This video from the 1940s gives you a nice tour, including going inside the original Von&#8217;s on Olympic Blvd. Another interesting stop is a drive-through shoe repair business! Here&#8217;s the full list of locations visited: Olvera Street &#8211; City Hall &#8211; Union Station &#8211; Hotel Rosslyn &#8211; Hotel Clark, The Biltmore Hotel, Town House Hotel,…

Visit 1940’s Los Angeles in this Vintage Video

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One of L.A. TACO&#8217;s co-founders, Hadley Tomicki is a writer and editor on food, travel, and culture whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, UrbanDaddy, High Times, and many other places.

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Julianne Le graduated from UCLA in 2025 with a major in English and minor in Asian American Studies. Maybe it&#8217;s because she isn&#8217;t jaded yet, but she is super eager to peek into the overlooked corners of L.A. and write about them. Le is the former editor-in-chief of UCLA&#8217;s Pacific Ties Newsmagazine and was a finalist for the Associated Collegiate Press&#8217; &#8220;Podcast of the Year&#8221; award in 2024.

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An Illustration of Fox Theater in Westwood with its tall tower and marquee

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Héctor Zaldívar is the head of a print magazine and art/music publication titled Dead Relatives. Completely written and designed by Zaldívar, every month subscribers are mailed in-depth stories on different subcultures from graffiti in Latin America to hardcore punk to lowrider culture and back.

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Mary Lyons (Leech Lake Ojibwe) Great-Grandmother, Ojibwe Elder, spiritual advisor, storyteller and wisdom keeper.

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Kamren Curiel is a fourth-generation Chicana born in East L.A. and raised in South San Gabriel. She&#8217;s written for the L.A.Times, Latina, LAist, KCET, Huffington Post, and was the L.A. Editor for Remezcla.com.

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Abraham Marquez is a freelance writer from Inglewood and a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). He is a 2021 USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Fellow. He writes about social movements, sports, politics, and immigration. Instagram: @abemarquez02

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Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

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A.k.a. Afroxander; Editor-At-Large (formerly Weekend Editor) at L.A. Taco and a lecturer at San Diego State University. He has covered arts, culture, history, politics, and sports with an emphasis on Latin America and its U.S. diaspora for over two decades.

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Odessa Hairapetian is a community-rooted journalist who tells stories of the underrepresented, underground, and unknown. She is passioned by the draw between art and people and empowered by conversation.

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An award-winning journalist covering ICE and immigration raids. Host of the Daily Memo. ‘Where Memo Torres Eats’ on Apple Maps. Seen on Netflix, occasionally on KCRW. 3rd-gen landscaper. Proud son of an immigrant. Golden Bear.

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Izzy Ramirez is a Los Angeles-based staff reporter with L.A. TACO, documenting immigration enforcement and state power as it unfolds on the ground. Their work centers real-time alerts and long-term public archiving throughout the Southern California region.

Visit 1940’s Los Angeles in this Vintage Video

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