. . . And New Plans for an Old Area

Downtown Los Angeles has boomed in recent years with sparkling new skyscrapers, museums, theaters and restaurants. But this revival has had little, if any, effect on the Old Plaza, where the city was founded in 1781. That could start changing rapidly next year.

By Jan. 1 the ownership of El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Historic Park--bounded roughly by Main, Macy, Alameda and Los Angeles streets--will formally pass from the state of California to the city. That legal process has been under way for some time, but its completion will clear away some of the bureaucratic hurdles that have hampered efforts to fix up the Old Plaza, the 19th-Century buildings of El Pueblo on its south side and the Olvera Street marketplace on the north. Olvera Street will be the initial focus of restoration efforts, and the process is likely to be complicated because many people have an interest in what happens there.

Start with the families that operate more than 70 small shops, stalls and restaurants along the street. Many of those businesses have been there since the 1930s, when a handful of civic leaders first restored what had been a slum alley into a reminder of the history of Los Angeles. As a symbol of the city’s Mexican heritage, Olvera Street is important to the Latino community, many of whose leaders believe that they have a special stake in what is done there. Although their concern is understandable, other ethnic groups that helped build the city, including the Italians and Chinese, can also claim part of the area around the plaza as especially significant to them. Then there are the preservationists, who have done admirable work to save historic buildings and districts throughout the city for the benefit of future Angelenos. Of course the many politicians and bureaucrats in City Hall can be expected to chime in with their visions of what Olvera Street should be like. And we suspect that more than one developer has cast covetous eyes on the 20-acre park that includes Olvera Street and pondered what could be done to make that valuable parcel even more desirable.

Not surprisingly, with so many people involved, the bickering over Olvera Street’s future has already begun. The Olvera Street Merchants Assn., which once represented all businesses on the street, has divided. A handful of merchants have broken off to form a dissident group, the Business Leadership of Olvera Street--an action that could be a precursor of struggles that will ensue unless an effort is made to create a citywide consensus regarding Olvera Street.

Along those lines, City Councilman Richard Alatorre, whose 14th District includes the old street, has come up with a good idea. He has asked several distinguished city leaders to serve on a committee that will advise him about how development around the Old Plaza should proceed. Alatorre notes that there are two other major development projects pending in the same area--across the street at Union Station and the Terminal Annex post office. Alatorre wants to make sure that all the projects, and their total effect, are kept in mind as each is undertaken. Alatorre is on the right track, but the horizons should be lifted even higher. We would prefer to see Mayor Tom Bradley, who has yet to assert visible leadership on the Olvera Street question, appoint a commission representing all groups interested in the street’s future to provide oversight for its restoration. The panel should include historians and other specialists as well as business people, and it must be independent so that it can help mediate any disputes that arise during the restoration process.

Olvera Street is where Los Angeles began, so what happens there is important to the entire city. An independent restoration commission would help the entire city reach a consensus on how best to preserve it.