Save La Gloria

Part of Poder del Pueblo

In 2002, La Gloria, an iconic Westside dancehall and the first multi-pump gas station on the Westside, was threatened with demolition. A community coalition, including many Esperanza buena gente, stood between the building and a bulldozer understanding that the demolition of La Gloria represented an erasure of Westside Mexican American history. When the building came down, Esperanza added historic preservation of working class and Mexican American neighborhoods to its slate of issues. Since then, the Esperanza has collaborated on a number of preservation projects and issues including serving as host for meetings of the Westside Preservation Alliance, which seeks to increase awareness of historic preservation issues in the Westside. — Sarah Gould