Silver Lake

It's a shame our neighborhood continues to be defined by Hollywood wannabes. I live very near Hoover & Bellevue, and would take the pupuseria that was on the corner any day over that half-baked, overrated slop trying to pass for barbecue, Territory. (It's clear to us their patrons who think it's good don't know how to cook for themselves and therefore have low standards...) With their loud live music and the influx of Volvo driving scene-sters, they are further ruining the ethnically diverse neighborhood feel we once had... Our hood used to feel like an ethnic microcosm of L.A.; but it's been feeling more like that of Santa Monica lately.

I REMEMBER SILVER LAKE FROM 1937 TO 1950.MY STEPDAD WAS THE CAETAKER FOR THE RESERVOR ALSO GRIFFITH PARK AN THE FOUNTAIN AT RIVERSIDE DRIVE LOS FELIZ BLVD.WE LIVED AT 2915 ALLESANDRO STREET BY THE L.A. RIVER ALSO MUCH MORE. RAY ROMO THE OLD TIMER

I grew up in the SF Valley, went to college in Orange County and lived for many years in Dana Point and owned a business in Laguna Beach and let me tell you how wonderful it is to live here in Silver Lake! I have a 'Barbary Lane' kind of rental unit in that forgotten corner of Silver Lake, i.e., below Sunset and south of Silver Lake Blvd but just above the 101 fwy and north of Benton Way, the Echo Park border line. And yes, I'm in the 90026 not '27 zip code. When I first moved back into LA from the OC in 2002 it was a breath of fresh air as it afforded that oft missed suburban commodity: appreciation for diversity! Not only ethnic diversity, but social, economic, political and sexual identity...here one is expected to bring their whole selves to the fore. Yet, unlike other areas of town, this is also a neighborhood where community is appreciated and individuality is tempered by respect for others. I think this is nurtured, in part, at least by the diversity and harmony of the physical environment we have here, the beautiful hills, the iconic tall palm trees, the wonderful lake, and especially the variety of residential architectural design. This alone is a tonic for those of us who grew up in post WWII valley tract housing. I'd say then that Silver Lake is broad-minded, not bland, artistic, yet without too much LA artifice, idiosyncratic, yet without egoist attitudes, safe, without seclusion (no high walls and gated communities), community-minded, but without the coercion to conform to suburban bourgeois mores. Yeah, I'm glad I live in Silver Lake!

I lived very close to Silverlake 10 years ago and I actually worked in Silverlake. Since it is very close to Rampart, there were always gangs and crime, cops patrolling etc. I didn't feel that safe during nights as I used to work night shifts in a Hotel. I loved the food though..especially at the Roman's Pizza, Don Felix Restaurant and El Casario..the Equadorian food!!

Does anyone living within the map boundaries above qualify for Ivanhoe Elementary? Appreciate any feedback, thanks.

If you don't like living near people who don't look exactly like you, then maybe it is time for you to leave for the suburbs. People live in cities because they want to experience the richness of a diverse population, not homogeneity. Silver Lake actually feels like a neighborhood, which is why people love living here. Yes, there is a mix of higher income and middle/lower income, but that is the beautiful thing about it. Don't just complain and move out. Stay and make it better by keeping your kids in the schools, helping the community meet its needs, and contributing instead of complaining. That's the kind of attitude that this city needs.

Silver Lake, the place I've called home for 20 years, means to me...bad schools, increasing gang violence, growing anti-white sentiment and racial epithets hurled by angry youth who seem to resent the tax base that pays this neighborhood's bills. Sadly I will be leaving my beautiful Silver Lake home for one of the bland, affordable, safe and child friendly suburbs. I can't see raising my kids in a place they're so clearly unwelcome.

Funny... these stats are according to the census bureau, but if you go to the census bureaus website my zipcode is Echo Park, not Silverlake like this article suggests (90026).

It can't be denied that there is a lot of confusion over where each neighborhood starts and stops... but it doesn't matter anyways. Both neighborhoods feel one in the same to me.

My favorite part is how un-L.A. it feels.. rolling hills, lots of trees, coyotes, possums... as close to downtown that you can get and still feel a little bit of peace. Drivers are the best in the city too.

Great update on the LA times page, now all we need is a forum!

Ahhhhhh....Territory.....great Bar-B-Que that is over-priced along with alot of over-priced records. The wildest thing is that this new "hip" spot was built smack dab in the ONE tiny corner of Silver Lake that gets JUMPIN'. Right at the end of Imogen....and I'm talking automatic gunfire, not parties. You know, the corner where the poor, long time and hard-working residents of Silver Lake got pushed out to when they could not afford to stay on top of the hills. Hahaha....and they named it Territory. They didn't see the massive graffiti wars this past winter and spring leading up to some nonsense happening in a beautiful neighborhood. I'm all for people moving in and bringing new ideas to an historic neighborhood. It keeps places like this special....but I also want to see MORE community involvement and outreach and not just towards one class or demographic. I would hate to lose an area like Silver Lake to violence or (maybe worse) seeing it become that "IN" place (if its not already....) and having it divided off by race, class and social standing.

I love silverlake there are lots of activities aroun the neighborhood.I love the silverlake music conservatory,its so cool and fun.Many celebs live there.I go to a school in silverlake, I love it. My opinion is that SilverLake is the best neighborhood around Los Angeles, as well as KoreaTown and Echo Park.

Silver Lake was a great place about ten years ago. Back then it was an affordable, working-class neighborhood. Now the streets of Silver Lake are filled with wanna-be-hip trust-funders who all though they were the most attractive/creative people in some small town in Kansas. The vast majority of people in Silver Lake these days are trying way too hard to be cool, and as a result they come across like a bunch of provencial marks.

I grew up in Echo Park and do know that Coronado is not in Echo Park. It is for all the folks that wished to eliminate a large # of minorities from living in Silverlake. Most of the comments and suggestions that Silverlake ended on Benton Way clearly stated that the houses east of Benton Way did not look Silverlake enough! Ha, LA times stop messing with boundary lines of well established neighborhoods.
As a kid and young adult I walked on Sunset from East of Alvarado and knew it was Echo Park. After you pass Waterloo down the huge hill at the bottom of Coronado Terrace you know u had just landed in Silverlake. Don't try to reinvent the wheel for whatever your ultimate goal is. This is an OLD neighborhood and the long time original residents know whtat they are talking about. Stop asking people that just moved into California searching for a HOT, COOL nighborhood where the boundary lines should be placed!!!!! Plus my deed clearly states Silverlake and I am on Coronoado St. north of Sunset!

Home owners' property value considerations aside, I prefer to define my neighborhood (Silver Lake, definitely two words) more loosely, in terms of ... tacos. I know you're hungry, but please hear me out:

- The northeast boundary is Hugo's on Glendale (just past Tacos Villa Corona), since Burrito King on Hyperion no longer passes muster.

- The Southwest frontier liberally extends west to Hillhurst, since I feel at home at both Best Fish Taco in Ensenada and Yuca's original location.

- Technically speaking, Las Glorias Del Buen Comer marks the southernmost boundary, but any old Silver Lake hand who's lived la vida taco can attest that it isn't worth venturing south of Sunset ... unless Tacos Delta, Siete Mares and Alegria all happen to be closed (perhaps for Semana Santa?).

- On the taco-rich eastern flank, as mush as I'd like to claim the Taco Zone + Arizas trucks for the 'hood -- or cinderblock-and-mortar Tacos de México for their delicious Tuesday meal deals -- I'll stop the aggressive colonization at Marielas Taco, on Sunset at Coronado, for the sake of good neighborly relations.

¡Buen provecho!

I've been confused for two years when people ask me where i live.

echo park silver lake i always say.

i live on coronado.

hi everyone. that Tarasco taco place that opened up (across from Dusty's, near 7 Seas) is great.

OK, so here's how the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council defines this neighborhood.

This neighborhood is bounded by:
LA River/Riverside Terrace on the north,
Clifford/Mayberry/101 Fwy on the south,
Hoover/Myra/Hyperion on the west,
2 Fwy/Glendale/Coronodo/Waterloo on the east

So ... not Benton Way on the east. No map that I've found ever goes that far west. Can't imagine why you did that.

Mohawk and Montana is a part of the EP Neighbor hood council. Between Alvarado and Benton is kind of no man's land. Not EP, but definitely not SL. People on the other side of the ridge definitely do NOT consider Coronado St, Waterloo, Mohawk, Coronado Terrace, etc a part of SL and people on the other side of Alvarado/Glendale definitely do not consider them a part of EP. I always considered myself a part of EP when I lived there. Homeowners (my ex-landlord included) would like to think it is SL, but no one else does. Again, I think it should be it's own neighborhood called No Man's Land. It hurts not to be wanted!

Um, no the dividing line between Silver Lake and Echo Park is not on Benton Way - it's on Glendale Blvd, and it's been that way since those neighborhoods have existed.

I live on the east side of Benton Way, and our deed says Silver Lake, as do the deeds of friends who live east of us, but west of Glendale Blvd. Our local politicians also seem to think we live in Silver Lake, as does the neighborhood council. Someone messed up your map, which will seriously tweak both Silver Lake and Echo Park folks.

I agree with Littleleosmom -- I used to live on Coronado Terrace north of Sunset and it was always considered Silver Lake. I thought the dividing line was Alvarado.

I would not be surprised if the 2010 census data reveals a dramatically different picture of the neighborhood, especially in the categories of income and families. the run up in property values and rents, combined with the large increase in families with young children since 200 almost completely changed the texture of the hood. I would guess we have fewer singles (although I'm unsure how gay marriages will be counted in the federal census) and higher income.

Territory BBQ on Hoover and Bellevue!

According to the Assessor's comment on the title to my house, we are in Silverlake on WaterlooSt north of Berkeley. Check the deeds before deciding where neighborhoods start