The Corralitas Red Car Property is a small strip of land with a lot of history. The 10-acre lot on the north side of Silver Lake / Echo Park used to be owned by Pacific Electric, which ran a Red Line car north to Glendale along its path from 1896 to 1955.
Since the Red Line ran its last car to Oblivion, developers have tried to build various projects on this strange remnant of early L.A. urban “planning.” The community has been fighting ever since.
In late 2012 I wrote about a new effort to investigate whether the city could purchase the land for permanent use as a park and now it looks like those efforts may be paying off. The L.A. Times reported today that the landowner has signed papers indicating her willingness to sell to the Trust for Public Land. The Trust now has the exclusive right to buy the property until July 12th.
The Trust still has to find the land’s fair market value and raise enough cash to purchase the land, but it hopes to have the parcel completely protected by 2015.
To get an idea of the space and see its potential as full-fledged park land, head on this quick and easy hike on the Corralitas Red Car Path.
And don’t forget, you can still win a GoPro from the Trust for Public Land with their #NeverStillLife contest!
Tags: city park, corralitas red car property, echo park, Los Angeles, silver lake, trust for public land
