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Join the Echo Park Historical Society for a very special presentation by local historian Eric Brightwell about the Semi-Tropic Spiritualist Association and the tract of land they occupied in the hills above Edendale in the early 1900s. Get in the October spirit and learn all about this historic, mystic, and possibly haunted part of the neighborhood!
Spiritualism was a popular social movement in America starting in the 1840s and continuing into the 20th century. Spiritualists believed that the souls of the departed live on in the spirit world beyond and can be communicated with by mediums. By 1897, the New York Times estimated that there were eight million followers of Spiritualism in America.
In 1905, a group called the Semi-Tropic Spiritualist Association bought a tract of land in the then sparsely populated hills between Edendale and Elysian Park. The group built an auditorium and hosted Spiritualist lecturers and seances, often in a festive setting with music and dancing. As the gatherings got more boisterous and the tract started to be divided into housing lots, conflicts with the city and the sheriff mounted, and in 1910, the city annexed the tract for development. Spiritualist events continued to be held there for several years after, but the original founders dispersed to other pastures.
Gradually, the development projects petered out, and the park became abandoned. Some lived in houses on the tract, including printmaker Paul Landacre and his wife Margaret. But stories of strange occurrences linger on in the neighborhood. Do spirits still haunt the park, and if so, are they the spirits of former Spiritualists?
Local historian Eric Brightwell is an adventurer, essayist, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener, and has researched the history of the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists. As Pendersleigh & Sons Cartography, he has produced distinctive handmade maps of lesser-known Los Angeles neighborhoods that are charming and celebrated. Brightwell has written for Angels Walk LA, Hidden Los Angeles, and KCET Departures. His art has been featured by the American Institute of Architects, the Architecture & Design Museum, the Craft Contemporary, the Skid Row Housing Trust, and the 1650 Gallery. Brightwell has been featured as subject and/or guest in The Los Angeles Times, VICE, Los Angeles Magazine, LAist, CurbedLA, Eastsider LA, KCRW‘s Which Way, LA?, at Emerson College and the University of Southern California. He is currently writing a book about Los Angeles.
Email us at eden@lapl.org for more information.
For ADA accommodations, call (213) 228-7430 at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Para ajustes razonables según la ley de ADA, llama al (213) 228-7430 al menos 72 horas antes del evento.