The new 10.9.2011 nouth spur connects CicLAvia with the historic heart of Los Angeles: El Pueblo - the site of L.A.'s historic central plaza. The spur extends on Main Street from First Street to Cesar Chavez Avenue.

Most of the coolest stuff on the north spur is north of the 101 Freeway, but just past Los Angeles City Hall, there are a couple of landmarks worth checking out. The 1940 U.S. Court House building (312 N. Spring, backing onto Main) is a very stately solid governmental building, where various early hollywood scandal cases were tried. Across the street is the 1975 civic sculpture called The Triforium. In its heyday the Triforium, created by artist Joseph Young, was expected to a cutting edge artistic and technological achievement. It will still be a great place to get your picture taken on 10.9.2011!

At the north end of the north spur is the historic El Pueblo - also known as Olvera Street, or simply "the Plaza." This area is rich in Los Angeles history - dating back to the Native American Tongva town of Yangna that preceded the Spanish El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora Reina de los Ángeles sobre El Rio Porciuncula... quickly shortened to just Los Angeles. It's the original plaza that early Los Angeles was centered on. It has a hugely storied history from early Chinese-American settlement to 1960s free speech movements to contemporary tourism.

There are more than a dozen historic buildings in El Pueblo, many dating to the 1800s. There are also a half-dozen museums showcasing various aspects of Los Angeles history and culture. Recently opened is the LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes - a brand new state-of-the-art museum for exploring L.A.'s diverse cultural histories, with an emphasis on L.A.'s rich Mexican and Mexican-American contributions.

Olvera Street is a great place to explore, to shop, and to eat. There are lots of great restaurant choices: from fresh tortillas made right before your eyes at Luz del Dia, to a more sumptuous sit-down fare at La Golondrina. If that's not enough, on October 9th, check out the annual Feria de Los Moles - an annual festival celebrating mole (pronounced MO-lay) a rich complex sauce from southern Mexico. If you love mole, or if you've never had mole... drop by El Pueblo on 10.9.2011!

El Pueblo is across the street from L.A.'s Union Station. Union Station is quite simply one of the awesome architectural highlights of Los Angeles. Built in 1939 (and displacing then-Chinatown), it has extraordinary interiors and exteriors... and, like CicLAvia, it's great for people-watching, too! It's also where you can catch trains to and from CicLAvia, incluidng Metrolink, Amtrak, and Metro Red and Gold lines.

Right across the street from El Pueblo is L.A.'s Chinatown, with lots of great eats which we'll be highlighting later this week. The CicLAvia El Pueblo hub includes valet bike parking, so you can show up leave your bike and explore on foot.

 

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