In this entry of the neighborhood blog, we will cover Elysian Valley. To vote for a neighborhood, go here. To vote for a non-L.A., Los Angeles County Community go here.

Elysian Valley is a small working class neighborhood on the east side, bordered by the 5 freeway on one side, and the LA river on the other. It's surrounded by Elysian Park, Silver Lake, Atwater Village and Cypress Park.

Elysium, in the Greek religion, was the part of the Underworld reserved for heroes. It includes the Elysian Plains and the Elysian Fields. Elysian Valley, however, is mostly populated by Latinos and Asians, both heroic and not.

The neighborhood is fairly green and lush. Although many homes sit on dirt yards, the streets are lined with trees and the LA River that borders it is almost like a jungle. At any time of the day, there are people fishing its waters, although orange foam makes me wonder if that's such a good idea. There are abundant carp, ducks, cormorants and the occasional crawdaddy.

The neighborhood is a mix of residential and industrial. There are no commercial spaces aside from one market, the Lovely Service Market. When the 5 was constructed in the 1950s, many residents of Elysian Valley were displaced and the commercial corridor that helped the neighborhood thrive in the 1930s withered and died.

The Dorris Place Elementary School has appeared in several movies, television shows, and commercials including High School High, an Aflac Insurance ad, an episode of Cold Case, the 2003 version of Freaky Friday and the short film, First Days. "'Neath the hills of Elysian, stands an honored place..."

The community was first known as Gopher Flats around 1900, when it was established for railroad workers. It got its nickname of Frogtown in the 1930s. Back before the river was flood controlled, there were thousand of toads (not frogs) that invaded the neighborhood, with the last wave occuring in the 1970s. In the same decade, the name Frogtown ended up becoming associated with the local gang, Frogtown, who then numbered 3,000 members. The graffiti suggests they're much diminished now, with most of the heavy tagging done by Echo Park gangs.

Currently the neighborhood has, despite its proximity to downtown and the 5, an almost post-apocalyptic character. Crumbling industrial buildings are surrounded by razor wire with shredded plastic garbage caught on the spike and lush flora sprouts up amongst the decaying garbage and industrial ruins.

Heavily tagged, abandonded cars sit on sleepy strees with their doors left open. In fact, it seems like Frogtown's one of the most heavily tagged neighborhoods in the city, although there are officially sanctioned murals too.

At night, it's very dark, with very few street lights. With few through streets, it's almost all dead ends, and I've known people to get stuck up over there.

There are a couple of parks. Marsh Park features the large rattlesnake sculpture. Oso Park features a sculpture of a bear, and not the sort seen uphill in Elysian Park.