Historic Preservation

The Watts Towers Tour Guide Program offers visitors a unique and in-depth look at one of Los Angeles’ most iconic landmarks. Participants will be guided by knowledgeable tour guides through the towers, learning about the history, cultural significance, and artistic processes involved in their creation. The tour, which is the only way to gain access to the towers, will last approximately 30 minutes and highlight the life of Simon Rodia, the Italian immigrant who built the towers over a

33-year period, and the cultural and social context of the Watts neighborhood in which they stand. The tour also includes a visit to the Watts Towers Arts Center, where visitors can see rotating exhibitions of contemporary art and learn about the ongoing preservation efforts for the Towers. With this program, visitors will gain a greater appreciation for the Watts Towers as a masterpiece of folk art and a symbol of resilience and community spirit.

A narration of Chinese immigration to the U.S. with an emphasis on community settlement in Los Angeles. The exhibition is outlined into four distinct time periods, each period defined by a vital immigration law and event, accompanied by a brief description and a short personal story.

This is a recreation of a store housed in the Garnier Building in the 1890s. The Sun Wing Wo store opened in 1891 and remained in this building until 1948. The store was a multi-purpose space that showed how self-sufficient the Chinese were and had to be due to racism and discrimination while also being responsive to the needs of their community. Even though the store predominantly served the Chinese, people from every facet of society also came to purchase Chinese merchandise.

Experience a restored home and agricultural compound from 18th-century Japan that provides a glimpse into rural life 300 years ago. Built around 1700, this 3,000-square-foot residence was the center of village life in Marugame, Japan.

Check the website for ticket prices and advance reservations, which are required.

Spend an afternoon at a special collection of the LA County Library that encompasses academic materials, film, music, novels, magazines, and newspapers. The collection focuses on the Asian American Pacific Islander American experience, with core holdings in history, art, and culture. The center has over 100 titles on microfilm of historical Asian immigrant newspapers published in the US.

A permanent exhibition celebrating the growth and development of Chinese American enclaves from Downtown Los Angeles to the San Gabriel Valley.

Port Traits pays tribute to the work of late AGCC Studio Artists Scott Brown and Slobodan Dimitrov. The exhibition features a selection of paintings by Brown and his alias, Butcher John Henry (a collaboration with artist Logan Fox), in addition to black and white film photographs by Dimitrov. With over 25 years of history at the Center, Scott Brown and Slobodan Dimitrov will be remembered for their impact on the San Pedro community.

Scott Brown was a painter, photographer, and storyteller who grew up in Southern California. Scott was an active member of the South Bay arts community, participating regularly in the First Thursday art walk in Downtown San Pedro and other events around San Pedro and Palos Verdes. Brown’s colorful and uniquely stylized paintings captured the people and places in his life around San Pedro and beyond. Paintings by Scott Brown and his collaborative alias, Butcher John Henry, will be on view in Port Traits.

Slobodan Dimitrov was the unofficial photographer of the labor movement in the LA area for the past thirty years, a crucial period in its history. He was born in former Yugoslavia (present-day Serbia) and spent several years in France as a child before emigrating to Los Angeles. He became an AGCC Studio Artist in 1984, and he has spent much of his career documenting the labor movement in addition to San Pedro’s history and local artists. Port Traits will feature several bodies work by Dimitrov from his black and white film photography practice.

Port Traits will be on view in the AGCC galleries March 9th – April 6th, 2024, with open gallery hours Thursdays – Saturdays from 10am to 4pm. The exhibition will open with a free public reception on Saturday, March 9th from 3-5pm.

Support for the AGCC exhibitions program is provided by City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, The Ahmanson Foundation, Norris Foundation, the Perenchio Foundation, and the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation.

About Angels Gate Cultural Center

Angels Gate Cultural Center (AGCC) emerged from a group of San Pedro artists in the 1970s that created art studios and exhibition space within the WWII era army barracks of Angels Gate Park near the Port of Los Angeles. Today, AGCC hosts over 50 artist studios in addition to a variety of programs to engage the diverse communities of the Los Angeles Harbor region, including arts education in local schools, community classes, cultural events, and exhibitions of contemporary art. More information about AGCC is available at angelsgateart.org

Listen to the calming sounds of water and take in the subdued palette of evergreen shrubbery embracing the Koi Pond. The garden features stone lanterns crafted of Okazaki stone over 200 years ago and a bonsai display maintained by the South Coast Bonsai Association.

Adults – $15, Seniors 65 and over and Students with ID – $11, Children (5 to 12 years) – $5, Foundation members and children under 4 – Free,

Entry on the third Tuesday of each month – Free.

Advance purchase is required to attend on Saturdays and Sundays.

Celebrating the Icon, Legends and Trailblazer of West Adams’ Black History

Saturday, June 14, 10:00-11:30 a.m., at Village Green Club House

In February 2024, FORT: LA Fellowship recipient Madelene Dailey completed a research project and 7 short films about the neighborhood’s historic and unique architecture and led by narratives and reflections of the residents themselves.

Join us to learn about the founding of the Wilfandel Club by Della Williams and Fannie Williams, Alan and Vera Clarke Ifill’s founding of the Caribbean Credit Union, Yvonne Miller who was one of the founders of the First Negro Classical Ballet, and Paul R. Williams, the iconic architect who designed the legendary FAME Church.

The panelists will address the future of the neighborhood and the efforts underway for its preservation.

After the lecture, participants will be invited to continue the conversation while touring the stunningly verdant grounds of Village Green Clubhouse.

RSVP for FREE, HERE!

About the Panelists

• Madelene Daily is an Urban Planner from Florida, working primarily with the state of Florida on projects related to community infrastructure planning, public transportation, and federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation. Her professional experience includes assisting local and national non-profit organizations, as well as state and federal agencies, in grant writing/funding, daily operations, volunteer outreach, community design workshops, and public support campaigns. Madelene also volunteers her time on pro bono and community enrichment development, and has worked with local non-profit organizations in Los Angeles on justice-driven civil design projects. She serves as a Director of Architecture + Advocacy, a USC student-founded startup working to address spatial justice through design and architecture. She is co-president of the USC National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMAS) Chapter and is a USC Architectural Guild Board member. She received her Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies and Visual Arts from Eckerd College in 2018. She will graduate from the University of Southern California with a Master’s in Architecture in the spring of 2024. During her studies her work will focus on intersecting equitable urban planning with sustainable design, she aims to earn a certificate in sustainable architecture as well.
• Joshua A. Foster is an award-winning community builder, architectural designer, educator, and speaker. He is the Founder and CEO of JAF — a community-impact focused consulting firm empowering the AEC and real estate industry with the tools to maximize impact in the built environment. Joshua also serves on multiple local and national non-profit boards including, the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), the Long Beach Community Design Center, Architecture + Advocacy, and the USC Architectural Guild. Joshua is a graduate of both Columbia University and the University of Southern California.

About the Organizers 

Village Green (aka Baldwin Hills Village) is one of the most important housing design precedents in the nation and is the best example of the garden apartment typology on the West Coast. The project organizes 627 one-, two- and three-bedroom units in 92 one- and two-story buildings across a 67.7-acre site. The site is bounded, but not penetrated, by public streets, allowing for the creation of an approximately 13-acre, nearly half-mile long central green spine, called the Village Green.

Friends Of Residential Treasures: LA is an award-winning nonprofit dedicated to bringing people together by celebrating the history and influence of residential architecture. Our organization has developed four interlocking programs in pursuit of our mission: An online mapping system for self-guided tours of the exteriors of architecturally significant  homes developed by experts in the field (FORT Trails); a fellowship to foster new knowledge (FORT Fellowship); a series of virtual experiences to provide interior access  understanding (FORT Frames); and an ongoing series of live and virtual educational events (FORT Gatherings). We have been covered by the LA Times, KCRW, KCAL, NBC: LA, Spectrum News, NPR, Los Angeles Magazine, Time Out Los Angeles, American Way, and other outlets. We have partnered on live events with the Los Angeles Public LIbrary, the Hollyhock House, the Gamble House, Pasadena Heritage, the Pasadena Museum of History, soho.home.studeio, the Wolford House and more. Our organization is the recipient of an LA Conservancy Preservation award and a California Preservation Foundation Design award. FORT’s newsletter announcing its free monthly content reaches over 9,000 subscribers.