If you love Downtown Los Angeles, thank a preservationist. That’s because the Historic Core is a living museum of generations of activist advocacy and hard won landmarks—along with some grievous losses.

Join Esotouric’s Kim Cooper and Richard Schave, Bunker Hill historian Nathan Marsak and Bunker Hill native son Gordon Pattison, for an immersive then-and-now walking tour, scheduled to coincide with the 2024 California Preservation Conference at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel.

The tour celebrates the policy makers who gave Los Angeles one of the nation’s first preservation ordinances, and Downtown its National Register districts and standalone monuments, and hisses the misguided redevelopment agents who displaced 9000 souls and bulldozed the Victorian mixed-use Bunker Hill neighborhood—leaving a dusty mesa that sat empty for years.

Stops include the legendary Dutch Chocolate Shop, the first major commission for Arts & Crafts tile master Ernest Batchelder, and a space that tells a compelling story of how successive generations of Angelenos have made use of one unforgettable space: from 1910s elegant ladies lunchroom to mid-century healthy conscious cafeteria to discount flea market—with a rich future yet to reveal itself.

Stops include the Barclay Hotel on the edge of Skid Row, a 19th century gem that narrowly escaped a TikTok influencer remodel and is returning to its former use as very affordable housing. Its mellow lobby, with sculpted plaster, comic stained glass and checkerboard tile, remains much as it was when Raymond Chandler set a murder there.

In Pershing Square just across from the Biltmore, you’ll learn how English immigrant John Parkinson gave back to the city that made his fortune with a lovely pro bono urban park design—one that functioned so well that City Hall schemed to get rid of everything Angelenos loved about it.

We’ll stroll along Broadway, a neglected National Register theater district ripe to be reimagined.

And we’ll hop a ride on the Angels Flight Railway funicular, a rare survivor from Edwardian Bunker Hill, and trace the winding path that brought the little train back from oblivion repeatedly, most recently with the help of your tour guides.

We’ll trek across modern Bunker Hill in search of hints of the old neighborhood, including the exquisite polychrome and mural hung lobby of the CalEdison building, and to the Art Deco Central Library, itself nearly lost to redevelopment frenzy, where we’ll see Leo Politi’s lyrical Bunker Hill paintings.

And we’ll hear from Gordon Pattison, who grew up in his grandmother’s rooming house, about what Bunker Hill was really like, and how his family’s refusal to accept the redevelopment agency’s buyout offers led to two Pattison owned Victorians being landmarked, moved… and tragically lost.

Along the way, you’ll see some of L.A.’s finest buildings, and get to know the fascinating preservation people who have fought to protect, restore and reactivate them.

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

MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:

Tour begins at 10:30am sharp, with check-in time 10am at the patio outside Grand Central Market in front of Maple Block BBQ at 324 S Hill St, Los Angeles, CA 90013. Please arrive on time and proceed to the check in table to get signed in and logged in to the smartphone slideshow. Scroll down for tour rules and recommendations.

Parking & Public Transit:

There are numerous paid public parking lots around Grand Central Market, including GCM’s multi-level lot at 308 South Hill Street Los Angeles, California 90013.  The nearest Metro stations are Civic Center/Grand Park and Pershing Square. If using public transit, this link can help you plan your trip:

TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:

BE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. Wear comfortable walking shoes, sunscreen and a hat. Bring your smartphone so you can view the tour slide show. We will have a cooler with cold water, and you’re encouraged to bring a full water bottle. A restroom will be available at the start, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect, please email us.

COVID SAFETY: At this time, we no longer require that masks be worn on walking tours, with the exception of when we visit the unventilated Dutch Chocolate Shop space. Please bring a mask to wear for this portion of the tour. If you forget your mask, we can provide one on check in.

CAMERA POLICY: No video- or audio-taping unless it has been pre-cleared with us, please. Still cameras and sketchbooks are fine.

CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:

If you’re sick, please do not attend the tour. Get some rest, and let us know not to expect you. If notified at least 72 hours before tour departure, we can refund or reschedule your booking. As long as you contact us before the tour begins, we are happy to move your reservation to a future tour date. You may also gift your ticket to someone else—we will need their name, email address and phone number to make this switch.