Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [91]
A few doors down is the Italian Hall (Map; 644-1/2 Main St), which sports a rare rooftop mural called América Tropical by David Alfaro Siqueiros, one of Mexico’s great early-20th-century muralists. The 1932 work shows a crucified Native American in front of a Mayan pyramid and was so controversial back then that city fathers ordered it whitewashed immediately. The Getty Conservation Institute recently rehabilitated the mural and may possibly build a public viewing platform. Meanwhile, you can see a replica in East LA Click here.
Olvera St spills into the Old Plaza, El Pueblo’s central square with a pretty wrought-iron bandstand. Sleepy during the week, it often turns into a full-blown fiesta zone on Saturday and Sundays, drawing crooning mariachis, costumed dancers, kissing couples and strolling families. The best time to be here is for one of the many Mexican festivals, like Cinco de Mayo, Día de los Muertos or the endearing Blessing of the Animals. Dotted around the plaza are statues of such key historical figures as Felipe de Neve, who led the first group of settlers, and King Carlos III of Spain, who financed the venture. The colonists’ names are engraved on a nearby bronze plaque.
Across the street, the little 1822 church affectionately known as La Placita (Map; 213-629-3101; 535 N Main St; admission free; 7am-7pm), meaning ‘Little Plaza,’ is a sentimental favorite with LA Latinos. On busy weekends priests go hoarse performing up to a dozen Spanish-language masses and dozens of baptisms. Peek inside for a look at the gold-festooned altar and painted ceiling.
South of the plaza are more historic buildings, including Pico House (Map; 430 Main St), the 1870 home of California’s last Mexican governor and later a glamorous hotel. Next door is the 1884 Old Plaza Firehouse (Map; 213-625-3741; 134 Paseo de la Plaza; admission free; 10am-3pm Tue-Sun), the city’s oldest fire station and now a one-room museum of dusty old fire-fighting equipment and photographs.
Follow the red lanterns to the small Chinese American Museum (Map; 213-485-8567; www.camla.org; 425 N Los Angeles St; adult/student & senior $3/2; 10am-3pm Tue-Sun) in the 1890 Garnier Building, once the unofficial ‘city hall’ of LA’s original Chinatown. Changing exhibits highlight various historical, cultural and artistic aspects of the Chinese American experience, usually with a local slant. It’s a source of great pride for local Chinese, who donated many items on display.
UNION STATION
LA’s original Chinatown sprawled where you’ll now spot Union Station (Map; 800 N Alameda St), which opened in 1939 as the last of America’s grand rail stations. It’s a glamorous exercise in Mission Revival with art deco accents. The marble-floored main hall with cathedral ceilings, original leather chairs and grand chandeliers is nothing but breathtaking and is often used in movies (eg Guilty by Suspicion, Blade Runner and The Way We Were).
The tiled twin domes north of the station belong to the Terminal Annex, once LA’s central post office where Charles Bukowski worked for years, inspiring his 1971 novel Post Office.
CHINATOWN
As you walk north from El Pueblo, the aroma of chili and beans gradually gives way to soy and bok choy. Having been forced to make room for Union Station, the Chinese resettled a few blocks north along Hill St and Broadway. Chinatown (Map; 213-680-0243; www.chinatownla.com) is still the community’s traditional hub, even though most Chinese Americans now live in Rosemead, Monterey and other suburban communities in the San Gabriel Valley.
There are no essential sights here, but the area, a stop on Metro Gold Line, is fascinating and perfect for an aimless wander. Restaurants beckon with dim sum, kung pao and Peking duck, while shops overflow with curios, culinary oddities (live frogs anyone?), ancient herbal remedies and lucky bamboo.
Of late, parts of Chinatown have received an injection of hipness, no more so than at Central Plaza (Map; 900 block of Broadway), conceived as an unabashedly kitschy walking