Photoessay #2491 - Olivera Street

I still can't let go of California.  That huge compicated state.

This summer, my class is held in Gould Hall, right upstairs from the Built Environment library which is architecture et al (not sure what exactly).  I pick up and return books there and sometimes I have some time to browse.  I've been looking at a reissued 1931 book about California adobe architecture 1800-1850.  The authors at the time, photographed much of existing adobe houses especially in Monterey.

Don't know much about the fate of many of these old houses.  I lived in an adobe style house for awhile in Sacramento as a young adult.  I loved that place but I don't know much of the provenance, where was that house anyway?  Hey, I found a blog about the Sacramento River.  That adobe house was surrounded by, what are the trees called??  Eucalyptus.

OK, back to the picture.  This picture was taken before 1931 of Olvera Street, the oldest street, the birthplace of Los Angeles.  But check out the 1930s style skycraper in the background.  Somebody familiar with LA could identify that building.

I know that tourists go to Olvera Street and it's all dolled up and a monument administered by the city of Los Angeles.  Looking at the history, civic interest started to build to preserve the area just about that time.  The street was closed to traffic.  I don't know what kind of development went on in that era.  It's dolled up now.  But then, you can almost sense the winds of change