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When I Think of Home: Images from L.A. Archives

Wong Family in front of Home, 1960

Henry and Heong Wong are pictured here with their children, Violet, Rose, Howard, and Edward in front of their family home on 10th Street in Los Angeles (not pictured is their son Morland). The family were the owners of Henry’s Market, a small grocery store in LA. New economic opportunities provided generations of Chinese American families to build a life in Los Angeles and a long-term future in America.

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Contents of this tag:
1. Life in the Rancho Los Cerritos Courtyard
2. Wong Family in front of Home, 1960 Henry and Heong Wong are pictured here with their children, Violet, Rose, Howard, and Edward in front of their family home on 10th Street in Los Angeles (not pictured is their son Morland). The family were the owners of Henry’s Market, a small grocery store in LA. New economic opportunities provided generations of Chinese American families to build a life in Los Angeles and a long-term future in America.
3. Happy to be in Los Angeles, California Los Angeles in 1949 meant a lot of ex-military personnel were finding a new life for their families. Many of my Romero uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins had migrated to LA from Albuquerque by this time. The Romeros had been in NM since 1751. They chose the neighborhoods close to Downtown and each other. My father's first house was 160 W. 76 St., South Los Angeles. Genealogy helped me tell this story. —Cathy Romero
4. Happy to be in Los Angeles, California Los Angeles in 1949 meant a lot of ex-military personnel were finding a new life for their families. Many of my Romero uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins had migrated to LA from Albuquerque by this time. The Romeros had been in NM since 1751. They chose the neighborhoods close to Downtown and each other. My father's first house was 160 W. 76 St., South Los Angeles. Genealogy helped me tell this story. —Cathy Romero
5. Returning evacuated Japanese Americans, 1945
6. Hoy Marchamos Mañana Votamos (Today We March, Tomorrow We Vote), 2006 Los Angeles is home to millions of migrants and immigrants, many of whom are undocumented. A photograph of the March 25, 2006 demonstration for immigrant rights—the largest demonstration in California history with more than one million participants—promoted the May 1, 2006 immigrant rights march, attended by approximately 500,000. It opposed HR 4437, The Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (passed in the House, defeated in the Senate).
7. El Exmo. Sr. Presidente interino de los Estados-Unidos Mexicanos ... Se erige en ciudad el pueblo de los Angeles de la Alta California ... In the 1830s, Mexican California was embroiled in power struggles between north and south. This decree documents competition for the provincial capital. It not only elevated the pueblo of Los Angeles to the dignity of a city, the first in Alta California, but also designated Los Angeles as the capital. This measure passed the National congress due to the efforts of Carlos Antonio CarriIlo, provincial deputy from California to the Mexican congress and the author of the Exposition of 1831.
8. Manuel Liera, ca. 1925
9. Funeral at Manzanar Incarceration Camp
10. The Writer Speaks: Garry Marshall Garry Marshall (1934-2016) was a prolific and successful film and television writer, director and producer. He is known for creating the TV series Happy Days and its spins-offs and directing such classic films as Pretty Woman, Beaches and The Princess Diaries. Originally from New York, Marshall describes in this excerpt his early career writing jokes and the writing job that brought him to Los Angeles.
11. Lanterman House Courtyard, c. 1915
12. Silver Lake Terrace promotional pamphlet
Symbolically housed in the oldest and last surviving structure of Los Angeles’ original Chinatown, the Chinese American Museum (CAM) is the first museum in Southern California dedicated to the Chinese American experience and history in Los Angeles. The museum occupies the historic 1890 Garnier Building within the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument and is located at 425 N. Los Angeles St. Museum is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, and is closed on Mondays and selected holidays. The mission of the Chinese American Museum (CAM) is to foster a deeper understanding of, and appreciation for, America’s diverse heritage by researching, preserving, and sharing the history, rich cultural legacy, and continued contributions of Chinese Americans. CAM collects/has objects related to: Immigration to the United States, immigration issues (past and present) Chinese and Chinese American organizations, many of which operated out of the Garnier Building Sun Wing Wo Herb Store, which operated out of the Garnier Building Chinese American participation in the U.S. Military Livelihood Children’s toys Clothing, costumes, and other textiles Work created by Chinese American Artists Historic Chinatown New Chinatown The San Gabriel Valley The Chinese American Museum houses objects related to the history, livelihood, and experience of Chinese Americans, particularly in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, and the Garnier Building. The collection has grown to over 7,500 artifacts, documents, and photographs, spanning the late 19th century to the present. http://camla.org/
Contents of this tag:
1. The original Sun Wing Wo Company general merchandise store in the Garnier Building, 1902 The Sun Wing Wo Company opened in 1891 in the Garnier Building. The decorations suggest that this photo was likely captured during Lunar New Year festivities. The store sold merchandise to the Chinese community and provided community services such as letter writing, postal, and banking. The State of California forced the store to close in 1948 to construct the 101 Freeway. The store was re-created by the Chinese American Museum in 2003.
2. City Market Produce Boxes These boxes are artifacts from the City Market in Los Angeles. Most peddlers selling produce to Los Angeles residents in the late 1880’s were Chinese. A space was created to regulate the produce market as the demand increased. City Market opened in 1909 just south of Historic Chinatown. Led by Louie Quan, ownership was diverse including many identified as Chinese, Italian, Japanese and Russian. The marketplace helped formed East Adams into a small Chinese community.
3. Wong Family in front of Home, 1960 Henry and Heong Wong are pictured here with their children, Violet, Rose, Howard, and Edward in front of their family home on 10th Street in Los Angeles (not pictured is their son Morland). The family were the owners of Henry’s Market, a small grocery store in LA. New economic opportunities provided generations of Chinese American families to build a life in Los Angeles and a long-term future in America.