El Pueblo, Union Station and Chinatown

Where Los Angeles began: the 1939 Union Station, then Olvera Street and the Plaza of the Spanish and Mexican pueblo with the city's oldest house (1818) and its mission-era church, the Pico House hotel and the Chinese American Museum, then north past Philippe's (French dips since 1908) to New Chinatown, which opened in 1938 after the old Chinatown was demolished to build Union Station.

Best time: Morning (quieter Olvera Street) or a weekend afternoon when the Plaza is busy

The route, stop by stop

1. 1
   Los Angeles Union Station

   Opened May 1939, the largest passenger rail terminal in the western US (Wikipedia); walk through the restored historic waiting room (Metro). A, B, D Lines, Metrolink and Amtrak stop here. 20 min.

   Opened in 1939 and designed by John and Donald Parkinson in a blend of Spanish Colonial Revival and Moderne, it is the largest passenger rail terminal in the western US and one…

2. 2
   Olvera Street and El Pueblo

   Pedestrian street of El Pueblo de Los Ángeles lined with vendors and restaurants, off the Plaza; home to several of the city's oldest buildings (Wikipedia). 20 min.

   The birthplace of Los Angeles: the old Plaza, the oldest in California, and Olvera Street's Mexican marketplace of puestos, with free museums around it including the Avila Adobe…

3. 3
   Avila Adobe

   Built 1818 by Francisco Ávila, the oldest standing residence in Los Angeles (California Historical Landmark #145) (Wikipedia). 15 min.

   Built in 1818 by Francisco Avila, it is the oldest standing residence in Los Angeles and a California Historical Landmark, one of the free museums of El Pueblo on Olvera Street.

4. 4
   Los Angeles Plaza

   The plaza at the heart of the Los Angeles Plaza Historic District, descendant of the plaza laid out for the Spanish pueblo (Wikipedia). 10 min.

5. 5
   La Placita Church

   Our Lady Queen of the Angels, founded 18 August 1814, a California Historical Landmark and still a working parish (Wikipedia). 10 min.

6. 6
   Pico House

   1869-70 Victorian hotel built by Pío Pico, the last governor of Mexican California, facing the old Plaza (Wikipedia). 5 min.

7. 7
   Chinese American Museum

   Part of El Pueblo, the first museum in Southern California dedicated to Chinese American history and experience (Wikipedia). 30 min.

   Opened in 2003 in the red-brick Garnier Building, the oldest surviving Chinese commercial building in Southern California, on El Pueblo's plaza; it tells the story of Chinese…

8. 8
   Philippe the Original

   Open since 1908 and claimant to the invention of the French dip sandwich (Wikipedia). 30 min.

   In business since 1908 and one of the two places that claim to have invented the French dip. Cross the sawdust-covered floor, order beef or lamb double-dipped in the meat juices…

9. 9
   Chinatown Central Plaza

   Central Plaza of New Chinatown, which opened for business in 1938 after the original Chinatown was cleared for Union Station (Wikipedia). 20 min.

   The pagoda-roofed heart of 'New Chinatown', which opened in 1938 after the original Chinatown was demolished for Union Station. Time Out named LA's Chinatown the fourth coolest…

Walking directions

More walks in Los Angeles

• Broadway: the Historic Core and its movie palaces1.9 km · 2 h
• Little Tokyo and the Arts District1.9 km · 3 h 50 min
• Bunker Hill: library, steps, Angels Flight and Grand Avenue2.8 km · 4 h 25 min
• Silver Lake stairways: Micheltorena to the Music Box Steps4.3 km · 3 h 5 min
• Griffith Park: Fern Dell up to the Observatory, down to the Greek2.8 km · 2 h 50 min
• Hollywood Boulevard beyond the stars: movie palaces and old Hollywood2.1 km · 1 h 50 min
• Venice canals, Abbot Kinney and the boardwalk to Santa Monica Pier7.1 km · 3 h 50 min
• Old Pasadena to the Colorado Street Bridge3.3 km · 3 h 55 min