The Byzantine-Latino Quarter is located at the south-western boundary of the neighborhood known today as Pico-Union. The Pico-Union area was developed as an early suburb of Los Angeles at the turn of the century, when downtown Los Angeles served as the main business center of the city.  Due to its proximity to downtown Los Angeles, Pico-Union has served as an attractive destination point for new immigrants.  Early residents of the area included middle- and upper-income Norwegians, Swedes, Welsh, and Russian Jews. The early twentieth century housing and building types found in the neighborhood reflect its original suburban character.  

  Over time, the importance of downtown Los Angeles weakened, as competing suburban centers developed at the city’s fringes.  As a result, many affluent residents left the Pico-Union area and relocated to the newer suburbs.  Moreover, during the 1950s and 1960s, the redevelopment of downtown eliminated much of the low-cost housing serving ethnic communities in the city’s core.  This pushed Asian and Latino communities into neighborhoods immediately surrounding the central city, including the Pico-Union area.  

  As suburbanization extended into the fringes, Pico-Union became seen as the “inner city” and was allowed to deteriorate.  Economic and social resources shifted to the suburbs and away from the inner city, so the physical appearance and service infrastructure of the area declined.  The existing edifices, both housing and the commercial business stock, became run-down due to lack of maintenance.  Large houses were subdivided and rented out to accommodate large number of low-income immigrant families. The neighborhood became a place characterized by overcrowding and substandard housing conditions.  

  In the early 1960s, a group of residents concerned about neighborhood problems began to meet at a local Methodist Church.  In 1965, the group named the neighborhood “Pico-Union” after the intersection that marked the community’s center – before that, the neighborhood did not have a formal designation.  The community group organized itself as the Pico-Union Neighborhood Council (PUNC), focused primarily on improving housing conditions in the neighborhood, and it eventually evolved into a community development corporation.  

  By the 1970s, large numbers of working class Mexicans began to settle in Pico-Union, and even today Mexicans maintain a distinct presence in the neighborhood.  Korean and Japanese immigrants also settled in the area, although in much smaller numbers.  With the early 1980s came an influx of Central Americans from El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras.  During this period, these Central American countries were experiencing heightened violence due to civil unrest, civil wars and economic downturns.  Pico-Union became a major receiver of refugees from these countries.  Networks of kin and compadres (those from the same towns and regions) have facilitated the continued influx of Central Americans to Pico-Union; this has helped make the transition to Los Angeles easier for new immigrants.   

  Presently, the Pico-Union neighborhood is predominantly Latino.  As a result, many of the community organizations and commercial establishments are tailored to the Spanish-speaking population and serve the specific Latino program and service needs.