CELEBRATING ITALIAN-AMERICANS IN LOS ANGELES

Little Joe's - Photo by Gerald Fecht 2008 - Sunshine and Struggle Exhibit (click on image to enlarge.)

Celebration outside of Italian Hall - Photo by Gerald Fecht 2008 - Sunshine and Struggle Exhibit (click on image to enlarge.)

San Rocco - Patron Saint of Italian-Americans in Los Angeles - Photo by Gerald Fecht 2008 - Sunshine and Struggle Exhibit (click on image to enlarge.)
A tribute to Rowland Francis LoBianco II on his 70th Birthday - November 4, 2008

From now until November 15th, 2008 there is an excellent, albeit modest exhibit of the "Italian Experience in Los Angeles from 1827 to 1927. It is being held in the historic Pico House at the Olvera Street Plaza. The exhibit is being held as a preliminary to the opening of the long awaited Italian Hall Museum that will be housed in the Old Plaza's Italian Hall building.
Learn more about this free show by calling
1 (213) 485-8432 or visiting:
www.italianhall.org
Most of the first Italians who came to Los Angeles followed the example of Gioanni Leandri, settling in what was long called "Little Italy." That area ran along Broadway (starting where Little Joes Restaurant once served some of the best food in the city) and traveled to the brick buildings around the Old Plaza and Olvera Street. Saint Peter's Catholic Church on Broadway still functions as the "mother church" for Italian-Americans in Los Angeles.
At the conclusion of the Second World War, Italian-Americans joined the massive migration into the San Fernando Valley. Many, who were soldiers returning from war and families from New York and other eastern cities, established lives and businesses in the Valley. "Old timers" who ran manufacturing shops in the central city, made new homes in the Valley.

The Museum of the San Fernando Valley collects artifacts and information about Italian-Americans in Southern California. As our electronic and physical collections grow, we will share them for research and support of other cultural institutions such as The Italian Hall Museum.

The San Fernando Valley, in the heart of the Creative Capital of the World, deserves a great Museum of history and culture.