Echo Park lotus flowers in peril
Visitors peer down in search of blooms, but the famous lotus beds in Echo Park Lake appear to be in their final throes. Its likely that there will be no lotus at all for the first time in the 31-year history of the city’s annual Lotus Festival. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
Some experts blame trash and debris for the demise of the lotus beds. Echo Park Lake is a storm drain catch basin in the winter, leading some to suspect that contaminants in the runoff may be the cause. The first sign of trouble came after the storms and floods of 2005-2006, after which the lotus blooms started appearing later, and smaller, than usual. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
A couple of lotus plants float on the surface of the lake. The plants are believed to be direct descendants of the plants imported from China in the 1920s by Aimee McPherson, founder of the Angelus Temple across the street from the park. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
On Friday, only 12 lotus leaves remained at Echo Park Lake. The 150,000 people expected to attend the Lotus Festival in July will be greeted with a scattering of sickly, yellowed pads in dirty, foul-smelling water. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
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The lotus stalks that poked up from the murky waters of Echo Park Lake this spring soon withered. (Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times)
A lotus flower blooms in Echo Park Lake in August 2006. After a cold winter and an unusually hot June that year, the lotus plants bloomed too late for the festival. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Officials with the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks are working to revive the lotus beds. But many experts -- and area residents who miss the iconic, lush pink- and cream-colored blooms, seen here in 2004 -- say the city’s efforts may be too little and too late. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
A blue heron makes its way among the lotus flowers that were blooming in August 2006. During the lotus’ heydey, ducks and other wildlife maneuvered through the stalks. Judy Raskin, a resident of the Echo Park area, said coots were known to build nests in the curved dish of the lotus leaves. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Noemi Perez, 15, wearing a dress for her upcoming quinceañera, poses for a photographer near the lotus flowers in August 2006. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
