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.[4] The construction resulted in substantial displacement of West Adams residents, including the relocation of much of the area's affluent Black families.[5] 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![5]
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.[6]
In the past, many African-American gays had moved into the neighborhood, and it became the center of black gay life in Los Angeles, even earning the nickname of "the Black West Hollywood" or "the Black Silver Lake"[7]
Many of the neighborhoods, including West Adams, are experiencing a renaissance of sorts with their historic houses being restored to their previous elegance.[3]
The area is undergoing gentrification,[8] with young professionals, restaurants, new businesses moving into the area. Many professionals are being attracted to the area, due to the proximity of job hubs in Silicon Beach, Culver City, and El Segundo.[9][10]
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.[11]
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.[12]
At that time, the city was directed to install "West Adams" neighborhood signs on Vermont, Western and Adams Boulevards [12][13][14][15]
Additionally, the area is marked with large concrete "gateway markers" at Western and Adams and Vermont and Adams.[11]
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.[16] (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.)[17]
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."[18]
West Adams Neighborhood Council
The West Adams Neighborhood Council covers the area south of the US-10 freeway, north of Obama Boulevard between Chesapeake Avenue and W. Jefferson Boulevard, north of Coliseum Street between Chesapeake Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard, west of Crenshaw Boulevard, and east of La Cienega Boulevard and Ballona Creek (abutting the city limits of Culver City).[19] It includes the neighborhood of Crenshaw Manor.
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".[20] It was accessible to downtown via streetcar and attracted upper-class families.[21]
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).[22]
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.[23]
Demographics
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (December 2023)
According to the Mapping L.A. project of the Los Angeles Times, a total of 21,764 people lived in West Adams's 1.48 square miles, according to the 2000 U.S. census—averaging 14,686 people per square mile, among the highest population densities in the city as a whole. Population was estimated at 22,857 in 2008. The median age was 28, considered young when compared to the city as a whole. The percentages of residents aged birth to 18 were among the county's highest.[24]
Latinos made up 56.2% of the population, with black people at 37.6%, white people 2.4%, Asian 1.7%, and other 2%. Mexico and El Salvador were the most common places of birth for the 36.9% of the residents who were born abroad, an average percentage of foreign-born when compared with the city or county as a whole.[24]
The $38,209 median household income in 2008 dollars was considered low for the city and county. The percentage of households earning $20,000 or less was high, compared to the county at large. The average household size of 3.1 people was about average for the city. Renters occupied 62.8% of the housing units, and homeowners occupied the rest.[24]
In 2000, there were 1,078 families headed by single parents, or 21.8%, a rate that was high for the county and the city. The percentages of never-married women (39.5) and divorced women (5.7) were among the county's highest.[24]
Just 7.8% of residents aged 25 and older had a four-year degree, a percentage considered low for the city and the county; the percentage with less than a high school diploma (not stated) was considered high.[24]
Mexican and Salvadoran were the most common ancestries according to the 2000 census. Mexico and El Salvador were the most common foreign places of birth.[24]
Education
As defined by the City of Los Angeles, the schools within the West Adams neighborhood include:[25]
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.
West Adams Preparatory High School
Additionally, depending on the definition of the northern boundary of West Adams, the following schools are associated with the area:[25]
Camino Nuevo Elementary No. 3, Charter, 1723 Cordova St.
West Adams Preparatory High School, LAUSD, 1500 W. Washington Blvd.
The schools within the West Adams neighborhood, as defined by the Los Angeles Times “Mapping LA” project, are as follows:[26]
Stella Middle Charter Academy, LAUSD, 2636 Mansfield Avenue
Cienega Elementary School, LAUSD, 2611 South Orange Drive
Cleophas Oliver Learning Academy, private elementary, 4449 West Adams Boulevard
Virginia Road Elementary School, LAUSD, public, 2925 Virginia Road
Full Circle Learning Academy, LAUSD charter, 1850 West 96th Street
Crown Preparatory Academy, 2055 W. 24th St.
Recreation and parks
Loren Miller Recreation Center, 2717 Halldale Avenue[27]
Richardson Family Park, 2700 S. Budlong Avenue[28]
^ abc"Council File 01-1874"(PDF). No. 16. City of Los Angeles. January 2005. pp. 31, 46, 49. Retrieved August 31, 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
^Hofmann, Michelle (February 27, 2010). "On the market: West Adams". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 9, 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.
^Lynch, Don; Cooper, Suzanne Tarbell; John, Kurtz (2008). "Introduction". Images of America - West Adams. Arcadia Publishing. p. 7. ISBN978-0-7385-5920-9. Retrieved December 24, 2023. West Adams , an area roughly bounded by Figueroa Street, Jefferson Boulevard, Pico Boulevard and West Street.
^[4] “History - WANA,” West Adams Neighborhood Association
^ abcdef[5] "West Adams," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
^ ab[6] “LA Unified Region South,” Los Angeles Unified School District
^[7] "West Adams Schools," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
^[8] Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
^[9] Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
^"The Guide to the Metro Expo Line". Discover Los Angeles. Retrieved December 24, 2023. Expo/Vermont - This station... in the West Adams district. Located in the West Adams district, the Expo/Western Station...
^"These Women". GoodReads.com. Retrieved December 24, 2023. In West Adams, a rapidly changing part of South Los Angeles, they're referred to as "these women."
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