May Day Marches

Coverage of May 1st marches in Downtown Los Angeles.

A Look at May Day Traffic

By Eric Richardson — May 03, 2009 — 3 Comments

5:30pm Traffic on May 1, 2009 LADOT

On May 1, 2009, six separate immigration marches passed through Downtown Los Angeles, lasting from early afternoon into the evening rush hour. A sequence of images from LADOT's live traffic site shows the impact the resulting street closures had on traffic across Downtown. — Continued Inside...


L.A.'s May Day Marches Peaceful, but Small

By Eric Richardson — May 02, 2009 — 4 Comments

May Day March Eric Richardson

|Photo Gallery| Marchers who made their way from Echo Park to Downtown held up red and white cards on Friday afternoon to spell out "Workers First," a creative twist for a day in which six marches failed to generate significant turnout.

Approximately 6,000 marchers were split between the various efforts as organizers chose to create different events rather than work together in a single protest calling for new immigration rules. — Continued Inside...


Buses Bear Brunt of May Day Traffic Impacts

By Ed Fuentes — May 01, 2009

Bus Stop at Hope

An accurate prediction of today’s traffic was made by a bus driver crawling north on Main Thursday afternoon. As she maneuvered past LAPD construction and a DWP truck, she said “This is terrible... and tomorrow will be a doozy.” It was, particularly for those using public transit.


Early Tallies Show Light Turnout for Immigration Marches

By Eric Richardson — May 01, 2009

May Day March

|Photo Gallery| Early LAPD estimates placed the crowd for Downtown's earliest May Day immigration march at 2,000 - 3,000 this afternoon, far less than the numbers organizers had been hoping for. The permit application turned in by the "Full Rights for Immigrant Workers" march listed an estimated turnout of 25,000.


At North End of Broadway, Preparations for Marchers

By Eric Richardson — May 01, 2009
2 Comments

May Day

An hour before the first May Day march is scheduled to start moving, preparations are well underway at the north end of Broadway. Perhaps the first closure of the day was between 1st and Temple, where port-o-johns and a stage were being placed.


Broadway Quiet on Morning of Marches

By Eric Richardson — May 01, 2009

Quiet Broadway

Hours before three immigration marches are scheduled to make their way up Broadway, the street was quiet this morning. A scattering of Metro buses made their way up and down the street before the transit operator detoured service at 11am.


Many May Day Marches Set to Confuse Downtown

By Eric Richardson — April 29, 2009 — 17 Comments

Immigration Rights March Eric Richardson

On Friday, five different marches will make their way through Downtown, all calling for changes in federal immigration policy. Three will make their way up Broadway, at 1pm, 3pm and 4:30pm.

It's safe to assume the Downtown streets will be just as confused as you are. — Continued Inside...


March Traffic Disruptions Too Much for USPS

By Eric Richardson — May 01, 2008
1 Comment

Out of Service

Today's marches and the associated street closures were apparently too much for USPS, which decided to take a holiday from mail collection in at least one Historic Core building. This sign posted on the mail drop in the lobby of Premiere Towers says that there's no collection for May 1st, though the lack of accompanying signs on upper floors might make the warning...


Small in Numbers, Large in Color

By Eric Richardson — May 01, 2008 — 4 Comments

Legalize LA March Eric Richardson

All blogdowntown coverage of today's marches is available in this May 1 topic.

The May Day marches converged Downtown a little after 3pm, with crowds far smaller than many were predicting. The Times is giving an LAPD number of 3,500. That number will get revised higher (early LAPD numbers always do), but turnout is not particularly high.

The Legalize LA march, originating from American Apparel, made up in color what the overall march lacked in size. Marchers carried a sea of fluorescent green signs and took a few minutes to stop for a photo op at 5th and Main before meeting up with the rest of the marches at Broadway.

Update (4:45pm): The Legalize LA march is headed back to the factory down Alameda. Traffic on that corridor may be slow for the next while. — Continued Inside...


Early May 1 Notes: State Building Returns to Its Bunker

By Eric Richardson — May 01, 2008

State Fortifications

All blogdowntown coverage of today's marches is available in this May 1 topic. For the second year running, the Ronald Reagan State Building is likely to win the crown of "Most Intent to Protect Itself from Marchers." The Caltrans devices pictured are from 2007, but those up around the State Building today look just the same. Elsewhere, Ed Fuentes reports...