Spotlight: Los Angeles - Olvera Street

Spotlight: Olvera Street is located smack dab in the middle of oldest section of downtown Los Angeles. In fact, the popular pedestrian marketplace is part of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Marker, and many of the Plaza District's historic buildings are located on the street, including the Avila Adobe (1818 - the oldest house in Los Angeles), the Pelanconi House (1857), and the Sepulveda House (1887). The town of Los Angeles was settled by Spanish settlers in 1781 on the banks of the Los Angeles River, just southeast of Olvera Street. The Plaza was the heart of the community, and served as the economic center of the settlement. A small alley branching off from the Plaza, Wine Street was renamed Olvera St. by the City Council in 1877 to honor Agustin Olvera, the first Superior Court Judge of Los Angeles County. As the town expanded during the early 1900's the town center was neglected and became a hub for immigrants - most notably Mexicans, Sicilians, and Chinese (who congregated in nearby Chinatown to make room for the construction of Union Station).

Avila Adobe

     In an effort to preserve the cultural heritage of the historic town center, Christine Sterling began a public campaign to renovate the Francisco Avila Adobe which in turn evolved into an effort to renovate Olvera Street into a working Mexican marketplace. In 1926, she recruited the help of Harry Chandler, publisher of the Los Angeles Times, to help promote the effort. Even though the Los Angeles City Council had condemned the Avila Adobe, Sterling's efforts were rewarded with a reversal of that decision. After extensive reconstruction efforts, Olvera Street was reopened for business on Easter Sunday 1930.

Location: Olvera Street is located in downtown Los Angeles just north of Interstate 101.

Cost: Free; souvenirs and food is reasonably priced; nearby parking in official lots usually runs from $5-$9.

Time: Most shops on Olvera Street are open 7 days a week from 10 am - 6 pm on weekdays and from 8 am - 10 pm on weekends.

Description: Olvera Street is home to dozens of craft shops and restaurants with a strong Mexican flavor. In addition to the historic adobe buildings, the pedestrian mall is lined by shade trees and brick market buildings run by many of the descendants of the original vendors who opened shop in 1930. Down the middle of the avenue are smaller wooden kiosks selling T-shirts, piñatas, colorful dresses, leather goods, crucifixes, puppets, pottery, serapes, bull horns, large sombreros, and much more. More than two million visitors stroll the avenue every year, enjoying the ethnic flavor of the shops and especially the restaurants which serve traditional Mexican dishes such as delicious taquitos.

Taquitos!

      Although you can enjoy shopping this quaint street any day of the week, several ethnic celebrations spice up the experience. Some of these celebrations include: King's Day (Los Tres Reyes), Blessing of the Animals, Los Angeles City Birthday, Cinco de Mayo, Mexican Independence Day, Day of the Dead, Virgen de Guadalupe, and Las Posadas. For a full list of annual celebrations, dates and descriptions, click here.

Rating: 3 stars (out of 5) - four stars if you go for one of the celebrations

Things You Should Know: - The civic group Las Angelitas del Pueblo give free 50 minute tours of the area Tuesday - Saturday at 10 am, 11 am, and noon.
- The America Tropical Interpretive Center, which houses the famous mural America Tropical by David Siquieros, is open from 10 am - 3 pm, Tuesday - Sunday and is free admission.
- For parking information in El Pueblo, click here.

Nearby: La Plaza de Culturas Y Artes, Phillipe the Original, Grand Park, Dodger Stadium

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