| Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles Los Angeles Neighborhood |
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| Named: | 1940s |
| Streets: | Alvarado Street, Beverly Boulevard, Glendale Boulevard, Temple Street |
| Zip code: | 90026 |
Historic Filipinotown, is a newly created district of the City of Los Angeles, California, that makes up the southern portion of Echo Park, Los Angeles, California . Specifically, the district is bounded by the Hollywood Freeway (US 101 Freeway9) to the north, Beverly Boulevard to the south, Hoover Street to the west, and Glendale Boulevard to the east, northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. This section of Echo Park has always been a puzzle especially since it was separated from its northern portion by the US 101 Freeway in the 1950s along with the southern section of the Park where the tennis courts and baseball field. Prior to its designation in 2002, this area was also called the Temple-Beaudry corridor.
From a political and community planning standpoint, Historic Filipinotown resides within the City of Los Angeles’s Thirteenth District, represented by Councilmember Eric Garcetti. It lies right in the middle of, and even divided by, the two larger communities of Silver Lake/Echo Park. It was recently created by a resolution proposed by city councilmember Eric Garcetti on August 2, 2002 as an effort to help continue the history of this part of the neighborhood and specifically to promote economic, civic, commercial, cultural, industrial, and educational interests and common wealth of local residents, business owners, and other stakeholders. Community plans drawn up for Historic Filipinotown also impact the community plans of Silver Lake-Echo Park and a small section of Westlake. As a result, Historic Filipinotown must compete with these other localities for services and benefits while avoiding any conflict with their larger community parents.
Despite the fact that there are other enclaves of Filipinos living outside this district, it was declared Historic Filipinotown since it was one of the few areas where Filipinos first settled during the early part of the 20th century. Many Filipino-American families began purchasing homes and establishing businesses in the area beginning from the 1940s, shifting away from the downtown area [[ now known as Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California] area in the 1920s and the Bunker Hill area later.
In recent times, Historic Filipinotown reflects the polyglot nature of Los Angeles. While the district still has a sizable Filipino population, they are the minority, overshadowed by a sizable Mexican and Central American population. Nevertheless, the area still has one of the highest concentrations of Filipino Americans in Southern California and still remains the cultural heart of Filipinos throughout Los Angeles. Of the 280,000 Filipinos (2000 U.S. Bu.of Census )that reside in the City of Los Angeles, an estimated 10,000 are within Historic Filipinotown.
The Historic Filipinotown Neighborhood Council leads the effort for cultural,political and economic development in the District. Many Filipino service organizations and institutions, such as the Filipino Christian Church ( designated with historical marker by the City of LA ),Rotary Club of Historic Filipinotown ( HIFIRC ), the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC), Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA), Filipino American Service Group, Inc. (FASGI), Search to Involve Pilipino Americans ( SIPA ), Pilipino American Network and Advocacy ( PANA ) and the Filipino American Library (FAL), the Historic Filipinotown Chamber of Commerce ( HIFICC) are located in the Historic Filipinotown. The area is also host to Filipino restaurants, churches, and hospitals and medical clinics. On November 11, 2006, the City of Los Angeles dedicated the first Filipino WWII Veterans Memorial in the nation at Lake St. Park in Historic Filipinotown site of the former Our Lady of Loretto High School.
On 2007, CALTRANS with the collaboration of the Historic Filipinotown Neighborhood Council installed the Historic Filipinotwn signage along the US 101 Freeway directing traffic to the area with the Alvarado and Glendale Blvd. exits. The Historic Filipinotown signage serves as landmark for motorists driving along the US 101 freeway. The crosswalks in Filipinotown have been decorated with traditional Filipino basket weaving patterns.
The Two ( 2 ) major annual events in the Historic Filipinotwn are the Annual Historic Filipinotown Festival held every first Saturday and Sunday of August, commemorating the designation of the District as the Historic Filipinotown. The Festival showcase the people and cultures of the residents of district with music,dances,food,entertainment and health fair. A 5K run is a major attraction for participation from all the fun loving runners everywhere.
Right after Thanksgiving, the lamp posts along Temple Street are decorated with Christmas lanterns ( parol ) as the launching of the Christmas festivities which last until the Three Kings Celebration the following year. The Christmas Parol Project was several years in the making due to City Code requirements and fundraising challenges. In 2008, Historic Filipinotown Neighborhood Council was able to raise enough funds to launch the annual event with Christmas Lantern Parade on Temple Street. The Neighborhood Council will be inviting more participants for the 2009 Christmas Parol Parade with participants from all over including the Philippines.
Future plans for Historic Filipinotown include naming a park after community leader/educator Uncle Roy Morales and Filipino labor leader, Philip Vera Cruz, and placing a monument of Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal, at another park in the district.
In November, 2006 Eric Garcetti, president of the L.A. City Council, joined Filipino veterans from around the country in unveiling the first monument dedicated to Filipino soldiers who fought for the United States in World War II. The monument, located in Lake Street Park in the heart of Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown, consists of five slabs of polished black granite and commemorates the history of the Filipino veterans, from WWII to immigration to their subsequent fight for equality. It was designed by artist Cheri Gaulke.[1]
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Emergency services
Police service
Los Angeles Police Department operates the Rampart Community Police Station at 1401 West 6th St., 90017, serving the neighborhood.[2]
Education
Like the rest of the city of Los Angeles, the area is within the Los Angeles Unified School District.
See also
References
- ^ (PDF) Garcetti unveils nation's first Filipino veterans memorial, City of Los Angeles, November 13, 2006, http://www.ci.la.ca.us/council/cd13/cd13press/cd13cd13press13242318_11132006.pdf, retrieved on 2007-12-11
- ^ Rampart Community Police Station, los Angeles police department, http://www.lapdonline.org/rampart_community_police_station, retrieved on 2007-12-11
External links
- Historic Filipinotown Official Site
- Search to Involve Filipino Americans (SIPA), a Filipino service organization
- History of Filipinos in Los Angeles
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