IT HAPPENED ON OLVERA STREET
In the fall of 1928 philanthropist Christine Sterling (1881–1963) wandered through the vacant Avila Adobe, the oldest extant building in Los Angeles, which had been condemned by the Department of Health as “unfit for human habitation.” Why do people write and talk about history but do nothing to save it? she wrote in her journal that day. The Olvera Street dwelling certainly held historic significance. Among the city’s earliest homes, it had hosted such storied guests as fur trapper Jedediah Smith and U.S. Navy Commodore Robert Stockton, who had established his headquarters there in 1846 when accepting local authorities’ surrender to American forces during the Mexican War. So, Sterling and like-minded Los Angelenos set out to restore the Avila Adobe and transform the surrounding Olvera Street district.
Its history dates from) arrived at a chosen site along a promising river in the frontier province. There they established El Pueblo de la Reina de los Ángeles (Village of the Queen of the Angels, or “the Pueblo” for short). Agriculture and livestock were the lifeblood of the region, and what would become known as Olvera Street started as a trade distribution center. From the 1850s through the early 20th century wine making served as the street’s primary industry.
