Downtown Jewish History (July)

Shmuel Gonzales,theBarrio Boychik, is a community organizer and local historian from Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles. As a Mexican American with roots in early Los Angeles and as a Jewish community leader in today’s eastside, it is his great pleasure to share with you the neglected stories of the diverse faith cultures of our great city.He is the founder of theBoyle Heights History Studios (& Tours)- a community cultural center which is funded entirely by donations in the form of tour ticket sales; enabling us to maintain the heritage of our neighborhood. He also is the founder of theBoyle Heights Chavurah- the grassroots Jewish fellowship of East Los Angeles.Shmuel is also a member of the Board of Directors for theBoyle Heights Historical Society. He is also the in-house community organizer for thePico Union Project, a community center located in the oldest remaining synagogue in Los Angeles. He is also a lay religious leader and the chair of the Jewish Ritual Committee forBeth Shalom of Whittier, serving the communities of Southeast Los Angeles. As well as volunteer my time for a multitude of projects related to the historical preservation of the working-class community of Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles.

Shmuel Gonzales, the Barrio Boychik

Outside of STARBUCKS @ Grand Park

Jewish History

Join us for one of our tours about the lovely and storied communities of old Jewish Los Angeles.

Jewish history of the historic core of Los AngelesThe Jewish community in the city of angels goes all the way back to the 1840s, stretching back to the late-Mexican and early-American eras. Jewish people have made many cultural and civic contributions to the city since the days of the old pueblo of Los Angeles. They came as tailors, merchants and grocers; though some of them quickly became major business men, bankers and even philanthropists who helped build up the modern city that we know today.We will take a fun and historical look through the foundational Jewish history of Los Angeles. We will walk and talk through the Jewish history of the historic core of downtown Los Angeles. We will even take some tasty detours along the way. These are some of the sites we will visit and discuss:<ul><li>Congregation B’nai Brith – in the civic center we will identify the location of one of the earliest and the oldest lasting synagogue in Los Angeles, founded in 1862. We will discuss the role that early played in the civic life of the community, including the first rabbi of Los Angeles Rabbi Abraham Wolfe Edelman; dubbed the Jewish padre of the pueblo, he was a noted civic leader and socialite, including being the founding Master of the Masonic Lodge in Los Angeles. We will learn how this original temple gave way to build the modern civic center. Learn the downtown foundational history of the congregation today known as Wilshire Blvd Temple.</li></ul><ul><li>Congregation Beth Israel – founded in 1899, it was once one of the grandest of Los Angeles synagogues, which graced the old Temple District with it&#x27;s eastern-style onion domes; it was the oldest of the orthodox synagogues in Los Angeles. The synagogue which especially appealed to much more old-world observant people of Polish and Eastern European origins. We will talk just a bit about how people struggled to be observant Jews in early Los Angeles. Angel&#x27;s Flight – let’s take a ride on this iconic shortest railway in the world, the funicular which once connected the bustling downtown to the classic neighborhood of Bunker Hill!</li><li>Grand Central Market – did you know that many of Los Angele’s first Jewish residents were merchants and grocers? He we will explore the history of the Jewish grocery business in Los Angeles, which has a special connection to this very market. We will explore the origins of the Jewish families, some of which got their start right here and then helped build the supermarkets you and I grew-up with! We will discuss the culture of Grand Central Market and how it has changed in recent years with downtown’s gentrification. And long the way we will swing by some of the old and new food stalls which make this place still one of the best eating spots in the city. Need lox and bagels, a pastrami sandwich, or even a falafel pita? This place has you covered, so bring some cash to grab some nosh to go!</li><li>Farmer’s and Merchant’s Bank – Here in front of this grand building we will learn about the life of I.W. Hellman, the merchant become banker; he founded the first successful bank in Los Angeles, the F&amp;M. He funded the creation of the Los Angeles Railway and Pacific Electric Railway, and was also influential in the development of Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles. He was a notable figure in the early history of Wells Fargo Bank. He even served as regent of University of California. Here we will talk about a few of the early Jewish financiers and businessmen, and the philanthropic and social contributions they gave to the city of Los Angeles.</li><li>We will swing by and see some grand old Los Angeles theaters on Broadway. We will talk about how some of the early theaters hosted Yiddish plays and movies. And how some of them were even rented for Jewish religious services, including the local Sephardic community which got it’s start here in downtown. We will talk about the classic years of downtown Los Angeles.</li><li>And we will take a swing by some historic buildings in downtown, including the Haas Building; created by Jewish merchants Jacob Baruch and Abraham Haas; founders of the store brand that would eventually become known as Iris of Smart and Final. We will talk about how rented offices in this building were shockingly raided as the headquarters of the Klu Klux Klan in Los Angeles in 1922; and how today in the 21st century this recently revitalized building has become home to a thriving orthodox synagogue.</li><li>We will also quickly discuss the various streams of Judaism which have contributed to the pluralism of Jewish culture which has developed here in downtown since the later half of the 20th century, including the Conservative-Mesorti and also the Persian Jewish prayer chapels created to serve downtown business people in the Fashion District.</li><li>And we will see much more fun and fascinating stuff along the way!</li></ul>In this walking tour we will talk about the history of old downtown Los Angeles, and even touch on the history of the first notable Jewish neighborhoods which sprung up off Temple Street and the Central Avenue corridor.In this all new tour we will celebrate the cultural and civic contributions of Jewish people in the historic core of Los Angeles, while also taking a vivid look at the ever changing face of a modern downtown Los Angeles.This is a Los Angeles historic-core tour with a “kosher-style” twist!We will be meeting at Grand Park, in front of the Starbuck’s near the big fountain, at 9:45am in order to start our walk promptly at 10am.This is an all walking tour, will be walking about 1.5 miles in total going at a steady pace; as we will not encounter seats at most locations, so people will be required stand most of this tour. This tour is not wheelchair accessible, as does have unavoidable steps and will be going on classic attractions are not built to accommodate large mobility devices. This is a rain-or shine event; do bring an umbrella to avoid extreme sun.Hopefully some of you will stay after the tour to have a deli sandwich or a pita!COVID-19 POLICIES AND PROCEDURES: Due to the coronavirus we are taking precautions in order keep you and our staff safe. In accordance with city and county policy we do require all attendees to wear a mask covering one’s mouth and nose during the duration of the tour. We are also required to maintain social distancing of 6-feet between families, while we encourage family units we ask to remain together; this will enable us to maximize the ability for everyone to hear the presentation and see the visuals. We are also required to limit the size of this groups to 25% of our capacity and so each tour date will fill-up very quickly; do sign-up right away before we fill-up, as we will not be able to add addition walk-on guests the day of the tour. We will be adding more date to our monthly line-up to accommodate more guests.REMINDERS: There are no refunds or future credits for people who miss this event.TERMS AND CONDITIONS: https://www.bhhistorytours.com/terms-and-conditionsThe proceeds of this tour go to the funding of our Boyle Heights History Studios - museum and cultural center; as well as help us fund the shabbat services and holiday meals for the Boyle Heights Chavurah - the grassroots Jewish fellowship of East Los Angeles.

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Downtown Jewish History (July)

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Downtown Jewish History (July)

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