Los Angeles now has the fifth largest Italian Community, but no Little Italy. this also despite the Italians had less Ethnic Conflict, since there was a large Latino population here, although most of the power lie in the hands of the Pale Protestants. 

The Mexican government first official census of Los Angeles in 1836. The population is fixed at 2,228. This includes 553 "domesticated Indians." Among Los Angeles residents are 29 Americans, 4 Britons, 3 Portuguese, 2 Africans, and a Canadian, Irishman, Italian, German, Scot, Norwegian, and Curacao. California became US Territory in 1846. 

That one Italian resident was Sardinian native Giovanni Leandri, who, upon arriving in Los Angeles in 1827, opened a store  and later purchased Rancho Los Coyotes, a 48,000 acre ranch in what is today Buena Park.

It was in 1818, that the new Plaza  of the tiny town of Los Angeles was built on higher ground after the previous Plaza was washed away in a  torrent. It was reborn with numerous spacious adobe dwellings of wealthy Mexican rancheros,  the first of which was the Avila Adobe (built in 1818), that thrived until US troops arrived in 1847, and the demographics changed drastically, and soon after Italians were predominate. In fact  Avila Adobe later became a boarding house and restaurant called Hotel Italia Unita. 

In the Plaza, on Calle de la Vignas, or Vine Street, there were alone five Italian-owned wineries. The Old Winery, Italian-operated for nearly one-hundred years, is now "El Paseo Restaurant" The Gazzo Winery was across the Plaza from his soon to be  partner Antonio Pelanconi, owner of  the Pelanconi House (built in1855) . In addition to Avila Adobe (built in 1818, and  later a boarding house and restaurant called Hotel Italia Unita, several other historic buildings line the street, They include the aforementioned Pelanconi House  [actually built by Italian vintner Giuseppi Covaccichi ] "oldest brick house in the entire city", now housing "La Golondrina" Restaurant  and one of four historic structures on Olvera built by Italians. 

The Prospering Italians spread out in the neighboring district, with the largest concentration of Italians living along North Broadway,North Spring, Hill Street, Alpine, and in the foothills of Elysian Park. a cohesive and friendly neighborhood, anchored by St Peters Italian Church, The Italian Cultural Center, and L'Italo Americano, the Italian Newspaper. 
In the 1930s, the Italian community, numbered in excess of 30,000, and Little Italy continued to expand into Lincoln Heights, which, along with San Pedro, comprised the largest Italian enclaves in the city.  Other pockets of Italians could be found in Eagle Rock, the San Gabriel Valley and Los Feliz.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, 600,000 non-citizen Italians nationwide were branded "enemy aliens" and  required to register at their local post offices and carry identity cards. Italians residing in prohibited zones of Los Angeles and other parts of California received evacuation notices. Enemy aliens were subject to an 8PM to 6AM curfew, searches of their residences and businesses, confiscation of property including boats, cameras, flashlights and radios, and were barred from travel outside of a five-mile radius of their home. Aliens deemed "dangerous" were arrested; some were sent to internment camps. The wartime violation of Italian Civil Liberties is referred to as "Una Storia Segreta", because although well known in the community, although speechless with "shame", ALL documents, speech, or actions referring to these "events" were labeled SECRET for "National Security" and were not revealed until Legal action required Congress to demand opening of the archives 50 plus years later. 

 After WWII, Little Italy, began emptying and fleeing to the suburbs, as if to escape the shame of "association", and become a more integrated "better" American, and "Little Italy" started to quickly disintegrate, and inevitable disappeared.

Those Italian Americans in other "Little Italies" will proudly puff out their chests and say, we didn't let it happen here. BUT the various  Military District Defense Commands, had complete autonomy to not only conduct Military Operations but in the Implementation of Executive Order 9066. Major General John L. DeWiitt was Western Defense Commander and the Most Strict and Bigoted of any Commands, causing ENORMOUS  Physical and Economic Harm. Whereas  on the East Coast, and other Commands there were NO or few Restrictions that were Enforced.  So rather than be Pompous, we need Italian Americans not located on the West Coast to be more Sympathetic, or maybe ANGRY that  600,000 members of our Community was SO negatively impacted, while 700,000 Italian Americans were fighting in our US Military, plus West Coast Communities were permanently devastated. 

The Italian presence in Early Los Angeles       http://italianhall.org/site/?page_id=6
Gatto's "Los Angeles's Little Italy" is available in bookstores or you can order it online at www.arcadiapublishing.com. 

Una Storia Segreta   http://www.segreta.org/
 

New York's got a great one. So does Boston. San Francisco's is pretty good, too. 

But Los Angeles? Nada. How is it possible the city with the fifth-largest Italian community in the nation has no Little Italy? 

The closest one is down in San Pedro, but who's driving from the Valley to the Port of Los Angeles on a Saturday night for a plate of pasta and some atmosphere? Not me. 

It's enough to make Christopher Columbus cry on his own holiday tomorrow. 

OK, so it's not. I'm getting carried away here. Still, it would be nice to know why. 

Los Angeles had a vibrant Little Italy dating back to the 1800s in the historic center of the city - what is today El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, says Marianna Gatto, executive director of the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles. 

The former curator of History and Education for the city of Los Angeles left her job a couple of years ago to work for the museum now under construction, and write a fascinating book called "Los Angeles's Little Italy." 

It's filled with historical photos and stories of the contributions early Italians made to the rich cultural history of this city. 

Most historical research is often compared to detective work, Gatto writes, but chronicling LA's early Italian community was more like "chasing ghosts." 

"There's so little left of our history here. The records are gone. the streets are gone, they've been erased from the map." 

She cites two streets named after pioneer Italian resident Nicola Quierolo and Giuseppe Garibaldi, leader of Italian unification, that were erased from the map when the Twin Towers Correctional Facility and Men's Central Jail were built. 

"All sense of home and history is absent. Historic Little Italy is masked by Chinatown and Olvera Street." 

The only signs that a large Italian community ever existed on these streets are the San Antonio Winery - the city's oldest - and St. Peter's Catholic Church where people from all over Los Angeles County still come to worship every Sunday. 

The classic Little Joe's pole sign is still standing on Broadway, but the restaurant is just an empty, rundown building surrounded by fencing and a dirt parking lot. 

A sad reminder of a great place to grab a plate of spaghetti and meatballs before a Dodger game, or a nightcap after. 

"Little Joe's, which closed its doors in 1998, began in 1897 as the Italian American Grocery Store," Gatto writes. "It changed its name to Little Joe's in the 1940s to avoid the wartime stigmas associated with being Italian." 

This is just one of the fascinating back stories she's dug out from her research. Here's another one: 

"The Peluffo family served Italian food in their Olvera Street restaurant Casa di Pranzo until the late 1930s. 

"After constantly being asked `What's an Italian restaurant doing on Olvera Street?' the Peluffos changed the restaurant's name to Cafe Caliente and began serving Mexican cuisine." 

So what happens next? How does LA's forgotten Little Italy get back at least a slice of its roots that were masked by Chinatown and Olvera Street? 

The construction for the museum going on inside the historic Italian Hall - built in 1908 and located adjacent Olvera Street - is a start. 

When it opens - by mid 2012 depending on city permits and fundraising - it will be the only museum in Southern California dedicated to the Italian American experience. 

"Los Angeles is a diverse city, that's its strength," says Paul Pagnone, president of the Historic Italian Hall Foundation. 

"This museum will highlight Italian contributions to that diversity. It's important for all Angelenos." 

On Saturday, Oct. 16, the second annual Taste of Italy fundraiser for the museum project will be held from 4-9 p.m. at the Pico House plaza, 424 North Main St. 

For more information, go online to www.italianhall.org or call (213) 485-8432. 

Gatto's "Los Angeles's Little Italy" is available in bookstores or you can order it online at www.arcadiapublishing.com. 

"Are there Italians in LA?" she says. "Yeah, we've been here for a long time." 

http://www.dailynews.com/ci_16297722
 

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