I was at the Westside Pavilion last week when I saw an interesting collage / art / history project on the second floor.

Over a 10-foot-long-or-so map of the Los Angeles region were posted photos, drawings and most interestingly thoughts from people on why they came here, what they did as kids here and other insights into the City of Angels.

The Oasis Memory Mapping Workshop has been meeting since October of last year to map personal and collective memories of Los Angeles. A boy talked about playing in a replica of the Sphinx on Fairfax growing up in the '50s. Another says Los Angeles was a city of last resort. Another complains that his daughter's birth made him miss USC in the Rose Bowl.

"We hope you can trace your own route through our drawing and connect this map with your own memories."

This reminded me of another project that at first glance looks to about our area, the Hoover Union triangle. But there's another place where Hoover meets 23rd - a historic area in Seattle.

From June to August 2009, people call a number to listen to stories, and share their own about this corner and more than 200 messages were left. 

"For decades, it's been a center for Seattle's African American community. Now, like other neighborhoods in this city, it's changing."

The Corner: 23rd and Union preview from The Corner on Vimeo.

The result is a people's history book of the area.

What would a history book of our area look and sound like? What do we remember?