Ask Silver Lake — Silver Lake vs Silverlake

This article was written for the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council feature, “Ask Silver Lake.” “Ask Silver Lake” is dedicated to exploring the history and insights of our community. It has been slightly updated for accuracy , clarity, and added information. If you have questions or ideas you’d like us to consider, please drop a comment or send them to outreach@silverlakenc.org.

For this edition, reader Alissa Walker asked why people call Silver Lake “Silverlake” — and why are they wrong.

Angelenos (or Angeleños… or Angelinos) are a famously relaxed bunch when it comes to many things. The naming of neighborhoods is just one of many reflections of our community’s informality. Interestingly, the one-word “Silverlake” appears in the printed record at least as early as 1912 — just a year after the earliest known appearance of “Silver Lake.” “Silverlake,” though, was then often followed by “park,” as in “Silverlake Park.” The previous year, a project to transform the reservoir into a proper park had been launched. Between 1911 and 1918, the now familiar eucalyptus trees were planted as part of this effort. Construction was also approved of a Silver Lake Parkway (also spelled “Silverlake Parkway”) in order to improve connect Westlake Park (now MacArthur Park), Elysian Park, Griffith Park, Eastlake Park (now Lincoln Park), Sunset Park (now Lafayette Park) and the to-be-parkified Silver Lake Reservoir — which would’ve been in the middle. The project was supported by what was almost certainly the first Silver Lake neighborhood association, the Silver Lake Improvement Association.

Photo: Outside the Black Cat on February 11, 1967 ONE Archives at the USC Libraries

The Silver Lake Reservoir, however, was instead made less park-like over the years. In 1920 — following sternly worded complaints from neighborhood scolds concerning nude sunbathers — swimming was banned. The city banned fishing by 1922. A fence was erected around its perimeter in 1932. Its banks were covered with asphalt in the early 1950s.

For reasons unknown, “Silverlake” overtook “Silver Lake” as the more common spelling in the 1950s, too, and remained the more common spelling — at least in print — until the 1970s, when the two word spelling came back into favor. Many businesses (especially those that opened during those decades) use the one-word spelling. The city, on the other hand, always opts for the two-word spelling, as evinced by street signs for Silver Lake Boulevard, the LADOT’s blue Silver Lake neighborhood signs, and the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council itself.

Support Eric Brightwell on Patreon