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Echo Park Lake Will Re-Open Soon, After 2-Year Rehab
Echo Park Lake in February 2013 (Photo by STERLINGDAVISPHOTO via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
It's been a long time since L.A.'s Echo Park Lake has been its usual self. A two-year-long rehab project has been taking place, putting iconic items like the Lady of the Lake statue on the move, and looking more like a construction zone than a lake-dotted city park. But the end is in sight: The lake is set to re-open in mid-May.
There's going to be a grand re-opening public celebration, reports Echo Park Now, as well as the return of some familiar aspects of the park, though not everything will go back to its pre-rehab state.
The Lady of the Lake was put back in earlier this year, and she's in her original spot, back where she first was after she was commissioned in 1934. The Lotus Plants (which were being cared for in the Valley) are there, but they are protected by netting, and won't bloom until next spring. Speaking of the Lotus flowers, their annual celebration, the Lotus Festival, will not be happening this year. Actually, there won't be any festivals held at the Park until next year, since it's going to take sometime for the new sod to be established.
There's also a new pavement perimeter around the lake and a return of the catch and release fishing program. Plans to reinstate the boathouse, as well as to keep the bridge and island open are in the works.
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