Master Plan Community Component

The community components of the Silver Lake Master Plan deal mostly with the following issues:

bullet The view and landscaping of the reservoir grounds;
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Potential recreational activities;

bullet Traffic volume and safety for bicyclists and pedestrians on the surrounding streets; and historic and cultural connections to the surrounding community.

Background Information

The community was largely built in the 1920s by developers, including the Moreno family. The hills, climate, and blue water view, reminiscent of Southern Italy, inspired the Mediterranean architecture so prevalent in Silver Lake.

The reservoir itself was developed as part of a complex, City-wide drinking water storage and delivery system designed in the late 1800’s and named after Herman Silver, an early Water Department Official.

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The Neighborhood Nursery School

Sketch of nursery school

Over time, a cooperative nursery school was installed on the grounds, and recently, formal approval was obtained for the very popular, but only one of the few, off-leash dog parks in the City of Los Angeles.

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Sketch of new recreation center, Silver Lake, California

The recreation center (actually on about 1/10 of an acre) is the responsibility of the Department of Recreation and Parks. The new center’s preliminary design, Mediterranean in style, was prepared pro bono by Silver Lake resident, Christian Dufay, a local architect, with extensive input from the community and the Department of Recreation and Parks. The center  opened in the Summer of 1999.

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Silver Lake has always enjoyed an eclectic and ethnic mix of residents such as early motion picture pioneers, professionals who worked downtown, architects who built experimental houses commissioned by the avant garde and political radicals. Today, the mix of residents is just a complex, a welcome diversity. There continues to be music, film and television industry people, many with home offices, as well as people in every imaginable profession, all who appreciate the central location of Silver Lake.

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