The WHA is committed to ensuring our conference is fully accessible, and the city of Los Angeles places a high priority on those same values. Accessibility maps of the hotel will be provided online and throughout the event space, and special accessibility needs can be emailed to our office at wha@westernhistory.org.

The City of Los Angeles has also provided an accessibility guide for those wishing to explore the city. 

ACCESSIBILITY GUIDE

AUTRY RESOURCES CENTER

Stephen Aron, President and CEO of the Autry Museum of the American West, will offer a behind-the-scenes tour of the Autry Museum’s Resources Center. The tour will focus on Native American materials and the museum’s new protocols that govern the care, conservation, access, and exhibition of these collections.

LOS ANGELES CHINATOWN FOOD HISTORY TOUR

Eugene Moy, Vice President of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California will lead a 2-hour walking tour of Chinatown departing from Union Station that will feature at least three tasting stops at restaurants and other local food-purveyors who represent the past, present, and future of Chinese cuisine in the neighborhood. Since the late nineteenth century, Los Angeles Chinatown has been home to restaurants specializing in Cantonese and Hong Kong-style dishes but over time, has welcomed a wider array of Chinese, Southeast Asian, and fusion cuisines.

KOREATOWN HISTORICAL WALKING TOUR

On this 90-minute walking tour, we will visit sites with significant cultural ties to the Koreatown neighborhood. Docents will lead guests down an eight-block stretch of Olympic Boulevard, stopping at sites including the beloved restaurant Guelaguetza, the Korean Pavilion, and Hannam Market. Along the way, we will discuss the neighborhood’s formation, evolution, and its future.

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORIES BY THE SEA IN THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA

The tour will explore the African American histories of the Santa Monica Beach community during the Jim Crow era (1900s-1960) showcased in a new permanent outdoor exhibit of 17 history interpretative panels and a large monumental sculpture that is a part of Belmar History + Art, a multifaceted remembrance and commemorative justice project funded by public money situated in a new park. Participants will take public transportation from downtown Los Angeles to the end of the line at the Pacific Ocean and walk to tour the exhibit situated a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean and nearby sites featured. The BH+A project’s historian will led this tour sharing some of the hidden stories of Los Angeles’ beach communities and how this unique applied history project came to pass.

LOS ANGELES PLAZA/UNION STATION WALKING TOUR

This two-part walking tour begins at Union Station to be accessed by participants via public transportation using Metro Rail. Participants will gather at the Information kiosk adjacent to the main entrance and ticket concourse and led on tour of the historic station and grounds by WHA President William Deverell. After first portion of the walking tour, attendees will cross Alameda Street to the grounds of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument and be met by Edgar Garcia, Assistant General Manager of El Pueblo. Gathering in the historic Los Angeles Plaza, participants will be provided tours of various museums, buildings, and sites including the Olvera Street Marketplace. Food and beverage is available at both the Union Station and Los Angeles Plaza portions of tour but water is recommended. Many Olvera Street stalls prefer cash instead of credit cards.

All tours will take place on Thursday afternoon of the conference and will require an additional ticket cost. Please stay tuned for prices, which will be listed on the registration page once it goes live July 1st!