LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes

Saturday was a day spent mostly outside of Pasadena. James wanted to go to Union Station for the National Train Day in Los Angeles. I wanted to return to LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes - to take my time and absorb the site and the information inside.

The first time I walked through there was a lot going on and it was clear that I wasn't going to really be able to judge what I liked best or what I might wish to be different. And there is always a part of me that wants to see what might be adapted for use here in Pasadena. Our histories and our experiences are unique to our geography and our peoples, but the dynamics were set within a shared historical context.

On a personal note I especially wanted to explore the Calle Principal section on the second floor. It turns out it is among other things, a series of shops with opportunities for interactive exploration that is set in the 1920s. Music, pharmacy, grocery store can be explored. I like to think of it as kinesthetic history. History that is taught and experienced at a more visceral level.

The photo shop held a box of props including this hat and these glasses. James took this picture which I modified to give it more of a look of the era.
I took this picture of one of the displays partially because of the architecture that is evident in the street lamps and fences. Partially because this was a photo from the past of the city I called home for the first part of my life. And partially because that boy in the picture could have been my father. He was born in 1912 in Los Angeles and grew up not far from the Calle Principal.
His love of that city and the stories of his youth planted the seed that keeps me looking for the stories of Pasadena and the community whose stories continue to grow in number and in detail.