Preservation As A Historic Park
The 44 acres (180,000 m2) surrounding the Plaza and constituting the old pueblo have been preserved as a historic park roughly bounded by Spring, Macy, Alameda and Arcadia Streets, and Cesar Chavez Boulevard (formerly Sunset Boulevard). There is a visitors center in the Sepulveda House, and a volunteer organization known as Las Angelitas del Pueblo provide tours of the district.
The district includes the city's oldest and most historic structures clustered around the old plaza. The buildings of greatest historical significance include Nuestra Señora La Reina de Los Angeles Church (1822), Avila Adobe (1818) (the city's oldest surviving residence), the Olvera Street market, Pico House (1870), and the Old Plaza Fire Station (1884). Four of the buildings have been restored as museums. Archaeological excavations in the Pueblo have uncovered artifacts from the indigenous period (before 1781), the Spanish colonial era (1781–1821), the Mexican era (1821–1847), and the first century of the American era (1850s–1940s), including animal bones, household goods, tools, bottles, and ceramics.
The district was designated as a state monument in 1953, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Read more about this topic: Los Angeles Plaza Historic District
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