Pico Court: Sweet & Sour - presented by Daisy Herrera

October 27th at 7:00 p.m. - at the Andres Pico Adobe

Founded sometime in the early 20th century, Pico Court was a housing complex for citrus workers who worked in the fields next to the Sunkist orange packinghouse on Sepulveda Blvd. near the Andres Pico Adobe House. For years, the society and the membership has had an interest in this history and the various transitions of the residents of this complex.

Using an array of primary sources including but not limited to newspaper articles, oral histories, letters from braceros, personal photo collections, and biography texts to write a 40 page research paper for her coursework, Daisy has pieced the most complete history of Pico Court to date that includes the structure’s layout, the joys and heartaches of the residents, and the various transitions between residents during World War II. Join us for this ground-breaking presentation as we remember and talk about the importance of a housing complex that witnessed the struggles and resilience of a citrus worker community.

Daisy Herrera is a Ph.D. student in the History Department at the University of California, Riverside. She was a board member for the society from 2020-2022 and continues to be engaged in the mission to preserve local history. During the summer she was selected as the first inaugural Smithsonian fellowship cohort for the Latino Museum Studies Program under the newly-minted National Museum of the American Latino and worked on a project collecting the oral histories of the first 100 Chicanas that earned a Ph.D. in History. Daisy’s research focuses on the ethnic Mexican experience in the SFV during the 20th century around citrus labor, housing and education segregation, and the impact of the Chicano Movement.