Community Ethnography Project by GENESY MENDEZ

The (former) Ambassador Hotel

genesymendez — 2024-07-03 00:10:21 UTC

The Robert F. Kennedy campus contains six different schools, and I want to introduce you to aspects of the UCLA-Community School, located in Koreatown. The school is built on the site originally known as The Ambassador Hotel. It is also the site of RFK's assassination on June 6th, 1968.

My colleagues and I wanted to incorporate how history has impacted the creation of the school, and the presence of aspects of the hotel incorporated on campus.

We realized the magnitude of the school's presence by the size of the property. In addition, we wanted to incorporate the language as a resource for Spanish speakers, and demonstrate ways in which students' families, and families in the community, can celebrate the school's transformation to what it is now. We began recording videos of different aspects of campus, starting with RFK's most well-known aspect, The Cocoanut Grove Theater.

The intention is to be able to incorporate the benefits that serve not only the students, but the entire community. We created this virtual tour in Spanish knowing that most families at UCLA-CS are Latinx, and because it is related to the school's dual-language immersion curriculum. It also gave me the opportunity to reflect on the importance of the responsibility that bilingual teachers have, and how proud I am that I am bilingual, and I just hope my students can celebrate multilingualism as well.

MacArthur Park, 2230 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90057, USA

genesymendez — 2024-07-03 05:56:18 UTC

The park I grew up playing in. I remember feeding the ducks by the lake, and spending time at the playground when I was little. I have vivid memories of staring up at Franco Assetto’s The Big Candy. To this day, you can find street vendors taking space on the sidewalks on Alvarado, and a line down the block in front of Langer's.

Former Gov. of California, Pete Wilson, mentioned the park in a podcast describing it as a place for you to get a Social Security card. https://www.latimes.com/podcasts/story/2021-07-22/the-times-podcast-pete-wilson-prop-187

As the days and weeks and months and years went by, it became a place that taught you to be a tough cookie.

More recently I've gone through the park as part of my marathon training, running with my girls, as pictured above.

Union Avenue Elementary School, South Burlington Avenue, Los Angeles, CA

genesymendez — 2024-07-03 06:19:36 UTC

The elementary school I attended has been standing for over 130 years. It was where I made my first connections with other people in my community. My older sister was the office manager at my school and was close to some of my teachers. I was able to connect with the educators at my school even as a student (as pictured above in 2014 with my former classmates and 5th grade teacher, about 9 years after we had left the school).

When I graduated high school, I went back to my elementary school as a volunteer. I truly believe this is what first led me into the path of education. My former 5th grade teacher encouraged me to apply to UCLA's Teacher Education Program and even wrote me a letter of recommendation. And I can't imagine myself in any other role.

Rumor has it... the school was built on what used to be a cemetery. Research so far hasn't confirmed or denied such rumors and further investigation as to what existed prior is still underway.

Shatto Recreation Center, 4th St, Los Angeles, CA

genesymendez — 2024-07-03 07:09:17 UTC

This park was a small patch of green space hidden between extremely busy streets. Located just northeast of Vermont and 4th St., the recreation center is a place for us to enjoy and connect with the outdoors. There is a slight hill closer to Westmoreland that provides a view of Ktown to the West. As you approach Vermont, we find ourselves at Shatto 39 Lanes. First opened in 1961, it contains a bowling alley, billiards, an arcade, and a bar.

Brown Derby Plaza, Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA

genesymendez — 2024-07-03 07:32:59 UTC

Originally established as a series of chain restaurants, this location first opened in 1936. It drew many visitors from the Ambassador Hotel, located across the street. While the restaurant itself closed in the 1980s, the facade and structure of the Brown Derby remains. It's life almost parallels that of the Ambassador Hotel.

Now, the Brown Derby Plaza is a shopping center containing many restaurants and cafés, and are often frequented by members of the community.