Plaza of Los Angeles

The Plaza of Los Angeles is where the city’s story begins. In 1781, eleven families arrived here to establish a Spanish pueblo, settling around a central square designed in the kind of town layout common in Spanish colonial cities, where civic, religious, and commercial life all shared the same space. For decades, the Plaza served as the political and social heart of the young town, first under Spanish rule and then Mexican, before Los Angeles expanded rapidly in the nineteenth century and the city center shifted to other districts. It was no longer where everything happened, but it remained an important symbol of the city’s past, surrounded by landmark buildings that reflect the many periods it has been through. In the 30s, the area took on new life when Olvera Street was turned into a Mexican-inspired tourist street, marking the beginning of a carefully staged version of “Old Los Angeles.” This revival helped secure the Plaza’s place in the city’s shared memory, and in the mid-twentieth century its historical importance was formally recognized through landmark status and listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the Plaza is no longer the center of the metropolis, but it remains one of the best places to understand where Los Angeles began, reflecting its colonial past, its Mexican period, and the early growth of the city.