Skip to main content

O is for Olvera Street: A Free to See #AtoZChallenge Post

 

A stuffed burro stands in front of a Olvera Street sign
I'm living in southern California this year, and decided to use my exploration of the area as my focus for the #AtoZChallenge. I'm concentrating on free to see places, though I will include locations that require a parking fee. This is the fifteen post in the series. 

Before Los Angeles was a sprawling metropolis, it was a simple town of 11 families. Olvera Street is a pedestrian street that honors that humble beginning. The day I chose to visit happened to be a rainy day, but also (unbeknownst to me ahead of time) the day of the Blessing of the Animals. Even without a special event, Olvera Street is worth a visit to learn more about the history and culture of the early area. It is free to visit, and many of the museums are also free. Local shopkeepers and restaurateurs would be more than happy for your business, however, and I can vouch for the food! 

Many of the little shops were closed due to rain 


A colorful likeness of Frida Kahlo outside one of the stores

While on Olvera Street, I recommend visiting the Avila Adobe, a home built in 1818, and the oldest existing home in Los Angeles. 

The white adobe home with a pink blooming tree outside

One of the shops I ventured into was The Wooden Iron Horses, where the work of carver Jackie Hadnot is on display. Mr. Hadnot was inside the store that day and mentioned that he had carved the cross that is at the entrance to Olvera Street, and because the Blessing of the Animals was happening that day, he was going to give a short speech at the cross at noon. I caught most of his words in the following video:


I unfortunately had to leave prior to the actual blessing of the animals, as I had taken public transportation and didn't want to have to get home 2 hours later than planned, but I still got to see quite a few animals waiting in line.

A pig waits to see the priest for a blessing, while a woman decorates the pig's crate with flowers



People with umbrellas and pets form a line while waiting for the blessing of the animals to begin

Rain or sunshine, special event or not, Olvera Street is filled with fun things to see. Be sure to visit!

Comments

  1. messymimiApril 17, 2024 at 9:39 PM

    It looks like a fun place, I enjoy wandering a street with shops and good smelling restaurants.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Conversations are so much nicer when more than one person does the talking. :-) Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'd love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago.  I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon.  (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall  Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this...
4 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Live from Oregon, part 2

stock photo of old computer monitor When I was 10 or 11, I remember sitting next to my dad in our living room and reading computer code to him as he entered it into an Apple computer. We would finish the exercise and he would hit enter (or was it "run"?) and wait expectantly for the green type to appear on the screen. If we were lucky, the whole conversation would occur. Most often, there would be an error either in my dictation of the code, or in the typing of the code. We would then go painstakingly back through the lines, character by character, to find and correct the error. After what seemed like hours (and might have been), we would succeed and the computer would finally run the entire program. It was magical! My dad designed and built an earth-sheltered, passive solar home decades before solar panels were commonplace. He also was on a 9-month waiting list for a Prius, when hybrids were not seen on every street.  While my dad is definitely on the cutting edge of technol...
5 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Oregon Edition, Part 3

  A western bluebird, sitting at the base of a house window, looks inside Thanks (1) to those who have sent well-wishes for my mom's recovery. Her wrist is healing up nicely. I met a friend from high school for lunch this past week. It was so nice to have a chance to visit with her for a couple of hours. She is one of those friends who it doesn't matter how much time has passed, we can pick right back up into meaningful conversations. Lunch ended all too soon, but I'm so thankful (2) for her, and I'm thankful (3) that she reminded me of the importance of reaching out to others.  Being in my parents' home this week, visiting with a long-time (I'm not saying old!) friend, and with Mother's Day tomorrow, my mind naturally reflects upon the women in my life. I'm thankful (4) for an incredible mom--a gentle woman who taught and loved and guided us (and still does.) I'm thankful (5) for grandmas who were different in their personalities but united in their...
3 comments
Read more