How does the past resonate in the present? LASA spent March considering civic memory in the city in the spaces around Union Station and La Plaza.
We gathered at Union Station and Bill led us on a tour of that space. He shared some of the history of Chinatown and the construction of the station in the 1930s. Sam noted, “Union Station may have been my favorite part of the day because I hadn’t been in it for many years and the building is truly impressive with the vaulted ceilings and huge lobbies. But learning that it was built upon the original Chinatown made it feel like something different–almost like a graveyard. The comparison to the LA Dodgers taking over Chavez Ravine for a baseball stadium seems very clear in the way that powerful groups (the railroad companies, or the Dodgers) take over neighborhoods owned by people who don’t have wealth or power. Maybe that’s much of the story of LA city development.”
From there, we walked alongside spaces of violence from the 1871 Anti-Chinese Massacre, considering that history as well present-day work amongst the city and community groups to memorialize the victims.
We continued up towards La Plaza and met with Esperanza Sanchez of LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. Esperanza is a curator and just completed their exhibition on the Chicano Moratoriums and war in the mid-20th century. She generously gave us a tour and shared about her journey to this work. Corinna reflected, “As a Latina, it was really inspiring to see an entire exhibition highlighting my culture, especially since it’s the only one of its kind in the whole country!”
After lunch in LA Plaza’s beautiful garden, we met with Edgar Garcia from the city of LA. He took us into Pico House and shared ideas about its past, present, and future. Edgar shared photos spanning from the mid-19th century. Ava noted, “I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to look around an iconic building in LA and use it as a window into the history of our city. All the photographs Edgar showed us were incredible, as are his efforts to continue the restoration of the building. I’m excited to see what the city decides to do with it!” “Pico House and its backstory was…fascinating,” Olivia reflected, “I especially liked all the Pico House photos because it really showed how fancy the hotel used to be.”
In sum, John concluded, “I had a great time at last week’s LASA, seeing the old buildings and some of the really interesting photos of old downtown were fascinating.” We look forward to gathering again in April.