Pico-Union tour traces historical immigration patterns

This walking tour shows people the architecture of the area and the history of immigrants from Europe and Central America who settled there. - - Donna Poisl

A new L.A. Conservancy walking tour highlights Pico-Union's classic architecture and colorful murals, weaving together the stories of successive waves of European and Central American immigrants.

By Teresa Watanabe

Within the walls of Angelica Lutheran Church, a rich medley of stories traces the layers of history and ever-shifting demographics of the Pico-Union district of Los Angeles.

Sepia-hued photos show the church's founding congregation of Swedish immigrants, blond and bedecked in flapper fashion of long coats and cloche hats, as they lay the cornerstone for the imposing Gothic Revival building in 1925. Six decades later, Swedish American congregant Evelyn Price offered the first citizenship and English classes to scores of refugees escaping war in El Salvador and Guatemala, and the church housed many of them as part of the city's sanctuary movement, according to the Rev. Carlos Paiva.
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