Silver Lake Reservoir

Silver Lake Reservoir is a concrete water storage facility with two connected basins that together hold roughly three billion liters and are separated by a wide spillway channel. A continuous shoreline path runs around both bodies of water and connects several public recreation areas with sports courts and fenced zones for dogs.

The municipal water department constructed this storage facility in 1907, with the lower basin named after Herman Silver, who sat on the water board at that time. In later decades the upper basin was added and both were linked through shared infrastructure.

The path around both basins serves as a morning ritual for joggers, cyclists and dog walkers who gather daily at different hours throughout the week. The hills south of the complex house musicians and filmmakers who shaped the neighborhood's creative character and often walk or run along the water at dawn or dusk.

The loop around both basins measures roughly 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) and is open to pedestrians and cyclists, with multiple entry points distributed around the perimeter. Those completing the full circuit should plan between 30 and 50 minutes depending on pace.

A three-hectare meadow area on the southern shore of the lower basin was designed after the Sheep Meadow in New York's Central Park and offers open grass without trees. This green space is one of the few in Los Angeles where visitors can move and settle freely without being confined to fixed paths.