Walking the Streets: Conserving Pico Union's History

The following post is from YouthNoise Play City—a community dedicated to changing the world through sports and play. PLAY ON!

Put on your walking shoes!
And grab your camera 'cause this Saturday (March 21) the Los Angeles Conservancy is launching it's new self-guided walking tour in Pico Union. There are 24 historic districts in Los Angeles City--areas that contain buildings, landscapes, and natural features that have historic, architectural, cultural or aesthetic significance. Pico Union is just one of those districts.

Located near the Staples Center, about 2 miles west of Downtown Los Angeles, Pico Union contains homes that are 100+ years old, and the history of the area--spanning more than a hundred years of the "wild wild west"--is just as rich. After the kickoff event, the self-guided walking tour will be available for free at the Pico-Union Branch Library and online at the LA Conservancy's website.











In addition to the beautiful historic homes, the community is full of awesome murals like the one above. A number of organizations work in the area too, and provide various resources to LA County residents including literacy work, labor rights work, gang prevention, immigrant rights advocacy, and legal services to low-income minorities.

So we're just walking?
NOT AT ALL! A number of organizations will be present at the event to provide neighborhood folks with things such as free shade trees for the yard, graffiti removal resources, and information on local computer and language literacy programs (to name a few). For the kiddies, there will be face-painting, an interactive word puzzle game, and coloring activities. So bring the kids!

More importantly, to quote another communitarian from the movie Block Party, "Bring yo'self! Bring yo'self!!" 'Cause the tour will cover Pico Union's history and showcase a number of the historic homes in the area, like the one below. And believe me. This is just the beginning!


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Self Help, Self Defense, and Mujeres De Maiz

The following post is from YouthNoise Play City—a community dedicated to changing the world through sports and play. PLAY ON!

We just had what?
Did you know we recently had International Women's Week? Well, I didn't. Apparently there’s a day too -- March 8th of every year -- ohhh, for just like the last 100 years or so. I've probably heard of it before, but this time the date is gonna stick, damnit. It's just like this year's time change -- where did that come from? And where the hell is the news when you need it?

Well here's some news about the East side. Mujeres de Maiz are hosting a number of events during the month of March to celebrate International Women's Week, including an intergenerational artist discussion, a mujer mercado (women's market) that offers a variety of items made and sold by women, spoken word night, and a holistic medicine workshop.

Strong, Supportive, and Empowered Women
I spent Saturday Morning with a number of kick ass women. First it began at home with my mom where I quickly breakfasted on some chocolate cake she made Friday night. I borrowed her Nikon D60 camera, and off I went. My destination: the Womyn's Self-Defense Workshop put on by Mujeres de Maiz and instructor Cati de Los Rios. The goal: capture our beautiful community in action.

Cati has been teaching self-defense off and on since she was about 15 years old. She states that a goal of the workshop is to create a space where women feel comfortable learning basic strategies to defend themselves. Talking about her long experience with similar workshops that cater to women of the community, she continued, "It's empowering for women [of all ages] to hit the bags and take ownership of their bodies [through martial arts]."

I spoke to Hilda Gonzalez, who invited some of her sorority sisters, Jackie and Serena to the event. Hilda stated that she had been searching for self-defense workshops since she heard of the recent kidnap and killing of Sabrina Pina in Houston Texas. Given this reality, she felt the free workshop provided a much needed resource to women of all ages.


The Unique Space of Self Help Graphics & Art Next thing I know I'm seeing and hearing jabs, kicks, blocks, and kiai's all over the room. Smiles, laughter, and togetherness followed. A distinct sense of community permeated the air like the pungent aroma of sage. Positive, healing energy is the descriptor that comes to me. It's not religious what occurs here, but soothing to the soul nonetheless--something distinct and divine, and for lack of a better word, feminine.

Like when the members of a community meeting moved locations to accommodate the large group of participants that had arrived for the workshop. Thirty-plus people stood up, packed up their chairs, moved down a flight of stairs, and resumed their meeting outside in the parking lot without any complaints--the Virgen de Guadalupe overhearing their plans. No, I’m not kidding. The exterior has a shrine dedicated to the Virgen de Guadalupe, which rests amidst a tree-lined corner of the lot. Just another example of Self Help's multiple dimensions. Pretty cool.

Self Help Graphics & Art: An Environmental Resource worth Preserving
For awhile Self Help--the building--was in jeopardy. The community has the space for at least another year. But I'm not sure what's going to happen after that. I say this is a space--truly, an environmental resource--worth preserving for years to come.

Find this post and many others at Youth Noise Play City:
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Urban Gems: Self Help and Defending our Built Environment

The following post is from YouthNoise Play City—a community dedicated to changing the world through sports and play. PLAY ON!

JANE! JANE! STOP THIS CRAZY THING!!

I'm learning video production at school, and this week's workload has been INSANE! Plus, I just got a new job, and I've been in training/orientation for the last two weeks – 4 hours of sleep each night and lots of homework! I'm beat!

Yet the one thing that's been on my mind ALL week is this Saturday’s Womyn's Self Defense Workshop being held at Self Help Graphics and Art in East LA. I mean c'mon, it's a chance to learn some skills, chill with good people, knock out the tension that's been building up in the shoulders, and an opportunity to sweat out some of those carbs you’ve inhaled during stress-induced stupors.

The reason I'm so stoked for the ladies attending this "kick-ass" workshop is because I love, absolutely savor like juicy carne asada, those ... let's say "sacred" spaces set aside for groups that don't usually have a place to call their own. A group of women, learning how to kick butt together on the Eastside, that's a future even Hanna-Barbera might give props to. I'm no George Jetson, but every man needs a strong woman by his side and a future to look forward to.

THE FUTURE IS NOW.

But this story gets better. See the one thing I've been learning at school lately is how film—in cinema and still photography combined—is being replaced by the onslaught of video and digital bits of information, mostly to save dollars and time. Film as an art form is slowly dying, and how we treat it now is, in many ways, its future.

The folks at Self Help Graphics and Art in East LA know this process of "progress" all too well. Their building was owned by the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese and sold to a private firm, which meant Self Help's programming—a long-standing flagship to the Chicano Movement in LA—would have to be relocated. Self Help recently forged a one-year agreement with the new owners to stay at the current location. But who knows what will happen a year from now.

PRESERVING OUR STORY ... OUR BUILT ENVIRONMENT IS PRECIOUS.
When you think of the environment, think of the lakes and the streams that carry our fresh water. Think of the clean crisp air we breathe. And of course think of the myriad of things one can do to preserve these precious resources.

BUT also think of those places—those spaces—that are resources to a whole community. Think of places like Self Help Graphics & Art, with a history that spans over 35 years, and provides art workshops, self-defense workshops, and puts on celebrations for the local neighborhood and beyond. Think of the monument—yes, this includes the building, not just the programming—that stands to remind us of a beautiful interwoven tapestry of a community's history. Now, think about how YOU can help preserve the programming there and the building that birthed it. What's your thoughts!?

Girl kicking ass Photo Courtesy of EvilMightyAcorn's Flickr Page
Pinata Skull painting Photo courtesy of Claudiz! Flickr Page

Find this post and many others at Youth Noise Play City:
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Watts Towers in Los Angeles: Revolutionary Vision

So my Nana and my Nina have this story of how, as young adults, they would wake up to the sounds of a hammer hitting metal. Imagine that one day a neighbor down the street starts hammering away on some personal project of his. The hammering goes on for years, all the day long, day in and day out. Clanging metal becomes part of the regular sounds of the neighborhood along with farm animals, kids playing in the street, and the occasional car horn. Preferring to work alone, the guy seems a bit "out there", but friendly, 'cause he collects a number of items from the local community and integrates them into his little pet project, which he liked to call, "Nuestro Pueblo" ("Our Town"). My Nana and Nina were two of the townspeople that exchanged bottles, plates, and other items with the man, sometimes for a penny or more. They'd use this extra income to go to the "show." And while the shows are long gone, and the community has changed, this guys art--and items my family gave him--remain part of his project to this day.

So yea, one day the hammering came to a halt. And there in this residential neighborhood of the 1950's stood 17 interconnected structures, two of which are taller than seven stories. That is the story of how the Watts Towers in Los Angeles, California, affected people like my Grandma and my Godmother, the people of "Nuestro Pueblo".


Simon Rodia built the Watts Towers between 1921 and 1954, and--withstanding the pressures of change and time--they have stood there ever since. The structures were made with such materials as steel pipes and rods, wire mesh, mortar, porcelain, tile, and glass. The structures are decorated with items that children and the local community brought to Rodia and also with items he found in the neighborhood and surrounding areas such as bed frames, recognizable soft-drink bottles (some bearing the logos of 7up, Squirt, and Canada Dry), ceramic tiles, scrap metal and sea shells.


The story goes that Rodia built the towers with no predetermined design and only used hand tools like hammers and window-washers' equipment. The towers are on the National Register of Historic Places, and are designated as a National Historic Landmark. Not only are some of my family's dishes part of this nationally recognized historic structure, but--more importantly to me--this structure, the time period it was created, and the community of the time is just another piece of LA that makes up part of my family's history.

Historic Preservation and Pico Union: Gems of LA

Historic Preservation:
I just completed an event in the Pico Union area of Los Angeles, which contains some of "the largest collections of historic homes west of the Mississippi River". These homes and this area are even more intriguing when one is exposed to the area's history and how culturally diverse and rich it has become over the years.


Pico Union lies just two miles southwest of Downtown LA. Similar to most of the Los Angeles area, it is a community that is both economically and ethnically diverse. (This is so much of an understatement, it's insane). But the community is also special in that it is one of twenty-two Historic Preservation Overlay Zones (HPOZ), or Historic District more broadly, which is an area composed of a group of buildings that are related to one another historically, architecturally, and/or culturally.

Some of the historic styles in the area include: 19th century Victorian-era cottages, early 20th century Craftsman and Mission Revival bungalows, and larger homes in Period Revival or Classical styles.


Pico Union, An Ever-evolving Community of Diversity:
Part of my recent work in the area was to outreach to residents about past, present, and future historic preservation efforts, the value of conservation, and the benefits of living in a historic district. Various stakeholders would like to broaden the community's interest in historic preservation, and have come together to offer a number of educational workshops in the month of January.

Our first educational workshop, which was held at the Pico Union Branch Library, was a success! There were a number of attendees consisting of students, community leaders, homeowners, renters, artists, and architects; and all are committed to preserving Pico Union's overall cultural and historical heritage.


Most of the attendees had grown up in the area and have watched it evolve overtime (an excess of bars and liquor stores were eliminated in the 80's and 90's even though other forms of blight persist until this day). Others were fascinated with the history and architecture of the area and are interested in preserving the beauty of historic homes, especially since many have been inappropriately altered or demolished altogether. And all of the attendees seemed to have tremendous pride in Pico Union, and were so invested in the cultural and historical heritage of this community that attending the event is second-nature to them.


Upcoming events and workshops on Pico Union Historic Preservation Efforts include:

January 19, 2008: Pico Union Walking Tour
January 24, 2008: Benefits of Historic Preservation & the HPOZ
January 31, 2008: Dialogue with HPOZ Leaders

Please contact Mike Buhler with the LA Conservancy for more information on these events and for other historic preservation information!

Never to be Forgotten:
Finally, Pico Union has an amazing history of migration and settlement and it's emergence as a Central American enclave in Los Angeles is renowned. There are also a lot of awesome organizations in the area doing great work (I'll certainly cover this in a future post), and their existence provides yet another reason why Pico Union (and LA more broadly) is so unique:

IDEPSCA: works with day laborers and household workers in LA.
Homies Unidos: gang violence prevention and intervention.
Centro Latino: education and literacy for local residents.
SALEF: educational scholarships for Central Americans.
Eco-Academy: a charter school run by the Conservation Corps.
Maya Vision: support services for indigenous people of Mexico and Central America.
Pico Union Housing Corporation (PUHC): develop and preserve affordable housing and much more.

Memorial behind a strip mall on the corner of Pico and Union:



Three Blocks North of Pico and Union on Olympic and Union, La Curacao Department Store, "A Little Bit of Your Country":

All the photos of historic homes in this post are courtesy of this very informative blog on Pico Union.

More Historic Homes in Pico Union

This Victorian home was originally located in Downtown Los Angeles on Olive near what is now Pershing Square but was later moved to Pico Union in 1909 when the Downtown area was becoming less desirable to live due to commercial and office growth.



I was running late to my own event the other day and drove by this home and laughed out loud. Here I've been doing historic preservation outreach and had still not seen many of the amazing homes in the area -- this one caught my eye immediately.



Thomas Marley was the developer of this area of Pico Union and most of the homes were developed in 1896 during the Victorian era, which typically contain lots of detailed wordwork and the use of different types of wood, among other things.