{"nrhp_refnum":"72000231","name":"Los Angeles Plaza Historic District","other_names":["El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Historic Park"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Spring, Macy, Alameda and Arcadia Sts., and Old Sunset Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.056621058000076,"lon":-118.23964062699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-11-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Politics/Government","Hispanic","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 42-acre historic district in downtown Los Angeles, California, centered on the original Plaza where the city was founded in 1781, also known as El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Historic Park. It includes the Plaza Church, Avila Adobe, Pico House, Merced Theatre and other buildings from 1818 to 1890.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district is where Los Angeles was founded and a hub of its growth through the Spanish, Mexican and American periods. It is the only surviving one of two Spanish pueblos founded in California. Its buildings show the blending of ethnic groups and architectural styles that shaped the city.","narrative":"Downtown Los Angeles grew from a small pueblo founded in 1781, and its original core survives as a 42-acre historic district around the Plaza. The area holds buildings from several eras: the Avila Adobe of 1818, the Plaza Church of 1822, the Pelanconi House from the 1850s, the Masonic Hall of 1858, and the Pico House and Merced Theatre of about 1870. Later Victorian additions include the Sepulveda Building and the Garnier Building, built in 1890 for Chinese tenants. Olvera Street, a brick-paved market lane, adds a Mexican character. The district declined into a semi-slum around 1900 before cleanup efforts led by Christine Sterling revived Olvera Street. The State, City and County acquired the area in 1953 as a state historic park, and restoration continued into the 1970s. The nomination presents the district as the living record of the city's growth through Spanish, Mexican and American periods, and as the only pueblo of its kind to survive in California.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Masonic Building built 1858 by the firm of Terry and Woodworth; Merced Theatre started by William Abbott; Garnier Building built by Phillippe Garnier; Sepulveda Building built by Eloisa Martinez de Sepulveda","architectural_style":"Mission Adobe period, Victorian brick and stone, and later concrete and plaster structures","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition marked fair and altered; several buildings restored, with the Avila Adobe being restored after the 1971 earthquake. The area is used as a state historic park with museums, shops, restaurants and offices.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.575113-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/72000231.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000231/0ee9a93d93-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000231/0ee9a93d93-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Matthew D. Herrera (User:Dataproducts)","credit_html":"Matthew D. Herrera (User:Dataproducts), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_Placita_Parish_2007.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859289","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Pueblo_de_Los_%C3%81ngeles_Historical_Monument","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6682294"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/los-angeles-plaza-historic-district-72000231/"}