Echo Park Lake. Sculpted in the Art Deco style by artist Ada Mae Sharpless, the statue’s official name is “Nuestra Reina de Los Angeles” (Queen of the Angels). But most people refer to the statue as the “Lady of the Lake.”

Sharpless was awarded this art commission by the federal Works Progress Administration in 1934, a Depression-era program that commissioned works of public art. Originally intended to be cast in bronze, the 14-foot-high cast stone statue was given as a gift to the city of Los Angeles in 1935.