06 Jun Adventures Outside the Classroom – Part 3
In our final installment of Adventures Outside the Classroom, the South Hills Academy high school students got the chance to experience the melting pot that is Los Angeles.
Taking the Metro Link, our high school students were given the opportunity to explore historic Olvera Street and Little Tokyo. Both areas are rich with history and culture . . . and some incredible food!
Olvera Street is the oldest part of Downtown Los Angeles, including the Avila Adobe which was constructed in 1818 and is the oldest existing house in the city. In 1926, Olvera Street had a date with the bulldozers, but Christine Sterling, a young socialite with a passion for history, would have none of that. She envisioned a Mexican Marketplace and a cultural center in the heart of Los Angeles to preserve the memory of old L.A. Christine’s romantic vision brought Los Angeles’ first street back to life and brought in Mexican American merchants to sell their wares, artifacts and celebrate their fiestas as they would in old Mexico.
Little Tokyo’s roots can be traced back to as early as 1890, when a group of immigrants from Japan formed a group and called themselves the “Japanese Association of Los Angeles.” By 1908, over 40 businesses were established along a two-block stretch of East First Street between Los Angeles Street and Central Avenue. Despite passage of the Exclusion Act of 1924, which restricted immigration from Asia, Little Tokyo began to thrive. Today, there are more than 400 businesses operating in Little Tokyo.
Our students had so much fun exploring both areas of Los Angeles and for many of them, riding the Metro for the first time! It’s the hope of SHA that we continue to provide more opportunities for our eagles to spread their wings and discover new opportunities for learning beyond the classroom walls.