Esotouric invites you to attend a special Downtown walking tour that celebrates the life, work, passions and abiding influence of two remarkable Angelenos: the Mother of Olvera Street Christine Sterling (1881–1963) and acclaimed author and illustrator Leo Politi (1908-1996), through visits to time capsule locations that figure in their remarkable, entwined Los Angeles preservation stories.

Fresno born, educated in Italy and London, Leo Politi arrived in Los Angeles in the depths of the Great Depression and instantly found something magical: a very old street lined with 19th century brick commercial buildings and adobe houses had been transformed into a thriving marketplace for artists, traditional craftsmen, booksellers, antique dealers, puppeteers, cactus venders, restaurateurs and numerous Mexican-American merchant families.

Politi fit in perfectly as Olvera Street’s public artist, drawing and painting the old buildings, colorful characters, and festive events that honored his adopted city’s multi-cultural history and selling portraits to tourists and locals. Even after he became an award-winning children’s author, he always returned, notebook in hand, to be with his friends and capture the lively scene.

This unlikely oasis was the brainchild of the Oakland born Chastina Rix Hough, a struggling single mom who had christened herself with a glittering new name (Christine Sterling) to accompany her obsessive efforts to halt demolition of the historic Avila Adobe (1818), preserve the landmarks around it, and revive Olvera Street as a place where Angelenos and visitors could escape the frantic modern world.

When these two remarkable people met, a lucky star must have been shining. Christine and Leo loved the City, its history and its people, and they never stopped fighting for places that matter. Although they’re both gone now, their work changed Los Angeles for the better, and you can still see and feel their influence today. Join us and see for yourself!

The tour will begin at Grand Central Market, across from Politi’s beloved Angels Flight Railway funicular and below the redeveloped Bunker Hill that replaced his lost Victorian neighborhood.

We’ll visit the Bradbury Building, the strangest and most beautiful Victorian office building, then set out for Olvera Street and the Plaza to stroll all around Christine Sterling’s world, and share insights into her poorly understood, wildly successful campaign to stop time. You’ll see Leo’s Blessing of the Animals mural, Pico House, La Placita church, Avila Adobe and pay your respects at Leo’s burial spot.

On the way and back, replicating Leo’s pedestrian commute to Olvera Street, we’ll enjoy a then and now tour of a much changed Downtown landscape, using rare vintage photos to find clues to the landmarks lost to freeway construction and parking lots. Featured ghost buildings include the old Hall of Justice and Jail, the lyrically luminous Baker Block, the Old West stage coach stop at the Los Angeles Times building, the famed red sandstone courthouse and off-kilter Hall of Records. Plus the Fort Moore Pioneer memorial, lost tunnels, the original city cemetery, legends of Lizard People and downtown’s “other” funicular, Court Flight.

Special guest on this edition of the tour: Bunker Hill native son Gordon Pattison, whose family home The Castle was a favorite subject for Politi’s paintings.

This walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone.