Skip to Content
Featured

The Friday Photo Essay: Capturing Historic-Filipinotown Culture On a Film Camera

The iconic neon sign at the original Tommy’s Burgers location on Rampart Boulevard.

L.A. TACO is embarking on its biggest mission yet: to create a taco and food guide for every single neighborhood in Los Angeles! Along the way, we will also be releasing brief histories of each neighborhood to understand L.A. a little more and celebrate how each and every neighborhood makes our fine city the best in the world.

The best way to know your neighborhood is to walk your neighborhood. Photographing Filipinotown on 35mm film for the past half-decade, I sometimes feel like I've walked every inch of the neighborhood countless times. But while working on this photo essay, I found plenty of places that I was unfamiliar with, from offices, homes, and studio spaces to homeless encampments hidden from the road, new plants, flowers, and murals. The experience reminded me that neighborhoods are constantly changing, and you’ll never see everything.

The iconic neon sign at the original Tommy's Burgers location on Rampart Boulevard.
The iconic neon sign at the original Tommy's Burgers location on Rampart Boulevard.
Morning light hits one of my favorite store front signs.
A Victorian style house that's been converted into apartments with views of the DTLA skyline.
A Victorian-style house that's been converted into apartments with DTLA skyline views.
An elderly man walks by an 20th century craftsman house as it's being demolished.
An elderly man walks by a 20th century craftsman house as it's being demolished.
A tree grows out of a wall in a parking lot.
A tree grows out of a wall in a parking lot.
A sign that's no longer around.
A sign that's no longer around.
The farmacia in this photo is now Brooklyn Bagels.
The farmacia in this photo is now Brooklyn Bagels.
The pharmacy in this photo is now Brooklyn Bagels.
Craftsman homes on a residential street in Historic Filipinotown.
A driver kills a man riding a motorized bicycle on a dangerous stretch of Beverly Blvd that has seen numerous fatalities and reckless driving incidents in recent years.
A Victorian-style home with Halloween decorations outside.
Businesses on the eastern edge of Historic Filipinotown.
A body shop on Beverly Boulevard
Body shop on Beverly Boulevard.
A body shop on Beverly Boulevard
A carniceria on Beverly Boulevard that also has a taco stand.
A memorial for Karla Duarte, a young woman who was fatally shot in an abandoned home in Filipinotown.
Pinay Coin Laundry.
Historic Filipinotown at dusk.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

Swarm of Police in Riot Gear Destroy Peaceful Pro-Palestine Encampment At UCLA During Early Morning Raid, Over 200 Arrested

At 4 AM, CHP broke through the fencing on the other side of the encampment and set up a police line, consistently firing flash-bang grenades into the air. They also fired on protestors with “less-lethal” munitions and rubber bullets, causing an injury to one protester’s face that required stitches. 

May 3, 2024

Ten Palestinian-Owned Restaurants to Support in L.A. and O.C.

Supporting our local Palestinian restaurants not only allows you to experience excellent cooking and recipes from a culture and people who have been making these dishes for generations, but it also helps to broaden our worldviews on a culture some forces seek to bury and erase. 

May 2, 2024

Where To Find Don Perico, The Mexican-Owned Brand Bringing Tropical Flavors To Dispensaries

The products, with their festive packaging, tropical flavors, and colorful parrot mascot, are relatable and better yet, they taste great, are fast-acting, and strong.

April 30, 2024

New Date for TACO MADNESS 2024 Event Confirmed: June 15th at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes

After getting rained out, our new date promises to be our biggest and most fun festival to date. Come out and eat all the tacos, drink all the micheladas, dance to the best DJs in L.A., and support our independent journalism! Of course, L.A. TACO members get in for free. Tickets on sale now.

April 29, 2024
See all posts