| Historic Filipinotown | |
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| — Neighborhood of Los Angeles — | |
| Nickname(s): Hi-Fi | |
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Historic Filipinotown
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| Coordinates: | |
| Named | 2002 |
| Zip code | 90026 |
| Streets | Alvarado Street, Beverly Boulevard, Glendale Boulevard, Temple Street |
Historic Filipinotown is a newly created district of the city of Los Angeles, California, that makes up the southwest portion of Echo Park, Los Angeles, California . It was created by a resolution proposed by city council member Eric Garcetti on August 2, 2002. To be specific, the district is bounded by the Hoover Street on the west to Glendale Boulevard on the east, Temple Street on the north, Beverly Boulevard on the southern end. 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 and the southern section of the Park where the tennis courts and baseball field are located.
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From a political and community planning standpoint, Historic Filipinotown resides within the City of Los Angeles’s Thirteenth District, represented by Council member Eric Garcetti. It overlaps and is even divided by, the two larger communities of Silver Lake/Echo Park. It was created by a resolution proposed by city council member Eric Garcetti on August 2, 2002 as an effort to help continue the history of this part of the neighborhood and 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 south of Beverly Blvd. As a result, Historic Filipinotown must compete with these other localities for services and benefits while avoiding any conflict with their larger community parents.[1]
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 and home to key Filipino organizations, Filipino churches (Filipino Christian Church, Iglesia ni Kristo, St. Columban Filipino Catholic Church, United Church of God Ministries, Praise Christian Fellowship and Congregational Christian Church),housing (Manila Terrace, Mindanao Towers, Mountain View Terrace and Villa Ramos) and social service centers . 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 the Little Tokyo 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 400,000 Filipinos that reside in Los Angeles, an estimated 10,000 live 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 cultural 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), the Filipino American Library (FAL), and 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.
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 showcases 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.
Following Thanksgiving, the lamp-posts along Temple Street are decorated with Philippine Christmas lanterns ( Parol ) as the launching of the Christmas festivities, which last until the Epiphany 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 2010 Christmas Parol Parade with some participants mounted on pick up trucks with their Parol from all over Southern California. Giant versions of the traditional Parol created by an entire community are called 'Ligligan Parul' with thousands of colorful lights synchronized to flicker and create various images-choreographed to bring the accompanying music to life. These wonderful lanterns originated from Pampanga, Philippines.
On May 5, 1998 the Los Angeles City Council designated the Filipino Christian Church as Historic - Cultural Monument No. 651.
The Filipino (Disciples) Christian Church is the only Historic Cultural Monument designated by the City of Los Angeles with Filipino origins, distinguished by its German Gothic Revival and Craftsman architecture. Although not yet designated as Historic-Cultural landmarks, Historic Filipinotown also has the oldest established Iglesia ni Kristo Church and the earliest Filipino Catholic Church built in the USA,purchased by First Lady Aurora Quezon as a gift to the Filipinos in Los Angeles, the St. Columban Filipino Church on Beverly Blvd and Loma St. which also has authentic Church bells from Antipolo City, Philippines.
Prior to the area being designated as Historic Filipinotown in August 2, 2002, in June 24, 1995[2] the nation's largest Filipino American mural: "Gintong Kasaysayan, Gintong Pamana (Filipino Americans: A Glorious History, A Golden legacy)", was unveiled to the public and attended by over 600 people during the dedication. The mural was featured in the Black Eyed Peas' 2003 MTV video for 'Where is the Love?'.[3] In 1997, the City of Los Angeles Board of Cultural Affairs Commissioners awarded the mural its first ever Award of Design Excellence for public art held at the Los Angeles Times headquarters in downtown LA. The mural was likewise featured in Los Angeles County Museum's 'Made in California: Art, Image and Identity 1900-200' as well as the Smithsonian Institute's travelling exhibition celebrating 100 years of Filipino migration to the USA called 'Singgalot (The Ties That Bind): From Colonial Subjects to Citizens'.[4] The mural was painted by then 22-year old artist Eliseo Art Silva[5] while a junior attending nearby Otis College of Art and Design.[6] According to the artist: "...the mural encapsulates 5,000 years of Filipino and Filipino American history; the design is divided into two parts: the first is historical (represented by the outline of a fish at sea), leading up to the awakening of Filipino national and political consciousness; the second part is dominated by a huge bird with significant Filipino-Americans on its wings, the farm workers on the bottom left and the youth and community on the right."[7]
The 150' x 35' Filipinotown mural originally faced a large community garden called the 'Candy Chuateco Community Garden,' with over 50 plots cared for by residents in the neighborhood including Filipino American WWII Veterans. Sponsored by Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) for over 12 years, until the land was purchased from Filipina proprietor Dr. Carmencita Chuateco by the City of Los Angeles and converted into the Unidad Park through the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust (LANLT).[8] Dr. Carmencita Chuateco, who owns a medical clinic across the street, donated the lot for the garden after she suspended plans to develop the land. The garden is named in honor of her youngest daughter, Candy. The garden aimed to produce not only fruits and vegetables, but also cooperative relationships between youths and older residents of the community. Unidad Park's design was conceptualized by leaders and stakeholders of the Filipino community and based largely from submitted renderings by the mural artist Eliseo Silva, which includes the Philippine Bontoc/Kankana-ey Dap-Ay communal gathering place, park features and a community garden referencing the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as an entrance walkway based on the design of Filipino American Pedro Flores' Yo-yo.[9] The park is a popular destination for the neighborhood with its Dap-ay[10] used by students and the sandbox inside this space used by toddlers, the interactive play area, community garden as well as onsite barbecue grills with matching tables and benches for family gatherings and parties, enhanced by a covered tent to protect park users from the sun and rain.[11] It is a popular destination for visitors and residents alike for its unique inherent ability as a show-and-tell site that 'teaches'; as well as, a unique outdoor showcase of the largely invisible Filipino American heritage which succeeds in building bridges among the diverse communities of multicultural Los Angeles.[12]
In 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 designed by Edwin Frederizo who also designed Hi-Fi's street banners.[13] According to the artist: "My design for the permanent art display conveys a message of peace, unity, and harmony amongst the community of Historic Filipinotown. The uniqueness of having Filipino American residents and businesses embedded within a variety of cultures allows for a very rich and conceptual visual art display. The Filipino American culture is influenced by several other cultures (i.e.- Latino, Chinese and African American) and is fused into a very unique style all its own."[14]
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 the 250,000 Filipino and 7,000 Filipino American 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.[15]
There are numerous Filipino restaurants within Historic Filipinotown. Among the establishments catering Filipino cuisine are: Salakot Sizzle and Grill Fine Dining Restaurant (Beverly Blvd near Lake St.), Bahay Kubo Natin (Temple & Park View), Kapistahan Grill (Temple & Bonnie Brae), My Mom's Bakeshop and Restaurant (Temple Street and Rampart Avenue),Nanay Gloria (Temple & Carondelet), Little Ongpin (Beverly & Union), Kuya Eddie's Greenhills (Beverly & Occidental) and Kabayan Pinoy (Beverly & Hoover). Other eateries that are Filipino-owned but serve non-Filipino fare are Tribal Cafe (Temple St. near Union Ave.) and the oldest Filipino-owned establishment in the area Bernie's Teriyaki (Glendale Blvd. near court St.)
Temple Plaza on Temple street on N. Carondolet Street includes Temple Seafood Market, Nanay Gloria's, Macapagal Optical, Gemini Video and Chez Therese. Luzon Plaza on Temple and N. Bonnie Brae Street includes SM Beauty and Cut and Kapistahan Grill. Beverly Store: Pilipino & Mexican Mini-Mart is on Beverly Blvd. near Robinson Street. Other businesses in the area includes: Pioneer (Filipino) Driving School on Beverly Blvd. near N. Reno St.,Metrobank on Beverly Blvd. near Rosemont Ave., Central Dental Care on Beverly Blvd. and N. Mountain View Ave., and Burlington School on Burlington Avenue near Court St.
Future plans for Historic Filipinotown include a permanent structure for the Filipino American Library in honor of its founder Helen Summers Brown, naming a Filipino community and cultural arts center in honor of the catalyst for the 1965 Delano Grape Strike Larry Dulay Itliong, naming a community garden after community leader/educator Uncle Roy Morales and Filipino labor leader Philip Vera Cruz, a section of the neighborhood to be named in honor of Mrs. Remedios Geaga and placing a larger than life size monument of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal and LA writer and novelist Carlos Bulosan in front of the Filipinotown Unidad park. A gateway marker to the Historic Filipinotown along Temple Street is in the planning and design stage for presentation to the Council members and approval by Los Angeles City authorities.
Los Angeles Police Department operates the Rampart Community Police Station at 1401 West 6th St., 90017, serving the neighborhood.[16]
Like the rest of the city of Los Angeles, the area is within the Los Angeles Unified School District.
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