Did you know that the Los Angeles area has the fifth-largest Italian population of major cities in the United States, behind New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago? It is also home to the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles (IAMLA), which opened in 2016 and is located downtown near Olvera Street and Union Station.
The Southern California Genealogical Society's Italian Interest Group is hosting a docent-led tour of IAMLA on Saturday, May 18, from 10 a.m. to noon. The tour will be followed by a no-host lunch at Maddalena Restaurant, located at the Ribaldi family-owned San Antonio Winery. Newcomers are welcome.
Located in the historic 1908-built Italian Hall, the 5,000-square-foot museum features an interactive permanent collection highlighting the Italian American experience with an emphasis on Italian immigrants in Los Angeles. Louis Prima: Rediscovering a Musical Icon is currently on exhibit through October 13, 2024.
Downtown's Little Italy
Like other major U.S. cities, Los Angeles at one time had a thriving Little Italy. In 1827, sailor Giovanni Leandri was the first Italian immigrant to settle in Los Angeles. By the mid-1800s, more Italians settled in the region, drawn to the area's fertile soil and Mediterranean climate. Learning to speak Spanish before English, Italian immigrants assimilated into the Spanish culture and were able to employ their skills in agriculture, viticulture, and fishing. Downtown Los Angeles was the capital of California's wine industry long before Napa Valley.
One of the oldest streets in Los Angeles, Olvera Street was formerly known as Calle de las Vignas, or Wine Street--so named for its Italian wine history. In fact, the original grape vines, Vina Madre, or Mother Vine, are still growing on Olvera Street and are a cross-pollination or hybrid of a local grape and grapes brought from Spain via Mexico.
By the late 1800s, the heart of LA's Little Italy was located in El Pueblo de Los Angeles (now the Los Angeles Plaza Historic District) and Sonoratown (now Chinatown), with enclaves in the Sixth (present-day Fashion District and South Park) and Seventh (present-day Fashion and Arts districts) wards. Other Italian enclaves included Lincoln Heights and Frogtown (Elysian Valley village, near the Los Angeles River). Immigrant fishermen from Genoa, Sicily, and Ischia settled 20 miles south in San Pedro, part of the Port of Los Angeles.
IAMLA Tour: All the Details
Important: Please RSVP to SCGSItalianInterestGroup@yahoo.com by Wednesday, May 1, with the number of people in your party if you wish to attend the tour and/or the lunch. Indicate whether you will attend one or both activities. We need an accurate headcount in advance of the tour. For more information about the IAMLA, visit www.iamla.org.Â
To learn more about Maddalena Restaurant and the San Antonio Winery, visit https://sanantoniowinery.com/locations/los- angeles/maddalena-restaurant/.
All are welcome. Bring a guest, significant other, or family member.
Unisciti a noi! (Join us!)
Click arrows, upper right of map, to enlarge.