Photos: Farmacia Million Dollar: A different type of dispensary

Jesse Alcala and Lizeth Venegas, right, work at Farmacia Million Dollar. Typically, Venegas, 47, prepares at least 25 candles a day, scratching in the name and birth date of the person affected and advising customers on the prayer they need to say.   (Christina House / For The Times)

A variety of oils are for sale at Farmacia Million Dollar. Owner Richard Blitz says he’s seen a 25% to 30% drop in business over the last year alone, a drop he blames on a changing downtown. “Gentrification is killing us,” he says. “I want to go where people like us.”  (Christina House / For The Times)

Jesse Alcala, right, helps a customer at Farmacia Million Dollar. The redeveloped area is a far cry from the 1970s and ‘80s, when the Broadway corridor -- between 2nd Street and Olympic -- was anchored by an immigrant population that created its own thriving shopping district.   (Christina House / For The Times)

An altar at Farmacia Million Dollar. People will come into the shop and pray to Santa Muerte, because saints are believed to be conduits to the kingdom of heaven, says Patrick Polk, curator of Latin American and Caribbean Popular Arts at UCLA’s Fowler Museum.  (Christina House / For The Times)

Yovanna, a card reader, poses for a portrait in the back room where she reads cards for customers at Farmacia Million Dollar. “The majority come for love,” another reader says. “It’s missing from their lives.”   (Christina House / For The Times)