L.A. Walks: Visiting the post-makeover Echo Park Lake

The statue known as the Lady of the Lake is actually titled “Nuestra Reina de Los Angeles.” She stands watch as visitors return to the newly renovated park. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

July 19, 2013 11:03 AM PT

A walk around Echo Park Lake offers views of downtown, and straying nearby leads to L.A.’s best collection of Victorian-era houses.

Jeamy Diaz, 17, walks her golden retriever, Chester, 4, on the path that circles the lake. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Mosquito fish swim in the cleaned waters of the lake. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

The calm waters of the urban pond reflect the palm trees that line the park pathways. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Justine Macasadia, 21, of San Diego, and Shaun de Guzman, 27, of Los Angeles visit the park on a recent Friday. During renovations, chain-link fencing kept visitors away. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Water plants emerge from Echo Park Lake. The lake had been famous for its lotus festival, but the plants had been dying off. Hundreds of new lotuses were planted after the lake was drained and cleaned in the renovation. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

The 1930s sculpture by Ada Mae Sharpless was moved to a new spot on the east side of the lake near the boathouse. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Baby ducks rest in the shade. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Luis Garcia and his girlfriend, Susy Sandoval, stroll through the park as the lotus plants begin to blossom. The plants are temporarily covered by netting to protect them from hungry birds. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Melanie Reyes, 22, rests underneath a tree as she talks with a friend. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Lotus seed pods rise above the waters at Echo Park Lake. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Nikola Kirigin, 4, watches the ducklings at Echo Park Lake (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Blooms return to Echo Park Lake. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

The lake is again filled with plant life. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Visitors can spy various species that live or come to rest at Echo Park Lake. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Billy Cuddy, left, Wendy Sung and Kitty, a Chihuahua mix, walk through the park as a balloon salesman plies his trade behind them. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

The boathouse, which dates from the 1890s, is poised to begin renting paddle boats again for cruising the lake and will soon include a cafe, park representatives say. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Erika Brown, 25, left, shares a beautiful L.A. day at the reopened park with Lindsay Weldon, 26. The park is just north of downtown Los Angeles. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

Restored pre-1900 Eastlake, Queen Anne and Victorian homes are nestled near Echo Park Lake along Carroll Avenue. A walk along the streets east of the park is an architectural history tour. (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)