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Midnight Snack: DGM (DwitGolMok) with Andrew Ti

Hidden in Koreatown behind an unmarked doorway -- or, more accurately, an overly-marked doorway, as it had about three different and highly-confusing addresses on it -- the atmosphere is best described as "squatter chic." » continue reading

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Departures: Highland Park

From Native-Americans to the Mission era, from the birth of Arroyo Culture to the Chicano Art Movement, Highland Park has always been a nexus of ideas, build or imagined. Come explore Los Angeles; first bohemian neighborhood with Departures.

From the Tongva people called the Hahamog'na, to years later the Spaniards, we explore the shifts of power over land in Los Angeles leading to the land divisions, or ranchos, that create Highland Park.

The efforts of Charles Lummis, William Lee Judson and Clyde Browne combined with those inspired by life “on the arroyo,” such as plein air painter Franz Bischoff and block print maker Frances Gearhart, came together to pioneer one of the first artistic and cultural movements to come out of Los Angeles.

When the Arroyo Seco Parkway was finished in 1940, it was a cause for celebration in Los Angeles. But the arrival of one of the nation’s first freeways would have unexpected consequences for Highland Park and its residents.

In the 1950s, Mexican immigrants and descendants began owning, renting and claiming Highland Park as home. This was the pre-civil rights era, where school segregation and manifestations began articulating a vocabulary of resistance and pride within the Latino and Mexican communities of L.A.

For many, the late 1960s through the early 1970s was the high-water mark of both community and social justice organizing in East Los Angeles. But the period immediately following would witness the emergence of novel responses to the most pressing questions of the era, particularly in the form of arts organizations and collectives aimed at bringing politically-minded public art to the larger community.

The failed promises of the civil-rights era coupled with the economic disparities of the 1980s created a dual deterioration in Highland Park seen both in the built and the social environment. The concept of the inner city created a disenfranchised youth that found alternative ways of organizing and engaging with their “turf.”

As we settle into the new millennium, the Highland Park post-urban landscape is embracing all the twists, turns and contradictions that history has presented to the neighborhood.

New Stories

Land of Sunshine | LA Letters

Lionel Rolfe and Johnny Otis: Literary Icons of L.A.

by Mike Sonksen

January 27, 2012 2:09 PM

Mike Sonksen a.k.a. Mike the Poet celebrates the bright moments of literary Los Angeles in his new column. The works of Lionel Rolfe and Johnny Otis are highlighted.

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Land of Sunshine | Neighborhood Notes

Neighborhood Notes: Year of the Dragon Starts with a Bang in LA's Chinatown & More

by Yosuke Kitazawa

January 27, 2012 11:00 AM

Notes and stories on the shifting culture of our neighborhoods: Year of the Dragon starts with a bang in LA's Chinatown & more.

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Land of Sunshine | Production Notes

L.A. River Ramble: Entering the Backcountry of Los Angeles

by Departures

January 26, 2012 5:15 PM

The Los Angeles Urban Rangers led crowds of nighttime explorers along the Los Angeles River. Our video documents their reactions and hopes for more nature in L.A.

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Land of Sunshine | Arrival Stories

Michelle Lopez: Guatemalan-Mexican, Born in Chinatown, L.A.

by Jeremy Rosenberg

January 26, 2012 10:00 AM

Michelle Lopez was born in Chinatown, Los Angeles, while her mother and father were each born in different countries.

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Land of Sunshine | Highland Park

Olive Percival, Author & Bibliophile

by Las Angelenas of LA History

January 25, 2012 3:15 PM

Olive Percival was not college educated but read voraciously and wrote prolifically, with several published books to her name and a revered collection of antique books.

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Land of Sunshine | Portraits

Chicano Artist Manuel Cruz: A Diamond in the Rough

by Sonya Fe

January 25, 2012 1:35 PM

Artist Sonya Fe remembers Manuel Cruz, whom she cites as the Godfather of the Chicano Art movement.

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Land of Sunshine | One Ride at a Time

Bikes on Parade: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

by Roadblock

January 24, 2012 5:30 PM

Last week I had the chance to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day in the most joyous way I could ever have - not by watching, but by participating in parade... on a bicycle.

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Land of Sunshine | Arts

'The Great Wall of Los Angeles,' a Documentary by Donna Deitch

by Ed Fuentes

January 24, 2012 2:18 PM

Donna Deitch's stylish 1978 mini-documentary 'The Great Wall of Los Angeles' captures a moment in time when the community came together to create the landmark mural.

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Food | The Public Kitchen

Paul Prudhomme's St. Louis Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie

by Katherine Spiers

January 24, 2012 12:12 PM

January 24th is National Peanut Butter Day! To celebrate, we're sharing this St. Louis Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie by Paul Prudhomme, one of KCET's celebrity chefs.

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