Los Angeles saves a bit of the past

April 20, 1930: On Easter Sunday, city activist and preservationist Christine Sterling, who had saved Los Angeles’ birthplace from neglect and decay, happily declared the Mexican marketplace on Olvera Street open to the public. She wrote: “Out of the hearts of the Mexican people is spun the gold of romance and contentment. No sweeter, finer people live on this earth than the men and women of Mexico.” In her campaign to save the remnants of old Los Angeles, she even held a barbecue on the Avila Adobe patio. Blue Diamond Cement and Simons Brick Co. offered material and workers, and Harry Chandler and five other prominent Angelenos agreed to donate $5,000 each. The Times noted in surveying the Avila Adobe: “The glory of the old house is gone, but it still retains the dignity of the grand Spanish owners who once called it home.”