The Italian American Museum of Los Angeles (IAMLA) is located in downtown’s Italian Hall at 644 North Main. Built in 1908 as a community center, the hall is one of the oldest remaining structures in historic Little Italy and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I can only speak for myself, but I didn’t even know we had a Little Italy.

I’m not alone. As the museum’s website points out, greater LA has the fifth largest Italian population of any U.S. city. Southern California’s Italian roots predate the nation’s founding. Italians and Italian Americans played key roles in the growth of Los Angeles as a major metropolis.