Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society to Launch ‘SurveyLA’ Tuesday

Just about every Saturday morning, Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society President Eric Warren makes his way to the , and spends a couple of hours in the basement poring over photographs of Eagle Rock for an ambitious project aimed at archiving and immortalizing the neighborhood’s past. (Not many people know it, but anyone is welcome to join Warren on Saturdays to see or contribute to the photo library he has been painstakingly building for years.)

Today, Tuesday, in a public meeting scheduled at 7 p.m. at the Center for Arts, Warren and Eagle Rock preservationist Frank Parrello will conduct another key effort in the documentation of Eagle Rock’s history: They will launch “SurveyLA,” a voluntary project aimed at what Warren calls “identifying our hidden treasures.”

Think of it as a historical treasure hunt—collectively conducted: Bring any old photographs of Eagle Rock that you or your relatives or friends might have and share them with other community members. Just as importantly, bring your favorite Eagle Rock stories, too, so that they can become part of community lore and legend.

Here are some other areas to think about in helping further the aims of SurveyLA:

• Which neighborhoods, commercial areas, buildings or landscapes have distinctive characteristics from the point of view of architecture, design or culture, or which reflect important aspects of social history or community planning and development? (Areas of interest include key gathering places or community focal points associated with individuals—architects, builders, designers, developers, engineers—or groups or organizations that shaped Eagle Rock’s history.)

• Which are the places in Eagle Rock that have shaped social movements, culture or demographic change unique to our community—or have reflected larger trends in the development history of Los Angeles?

"We need members of the community to work on documenting and photographing our neighborhoods to make sure nothing is missed," said Warren, adding: "Written information, photos and documents are of far more use than oral accounts."

On May 24, a SurveyLA community outreach meeting will be held at the Arroyo Seco Public Library (6145 N. Figueroa St., 90042). Part of a comprehensive program to identify and record historic resources throughout Los Angeles, the meeting will cover not just Eagle Rock but other Northeast L.A. communities such as Atwater Village, El Sereno, Highland Park, Lincoln Heights and Mt. Washington.

Part of the aim behind both Tuesday’s meeting and the one on May 24 is to increase public awareness about the importance of SurveyLA in maintaining community character and identity. But the survey will only be as good as the community input. To quote Warren: “We must be ready to suggest places of architectural, social or cultural significance that the SurveyLA team shouldn’t miss.”

Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society public meeting to launch SurveyLA. Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock, 2225 Colorado Blvd. 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 17.