Happy Birthday, Pio Pico! And More from Los Angeles Heritage Day

I was truly honored to be included by John Bwarie in this photo of true passionate Angelenos -- including histotainer Charles Phoenix, Councilman Tom LaBonge, KCET's Zach Behrens, Hidden LA's Lynn Garrett and LA Observed's Kevin Roderick. The pic above was taken by happenstance, as we were all standing outside Pico House the afternoon of April 14 to celebrate LA Heritage Day 2013.

I can never get enough of LA history, and this year's LA Heritage Day 2013 was a great opportunity to check out what was new with the various local organizations devoted to our region's past. There was even a Pio Pico impersonator -- making this blog post timely (rather than a month late!) since Pico -- the final governor of California under Mexico rule -- would have celebrated his 212th birthday on May 5.

In my previous post, I took you inside Pico House and the Merced Theatre, two of LA's oldest remaining buildings. Now a peek back inside the main floor of the Pico House -- and around the El Pueblo plaza:


"Pio Pico"


Inside the Pico House

Los Angeles Heritage Day: Inside Pico House and the Merced Theatre

One of Los Angeles' oldest buildings, Pico House, located in downtown's El Pueblo Historic Monument area, was built in 1870 as a luxury hotel by Pio Pico, the final governor of California under Mexican rule. The State of California took over the building in the 1950s, and although some of it has been renovated over the years -- most recently, in 2000 for the Democratic National Convention -- only the ground floor is used for exhibits and events. The upstairs is gutted, waiting for a full renovation.

When I visited the Pico House a few weeks ago for LA Heritage Day, I ran into LA Observed's Kevin Roderick, who was about to go on a tour of the historic building. I got to tag along and capture a rare glimpse of the upstairs. Some pics:













Directly to the right of the Pico House is the Merced Theatre, which has also been empty for decades. (Like the Pico House, a lawsuit between the city and a developer of the site has kept it all vacant.) The Merced was built in 1871 but by the turn of the century was already out of favor as a theater. Now, it's being turned into the new home of Los Angeles' public access Channel 35 TV station. (Read the LA Times story about it here.) A few pics from inside the Merced: