ECHO PARK — The giant ficus that loomed over the 1500 block of Sunset Boulevard was chopped down on Easter Sunday as part of a street and sidewalk improvement project. The tree was one of three dozen that will be cut down and replaced by 100 new trees. The new trees will be more sidewalk friendly but it is unlikely that they will ever match the size or the grandeur of the overgrown Green Giant, which rose about 40 feet into the air and stretched out half way across Sunset Boulevard near Laveta Terace.

While the Green Giant is gone, fans of the ficus can drink up in honor of the fallen tree at Sunset Beer, the beer shop and tasting room located across the street from where the tree once stood. The silhouette of the tree now serves as the shop’s logo on the side of beer glasses.