LA’s Frogtown, AKA Elysian Valley, got its name when hordes of Western Toads took over its streets in the mid-20th century. You may remember frogs falling from the sky in P.T. Anderson’s San Fernando Valley epic Magnolia. It was not just a Biblical reference but a real-world one.
Frogtown became further isolated when the I-5 Freeway was built along it. Today, it fits all the criteria of the Crotty Faded Empire mash-up: industrial, pastoral, urban, rural, multicultural, Stoic, striking, and outrageously creative. Take an afternoon to walk its streets and visit its fascinating shops, churches, and architectural attractions. Grab a bite at Just What I Kneaded vegan bakery, Salazar, or the excellent Spoketown Bicycle Cafe (where you can rent a bike to tour the Los Angeles River Greenway Trail bike path). The groovy vibe at the La Colombe Frogtown Cafe and Roastery is worth a stop on its own.
A cross between East Berlin and Greenpoint but uniquely Angeleno, Frogtown is another hidden LA oddity with a fabulous art scene. Come in September to catch the Frogtown Art Walk, when local artists open their studios.
Hopefully, LA finally follows through with its plan to turn Frogtown’s soft-bottom corridor of the LA River (AKA “The Ditch”) into a water recreation mecca, with kayaking, canoeing, and––presuming proper cleanup––swimming and rafting. It could happen with new city management led by a bona fide CEO such as Rick Caruso as part of robust preparations for the 2028 Summer Olympics, which LA’s current incompetent mayor, Karen Bass, will find a way to screw up.
Frogtown has its detractors, as old families and artists get pushed out for the rapid gentrification of the once-isolated neighborhood. For instance, Kruegermann Pickles and Sauerkraut decided to split, as have other old commercial standbys. When Brad Pitt was sniffing around six years ago, you knew Frogtown’s time as a cheap avant-garde outpost was about to pass. Pitt usually comes into areas ten to twenty years after The Monks. Still, Frogtown is worth a visit.
Learn about other extraordinary LA highlights, and purchase a copy of the LA issue of Monk at www.monkmagazine.com.
Video Correction: the scene with a boy on a horse in the LA River was filmed in Sylmar, not Frogtown. But it sure did look like Frogtown.
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