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Old Plaza >\icd i^wcuv^i
I From Prolonged Siesta
Los Angeles' Birthplace to Be Restored
and Rejuvenated as Part of Master Plan       i
BY CORDELL HICKS , This expanse, about 111
Los Angeles, a city of the square blocks, is awakening
future and with a future, is from a siesta that would
in the midst of rejuvenating overmatch that of Rip Van
!most of its downtown area— Winkle. Parts of it long ago
and turning back the clock degenerated into slums. His-
I in some of it. toric  landmarks  became
New office* structures rear shabby and unsound.
against the skyline almost    These dreary sights have
overnight. given the Los Angeles vis-
Change is everywhere. i^W3 first impressions of
Growth includes m6re than|the Clty of AnSels fDr many
one-half   billion  dollars   of years.
new construction annually. old Landmarks
Old Bunker Hill, in the For years Angelenos have
planning stage of becoming had an affection for Olvera
New Bunker Hill, when re- Street, its "Little Mexico."
built will have cost $315 mil- The Old Plaza Park has been
lion, considered quaint. The!
At the city's front door,chur<:h °? the Plaza is re-
down   by   Union   Station,™**1 and admired
another phoenix is rising.   L 0v^.. a11   has   ?««*£   a
r dreamlike peace  that held;
From Adobes the seeds of death.
Not from ashes—but from     People   who   wanted   tof
adobes, some of them 150-"save"  the  Old  Plaza  sec-j
year-old single-story sprawl- tion where Los Angeles wasj
ing houses built around an- founded in 1781 were called j
dent patios. "visionary romantics." j
Los Angeles finds itself in-     That is, they were at first.
jterested enough in its ori-     Now,   even   bankers   ap-
jgins to undertake the resto- prove   the   restoration   as
ration and preservation of its sound business and expert
birthplace:   the   Old   Plaza financial acumen.
Glance at master plan pho-
jtograph  of Pueblo  de Los
i Angeles accompanying this
; article, and you will see the
area bounded by Alameda,
wakes 0LD PLAZA
Continued from First Page
Sts., set aside by state, county and city for posterity.
Much has been accomplished. The Bank of America, hard by Olvera Street,
is finished with handsome
Mexican tilework and has
heavy   rich   draperies   and
n/u     ^Uij^iWJttd     CCHYC     time     tu
smile and pass the time of
day in both Spanish and
English.
Next door to the bank is
La Luz del Dia, where tortillas are made and Mexican
food served by pretty Mexican girls in costume.
Avila Adobe Saved
Work has begun on the
Pico House, oldest hotel of
the city, built in 1869. Its
furnishings and decorations,
as well as its exterior, will
be of another century.
Saved is the famous Avila
adobe, built in 1818, and situated in Olvera Street. Offi-
cils of El Pueblo de Los Angeles say this is due to the
crusading spirit of Mrs.
Christine Sterling, who
makes the adobe her home
and office.
Officers Listed
Other landmarks due for a
face lifting include the Merced Theater, the Masonic
Temple, Fire House, Pelan-
coni House, which Senora
C o n s u e 1 o de Bonzo has
brought back to life; the Se-
pulveda House, and more.
Superior Judge Mclntyre
Faries is president of the administrative organization behind the preservation and
restoration of Los Angeles'
OldTown^ _