Created to Appeal to Nostalgia, Faux Plazas Serve a Traditional Purpose

Mexican-Americans in the South L.A. Region Enjoy Shopping Centers Designed to Remind Them of Mexico’s Popular Public Spaces

The area of Los Angeles south of the 10 Freeway is not generally known for its shopping or dining destinations, nor for its great public spaces. But the region is home to an important shopping mall that has demonstrated the hunger in South L.A. for grand places where people can meet and make memories.

That mall, Plaza Mexico, sits just outside the Los Angeles city limits (as is the case with many retailers trying to avoid L.A. taxes and regulation) in the smaller city of Lynwood, overlooking the 105 Freeway. But …