Old Town Los Angeles Walking Tour

Entries on This Tour

Dedicated in 2019, this monument in the center of Migrants Bend Plaza commemorates a group of legal immigrants who endured difficult living conditions after being recruited to the United States to work owing to labor shortages in World War II and beyond. Between the start of World War II and the end of the Bracero Program in the mid-1960s, over four million laborers came to the United States at the request of employers and with the support of government leaders. The monument portrays a male laborer in the center holding as well as his wife and child, a reference to the families of Braceros who often stayed behind. The monument is important to many Americans, as well as the descendants of laborers of Mexican descent because this chapter of history has seldom been acknowledged. The statue signifies the Braceros' contribution to the United States as they played a vital role in the country’s economic success during and after World War II.

2. Olvera Street/Calle Olvera

Olvera Street in Los Angeles has become a representative symbol of "Old Town" Los Angeles. Sometimes called “the birthplace of Los Angeles,” it is a Mexican Marketplace that recreates a romanticized “Old Los Angeles” with a narrow, tree-shaded, brick-lined market with old structures, street vendors, painted stalls, cafes, restaurants and gift shops. Olvera Street was created in 1930.

3. The Hidden History of the Avila Adobe

Nestled between El Paseo Restaurant and a Mexican storefront, the Avila Adobe reflects the complex history between ethnic Mexicans and Anglo-American migrants during the 20th century. Constructed in 1818 by Francisco Avila, a wealthy Californio, Avila employed adobe material because it was ideal for the Southwest climate. However, in the early 19th century, Anglo-Americans migrating to California denounced the adobe as dirty and ineffective. As Anglo-Americans arrived West to achieve their 'Manifest Destiny,' the Californios' adobe's fate was compromised. From 1846 to 1848, the Mexican-American War ensued throughout the Southwest for control of the region. In 1848, Mexican and American officials signed The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. This treaty led to the demise of Avila and his adobe's prominence in a conquered Anglo California. Many Anglos viewed the Californios' adobes as backward, as adobe represented "the unusable past." Almost a century later, Los Angeles disregarded the Avila Adobe as a decaying structure in Plaza Olvera, selected to be the next tourist attraction for Anglo-Americans. However, in 1926, Christine Sterling and various preservationists established a movement to save the Avila Adobe. Although Sterling fought to preserve the Adobe, she had ulterior motives. Like many Anglo-American preservationists of her time, Sterling was a proponent of the "Spanish Fantasy Past," which pined for a "romantic Spanish Era in California" while erasing Californio and Indigenous history. While Sterling and local activists successfully lobbied for the preservation of the Adobe, their movement would inevitably perpetuate ethnic Mexican scripts while erasing the true history of the Avila Adobe.

4. Avila Adobe

Avila Adobe is believed to be the oldest surviving residence in Los Angeles. The structure was built in 1818 by the mayor of Los Angeles, Francisco Jose Avila. The area was part of Mexico at that time, and the mayor, like nearly all others in the area, where either citizens of Mexico or members of Native American tribes. Today, the home is located in the paseo of historical Olvera Street within the Plaza Historic District- a California State Historic Park.

5. Chinese American Museum

The Chinese American Museum is dedicated to preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of Chinese immigrants in California. To this end, it offers fine art and historical exhibits using items in its collection of 7,500 items, which includes artifacts, documents, and photographs. It opened in 2003 after 20 years of planning, becoming the first museum of its kind in Southern California. It is housed in the historic Garnier Building, which was constructed in 1890 by Philippe Garnier who rented it to Chinese merchants and organizations (many Chinese social functions were held here as well). As such, the building became the center of Chinese cultural life for much of the first half of the 1900s. The building is also significant because it is the last remaining Chinese building in Southern California. It is also a contributing property of the El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument, a historic district in the oldest part of the city that was once the center of the city and eventually home to the city's original Chinatown. The museum's aim is to not only highlight Chinese contributions but to celebrate the multi-cultural heritage of Los Angeles and Southern California as well.

6. Pico House (Hotel)

The Pico House/Hotel was constructed in 1869-1870 by Pio Pico, a successful businessman, and the last Mexican Governor of Alta California. The Pico House was the first three-story hotel in Los Angeles when it was created, and it had about 80 rooms. It is located across the street from Union Station and near El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument.

7. La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles (The Church of Our Lady Queen of the Angels)

La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles or The Church of Our Lady Queen of the Angels, is a historic Roman Catholic Church in Los Angeles. The church was founded by the Spanish settlers in the early 19th century at a time when modern-day California and much of the southern U.S., was under Spanish rule. El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles (the Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels) was the name of the Spanish city that would go on to be known as Los Angeles in the 20th Century.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Old Town Los Angeles Walking Tour

Created by Clio Admin on August 9th 2021, 2:12:47 am.

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Description

This tour centers around Olvera Street and historic buildings and institutions in an area that is sometimes referred to as “the birthplace of Los Angeles.” The tour includes a historic church, monument to Mexican-American laborers, entries that reveal former buildings and businesses, a Mexican-American Marketplace, and a museum dedicated to the history of the Chinese American community. We hope to add additional entries for monuments, markers, and museums in the area.

Entries on This Tour

Old Town Los Angeles Walking Tour

Description

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