Echo Park

1. One of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, in between downtown L.A. and Silver Lake. The original center of the film industry in L.A., before the industry moved to Hollywood after World War I and then to Culver City and the San Fernando Valley in the 1940s. Long occupied by Mexicans, other Latinos and a few Chinese, Echo Park in the last few years has drawn young white kids - especially hipsters and trustafarians - priced out of Silver Lake,Los Feliz. and Venice. It has replaced Silver Lake as being L.A.'s hipster center. Probably the most happening neighborhood in L.A. right now. 2. A park in the southern part of the neighborhood of the same name, known as a seriously dangerous place filled with gangs (particularly the Echo Parque gang, also known as ExP 13) and (more so in the past than today) drug dealers, particularly at night.It contains the only natural lake in L.A. According to legend, restaurant owners in Chinatown, not far away, have been known to capture dogs running loose to butcher, cook, and serve. The area of Echo Park (the neighborhood) which surrounds the park is the only part of the neighborhood that could be called nasty. Countless films have been shot there, most notably Mi Vida Loca.