Echo Mountain Hike

This weekend we took advantage of a cool, crisp day to take a local hike up Echo Mountain. The views of downtown LA and the surrounding areas were great as we hiked up the mountain.

At the top are the ruins from what was once a resort - an 80-room hotel, 40-room chalet,  casino, dance hall, small zoo, and an observatory. These facilities sat atop Echo Mountain at 3250 ft, and had spectactular views acros the entire LA basin all the way to the ocean. The buildings were all painted white, and it was known as the "White City."

This was the large hotel. It was four stories high and the entire inside was finished in natural wood.

 Visitors took an incline cable car that climbed a grade as steep as 62%. This was the only way to get to the resort, which opened in 1893.

 

 

Unfortunately, the whole enterprise was plagued with problems, including fires in 1900 and 1905 that destroyed most of the buidings, and gale force winds that toppled the observatory in 1928.  Then in 1938 heavy rains washed much of the rail line off the side of the mountain, and the railway was officially abandoned. All that's left today are building foundations and a few remnants of the railway.

 

 

 

This hike was good exercise (all uphill!) and really interesting.