Pico-Union historic tour debuts today

More than a century ago, Swedish immigrants landed in Los Angeles and built the historic Angelica Lutheran Church in the city's Pico-Union district. In the 1980s, the church embraced the flood of refugees fleeing chaos and war in El Salvador and elsewhere as part of a citywide sanctuary movement, offering housing dozens families at one point.

Reflecting its diverse demographics, the church today still offers a Swedish Christmas service known as Julotta, along with Spanish-language services and a ministry for members of the Korean community, who are increasingly opening businesses in the neighborhood.

The church's rich social and architectural history will be featured in a new self-guided walking tour of the Pico-Union district that starts today and is hosted by the Los Angeles Conservancy, a historic preservation organization.

The tour, Pico-Union: Layers of History, departs at 11 a.m. from the Pico Union Branch Library, 1030 S. Alvarado St. in Los Angeles. In addition, a community fair throughout the day will offer neighborhood residents resources and information about various services.

The tour exemplifies a pressing preservation challenge faced by many Los Angeles neighborhoods: How to maintain the character of historic neighborhoods as new communities enter and reshape them. In the Pico-Union neighborhood, for instance, residents today are 92% Latino, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.

"Pico-Union is a prime example of how historic neighborhoods can, and should, continue to serve new communities," said Linda Dishman, the conservancy's executive director.

-- Teresa Watanabe