Skirball — Manzanar

Skirball Cultural Center
November 7, 2015
Sepulveda Pass

We took Margaret to see two special and related exhibitions: Manzanar: The War Time Photographs of Ansel Adams, and Citizen 13660: The Art of Miné Okubo. Both exhibitions run through February 21, 2016.

Skirball_Manzanar

The Manzanar exhibition, offered in association with the Japanese American National Museum, is centered on photographs taken by Ansel Adams during World War II at the Manzanar internment camp in the Owens Valley. The exhibit also features work of two other photographers, Dorothea Lange and Toyo Miyatake. We signed up for the docent led tour of the exhibit and learned a great deal about the background of all three photographers.

Lange’s work was commissioned by the government but turned out to be too stark and realistic for the authorities. Her photos were suppressed at the time, buried in government archives and only released several decades later. Adams went to the camp later and was given a better reception, in part perhaps because of his acquaintance with the camp commander. Also, his focus was more on the everyday life of the inhabitants, and less on the grim aspects of their life in the camp. Adams published a book of those photos in 1944 while the war was still going on, Born Free and Equal, and through it he criticized the government’s policy of relocating Japanese-Americans to the camps. The entire book can be seen online at the Library of Congress website. The third photographer whose work is displayed in the exhibit is Toyo Miyatake, a Japanese American who was himself incarcerated during the war. Although cameras were not allowed in the camp, he smuggled in a lens and film holder and managed to construct a camera which he used to document life inside the camp.

The exhibit also contains other artifacts from the time, including anti-Japanese propaganda, pamphlets put out by the Society of Friends protesting the relocation and internment policies, and everyday objects from the Manzanar camp, such as the camp newspaper and high school yearbook. Several videos and other displays explain the controversies that arose with the government questionnaires camp inhabitants were required to fill out, including key questions about whether they would fight for the United States and renounce loyalty to the Emperor of Japan.

We next went on to the exhibit Citizen 13660, featuring the art of Miné Okubo. She was a Japanese American artist who studied in Europe. She came home to the United States after World War II broke out and was soon caught up in the forced relocation and internment. She sketched scenes of her experience from throughout her journey: from Europe, back to the U.S. hearing the news of Pearl Harbor, then at the Tanforan transfer station in San Bruno, and then at the Topaz camp in Utah to which she and one of her brothers were sent. In 1946 she published a book, Citizen 13660, containing those sketches together with narrative explanations. Today we might call her book a graphic novel. It is an important first person witness to the entire relocation and camp experience. We bought a copy in the museum gift shop which Meredith is currently reading. She promised to pass it along to Margaret, who expressed interest in it.

We then spent a little time in the museum’s permanent collection, Vision and Values, about the Jewish experience through history and particularly in America. The area has been re-organized since we last visited it. We enjoyed the display cases on life stages and also on religious holidays.

We ate lunch at the museum restaurant, Zeidler’s. The food there is consistently excellent, and the prices are reasonable for what they serve. Margaret and Meredith each had cheese blintzes; Bob had the salmon burger. Both dishes were served with ample sides of fresh fruit.

The Skirball is just one of three museums in Los Angeles which participates in the Bank of America Museums on Us program. On the first full weekend of each month, Bank of America debit or credit card holders can get in for free. Regular adult admission is $10 for adults. Parking is free.

We skipped our usual Starbucks stop and had our coffee break at the Skirball’s snack bar, then took Margaret home and rushed back to San Diego. We wanted to get home early, to be there when our middle daughter brought us the latest addition to our household, Casey, a mellow and friendly cat whose foster owner felt he would be happier in a home where he is the only cat.

Casey_with_Meredith

Hammer Museum — Landscape Painting

Hammer Museum
Westwood
October 24, 2015

We did not expect to go back to the Hammer Museum so soon; we had last been here in August. But we were intrigued by Mike Boehm’s article which we saw in the Los Angeles Times on October 10, Brush with Conflict or Stroke of Genius?, about the Canadian landscape artist Lawren Harris. A follow up article appeared in the Times the day we went to the exhibit.

Hammer_Harris

The Harris paintings were quite striking. Although they are landscapes, they are somewhat abstract. There are echoes of art deco in them. A great range of Canadian geography was represented, from Lake Superior to Baffin Island to the Rocky Mountains. It reminded us of our trip to Canada last year, although we had stayed in urban areas of Ontario, but the exhibit inspired us, and perhaps we will go back to see some wilder places in the future. The Harris exhibit at the Hammer runs through January 24, 2016.

We toured the other special exhibitions, including three that were in small galleries: Avery Singer; Njideka Akunyili Crosby; and Jessica Jackson Hutchins. We enjoyed the intricate details and shapes and perspective of the paintings in the Singer exhibit. We also liked the collages by Crosby and Hutchins’ use of ceramics. We then went on to a larger exhibition of Frances Starks’ works. She uses quite a variety of different media, and there were several pieces we liked. We were most entertained by a three-dimensional piece: a black dress on which an old-fashioned rotary dial telephone face had been affixed. Margaret and Bob posed in front of it, with Margaret holding out a hand to make it appear she was dialing the phone, although of course she was not actually touching the art.

Hammer_phone

We ate lunch in the museum café and were all pleased with our food. Margaret had a good appetite, which was nice to see.

Museum admission is free. Parking on Saturday costs a flat $3 charge. Wheelchair accessibility is generally good, except that the doors into galleries are heavy and do not have automatic opening mechanisms. With two of us assisting Margaret, that is not an issue, but a wheelchair patron visiting alone would have to rely on staff and other patrons to open doors.

We did have a few odd moments in the museum parking garage when leaving. Margaret at first thought we were at the wrong car and did not want to get in it. We did finally convince her it was our car.

We then met up with Meredith’s sister Kathleen for coffee, and we gave Margaret a book of cartoons from the 1940’s that she had remembered recently, Barnaby and Mr. O’Malley, by Crockett Johnson. She was very pleased with the book, and Meredith read through the first chapter with her.

Fowler Museum — Native American Art

Fowler Museum
UCLA Westwood
October 10, 2015

Fowler_group

We took Margaret to the Fowler Museum to see two new Native American exhibitions. We first saw Zuni World, a series of paintings displayed around the atrium. They were created by contemporary Zuni artists and feature traditional places, symbols, and subjects. We enjoyed the balance and colors and the fine details. Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon were each depicted in several paintings, reminding Margaret of visits she had made to those sites. This exhibit will run through January 10, 2016.

We then went into a gallery featuring textile art of the Southwest, mostly made in the period 1860-1880. This exhibit, Treasured Textiles from the American Southwest: the Durango Collection, was written up by Jessica Galt in the Los Angeles Times the same day we went, although we did not see the article until after we had been there. The majority of those pieces were blankets woven by Hopis and Navajos. Different designs were represented, and the display showed the evolution of designs over time. We were impressed with how vibrant the red pieces still are. The final pieces in the gallery were woven by Hispanic artists. Interspersed with the textile pieces were some historic photographs providing context, and there were good explanatory notes with each piece. This exhibit likewise runs through January 10, 2016.

Our final stop at the Fowler was a room displaying ancient Colombian pieces from the Magdalena Valley, both ceramic and metal, from about 900 to 1600 A.D. These pieces will be on exhibit through January 3, 2016. We did not spend much time in the permanent collection on this visit. It contains some excellent anthropological pieces from around the world, and also the splendid Francis E. Fowler, Jr. silver collection.

We had lunch before the museum visit, at an Italian café in the Anderson business school, Il Tramezzino, just a few buildings over from the museum. We each had a panini and enjoyed our meal. There were very few people in the restaurant when we arrived at noon, but as we finished a number of students crowded in. The restaurant is up a level from the museum, so we had to go into a classroom building and take an elevator up. We blundered into what turned out to be a service elevator letting us out in a kitchen, but the staff were quite nice and showed us the way through the kitchen out onto the Anderson plaza. After we ate we found the passenger elevator for our return trip, and a fellow passenger made sure we were oriented in the right direction to head back toward the Fowler.

Admission to the Fowler is free. There is a donation box at the entrance for those who wish to contribute. We parked in a nearby underground garage and paid $5 to park. There was ample parking for our Saturday visit; we do not know what the weekday parking situation may be.

Fowler_Zuni_video

Margaret was fairly talkative and alert at the beginning of our outing, and chatted with us about family over lunch. We reminded her that her oldest grandchild had a birthday coming up the following week, and helped her pick out a card in the museum gift shop. Margaret grew tired as the afternoon went on and was struggling a bit for words at the museum, but she did enjoy the videos there. The Zuni exhibit included a video explaining the origin of the art project, and showing several of the artists at work. She also watched two short videos in the permanent collection, one about potlatch ceremonies in British Columbia and the other about Hopi culture in the Southwest. She perked up a bit and joined in the conversation when we met up with Meredith’s sister Kathleen for coffee at the end of the day. The transfers from wheelchair to car and back remain hard for her, and we are now planning our outings so we can eat at or near whatever museum we visit, and not have to make an additional transfer. For smaller places that do not have a café on site, we may bring a picnic or get sandwiches to go.

Springfield Armory

Springfield Armory
Springfield, Massachusetts
September 23, 2015

We spent a week on vacation back in Massachusetts, visiting family. While there we visited the Springfield Armory with our son-in-law. What originated as the Springfield Arsenal, a military supply depot, became known as Springfield Armory in 1794 when on-site small arms manufacturing was approved by President Washington. From 1794 until 1968, the facility was an armament factory run by the U.S. government, and it was famous for its rifles. One of the main buildings is preserved as a museum run by the National Park Service.

We first watched a video covering the history of the armory, which nicely set the context for the displays. The museum is divided into two areas, one explaining the development of the industrial processes and key inventions used at the armory, and the other section showcasing representative guns from the 18th through 20th centuries. In between is a large gift shop area. The entire museum is housed on a single floor within a red brick room which was one of the assembly shops for the armory when it was in business.

Springfield_lathe

Around 1819 Thomas Blanchard invented a lathe which was capable of shaping irregular surfaces. This lathe dramatically reduced the time needed to make the stock of a rifle, and other industrial advances soon followed. The era of individually crafted guns gave way to mass production of guns with interchangeable parts. The Springfield Armory manufactured guns used in every U.S. war from the War of 1812 to the Vietnam War, and production progressed from flintlock muskets to M14’s.

Springfield_guns

The greatest number of employees at the Armory, mostly civilians, worked there in World War II from 1941-45 when over 14,000 men and women labored day and night fabricating the semi-automatic M-1 Garand rifle. The original Armory stretched over two city blocks in what was known as the “hill shops,” and this is the area we visited. Also associated with the Armory were the “water shops” located about a mile south on the Mill River, where heavy metal forging and machining was done as well as gun stock shaping. That is now a privately-owned industrial site, and we did not see it. We were told that although it is closed to the public the buildings are still there and can be viewed from the outside.

The park is open free of charge, including the museum. There is no on-site restaurant; we went out to dinner after our visit. Parking is free in front of the museum, and the facility is wheelchair-accessible.

Getty Center — Bronzes

Getty Center
Sepulveda Pass
September 13, 2015

We took Margaret to the Getty Center to see the special exhibition Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World. The exhibition runs through November 1, 2015. The Getty has gathered many bronze sculptures of the Hellenistic period, from 323 to 31 B.C., some on loan from museums in the Mediterranean world. The exhibition presents a wonderful sampling of Hellenistic art of portraiture and the human form. Each piece was accompanied with a good write up explaining where it was found, when and how it was made, and what the salient details are to look for in it. The museum’s website offers an excellent gallery of images of the pieces in the exhibition. We were both very impressed with the seated bronze statue of the tired boxer in the center of the second area of the exhibition space. Margaret liked the two very similar statues of athletes in the middle room. Their large size and fine detail make each statue an outstanding piece in its own right, but they are also interesting because they are clearly made from the same master model.

Getty_bronzes_plaza

After the bronzes we took a short walk through the exhibit about Renaissance artist Andrea Del Sarto and his workshop. We caught that exhibit on its final day. It was interesting because it included both drawings and paintings, giving an idea how the masterworks were put together.

At the end of our stay we took a stroll through the 19th century European painting area of the permanent collection, including the Impressionist paintings. Bob likes the Sisley landscape depicting the road from Versailles to St. Germain; Meredith never tires of Monet’s painting of snow dusted wheat stacks in the morning sun.

We ate in the museum café, a food court style cafeteria that is less expensive than the museum restaurant upstairs. Margaret had a salad, and we each had Mexican dishes. The food was good. There was not much of a crowd. Perhaps the Sunday attendance is lighter than Saturday.

Admission to the Getty Center is free. The only cost to get in is $15 per car to park. If one arrives by public transport, then there is no cost.

Getty_hike

We had a bit of an adventure leaving. The trams between the parking garage and museum had broken down. We had the choice of taking a shuttle bus or walking down the hill. We chose to walk. That is not an option we have ever seen offered before so wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. It took us a little more than 15 minutes, and the walk gave us a chance to enjoy the views out over the pass.

California Science Center

California Science Center
Exposition Park
September 6, 2015

We took Margaret to the California Science Center, to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit, on its final weekend there. The Science Center is in Exposition Park, as is the Natural History Museum, near USC and the Coliseum. Exposition Park as at the outer range of as far as we like to drive when we go up to see her, but we had been looking forward to this exhibit for months, and did not begrudge the extra driving.

Science_ctr_deadsea

Admission to the permanent galleries at the Science Center is free, but the center charges for special exhibitions and the IMAX theater. The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit was separately ticketed, as was the companion IMAX movie, Jerusalem 3-D. We had purchased tickets online, and we were glad we did; the Scrolls exhibit was sold out that day.

We arrived early enough to have lunch before the movie. The café has expanded from what it was last time we visited. There is now a grill run by Trimana, and several other food court options as well. Service was quick, and the food was good.

We then went on to the IMAX theater, where Meredith’s sister Kathleen and our youngest daughter and her boyfriend all joined us. The movie had some stunning aerial footage of Jerusalem today, and interesting narration and interior shots of the various holy sites, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. Good production values all around, and the film was narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch.

After we saw the movie, we had a gap until our timed entry to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. None of us had seen the retired space shuttle Endeavour, so we went over to the pavilion that houses it. That area is separately ticketed, but it was included with our tickets for the Dead Sea Scrolls so we were able to walk right in. (For visitors who are not purchasing IMAX or special exhibit admission, the museum charges $2 for admission to the Endeavour pavilion and requires timed entry tickets on the weekend, but not on weekdays.) The website gives information about Endeavour reservations. The first area has material about the history of the space shuttle missions generally and Endeavour in particular. There is a simulated Mission Control center with a rotating series of videos. Margaret and Meredith watched the video of the final launch of the Endeavour, while the rest of our group circulated around looking at other parts of the exhibit. We were all intrigued and amused by the zero gravity toilet, displayed in a glass case. There is a very interesting video of the final journey of the newly retired Endeavour, through the streets of Los Angeles to its new home. Then we went on in to see the shuttle itself; it is a quite impressive sight! Bob spoke with a volunteer who had samples of the various materials that make up different areas of the outer surface of the shuttle and was able to touch them. (Visitors are forbidden to touch the shuttle itself.)

From the space shuttle we went on to the third-floor special exhibition space. We still had a little time to spend before we could get in to the Dead Sea Scrolls, so we looked through the transportation exhibits on that floor.

The first part of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit consisted of a timeline, with representative artifacts spanning a broad time period of the history of what is now Israel, from prehistory until the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948. Next there was a room with a short video describing the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and explaining what the scrolls consist of. We then went into the main room. Fragments of the scrolls were displayed in a circular area in the center of the room under glass, with dim lighting to protect the fragments. Translations and explanations of each fragment were displayed next to the cases. Around the edge of the room were displayed a number of ancient artifacts contemporary to the Scrolls, such as pottery, glass, and mosaics.

Even with the timed entry, the room was crowded. The patrons around the central display moved slowly and made room for newcomers only grudgingly, and then we found that Margaret could not see the scroll fragments from her wheelchair. She was too weak to stand and look down at them as other visitors were doing, so we took turns showing her around the outer area of the main room instead. After that room, we passed through a small room with a stone which had fallen from near the southwestern corner of the Temple when the Romans destroyed it in A.D. 70. We found the experience quite moving, to actually see and touch a stone from the Temple. Paper and pen were there for visitors to write notes and leave them, as visitors do at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Nearby there was a video screen displaying a live feed from the Western Wall. We passed fairly quickly through the final room, which had some hands-on activities.

We finished our visit as we began it, down in the café, this time enjoying some coffee and chatting with the rest of the group before we all headed our separate ways home.

As noted above, admission to most of the science center is free. The permanent galleries include many hands-on activities and are popular with children. Parking is $10 per car and can be in short supply when the Coliseum is being used for a USC football game. Visitors are encouraged to use public transport, and our daughter and her boyfriend used the Metro. The permanent collections of the museum are adequately accessible for wheelchair patrons. We did find some access challenges on this visit though. When we first arrived, the main visitor elevator was out of service, so we had to wait in a long line to use the service elevator in a back hall. Then we found the layout of the Dead Sea scrolls display did not allow for good viewing of the Scrolls themselves from a wheelchair, as noted above. There was limited disability seating in the IMAX theater, and Meredith was only able to get a seat next to Margaret by asking another patron to move.

Timken — Vermeer

Timken Museum
Balboa Park
San Diego
September 5, 2015

We went back to one of our favorite museums, the Timken Museum in the heart of Balboa Park, near the arboretum and koi pond. We recommend this museum highly, and suggest anyone living in San Diego who has not been there should check it out. It is a totally FREE, small (right sized) art museum with an excellent collection of American and Western European paintings and a large collection of Russian icons. Although admission is free, we made sure to drop some cash in the donation box at the entrance, and we encourage others to do likewise.

Timken_Vermeer

Our most recent visit, back in May, had been to see a special exhibition of a Raphael painting that was on loan at the time. We went this time to catch a visiting Vermeer painting, Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, on its final week here in San Diego. We arrived a little before the museum opened at 10:00 a.m. and joined a group of patrons waiting for the doors to open. Among that group was a man who had come all the way from Washington State to see the painting. He told us the painting is the 15th Vermeer he has seen; an impressive life list! We were enthralled by the painting, particularly by the use of light and color, and also the subtle details. It is a momentary glimpse into the life of its subject. She is caught in the drama of the moment, reading the letter, perhaps sent by her husband traveling far away. Other pieces of Dutch art from that era, including some outstanding watercolor paintings of tulips, were displayed in the same room, giving a context to the central piece.

The museum website had this information about the painting, which was on display through September 11, 2015:
The “Woman in Blue Reading a Letter” one of about 36 known paintings by world-class master artist Johannes Vermeer….Luminous and exquisitely rendered, “Woman in Blue Reading a Letter” (about 1663-1664) is one of Vermeer’s most captivating portrayals of a young woman’s private world. This generous loan from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam marks the first appearance of this remarkable painting in San Diego. Praised as one of Vermeer’s most beautiful paintings, “Woman in Blue Reading a Letter” demonstrates the artist’s exceptional command of color, light and perspective.

Meredith put a heads up email out to her rowing team, to let them know that week was the last chance to see the painting. Several of them made a point of going to see it that final week, one for the second time. A teammate commented: “Vermeer is one of my favorites. His use of optics, exaggerated perspective and special pigments are fascinating.” Another was pleased that the exhibit tied into a lecture series she had attended recently, about Dutch art.

While it is no longer possible to see the Vermeer, the Timken’s Rembrandt, St. Bartholomew, is back in its place of honor and well worth a visit.

Avila Adobe

Avila Adobe
Downtown Los Angeles
September 3, 2015

Meredith saw the Avila Adobe on the same downtown L.A. trip with her niece and our youngest daughter that included the Chinese American Museum, Olvera Street, and the rest of the Pueblo area. (See the two posts immediately below.) This site also participates in the Passport 2 History program, so together with the Plaza Firehouse and the Chinese American Museum, written up below, Meredith was able to collect three stamps for our passport in a single outing.

Avila_front

The Avila Adobe is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m, and admission is free. It was built in 1818 by Don Francisco Avila, who had served as the alcalde (mayor) of Los Angeles in 1810. It is the oldest residence still standing in Los Angeles and is well appointed with furniture and furnishings from the 1840’s which are typical of the upscale California ranchero of the time. A well-informed docent wearing period costume was stationed in the first room. She told us about the history of both the building and its contents. We walked through several rooms, then out into the courtyard which features a tree sized prickly pear cactus, then on into the visitor center and gift shop.

Avila_cactus

The adobe is located in the middle of Olvera Street, surrounded by shops and stalls and restaurants. Growing out from the front porch of the adobe, out onto a trellis over Olvera Street, is a set of lush grape vines. We did not notice them much at the time, but then saw an article in the Los Angeles Times about the vines a couple of weeks later, What to Do with Grapes from 150-Year-Old Vines at Olvera Street? Make Wine, Of Course. The city archivist, Mike Holland, had long been curious about the vines, and recently had U.C. Davis run a genetic analysis of them. They are identical to the Mission grapes of the Viña Madre, introduced by Spanish missionaries and grown at the San Gabriel Mission. That grape “is a first-generation hybrid between a native Southern California grape (Vitis girdiana) and the European grape (Vitis vinifera) variety Mission,” according to Jerry Dangl, lab manager at Davis. Because the vines are a genetic match to the San Gabriel Mission plants, presumably they grew from cuttings that came from the Mission. No one knows how old the vines are exactly, but they may date as far back as the building of the adobe itself in 1818 or soon thereafter. If we had known how historic the plants were, we would have looked more closely at them, but one can see a little bit of the leafy vines overhead, on the trellis in the background of the photo Meredith took of the girls by the fountain in front of the adobe.

Olvera

Chinese American Museum

Chinese American Museum
Downtown Los Angeles
September 3, 2015

Meredith saw the Chinese American Museum with her niece and our youngest daughter, as part of their tour of the Pueblo area. (See the post immediately below.) The Chinese American Museum is open from 10 a.m to 3 p.m. daily except for Mondays, and admission is free. It is located in the historic Garnier Building, which dates from 1890 and is the last surviving building from Los Angeles’ original Chinatown. (We learned that the original Chinatown was largely demolished to make room for Union Station, and a new Chinatown grew up nearby.)

The museum makes good use of its small space. Our group started with the timeline display in the first room, with explanatory text and photos and representative artifacts. That timeline takes the visitor through a century and a half of Chinese immigration to the United States, chronicling both the milestones that immigrants attained and the hurdles they faced, such as the exclusionary legislation which drastically limited the numbers who could come to the U.S. The nadir of their experience may have been the Chinese Massacre of 1871, when a mob lynched 17 Chinese men and boys in old Chinatown, perhaps with the complicity of the police and leading Angelenos.

We went on into a room set up to look like typical 19th century stores one might have found in Chinatown, with a general store counter and shelves on the left side and an herbal medicine counter, shelves, and jars on the right side. Two smaller rooms with sample artifacts completed the museum displays.

Ch_Am_herbs

This museum participates in the Passport 2 History program, as do the Firehouse Museum (immediately below) and the Avila Abode (see the next post), both at the Pueblo also.

El Pueblo de Los Angeles

Olvera Street and Los Angeles Pueblo
Downtown Los Angeles
September 3, 2015

Meredith took the day off work and traveled by the earliest Amtrak train north to Union Station in Los Angeles, to meet up with her niece from Seattle and our youngest daughter. They spent the day in downtown Los Angeles. The group walked around Olvera Street and the historic Pueblo area, then went on to the Fashion District. This post gives an overview of the day; separate posts will follow for the Chinese American Museum and the Avila Adobe.

The Pueblo area, including Olvera Street, is the original area of European settlement in Los Angeles. There are several small museums located in it, all of which offer free admission. There are several other historic buildings as well. Olvera Street is now a pedestrian zone with vendor stalls and small shops, offering souvenirs and Mexican themed merchandise. We have considered visiting the Pueblo area museums before but were intimidated by the fact that they are in downtown Los Angeles. That location is a fairly far drive from where Margaret lives, and we were also afraid that parking would be problematic. Recently we learned that Union Station is right across the street from the Pueblo, and we resolved that when one of us next had the opportunity to travel by train to LA, we would try to include a visit to those historic sites.

Niece and daughter met Meredith at Union Station, and the three of them took a brief walk around it. The station is a wonderful building dating from the 1930’s, worthy of study in itself.

Union_station

We then crossed Alameda Street, and walked around the central plaza in the Pueblo park, which has a very large bandstand and some impressively large ficus trees. We had arrived a little too early for the museums which open at 10 a.m., so we went northwest across Main Street to the oldest church in Los Angeles, Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles, dedicated in 1822 and rebuilt in 1861. The church was open, and a number of parishioners were in there praying, so we stopped in for a moment of quiet reflection. We walked back to the plaza and then started walking on Olvera Street, looking at the merchant displays.

Olvera

Halfway along Olvera Street, we stopped in at the America Tropical Interpretive Center. This two-room museum explains the historic, economic, and cultural background to the America Tropical mural painted by David Alfaro Siqueiros in 1932. Unfortunately the mural itself was closed to public view that day, due to some sort of problem with the protective shutters which cover it at night. The center gave us some very interesting information, however, about Los Angeles in the 1930’s and the painter’s life. Olvera Street was being revitalized at that time, and those who commissioned the mural were looking for an idealized tropical scene, to be painted on the second story exterior wall at the center of the street. Siqueiros, an ardent communist and labor organizer, instead painted a crucified Indian peasant surmounted by an American eagle, with revolutionaries on the right aiming rifles at the eagle. The mural was very controversial at the time, and within a few years had been covered with whitewash. In recent years, through the work of the Getty Conservation Institute, the whitewash has been carefully removed, and the mural can now be seen again. (Well, when the protective shutters can be reopened!)

We next saw the Sepulveda House. It is billed as the “only Eastlake Victorian building” in the Pueblo area. There had earlier been an adobe building on the location, which was demolished to widen North Main Street. In 1887, Señora Sepulveda used the condemnation funds to build a two-story Victorian business and residential block. The new house consisted of 22 rooms, with two commercial stores on the Main Street side and three private rooms on Olvera Street. We looked at the kitchen exhibit on the lower level, which re-creates the 1890’s kitchen for the boardinghouse portion of the building, and we then looked in the bedroom exhibit, with decor from the same era.

We then toured the Avila Adobe, which will be the subject of a separate blog post. We finished our walking tour of the merchant area on Olvera Street and went back to the plaza area. The girls decided to see the two small museums off the plaza before lunch, so we proceeded on to the Plaza Firehouse Museum.

Plaza_fire

The Plaza Firehouse is a red brick building which dates from 1884. It is the first building constructed by the City of Los Angeles for housing firefighting equipment and personnel. It was originally occupied by volunteer firefighters, and then by the new professional fire department starting in 1886. Horses were stabled on the ground floor, and the firemen slept on the second level. The horse stalls can still be seen, and a horse drawn hose wagon with harness is on display. There are numerous historic photos on the walls. Admission is free. This museum is one of three sites within the Pueblo which are part of the Passport 2 History program, which is one of our main go-to resources.

We then visited the Chinese American Museum, which will also be the subject of a separate blog post.

We went on to lunch from there, eating at the La Luz del Dia restaurant on the plaza. The prices were very reasonable, and the food was excellent. We ordered at the counter, and then food was carried to our table. Meredith particularly enjoyed the tamales. The girls enjoyed their food also and drank Mexican soft drinks.

There are several lots parking lots right around the Pueblo. Our daughter had driven her car, and she parked in the lot on the south west edge of the Pueblo for a flat five dollar price.

Some of the areas of Olvera Street are on multi levels without wheelchair ramps, but there are several wheelchair lifts. We did not have Margaret with us, so did not have to deal with accessibility challenges hands-on, but it appears that a wheelchair visitor could enjoy all or most of the Pueblo and Olvera Street attractions.

After lunch we drove down to the Fashion District and walked Santee Alley, a high energy marketplace with many small shops. Most were clothing or shoe stores, but there was a variety of other merchandise. Our niece bought a skirt she spotted, and Meredith and the girls enjoyed 10 minute mini-massages.

Santee_alley