Historic Filipinotown in downtown Los Angeles
Here’s a nostalgic place to tour when in Los Angeles, California…
Filipinotown, an actual district of Los Angeles, and located between Westlake and Echo Park. It was created by a resolution proposed by city council member Eric Garcetti on August 2, 2002. It’s historically one of the few places where Filipinos first settled in America and currently has one of the highest concentrations of Filipino Americans in Southern California.
What does Filipinotown offer?
There is this “Gintong Kasaysayan, Gintong Pamana” mural (above) at the Beverly Union Park created by Eliseo Art Silva. A lengthy 145’ x 25’, it depicts both history and culture of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans.
The first Filipino WWII Veterans Memorial in the nation at Lake St. Park, is a reminder for everyone that Filipinos served, and died, alongside their American counterparts in the last world war.
The Filipino American Library in North Park View has over 5,000 titles on books written by and for Filipinos, and other historic memorabilia.
Amee Enriquez of Balita wrote of her recent tour of the district, where she saw firsthand these historic sites and of course, a sampling of Filipino-American life. She writes -
“Did you know that Bernie’s Teriyaki, founded in 1977, one of L.A.’s best hole-in-the-walls, is the oldest existing Fil-Am restaurant in the area? Or that Little Ongpin, along Beverly, is reputed to have the best pancit?”
Nope, didn’t know these tidbits… Next time I’m in LA, I’ll definitely go see this place. I think I’ll feel right at home.
Tags: Filipino, Filipinotown, Los Angeles, mural, Filipino WWII veterans memorial, filipino american library, tour, district, filipino-american
2 Comments
[...] Filipina Soul added an interesting post today on Historic Filipinotown in downtown Los AngelesHere’s a small reading [...]
Just to help clarify….Historic Filipinotown lies “within” Echo Park and is part of Echo Park. Also, few of its areas overlap Westlake as well and is not wedged between the two areas discussed. I know it’s just a technicality but I thought it was important to point out hence Echo Park has much history associated to the Filipinotown portion of LA . Filipinotown is one of the many reasons why Echo Park was deemed one of the greatest neighborhoods in America by the American Planning Association who noted the area’s architecture, lifestyle and melting pot.