To the southwest, west, and northwest, you'll find Echo Park.
The neighborhood's edges are marked by roads and landmarks. It starts near Exit 138 of the Golden State Freeway. Then it follows the freeway southeast and the Los Angeles River south. Other boundaries include North Broadway, Stadium Way, Academy Road, and Elysian Park Drive.
Who Lives in Elysian Park?
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In 2000, about 2,530 people lived in the Elysian Park neighborhood. This area covers about 1.65 square miles, which includes the big city park and Dodger Stadium. This means there are about 1,538 people per square mile, which is a lower population density compared to many other parts of Los Angeles county.
By 2008, the population had grown slightly to about 2,659 residents. The average age of people living here was 31. This is pretty typical for Los Angeles. However, the number of young people aged 11 to 18 was higher than in most other parts of the county.
The neighborhood is also quite diverse! About 47.6% of residents are Latinos, and 43.4% are Asians. A smaller percentage are white (3.1%) or black (2.1%). Many residents were born outside the United States, with China (32.3%) and Mexico (27.3%) being common birthplaces.
Learning in Elysian Park
Education is important in Elysian Park. About 13% of adults aged 25 and older had earned a four-year college degree by 2000. This is about average for the city of Los Angeles.
There are two main schools located within the Elysian Park neighborhood:
Cathedral High School
Cathedral High School is a private school for boys. It's located at 1253 Bishops Road. It was started in 1925 by Archbishop John Joseph Cantwell. This was the very first Los Angeles Archdiocesan high school for boys.
The Christian Brothers have been running the school since it opened. In 1984, it was recognized as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument number 281 because of its important history.
Solano Avenue Elementary School
Solano Avenue Elementary School is a public school run by LAUSD. You can find it at 615 Solano Avenue. In 1955, the school was honored as one of 221 schools to receive a California Distinguished School award.
The Los Angeles Times newspaper once wrote about the school, saying that "At Solano Avenue Elementary School, things are done right. Parents chip in, teachers stick around for years, children learn, and the surrounding community claims it for their own. The campus is a thing of pride-no graffiti or trash problems here."
The principal, John Stoll, noted that almost half of the students started school speaking limited English. This was because they grew up speaking Spanish or Cantonese at home. The school was "adopted" by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1980. The student choir was famous for singing the National Anthem at Dodger Stadium before baseball games. It's a tradition for Solano students to have their graduation ceremonies at Dodger Stadium!
The Famous Elysian Park
The park itself is one of the biggest in Los Angeles, covering about 600 acres (2.4 square kilometers). It's also the oldest park in the city, officially created in 1886.
Elysian Park was even a venue for the 1932 Summer Olympics! It hosted the shooting events and the shooting part of the modern pentathlon. In 1964, a group called the Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park was formed. They worked to stop the city from building a convention center on 62 acres (250,000 square meters) of park land.
In 1968, the park was also the site of a famous "Love-in" event, which was a large gathering of people during the hippie movement.
Figueroa Street Tunnels
The Figueroa Street Tunnels are a cool feature of the park. They carry the northbound lanes of State Route 110, also known as the Pasadena Freeway, right through the park.
Discovering Solano Canyon
Solano Canyon is a special area within Elysian Park. It's also the name of a residential neighborhood at the southern edge of the Elysian Park area. It's located just north of the Los Angeles State Historic Park.
The Arroyo Seco Parkway cuts through the southern part of this district. Solano Canyon also shares a border with the vibrant Chinatown neighborhood. Interestingly, "Solano Canyon" was once an old name for a ravine in the Hollywood Hills that is now known as Runyon Canyon.
