LADWP Distributing Station #55 at 3rd Street and Formosa.
The view driving west on 3rd Street past La Brea just got a major upgrade. LADWP Distributing Station 55, which serves approximately 19,500 residential customers in the Park La Brea area, has been retrofitted with drought tolerant California Friendly landscaping, replacing a tired looking set of shrubs and semi-dead grass. The Distributing Station 55 project is part of an ongoing effort by LADWP to retrofit the landscaping at all of its facilities to save water.
To date, LADWP has replaced 326,307 square feet of turf and completed 657,529 square feet of total water-wise landscaping.
A California Southwest Natives Garden Style theme has been applied to the 1,217 square feet of landscaped area at DS 55.  The old, water-needy landscape has been replaced with California Friendly and California Native plants, mulch, gravel, boulders and decomposed granite.
Before:
Grass to be replaced with drought-tolerant materials.
Plantings along the 3rd Street side – before.
During the landscaping project:
A view of what the Formosa side looked like before the work begins.
Killing off those old water dependent plantings takes time.Prep work along 3rd Street in progress…ground cleared for a prettier future.
Hay barriers lined the perimeter of the beds to help kill off old plantings.A couple dozen large boulders delivered for crews to place.Work begins in earnest on the Formosa side of the building. The ground is prepped and patterns are set.Work progressing on the Formosa side of the building.Stones laid in patterns that evoke water.
After:
Drought tolerant landscaping along the Formosa side of the LADWP building.
A finished landscape along the Third Street side of the building brightens the look of the area.LADWP uses drought tolerant materials to create an appealing landscape that should look good without a lot of maintenance.
Mary has lived in the Hancock Park area for over 20 years - including homes in Larchmont Village and Windsor Square. Mary has lived in some great places in her life - but none compare to the convenience and majesty of our neighborhood. For Mary, the neighborhood has been a wonderful home to her large, extended family...at one time she had family members living on seven different Hancock Park area blocks! Larchmont Buzz is a labor of love - built to celebrate the neighborhood and to elevate the conversation in the area.
Beautiful landscaping!!
I see it every day now as I do carpool at the elementary school across the street!