What History Lies Beneath DTLA’s Bright Lights?

Co-presented by Zócalo Public Square and Los Angeles Conservancy, with generous support from Karsh Family Foundation and Broad Foundation, in partnership with California Humanities and City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs

In its 175-year history, California has had dark and bright moments. But the state, in its fervor to build anew, has a habit of forgetting its past. Downtown Los Angeles embodies this: It holds a multitude of histories without a plaque, events that inform the city today.

Co-designed by Zócalo and Los Angeles Conservancy, this DTLA walking tour will start where it all began, bringing to light what was to illuminate where we’re going. We will be joined by experts at El Pueblo de Los Angeles, Union Station, and Little Tokyo. These are places where the Gabrielino-Tongva people thrived before subjugation by the Spanish and where a violent mob of Angelenos massacred their Chinese neighbors; where Japanese Americans created a beloved-but-threatened community and where the city built a spectacular transportation gateway to the region. This 2.5-hour experience will take participants through DTLA’s layered history to help them better interpret it.

Decide for yourself: Does L.A. have a hero or villain origin story? And what histories should we remember to make California’s next 175 years brighter?

Distance/Duration: Tourgoers will walk approximately 1.8 miles. Tours will last 2.5 hours.

Check-in: Please arrive at least 10 minutes before your tour’s start time to check in. The tour will meet at 125 Paseo de la Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90012, in front of El Pueblo Historical Monument. Please note, the tour will end in Little Tokyo.

Accessibility: The tour route requires participants to travel approximately 1.8 miles on sidewalks along city streets and throughout public spaces. The route, which is wheelchair accessible, includes uneven surfaces and differing grades. Tourgoers should expect to be on their feet for the entirety of the tour. Voice amplifiers will be used by tour guides, but tourgoers should expect to be in a noisy, urban environment. Most of the tour will be conducted outside. Tours will take place rain or shine.

Parking: Paid surface parking can be found at various lots throughout the area.

There is a large underground parking lot with all-day parking for $8.00 behind the East Portal of Union Station. There is an entrance to the parking garage on Cesar Chavez Avenue, just past the bridge, about a quarter of a mile east of Alameda Street. There is a second entrance on Vignes Street, which runs along the east side of the Union Station complex. Please note that parking is at the rear of the station, and some distance from the tour meeting spot.

Take Metro! If possible, we encourage you to take public transportation. The A, B, and D Metro Rail lines stop at Union Station. Visit metro.net for more information and to plan your route.

This program is part of California 175 — What Connects California?, a suite of free Zócalo events and essays, bringing together leaders and thinkers from all walks of life to envision California’s next 175 years.

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