A broad array of vibrant activities takes
place on Pico Boulevard, reflecting the ethnic diversity of the predominantly
Latino population of the Byzantine-Latino Quarter. Most social activities
are concentrated here, both on weekdays and on the weekends.
Weekday activities begin early on the Pico Boulevard
commercial strip with bustling pedestrian, bicycle, public transit, and
automobile traffic. Merchants use signage, murals, and music to lure customers.
Parents walk their children to the local schools
passing under English-Spanish banners reading "No Drugs, No Graffiti,"
produced through the efforts of the Council Office and the community group
Genesis Plus. Genesis Plus also
organizes a community-driven Adopt-a-Trash-Can program in the area. Numerous
public transit users struggle to find seats and shady areas to wait for
buses, while women push young children in strollers. Poor or homeless individuals
with shopping carts full of bottles and cans make their way to a local
recycling center. There are numerous, well-used public telephones along
Pico.
On Weekends, St. Thomas Church attracts many
people through its seven Masses. The crowds drawn by these events are served
by Church-sponsored breakfast sales, street vending and church community
gatherings that occur on the street front and church grounds. On Sundays,
St. Sophia Cathedral attracts a congregation that is not from the area;
after church, the crowds spill over to nearby ethnic restaurants and markets.
Street vendors sell paletas (ice cream), tamales, elotes
(corn-on-the-cob), and a variety of other ethnic items.
When night falls, Pico Boulevard commercial life
becomes fragmented. Most businesses close at 6:00 pm; liquor stores and
only a handful of food establishments remain open for business. Fewer people
utilize the street, which was so vibrant a few hours earlier. |
