Thinking through civic memory and the geographies around La Plaza, we met at Union Station and Bill led us on a tour of that space – at least through the spaces we could find that were open.
We thought through some of the early history of Chinatown and the construction of the station in the 1930s. From there, we walked alongside spaces of violence from the 1871 Anti-Chinese Massacre and continued up towards La Plaza. Thanks to Esperanza Sanchez of LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes who shared with us her curatorial work and insights on civic memory.
Owen writes: “Our October LASA session, which covered the importance of civic memory in the historic center of Los Angeles, was for me the most enjoyable and meaningful one yet. By starting in Union Station, not only we were able to explore a magnificent gateway of Los Angeles to the world, but we also learned the difficult history of ethnic displacement.
Exploring the plaza area was quite gratifying to me: the public sphere was filled with energy as an excellent musician played Mexican flutes for the crowd while elderly street-goers stopped to dance and vendors offered their goods to the community. In our hunt to match historical photos to the present locations, I was really able to get a sense of our city’s past, which is what civic memory is all about.
It’s truly remarkable to think that 151 years ago, that sense of community was just as strong, and a similar scene was probably playing out in exactly the same spot on the eve of the Chinese massacre. Given what LA’s communities have endured, it’s safe to hope we’ll get to experience the same in the future.”
