Tourists who come to Los Angeles tend to visit the same places: Venice Beach, Disneyland, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood. The slightly more adventurous might strike out for the Garment District, Topanga Canyon, or the Walt Disney Concert Hall, but what about neighborhoods to the south and east of those attractions? Places like the Los Angeles River? Or ‘the Ink Well’ (a two hundred-square foot beach) and Oakwood (a residential neighborhood) – two of the only Westside locations open to African-Americans during the first few decades of the twentieth century?

Where’s the guidebook that focuses on Los Angeles’ complex history when it comes to activism, class- and race-relations, and the fight for gay rights? At a bookstore near you, apparently. “A People’s Guide to the Los Angeles” focuses on 115 little-known Los Angeles sites with big histories. Join Patt and the books co-authors, Wendy Cheng and Laura Pulido. You might even find something new to do for Memorial Day.

We asked the authors of "A People's Guide" for their top ten little-known L.A. sites:

Black Panther Party Headquarters

Santa Anita Racetrack and Pomona Fairgrounds

Downey Block

Mariachi Plaza

Partido Liberal Mexicano offices

West Hollywood City Hall

Owen Brown's Gravesite

Malibu Public Beaches

General Motors Van Nuys

Lang Station

There will be a book reading and signing at Vroman’s on June 7th at 7pm.

Guest:

Wendy Cheng, photographer; assistant professor, Asian Pacific American Studies and Justice & Social Inquiry at Arizona State University.

Laura Pulido, professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California; currently a Visiting Professor in Black Studies at UC Santa Barbara

Check out an excerpt of "The People's Guide to Los Angeles":
A People's Guide to L.A. excerpt