ER Historical Society to Discuss Key Centennial-Year Initiatives Tuesday

Looking back at 2011—the year of Eagle Rock’s centennial—what are the themes that best encapsulate this one-time city’s history and its potential future?

As Eric Warren, president of the Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society, tells it, innovation and activism have always defined Eagle Rock—right up to the end of 2011 and into the New Year.

And to celebrate the many community initiatives during the past year, the ERVHS is hosting a public forum today, Tuesday, at 7 p.m. at the , where community participants will outline the progress of their efforts aimed at improving life in the neighborhood.

Here are some of the topics that will be discussed:

Colorado Boulevard Medians

How to make medians along Colorado Boulevard both permanently greener and more attractive has been a challenge that the Median Advisory Committee organized by the office of has been tackling since 2009, when irrigation systems fell into disrepair and the need for native and drought-resistant plants became more pressing than ever before.

The committee will present its design for a pilot median in the 1800 block of Colorado Boulevard, in front of the , as part of an effort to gather community feedback about improving medians. For more information about the issue, visit the Urban Forest Collaborative blog.

Documenting Eagle Rock’s Regional History

During the 2010-11 academic year, began acquiring, processing and digitizing the bound archives of seven Northeast L.A. newspapers, ranging from the Eagle Rock Sentinel and the Highland Park News Herald and Journal to the South Pasadena Journal and the El Sereno Star. The project combines the collaborative efforts of the ERVHS, the Oxy Library and the Highland Park Heritage Trust—a group that has been meeting to discuss best practices and raise funds from foundations for the digitization and safe storage of material.

An overview of this laudable and ambitious project will be presented at Tuesday's meeting.

Eagle Rock Canyon Trail

Nobody interested in environmental issues in Eagle Rock can afford not to know about Collaborative Eagle Rock Beautiful, a nonprofit community group dedicated to the neighborhood’s long-term preservation and beautification—and the force behind the Eagle Rock Canyon Trail. (Watch our video November 2010 video about the personal and professional relationship between two of Eagle Rock’s most active members, which gave birth to CERB in 2001.)

The nearly mile-long trail, which cuts through the last wilderness area between Eagle Rock and Pasadena near the 134 freeway, is only a small part of a larger effort to create a 4.5-acre historic park that preserves nature around the Eagle Rock. CERB continues to raise funds from community members and generous donors to pay off the last $72,000 that it still owes from loans obtained to purchase the land for the trail.

Learn more about the trail’s beautification—and help CERB pay back the loan for the trail’s purchase—at Tuesday's meeting.

Reclaiming Colorado Boulevard

Last September, residents and activists from several neighborhood organizations got together, with the support of Council Member Huizar’s office, to launch Take Back the Boulevard (TBTB), an initiative to revitalize the stretch of Colorado Boulevard between Avenue 64 and the 2 freeway by slowing down traffic and reducing the automobile’s supremacy over what is still officially the historic Route 66 highway.

The first TBTB public meeting to inform residents about the ambitious initiative and receive their feedback was held in September—and a second meeting is scheduled on Thursday, January 19.

Get an overview of the initiative at today’s ERVHS forum—as well as a heads-up about what to expect during the second TBTB public meeting Thursday.