Echo Summit was the unlikely center of the track and field universe for a few remarkable weeks in 1968. While the track that produced four world records and one of the greatest Olympic teams in any sport was shipped down the mountain to South Lake Tahoe afterward, the otherworldly site of the 1968 U.S. Olympic Men’s Track and Field Trials is being commemorated 45 years later. At its Aug. 2 meeting in Sacramento, the California State Historical Resources Commission voted to designate Echo Summit as a California Historical Landmark. California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites or places that have been determined to have statewide historical significance. In presenting the nomination to the commission, William Burg, a state historian in the Office of Historic Preservation, cited the success of the 1968 U.S. men’s Olympic team in Mexico City and its commitment to the civil-rights issues of that tumultuous time. more
