Spanish settlers founded Los Angeles in 1781: 11 families, 44 people, plus a few soldiers, on a site southeast of today's Olvera Street. The street's early names included Placita Olvera and Wine Street. In 1877 a City Council ordinance renamed Wine Street for Agustín Olvera, the first Superior Court judge of Los Angeles County.
The Avila Adobe was built in 1818 by Francisco Ávila at 10 Olvera Street. It is described as the oldest surviving residence in Los Angeles. Christine Sterling began her campaign to save the area in 1926, and the street opened on Easter Sunday 1930 as Paseo de Los Angeles.
David Siqueiros's mural América Tropical was unveiled above the street in 1932 and soon covered up because of its politics. The Getty Conservation Institute began conservation work in 2010, and an interpretive center opened in 2012. The area is El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument.