Photo: Lotus Memorial II
By Stephen Roullier (c), 2008

Someone plucked the first one -- a lovely lotus blossom, or, rather, a picture of one -- which was planted by Stephen Roullier just before Independence Day. Now that Echo Park Lake is newly independent of its famous lotus bed. So Roullier, who lives across from the lake, came back with three. They're part of a memorial to the lotus that did not reappear this year. The lotus bed may date from as early as 1889. We know that by 1929 the lotus of the lake were well-established. They survived until 2008, despite being "protected" as a historic feature of Echo park Lake, which is a city cultural landmark.