A plinth erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution in the Victory Memorial Garden.

      Make your way along the gradual downward slope of Stadium Way, across Scott Avenue, and onto the grounds of the Barlow Respiratory Hospital. Formerly the Barlow Sanitarium, this oasis for tuberculosis patients was founded in 1902 by Walter Jarvis Barlow, who had come west looking for a cure for his own respiratory ailments. He purchased a twenty-five-acre parcel of land from wealthy L. A. landowner J. B. Lankershim for $7,300, and began construction. A man of prodigious energies, Barlow would go on to found the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and act as dean of the newly formed UCLA School of Medicine.

      Much remains of the historic medical campus, despite an ongoing campaign by developers to turn this swath of Elysian Park into a massive condo project. (An equally fierce ongoing campaign by those opposed to the development has kept it from starting for more than a decade.) An inscription on a big chunk of granite near the hospital entrance explains that Barlow founded the hospital and gave it all he had, including the “endless wine of sympathy.”

      Other metal plaques affixed to buildings state that the original architects were B. B. Bixby and Edward L. Mayberry, whose 1902 work is now afforded Historic-Cultural Monument status, and that the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated at least two outbuildings to the American Red Cross for “Soldiers and Sailors” just after the first World War.

      The hospital, though diminished in importance, is still in use, and still occupied by patients. Several campus buildings are used for teaching and administration. But most of the charming Craftsman bungalows on the west side of the street are boarded up.

      Continue along Stadium past this charming time capsule and past North Boylston Street, and climb a short hill to reach Vin Scully Avenue.

      For an amusing side trip, turn left at the corner, into Dodger Stadium’s Sunset Gate. A guard will ask to see your identification, then give you a little sticker that will allow you to walk across the vast parking lot and visit the stadium gift shop—and take a look at the empty baseball field.

      Otherwise, turn right onto Vin Scully Avenue, climb, climb a little more, and then turn right again onto Lilac Terrace.

      Up ahead, you’ll see a sign for Victory Memorial Grove. That’s your destination. Follow Lilac Terrace up a slight rise, staying on the uphill half of this divided road, past some pleasant shingled bungalows in need of some TLC. At the top of the hill, turn right into the park just before you reach a wide, gated driveway. You’ll find yourself on a narrow, partially paved walkway.

      Follow this path as it winds across the lower section of the Victory Memorial Grove, under some deodara, oak, and bay laurel shade, and enjoy the views of downtown L. A. Stay with the path as it switchbacks up and left, turning the view into a Dodger Stadium vista. Cross a paved road, climb a short brick staircase, and follow the narrow path as it climbs a short rise. At the plateau, on a hillside dotted with pines and eucalyptus, you will find bigger views of Dodger Stadium and the Barlow Hospital compound.

      Near the path, you will encounter a large stone plinth. The inset metal plaque states that it was placed here in 1921 by, again, those Daughters of the American Revolution, to commemorate the family members of their society who lost their lives in World War I.

      Return to the path and continue as it drops down a couple of crumbling steps onto the shady residential end of Elysian Park Drive. Walk on, across the intersection with Douglas Street, keeping to the right past a wide white gate to veer right and downhill to another section of Elysian Park Drive.

      Up and to the left is a tree-pocked hillside where, if you like, you can get an interesting backside view of Saint Andrew’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church, whose golden domes are visible from Sunset Boulevard as it winds through Echo Park.

      Otherwise, remain on the paved road as it winds downhill. When you meet Scott Avenue, cross the street, walk around another wide gate, and continue along this closed section of Elysian Park Drive.

      Below you are the grassy slopes of Elysian Park. Above are hillsides covered in oak and pepper trees. Straight ahead, along the paved road, you will ultimately meet Academy Road once more. Turn right and head downhill, past another gallery of old date palms and new plantings of their baby siblings.

      At the bottom of the hill, you will meet Stadium Way once again, and find yourself back at your starting point.