KTLA 5’s Ginger Chan is known as the Detour Diva when it comes to taking on the Los Angeles roadways during the weekday commute.
It turns out, her traffic knowledge began when she was just a kid tagging along with her dad when he’d visit the various grocery stores he owned around the region.
“Whether it was to Chinatown, to MacArthur Park or Echo Park; you name any kind of L.A. landmark and I drove past it,” she explained. “I was able to learn a lot of the streets just driving by these Los Angeles landmarks.”
Ginger spent her younger childhood years in South Los Angeles and then moved to Montebello for middle school and high school.
“Most of my memories are still in South L.A. My dad used to walk me around USC, we’d pass the Coliseum,” she said. “Every time I’m doing stories around here. Going to the Rams parade, USC games, visiting the Rose Garden — my heart is always here.”
Ginger is one of four daughters born to Chinese immigrants. Her father went to USC for his master’s and her mom went to UCLA for her teaching credential.
“They came to America and started a life together and then for us, by owning businesses, staying in the Chinese community, and really helping each other out in that community so that they could grow and flourish and build something for us,” Ginger revealed.
Her father always had a huge appreciation for Los Angeles and would always show off the city’s amazing sites to visiting relatives.
“We would just all get in the car and go to the Bonaventure, they had this spinning lounge and really, it was a bar. So my sisters and I got to order Shirley Temples, and we would watch the view while we drank our Shirley Temples like we were fancy little girls,” she laughed.
Ginger also has great memories of growing up with her three sisters.
“We’re all very close. We’re almost all the same age,” she said. “You have a very thick skin when you have that many sisters, you know, like, ‘Do these pants make my butt look big? No, your butt makes your butt look big,’ that kind of stuff.”
“If we were the Golden Girls, Ginger would definitely be Blanche, for sure,” Ginger’s sister Julie Chan said. “She is a lot of fun to be around, you know, and she jokes around with her kids and her family.”
One of Ginger’s favorite places in Chinatown is the famous Phoenix Bakery. For every major family occasion that required a baked good, it most likely came from Phoenix. Her family would frequent the spot so much, she didn’t know any other bakeries existed!
A fond childhood memory of hers was witnessing the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. She’s looking forward to having similar memories with her three children when the games come in 2028.
“Sitting and watching track and field and gymnastics and swimming, to know that it’s going to be back here almost brings tears to my eyes because it was such a wonderful time,” Ginger explained. “I really hope I get that opportunity to give my kids that chance to see and experience just that spirit of the Olympics that I got to experience in 1984 with my parents.”
My Very Own Story series will air Thursdays at 8 a.m., noon and 5 p.m.
Track the stories online at digital-staging.ktla.com/mystory.
