Virgil Trees

Our story

Planted by neighbors, for neighbors

Before the mid-1990s, Virgil Avenue had almost no shade. In 1995, a group of residents won a grant from the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative, voted on a tree together, and planted trumpet trees along the street with their own hands.

Three decades later, those trees define Virgil Village. Every year from late February to mid-March, the street turns pink.

Now the trees need care. Many have outgrown the concrete covers set around them in the 1990s, a few have died, and some tree wells sit empty.

History from "A Flower's Bloom" by Samanta Helou Hernandez, Making a Neighborhood (2022).

A pink trumpet tree in full bloom in front of 755 N. Virgil Avenue

A pink trumpet tree in full bloom on Virgil Avenue. Image: Google Street View.

The problem

The trees are outgrowing their concrete

In the 1990s, each tree was set in a concrete cover with a small round opening. The trunks have grown, and the covers are now cracking, heaving and cutting into the bark. We photographed every tree well on Virgil between Melrose Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard on November 14, 2026.

53street trees

44trees choked by their concrete cover

6trees dead, dying or declining

7empty tree wells

A tree trunk splitting its concrete tree-well cover — A trunk splitting its cover near 1010 N. Virgil

A tree trunk filling its concrete cover opening and splitting the cover — Trunk filling the whole opening, near Melrose (701 N. Virgil)

An empty concrete tree well with weeds in the opening — One of seven empty tree wells, near 907 N. Virgil

A tree with its cover removed and a gravel-filled well — **The fix:** cover removed, open well, near 1012 N. Virgil

Every tree, mapped

The Virgil tree survey

Tap any dot to see that tree's photos and condition.

Survey by the Virgil Village Association, November 14, 2026. Tree health and species are judged from photos and should be confirmed by a certified arborist.

What we're asking for

Three simple asks

We're asking the City of Los Angeles, Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, Mayor-elect Nithya Raman and StreetsLA's Urban Forestry Division to work with our neighborhood to:

Free the trees. Remove the 1990s concrete covers from Virgil's choked trees and enlarge the wells to the City's current 4'×6' standard, keeping a clear 5-foot sidewalk.
Replace and replant. Replace dead and dying trees and plant the empty wells, about 13 trees in all, with pink trumpet trees, the tree neighbors chose in 1995. It's on the City's approved street-tree list.
Partner with us. We'll organize residents and businesses to water and care for every new tree through its first five years.

Sign the petition

Add your name

Every signature shows the City that Virgil Village wants its trees back. We'll deliver the petition to Councilmember Soto-Martínez and Mayor-elect Raman.

Signing also joins the Virgil Village Association's email list: occasional updates on the tree campaign and other Virgil Village issues. Unsubscribe anytime. We never share or sell your information.

Make your voice heard

Email the City

One click opens a ready-to-send email to Councilmember Soto-Martínez's office. Add a sentence about what the trees mean to you. Personal notes count the most.

Open my email

Goes to the Councilmember and the CD 13 field deputy for East Hollywood. We'll add the new Mayor's office after the December 14 inauguration.

About us

The Virgil Village Association

We're neighbors, renters, homeowners and business people working to keep Virgil Village green, safe and welcoming. Virgil Trees is our first campaign.

Our area runs from Vermont Avenue to Hoover Street, between Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue.

Join us

Want to help organize, sponsor a tree, or host a petition table? Sign up and check "help water or care," and we'll be in touch.