Hello All Back in the late 80's I went to college ( lived in the girls dormitory ) right across the street from Echo park and one of the most beautiful lotus ponds in the United States . These beauty's were planted almost 90 years ago they are now gone ,a memory . Sadly, there was an insecticide was sprayed in the park a few months ago~! That might also explain the dead red-eared slider turtle spotted floating in the water who depended on the lotuses- an ecosystem now gone do to mans idea of control ! A real tragedy that they killed off these huge and amazing Lotuses! Even if planted again it would take another 90 years or so to reach their size and beauty . Some of them were as large as melons! One of the most popular legends about the lotus flowers of Echo park is that they were planted by Angeles Temple missionaries who brought back seeds from China. What is certain is that by the late 1920's water gardens were fashionable in Los Angeles. Some have claimed Echo Park's lotus bed to be the largest outside of Asia, Echo Park's lotus stand, however, was undoubtedly the largest and most beautiful in the western United States. I captured this here on a beautiful morning a few years ago when the rising sun made them light up like glowing lanterns on the water and the silhouettes of the palms reflected . Taken with my Nikon 7900 pocket cam (post work =slight sat curves, re sized and sharpened -no photo manip here). I did a painted version ( cropped ) of this back in '06 on here but never put this full version of this up . I suppose this is my way of saying goodbye to a beautiful treasured part of LA's history . I have many more pictures from that day . They mean so much to me now that they are gone. You never really fully appreciate things until they are gone do you? ... Thanks for your time and comments! Love to all!!! ((( BIG HUGS ))) ~ Kimmers ! ♥ :O)