|
Historic Filipinotown is a district of the city of Los Angeles, California, that makes up the southwest portion of Echo Park. It was created by a resolution proposed by then-City Councilmember Eric Garcetti on August 2, 2002. The district is bounded by the Hoover Street on the west to Glendale Boulevard on the east, Temple Street on the north, Beverly Boulevard on the south side. This section of Echo Park has always been a puzzle, especially since it was separated from its northern portion by the US 101 Freeway in the 1950s and the southern section of the park where the tennis courts and baseball field are located. ==Historical Background== The district is the first official geographic designation by any city outside the Philippines honoring Filipinos. From a political and community planning standpoint, Historic Filipinotown is in the city of Los Angeles’s Thirteenth District, represented by council member Mitch O'Farrell. It overlaps, and is even divided by, the two larger communities of Silver Lake and Echo Park.〔Khouri, Andrew (December 3, 2014) ("Northern edge of Westlake finally getting developers' attention" ) ''Los Angeles Times''〕 Historic Filipinotown was created to help continue the history of this part of the neighborhood and promote economic, civic, commercial, cultural, industrial, and educational interests and common wealth of local residents, business owners, and other stakeholders. Community plans drawn up for Historic Filipinotown also impact the community plans of Silver Lake-Echo Park and a small section of Westlake south of Beverly Boulevard. As a result, Historic Filipinotown must compete with these other localities for services and benefits while avoiding any conflict with their larger community parents. Filipino Americans represent the largest population of Asian Americans in California and also have one of the oldest communities of Asian Americans in the United States. The earliest settlement can be found in enclaves such as Manila Village in Jefferson Parish and St. Malo in St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana which were founded in 1763 and became home to approximately 2,000 Filipino sailors and laborers. With houses plat-formed on stilts, the fishermen caught and dried their precious commodity, shrimp, for export to Asia, Canada, South and Central America. They introduced innovations such as "dancing the shrimp" and shrimp farming to the United States. Weather conditions eventually destroyed St. Malo in 1915 and Manila Village in 1965. On July 24, 1870, the Spanish-speaking residents of St. Malo founded the first Filipino social club called Sociedad de Beneficencia de los Hispano Filipinos to provide relief and support for the group’s members, including the purchasing of a burial places for their deceased. Despite the fact that there are other enclaves of Filipinos living outside this district (such as Carson, Cerritos, West Covina, Panorama City, and Eagle Rock) it was named "Historic Filipinotown" since it was one of the few areas where Filipinos first settled during the early part of the 20th century and home to key Filipino organizations, Filipino churches (Filipino Christian Church, Iglesia ni Kristo, St. Columban Filipino Catholic Church, United Church of God Ministries, Praise Christian Fellowship, and Congregational Christian Church), housing (Manila Terrace, Mindanao Towers, Mountain View Terrace, and Villa Ramos), and social service centers. Many Filipino American families began purchasing homes and establishing businesses in the area beginning from the 1940s, shifting away from the downtown area now known as Little Tokyo in the 1920s and the Bunker Hill area later. In a section of downtown Los Angeles now known as Little Tokyo, a thriving community known as Little Manila existed and flourished for over two decades (1920s-1940s). Many of the Filipino pioneers came to Los Angeles to study, while others settled as residents for employment. This community of mostly males established numerous restaurants, pool halls, café's, employment agencies and barbershops which became the hub where Filipinos congregated, lived, socialized, organized, and networked among their compatriots to find companionship, fellowship and work. One would merely drive to First and Main Streets to solicit Filipinos; either by Hollywood studios in need of ethnic-type extras for cinematic productions or many others in need of cheap labor. In recent times the population of Historic Filipinotown has changed to reflect the ethnically diverse nature of Los Angeles. While the district still has a sizeable Filipino population, they are the minority, overshadowed by a sizeable Mexican and Central American population. Nevertheless, the area still has one of the highest concentrations of Filipino Americans in Southern California and still remains the cultural heart of Filipinos throughout Los Angeles. Of the 600,000 Filipinos that reside in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, an estimated 10,000 live within Historic Filipinotown. On October 31, 2011, Historic Filipinotown was officially recognized as one of the nation’s Preserve America Communities. Receiving this honor from First Lady and Honorary Chair of the Preserve America Initiative, Michelle Obama, Historic Filipinotown is provided with strong federal support and incentives for the continued preservation of cultural and natural heritage resources. As a Preserve America Community, Historic Filipinotown is featured in the National Register Travel Itineraries and in “Teaching with Historic Places” curricular materials created by the National Park Service. On January 28, 2012, representatives from Preserve America and the California State Historic Preservation, as well as various elected officials and community leaders gathered at (Unidad Park ) for “Preserving Historic Filipinotown: A Community Celebration.” In addition to the official ceremony of Historic Filipinotown’s Preserve America designation, this celebration also honored the restoration of the mural at Unidad Park, as well as the designation of Remedios “Remy” V. Geaga Square, located at the intersection of Alvarado Street and Temple Street. Historic Filipinotown stands to remind the City of Los Angeles and Filipino Americans about the history and struggles Filipinos have overcome to build this particular community. Historic Filipinotown is a place that both serves the Filipino community and also provides avenues for all Angelenos and visitors alike to enjoy Filipino cuisine, support neighborhood businesses, visit the Historic Filipinotown cultural landmarks and attend Historic Filipinotown events– all through which one can learn and engage in preserving the rich cultural heritage of Filipino Americans in Los Angeles. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|