West_Adams,_Los_Angeles Latitude and Longitude:

34°01′58″N 118°18′03″W / 34.0327023°N 118.3009579°W / 34.0327023; -118.3009579
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
West Adams
Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building
West Adams is located in Los Angeles
West Adams
West Adams
Location in Central Los Angeles
Coordinates: 34°01′58″N 118°18′03″W / 34.0327023°N 118.3009579°W / 34.0327023; -118.3009579
CountryUnited States
State California
County Los Angeles
Time zonePacific
Zip Code
90018
Area code213/323 [1] [2]

West Adams is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. The area is known for its large number of historic buildings, structures and notable houses and mansions. It contains several Historic Preservation Overlay Zones as well as designated historic districts.

Eugene W. Britt House, now home of the LA84 Foundation
House in 20th Street Historic District

History

Historic Engine House No. 18, built in a Mission Revival style in 1904.

West Adams is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Los Angeles, with most of its buildings erected between 1880 and 1925, including the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. West Adams was developed by railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington and wealthy industrialist Hulett C. Merritt of Pasadena. It was once the wealthiest district in the city, with its Victorian mansions and sturdy Craftsman bungalows, and a home to Downtown businessmen, as well as professors and academicians at the nearby University of Southern California.

1880s - 1890s

In 1887, the Los Angeles Herald announced that the forthcoming St. James Park neighborhood would have a stone entrance to "rival the Arc de Triomphe" and would be eventually be surrounded by "the most costly residences yet erected on this coast". [3] Named by George King and his wife, the couple donated the parkland to the city in commemoration of their many trips to London. [4] The gated community of Chester Place was developed in 1889 [5] On October 24, 1901, Edward L. Doheny purchased number 8 Chester Place for $120,000 cash. [6]

In 1890, "St. Margaret's School for Girls" moved from Pasadena to the city of Los Angeles. On October 1, 1890, the school opened at the corner of 23rd and Scarff Streets. [7] [8] Occupying the empty Marlborough Hotel, the school adopted the name of its new location and was renamed the "Marlborough School for Girls". [7] It remained in West Adams for 26 years before relocating to Hancock Park in 1916. [7]

1900s - 1910s

In 1906, residents of the "exclusive West Adams" section experienced a water shortage because the new pipe from the Ivanhoe reservoir was not completed on time. The new reservoir would hold nearly "a billion gallons" of water. [9] In September of that year, a Los Angeles Times reporter wrote: "The growing popularity of apartment houses is causing them to encroach on grounds heretofore exclusively reserved for high-class residences". He was reporting on "one of the handsomest apartment-houses in the city", which was designed by Thornton Fitzhue and was to be built on the southern side of St. James Park. . [10] Landowner John R. Powers completed another apartment building in St. James Place in 1909, with an entrance also on Scarff Street. Designed by George W. Wryman, it was divided into four apartments of seven rooms each; the venture represented an investment of $35,000. [11]

In 1913, the Times announced that the Monarch Hotel was to be built in the "fashionable residence district" of West Adams. [12] By 1916, the Los Angeles Times stated that the area was "already known for its private parks and handsome homes". At that time, improvements to the boulevard were being spearheaded by five prominent residents including Isidore B. Dockweiler, William May Garland and Edward L. Doheny. [13] After convincing thirty-five other residents to help with funding, the old street paving between Figueroa and Hoover streets was replaced with asphalt surface. Adams Boulevard was now 65 feet wide and in the middle were a series of islands planted with flowers, shrubs and mature palms. Six-cluster electroliers were installed on both sides of Adams Street, which were exact duplicates of those that lined Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. [13] Adams Boulevard was now a "magnificent concourse" and "one of the most popular drives in Los Angeles". [13]

1920s - 1930s

In 1921, the Automobile Club announced that it would build a new headquarters at Figueroa and Adams. Architects Sumner Hunt and S.R. Burns designed a building of "attractive Spanish design" that would be a "distinctive structure for the West Adams district". [14]

In 1927, during the prohibition era, the Times reported that the vice squad raided a "luxurious fourteen rooom mansion in the exclusive West Adams district". The mansion, located at 2234 Adams Street, contained "the most extensive and elaborate moonshine production plant" they had seen in many months.

In 1931, during the Great Depression, the recently organized "West Adams Relief Committee" provided work for twenty men for ninety days. Married men with families who lived in the district would and were registered voters would be paid $2 a day. [15]

Though West Adams had previously been described as "fashionable" and "exclusive", in 1937 the Times wrote: "St James Place, Chester Place, Scarff Street - those place-names mean little to present day Angelinos. Yet they spell an aristocratic Los Angeles of the past, and to a good extent, the present. They are of the wealthy Los Angeles of a past generation, and a visitor to the neighborhood will find evidence of its elegance, if somewhat frayed and faded in spots." [16]

1940s - 1950s

African-Americans began to move in around this time. Notable residents included Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company president Norman O. Houston, actress Hattie McDaniel, civil rights activists John and Vada Sommerville, actress Louise Beavers, band leader Johnny Otis, performers Pearl Bailey and Ethel Waters. [17]

In December 1945, some of the white residents filed a lawsuit against 31 Black residents—including Hattie McDaniel. McDaniel held workshops to strategize for the case and gathered around 250 sympathizers to accompany her to court. Judge Thurmond Clarke left the courtroom to see the disputed neighborhood and threw out the case the following day. He said, "It is time that members of the Negro race are accorded, without reservations or evasions, the full rights guaranteed them under the 14th Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Judges have been avoiding the real issue too long." [18] McDaniel’s case would go on to set a precedent that later impacted the 1948 Shelley v. Kramer Supreme Court Ruling which in summary states that “holding that state courts may not enforce racially restrictive covenants.” [19]

West Adams Gateway Marker, in front of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building

In 1949, the headquarters building of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company, a late-period Moderne structure designed by architect Paul Williams opened. It was once described "…as the finest building to be erected and owned by" African-Americans in the nation" [20]

1960s - 1970s

Starting in 1961, construction of the ten-lane Santa Monica Freeway ( Interstate 10) tore through West Adams' core, with the freeway routed east to west just north of Adams Boulevard. Its construction resulted in the taking by eminent domain, and demolition, of numerous West Adams homes, including a number of mansions owned by African Americans. [21] The construction resulted in substantial displacement of West Adams residents, including the relocation of much of the area's affluent Black families. [22] As the Los Angeles Sentinel reported:

The road could have been built without cutting through the so-called Sugar Hill section. However, in order to miss Sugar Hill, it was "said" that the route would have to cut through fraternity and sorority row area around USC. Sorority and fraternity row still stands and Sugar Hill doesn't, so you know who won out! [22]

As in many other American cities during the heyday of Interstate Highway Act construction, interstate highway rights of way were disproportionately routed through predominantly African American communities, causing substantial displacement of residents and steep declines in neighborhood viability. [23]

In 1971, Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center opened as the city’s first black-owned hospital. According to the LA Weekly , "In the 1970s and '80s it was a thriving, vital part of the West Adams community." [24]

1980s - present day

In 2004, homes were demolished and lots were cleared in the West Adams district for what was then referred to as "Central High School No. 2". [25] The Times reported that "a century-old neighborhood of houses and businesses" were demolished to make room for a new $130 million 15-acre high school. [25] West Adams Preparatory High School opened in the fall semester of 2007 with a final budget of $176 million. [26]

In 2007, the city approved the "West Adams Streetscape Enhancement Program" proposed by LANI (Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative). Improvements included the installation of four "gateway markers" at the corners of Adams Boulevard and Western Avenue and Adams Boulevard and Vermont Avenue. Additionally, 58 magnolia trees were planted along Adams Boulevard between Western and Vermont Avenues, along with additional trees clustered near the gateway markers. [27]

In 2011, the Times reported on neighbors pushing back against crime and wrote: "The neighborhood around them at Western Avenue and Adams Boulevard might be blighted, but they are not about to cede to urban ills their graceful streets of century-old bungalows, well-tended lawns and curbside jacarandas and towering palms." [28]

In 2016, then-rep.(D-Los Angeles) and now mayor Karen Bass, said "I tour people through the area all the time and they are surprised when they see beautiful homes, because it's not the perception of the neighborhood." [29] That same year, an empty West Adams Hospital was transformed into a temporary art gallery. [24]

Geography

The City of Los Angeles

Neighborhood sign at
22nd Street and
Western Avenue

Beginning in 2000, the Eighth District Empowerment Congress began working on the "Naming Neighborhoods Project" to identify and name the communities with the neighborhood council area. Through research, a meeting with an urban historian, and numerous community meetings, sixteen neighborhoods, including the neighborhood of West Adams, were submitted to City Council in October 2001 and approved in February 2002. [30]

At that time, the city was directed to install "West Adams" neighborhood signs on Vermont, Western and Adams Boulevards [30] [31] [32] [33]

West Adams is bounded by Western Avenue on the west, Vermont Avenue on the east, Jefferson Boulevard on the south and the Santa Monica Freeway on the north. [30]

Additionally, the area is marked with large concrete "gateway markers" at Western and Adams and Vermont and Adams. [27]

Los Angeles Times and other sources

According to the Los Angeles Times, West Adams is bounded by Figueroa Street on the east, West Boulevard on the west, Pico Boulevard on the north and Jefferson Boulevard on the south. [34] (Previously, the Times defined West Adams with a slightly smaller boundary: Vermont Avenue on the east, Crenshaw Boulevard on the west, Venice Boulevard on the north, and Jefferson Boulevard on the south.) [35]

The book Images of America - West Adams by Don Lynch, Suzanne Tarbell Cooper, and John Kurtz states that West Adams stretches "roughly from Figueroa Street on the east to West Boulevard on the west, and from Pico Boulevard on the north to Jefferson Boulevard on the south." [36]

Historic districts

More than 70 sites in West Adams have received recognition as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, a California Historical Landmark, or listing on the National Register of Historic Places. In recognition of their outstanding architectural heritage, there are several Historic Preservation Overlay Zones within West Adams, including:

(listed in alphabetical order)

Tracts and neighborhoods

West Adams is home to one of the largest collections of historic houses and small mansions west of the Mississippi River and contains many diverse architectural styles including: Queen Anne, Shingle, Gothic Revival, Transitional Arts and Crafts, American Craftsman/ Ultimate Bungalow, Craftsman Bungalow, Colonial Revival, Renaissance Revival, Mediterranean Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Mission Revival, Egyptian Revival, Beaux-Arts and Neoclassical styles. West Adams boasts the only existing Greene and Greene house left in the city of Los Angeles. [37]

Kinney Heights

Kinney Heights was developed around 1900 by developer Abbot Kinney, for whom it is named. It was a suburban tract of large wealthy Craftsman style houses at what was then the western edge of Los Angeles. The houses featured amenities like "beveled-glass china cabinets, marble fireplaces and mahogany floors". [38] It was accessible to downtown via streetcar and attracted upper-class families. [39]

Many of the hundred-year-old structures are still standing and have been renovated and upgraded. The neighborhood is part of the West Adams Terrace Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ). [40]

Twentieth Street Historic District

The Twentieth Street Historic District consists of a row of bungalows and Craftsman-style houses in the 900 block on the south side of 20th Street.

Charles Victor Hall tract

The West Adams Neighborhood Association covers the historic Charles Victor Hall tract, dating to 1894, bounded by Western Avenue on the west, Adams Boulevard on the north, Normandie Avenue to the east, and south to Jefferson Boulevard. [41]

Demographics

In 1985, West Adams was a predominantly "Black middle-class area with growing Latino and Korean segments, plus a mix of Hungarians, Poles, Japanese, USC students and an increasing young professional and gay population." [42]

In 2007, it was noted that African-American gays were "eschewing the overpriced and completely gentrified territory of West Hollywood" and were instead moving to West Adams. [43]

In 2014, the Times stated that "after a recent wave of Latino immigration", young professionals were purchasing homes in the neighborhoods west of USC, including the "stately Victorian and Craftsman mansions of West Adams" and the "smaller Craftsman bungalows" of Jefferson Park. [44]

Education

West Adams Preparatory High School

The schools within the West Adams neighborhood include: [45]

  • 32nd Street / USC Performing Arts Magnet, LAUSD, 822 W. 32nd St.
  • John W. Mack Elementary School, LAUSD, 3020 S. Catalina St.
  • Norwood Street Elementary, LAUSD, 2020 Oak St.
  • Vermont Avenue Elementary School, LAUSD, 1435 W. 27th St.
  • Camino Nuevo Elementary No. 3, Charter, 1723 Cordova St.
  • West Adams Preparatory High School, LAUSD, 1500 W. Washington Blvd.

Recreation and parks

  • Loren Miller Recreation Center, 2717 Halldale Avenue [46]
  • Richardson Family Park, 2700 S. Budlong Avenue [47]

Transportation

The Metro E Line from Downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica include stations in West Adams: Vermont/Expo and Expo/Western. [48]

Government

Map of United Neighborhoods of Arlington Heights, West Adams and Jefferson Park Community Neighborhood Council
Map of United Neighborhoods of Arlington Heights, West Adams and Jefferson Park Community Neighborhood Council

Fire department

West Adams has one fire station in the neighborhood. The Los Angeles Fire Department operates Station 26, located at 2009 S. Western Avenue. [49]

Police department

Police services in West Adams are provided by the Los Angeles Police Department's Southwest Division. [50]

Neighborhood councils

The West Adams district is served by multiple neighborhood councils.

  • United Neighborhoods of the historic Arlington Heights, West Adams, and Jefferson Park Community Neighborhood Council (West Adams, Arlington Heights, Jefferson Park) [51] [52] [53]
  • Empowerment Congress North Area Neighborhood Development Council (West Adams area) [51]
  • Mid-City Neighborhood Council (Lafayette Square, Victoria Park and Wellington Square) [54]

Notable places

Notable people

(in alphabetical order)

In media

In literature

See also

References

  1. ^ "April 2015 NPA Exhaust Projections" (PDF). Nanpa.com.
  2. ^ "Application of the North American Numbering Plan Administrator" (PDF). cpuc.ca. November 24, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "Beautiful St. James Park". Los Angeles Herald. September 4, 1887. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  4. ^ "St. James Park Enshines Era of Oldtime City". Los Angeles Times. July 26, 1942. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Chester Place". ChesterPlace.org. Archived from the original on 2008-07-01. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  6. ^ Bonino, MaryAnn (2009) The Doheny Mansion: A Biography of a Home, Edizioni Casa Animata, Los Angeles ISBN  978-0-98164-220-8
  7. ^ a b c "School History". Marlborough.org. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Marlborough School". Los Angeles Evening Express. September 17, 1890. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Dry West Adams". Los Angeles Times. July 27, 1906. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Latest Invasion by Apartments". Los Angeles Times. September 6, 1906. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Looks Like Fine Home". Los Angeles Times. January 17, 1909. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Hotel to be set in park". Los Angeles Times. May 25, 1913. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  13. ^ a b c "Making Great Boulevard of West Adams Street". Los Angeles Times. August 16, 1916. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Distinctive Structure for West Adams District". Los Angeles Times. June 26, 1921. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  15. ^ "West Adams Jobless Aided". Los Angeles Times. February 12, 1931. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  16. ^ Turner, Timothy G. (May 9, 1937). "St. James Park Serves Old Time Exculsive Area". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d e Smith, Michael; Stegall, Greg. "West Adams Heights: A Historic Neighborhood Faces Challenges". West Adams Heritage Association.
  18. ^ "Victory on Sugar Hill". Time Magazine. December 17, 1945.
  19. ^ "Wright v. Incline Vill. Gen. Improvement Dist". Case Text. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Paul Williams Project Golden State Building". American Institute of Architects, Memphis Chapter. 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  21. ^ Masters, Nathan (2012-09-10). "Creating the Santa Monica Freeway". KCET.
  22. ^ a b Meares, Hadley (2018-02-22). "The thrill of Sugar Hill". Curbed LA. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  23. ^ King, Noel (April 7, 2021). "A Brief History Of How Racism Shaped Interstate Highways". NPR News.
  24. ^ a b Barragan, Bianca (September 30, 2016). "Abandoned West Adams hospital will be transformed into an art gallery". Curbed.com. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  25. ^ a b Poole, Bob (May 27, 2004). "Old House Seeks a New Place It Can Call Home". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 June 2023. The classrooms haven't been built yet. But home work is already being parceled out at Central High School No. 2 in the West Adams district.
  26. ^ Sondheimer, Eric (November 13, 2012). "Turmoil in West Adams Prep's sports program raises questions". Los Angeles Times. Built at a cost of $176 million, Los Angeles West Adams Prep opened in 2007 with some of the best athletic facilities in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
  27. ^ a b "LANI - West Adams Enhancement Program" (PDF). CRALA. March 15, 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  28. ^ Banks, Sandy (July 26, 2011). "West Adams neighbors fight for their streets". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  29. ^ Nolan, Conan (February 12, 2016). "The Rich History of West Adams, Once a Predominantly Black Suburb". NBCLosAngeles.com. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  30. ^ a b c "Council File 01-1874" (PDF). No. 16. City of Los Angeles. January 2005. pp. 31, 46, 49. Retrieved 31 August 2020. Area to be officially designated as "West Adams": • South Vermont Avenue between West 24th Street and West Jefferson Boulevard • West Jefferson Boulevard, between Western Avenue and South Vermont Avenue • South Western Avenue between West Jefferson Boulevard and the 10 "Santa Monica" Freeway • Santa Monica Freeway, between South Western Avenue and South Budlong Avenue • South Budlong Avenue, between the 10 "Santa Monica" Freeway and West 24th Street • West 24th Street between South Budlong Avenue and South Vermont Avenue
  31. ^ [1] Signage at Vermont and Adams, 2019
  32. ^ [2] Signage at Western and Adams, 2019
  33. ^ [3] Signage at Western and 22nd Street, 2021
  34. ^ Hofmann, Michelle (February 27, 2010). "On the market: West Adams". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 August 2023. One of L.A.'s oldest neighborhoods, West Adams borders Figueroa Street on the east, West Boulevard on the west, Pico Boulevard on the north and Jefferson Boulevard on the south.
  35. ^ Banks, Sandy (December 1, 1985). "The Battle of West Adams". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  36. ^ Lynch, Don; Cooper, Suzanne Tarbell; John, Kurtz (2008). "Introduction". Images of America - West Adams. Arcadia Publishing. p. 7. ISBN  978-0-7385-5920-9. Retrieved 24 December 2023. West Adams , an area roughly bounded by Figueroa Street, Jefferson Boulevard, Pico Boulevard and West Street.
  37. ^ Macveen, Mary (June 12, 2010). "Greene & Greene for under $1 million". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 March 2024. The 2,620-square-foot house, designed in 1905 and expanded in 1917, sits on Cambridge Street in the area of West Adams known as Harvard Heights.
  38. ^ Mithers, Carol (April 17, 2005). "Vanishing: The history of one house in L.A." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  39. ^ Oliver, Marilyn Tower (October 1, 1995). "In Touch with the Past: Craftsman-style homes in three neighborhoods recall gracious days of yore. Today they rate among L.A.'s best buys". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  40. ^ "Historic West Adams Tour". PreserveLA.com. October 9, 2005. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  41. ^ [4] “History - WANA,” West Adams Neighborhood Association
  42. ^ Price, Susan (December 21, 1986). "On The Street of Dreams". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 March 2024. black middle-class area with growing Latino and Korean segments, plus a mix of Hungarians, Poles, Japanese, USC students and an increasing young professional and gay population.
  43. ^ West Adams on the Down Low : Curbed LA
  44. ^ Khouri, Andrew (April 30, 2014). "Soaring home prices spur a resurgence near USC". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  45. ^ [5] “LA Unified Region South,” Los Angeles Unified School District
  46. ^ [6] Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
  47. ^ [7] Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
  48. ^ "The Guide to the Metro Expo Line". Discover Los Angeles. Retrieved 24 December 2023. Expo/Vermont - This station... in the West Adams district. Located in the West Adams district, the Expo/Western Station...
  49. ^ "Fire Station 26". LAFD. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  50. ^ "Southwest Community Police Station". LAPD Online. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  51. ^ a b "South LA Neighborhood Councils". USC Annenberg Center. Retrieved 16 March 2024. United Neighborhoods Neighborhood Council (West Adams, Arlington Heights, Jefferson Park) - Empowerment Congress North Area Neighborhood Development Council (West Adams area)
  52. ^ "United Neighborhoods of the historic Arlington Heights, West Adams, and Jefferson Park Neighborhood Council" (PDF). LAcity.com. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  53. ^ "United Neighborhoods of the historic Arlington Heights, West Adams, and Jefferson Park Communities Neighborhood Council" (PDF). LACity.org. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  54. ^ "Neighborhood Council Elections in West Adams" (PDF). West Adams Heritage Association. Retrieved 17 March 2024. Mid-City NC ("MINC" ) includes Lafayette Square, Victoria Park and Wellington Square
  55. ^ "Ray Charles Foundation". theraycharlesfoundation.org. Retrieved 23 December 2023. The Ray Charles Memorial Library - 2107 W. Washington Boulevard.
  56. ^ Bogle, Donald (2009). Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams. Random House.
  57. ^ "Joe Louis". West Adams Heritage Association. Retrieved 15 March 2024. He maintained a home in Los Angeles in West Adams in the section called Lafayette Square .
  58. ^ "West Adams Heritage Association | in West Adams, Los Angeles, California".
  59. ^ Pochoda, Ivy (July 2020). "Let the women do the talking: Behind the Book by Ivy Pochoda". Bookpage.com. Retrieved 20 January 2024. I live in a neighborhood called Harvard Heights, a small subsection of a much larger neighborhood called West Adams
  60. ^ "West Adams – Visiting (110) – Huell Howser Archives at Chapman University". December 7, 2016. Tour the beautiful old homes in the West Adams district and meet their diverse owners who have lovingly restored them to their original splendor.
  61. ^ Pochado, Ivy (May 21, 2020). "A West Adams Tour of Ivy Pochoda's New Literary Thriller These Women". Interview (magazine). Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  62. ^ "These Women". GoodReads.com. Retrieved 24 December 2023. In West Adams, a rapidly changing part of South Los Angeles, they're referred to as "these women."
  63. ^ Kramer, David. "Untold LA: A Project of Passion By Photographer & Producer Jett Loe". thecraftsmanbungalow.com. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  64. ^ Gallegos, Emma (May 19, 2012). "Project Aims to Tell the "Untold" History of West Adams". LAist.com. Retrieved 17 March 2024. West Adams. Home to the greatest architectural treasure West of the Mississippi of Victorian, Queen Anne, Beaux Arts, Egyptian Revival, Mission and Craftsman homes, the stories of West Adams are just as wild as the houses.

External links