LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, Mexican American museum in downtown Los Angeles, United States

LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes occupies the Vickrey-Brunswig Building and the Plaza House, two 1880s structures in downtown Los Angeles next to La Placita church. The complex holds two permanent exhibitions, two temporary galleries, a 30,000-square-foot outdoor space with a performance stage, an edible garden, and LA Cocina de Gloria Molina, a teaching kitchen.

The museum opened in 2011 near the original settlement site where the city of Los Angeles was established in 1781 by people from Spanish colonies. The restored buildings date from the 1880s, a period when this area was a thriving center for the Mexican American community.

LA Plaza's cultural programming covers salsa concerts, book talks, poetry readings, dance performances, film screenings and family days, and its public programs give room to Chicano, Afro-Latino and LGBTQIA+ voices. LA Cocina de Gloria Molina, a teaching kitchen, runs cooking classes, tastings and demonstrations on Mexican and Mexican American cuisine, and a free bilingual Culinary Youth Training Program serves people aged 16 to 24.

The location is easy to navigate on foot, with outdoor spaces open during the day that invite you to explore at your own pace. Plan to spend time in the gardens and check what events or classes might be happening during your visit.

The Paseo Walkway, a block-long pedestrian link between the museum and La Placita Church, reopened in 2019 with signage tracing the city's past from the Gabrielino-Tongva through Spanish, Mexican and US rule. It has held large outdoor sculptures, including Alfredo Gutierrez's wooden coyote Transportapueblos, Companion of Migrants, and for four years a section of the Berlin Wall, moved in August 2023 to Playas de Tijuana.