The above photo was sent by reader Patrick Oliva. Depicting a downtown market run by his father, circa 1948, the image was part of a recent El Pueblo exhibit celebrating L.A.’s Italian community. (Many Angelenos don’t realize it, but Italian immigrants and their descendants formed a significant presence in the Plaza area from the 1820s forward.) Patrick writes:
“My dad’s store was at 3rd and Hill in downtown Los Angeles, across from the Angels Flight tram. He and my uncle had that business in that location from 1940 until the mid 1950s. Then they moved it to Burbank where they expanded it into a deli, bakery and a big liquor store… The two principal people in [the photo] are my dad (Rachisio Oliva) and my uncle (the younger one, Louis Oliva). The other men were workers for them. It was a very thriving business during the war years, and when things slowed down in L.A. they moved to the growing Valley…”
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Blogger’s Note: Thanks to Patrick for getting our reader-participation ball rolling. Again, if you have an L.A. experience to share, please email it to admin [at] mimlay.com. Be sure to include permission for posting.
