Boyle Heights, historically known as Paredón Blanco, is a
neighborhood
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, located east of the
Los Angeles River
, name_etymology =
, image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg
, image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge
, image_size = 300
, map = LARmap.jpg
, map_size ...
. It is one of the city's most notable and historic
Chicano
Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...
/
Mexican-American
Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...
communities and is known as a bastion of
Chicano culture, hosting cultural landmarks like
Mariachi Plaza
Mariachi Plaza is a plaza located in the Boyle Heights district of the city of Los Angeles, California. The plaza is known for its history as a center for mariachi music. Since the 1950s, mariachi musicians have gathered in hopes of being hired ...
and events like the annual
Día de los Muertos
The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...
celebrations.
History
Boyle Heights was called ("White Bluff") during the Spanish, Mexican, and early American periods. During Mexican rule, what would become Boyle Heights became home to a small settlement of relocated
Tongva
The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...
refugees from the village of
Yaanga
Yaanga was a large Tongva (or Kizh) village originally located near what is now downtown Los Angeles, just west of the Los Angeles River and beneath U.S. Route 101. People from the village were recorded as ''Yabit'' in missionary records althou ...
in 1845.
The villagers were relocated to this new site known as Pueblito after being forcibly evicted from their previous location on the corner
Alameda
An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to:
Places Canada
*Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan
**Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan
Chile
...
and Commercial Street by
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
immigrant Juan Domingo (John Groningen), who paid Governor
Pío Pico
Don Pío de Jesús Pico (May 5, 1801 – September 11, 1894) was a Californio politician, ranchero, and entrepreneur, famous for serving as the last governor of California (present-day U.S. state of California) under Mexican rule. A member of ...
$200 for the land.
On August 13, 1846, Los Angeles was seized by invading American forces during the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
.
[Ríos-Bustamante, Antonio. ''Mexican Los Ángeles: A Narrative and Pictorial History'', Nuestra Historia Series, Monograph No. 1. (Encino: Floricanto Press, 1992), 50–53. .] Under American occupation,
Indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
elimination became a core principal of governance and the Pueblito site was razed to the ground in 1847: "the Indians were required to live in dispersed settlements or with their employers in the city."
The destruction of Pueblito was reportedly approved by the
Los Angeles City Council
The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles in California.
The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The President of the Los Angeles City Counc ...
and largely displaced the final generation of the villagers, known as Yaangavit, into the ''
Calle de los Negros
Calle means "street" in Spanish and Venetian.
Calle may also refer to:
Places
*Calle-Calle River, southern Chile
*Stations of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia:
**Suba Calle 95 (TransMilenio)
**Suba Calle 100 (TransMileni ...
'' ("place of the dark ones") district.
The area became named after
Andrew Boyle
Andrew Philip More Boyle (27 May 1919 – 22 April 1991) was a Scottish journalist and biographer. His biography of Brendan Bracken won the 1974 Whitbread Awards and his book ''The Climate of Treason'' exposed Anthony Blunt as the "Fourth M ...
, an
Irishman
The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been c ...
born in
Ballinrobe
Ballinrobe () is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. It is located on the River Robe, which empties into Lough Mask two kilometres to the west. As of the 2016 census, the population was 2,786.
History Foundation and development
Ballinrobe is c ...
, who purchased on the bluffs overlooking the
Los Angeles River
, name_etymology =
, image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg
, image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge
, image_size = 300
, map = LARmap.jpg
, map_size ...
after fighting in the Mexican–American War for $4,000.
Boyle established his home on the land in 1858. In the 1860s, he began growing grapes and sold the wine under the “Paredon Blanc” name. His son-in-law William Workman served as early mayor and city councilman and also built early infrastructure for the area.
From 1889 through 1909 the city was divided into nine wards. In 1899 a motion was introduced at the Ninth Ward Development Association to use the name Boyle Heights to apply to all the highlands of the Ninth Ward, including Brooklyn Heights and Euclid Heights.
XLNT Foods had a factory making tamales here early in their history. The company started in 1894, when tamales were the most popular ethnic food in Los Angeles. The company is the oldest continuously operating Mexican food brand in the United States, and one of the oldest companies in Southern California.
![HollenbeckBH (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/HollenbeckBH_%28cropped%29.jpg)
In the early 1910s, Boyle Heights was one of the only communities that did not have restricted housing covenants that discriminated against Japanese and other people of color. The Japanese community of
Little Tokyo continued to grow and extended to the First Street Corridor into Boyle Heights in the early 1910s.
Boyle Heights became Los Angeles’s largest residential communities of Japanese immigrants and Americans, apart from Little Tokyo. In the 1920s and 1930s, Boyle Heights became the center of significant churches, temples, and schools for the Japanese community. These include the Tenrikyo Junior Church of America, the Konko Church, and the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple; all designed by Yos Hirose. The Japanese Baptist Church was built by the Los Angeles City Baptist Missionary Society.
A hospital, also designed by Hirose, opened in 1929 to serve the Japanese American community.
![Malabar Branch Library, Los Angeles, California](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Malabar_Branch_Library%2C_Los_Angeles%2C_California.JPG)
By the 1920s through the 1960s, Boyle Heights was racially and ethnically diverse as a center of
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
,
Mexican and
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
immigrant life in the early 20th century, and also hosted significant
Yugoslav,
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
, African-American and
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
populations. Bruce Phillips, a sociologist who tracked Jewish communities across the United States, said that Jewish families left Boyle Heights not because of racism, but instead because of banks
redlining
In the United States, redlining is a discriminatory practice in which services (financial and otherwise) are withheld from potential customers who reside in neighborhoods classified as "hazardous" to investment; these neighborhoods have signif ...
the neighborhood (denying home loans) and the construction of several freeways through the community.
In 1961, the construction of the
East LA Interchange began. At 135 acres in size, the interchange is three times larger than the average highway system, even expanding at some points to 27 lanes in width.
The interchange handles around 1.7 million vehicles daily and has produced one of the most traffic congested regions in the world as well as one of the most concentrated pockets of air pollution in America.
Since the 1920s, both elite and working-class communities throughout Southern California have witnessed the enforcement of highly effective racial covenants and other exclusionary measures that aim to distinguish separate white and non-white neighborhoods. This resulted in the development of Boyle Heights, a multicultural, interethnic neighborhood in East Los Angeles whose celebration of cultural difference has made it a role model for democracy.
In 2017, some residents were protesting
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
of their neighborhood by the influx of new businesses, a theme found in the TV series ''
Vida
Vida means “life” in Spanish and Portuguese. It may refer to:
Geography
* Vida (Gradačac), village in Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Lake Vida, Victoria Valley, Antarctica
* U.S. settled places:
** Vida, Montana
** Vida, Oregon
** Vida, Missour ...
'' and ''
Gentefied
''Gentefied'' is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chávez, that premiered on Netflix on February 21, 2020. The series stars Karrie Martin, Joseph Julian Soria, Carlos Santos and Jo ...
'', both set in the neighborhood.
Demographics
![Mariachi_Plaza_(5399467849)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Mariachi_Plaza_%285399467849%29.jpg)
As of the 2000 census, there were 92,785 people in the neighborhood, which was considered "not especially diverse" ethnically, with the racial composition of the neighborhood at 94.0%
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
, 2.3%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 2.0%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
(non-Hispanic), 0.9%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, and 0.8% other races. The median household income was $33,235, low in comparison to the rest of the city. The neighborhood's population was also one of the youngest in the city, with a median age of just 25.
As of 2011, 95% of the community was Hispanic and Latino. The community had
Mexican Americans
Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...
, Mexican immigrants, and Central American ethnic residents. Hector Tobar of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' said, "The diversity that exists in Boyle Heights today is exclusively Latino".
[Tobar, Hector.]
A look back at the Boyle Heights melting pot
." ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''. December 9, 2011. Retrieved on December 10, 2011.
Latino communities
Latino political influence
The emergence of Latino politics in Boyle Heights influenced the diversity in the community. Boyle Heights was a predominantly Jewish community with "a vibrant, pre-World War II,
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
-speaking community, replete with small shops along Brooklyn Avenue,
union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
halls, synagogues and hyperactive politics ... shaped by the enduring influence of the
Socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
and
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
parties" before Boyle Heights became predominantly associated with Mexicans/Mexican Americans. The rise of the socialist and communist parties increased the people's involvement in politics in the community because the "liberal-left exercised great influence in the immigrant community". Even with an ever-growing diversity in Boyle Heights, "Jews remained culturally and politically dominant after World War II".
Nevertheless, as the Jewish community was moving westward into new homes, the largest growing group, Latinos, was moving into Boyle Heights because to them this neighborhood was represented as upward mobility. With Jews and Latinos both in Boyle Heights, these men, part of the
Jewish Community Relations Council
A Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) is a locally based Jewish organization that carries out "action agendas on behalf of and in the name of the local Jewish communities." Councils may aim "to represent the consensus of the organized Jewish ...
(JCRC) — Louis Levy, Ben Solnit, Pinkhas Karl, Harry Sheer, and Julius Levitt — helped to empower the Latinos who either lived among the Jewish people or who worked together in the factories.
The combination of Jewish people and Latinos in Boyle Heights symbolized a tight unity between the two communities. The two groups helped to elect
Edward R. Roybal
Edward Ross Roybal (February 10, 1916 – October 24, 2005) was a member of the Los Angeles City Council for thirteen years and of the U.S. House of Representatives for thirty years.
Biography
Roybal was born on February 10, 1916, into a Me ...
to the City Council over Councilman Christensen; with the help from the
Community Service Organization
The Community Service Organization (founded 1947) was an important California Latino civil rights organization, most famous for training Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. It was founded in 1947 by Fred Ross, Antonio Rios and Edward Roybal and was ...
(CSO). In order for Roybal to win a landslide victory over Christensen, "the JCRC, with representation from business and labor leaders, associated with both Jewish left traditions, had become the prime financial benefactor to CSO .. labor historically backed incumbents ...
ndthe Cold War struggle for the hearts and minds of minority workers also influenced the larger political dynamic".
![MunozJaime (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/MunozJaime_%28cropped%29.jpg)
In the 1947 election, Edward Roybal lost, but Jewish community activist
Saul Alinsky
Saul David Alinsky (January 30, 1909 – June 12, 1972) was an American community activist and political theorist. His work through the Chicago-based Industrial Areas Foundation helping poor communities organize to press demands upon landlords ...
and the
Industrial Areas Foundation
The Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) is a national community organizing network established in 1940 by Saul Alinsky, Roman Catholic Bishop Bernard James Sheil and businessman and founder of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' Marshall Field III. The IAF p ...
(IAF) garnered support from Mexican Americans to bring Roybal to victory two years later 1949.
[The Community Service Organization (CSO) helped Roybal win the election and to increase the multi-racial involvement in Boyle Heights.](Bernstein, 243) When Roybal took office as city councilman in 1949, he experienced racism when trying to buy a home for his family. The real-estate agent told him that he could not sell to Mexicans, and Roybal's first act as councilman was to protest racial discrimination and to create a community that represented inter-racial politics in Boyle Heights.
(Bernstein, 224).
This Latino-Jewish relationship shaped politics in that when
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr.; born January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillary ...
became mayor of Los Angeles in 2005, "not only did he have ties to Boyle Heights, but he was elected by replicating the labor-based, multicultural coalition that Congressman Edward Roybal assembled in 1949 to become Los Angeles's first city council member of Latino heritage". Further, the Vladeck Center (named after
Borukh Charney Vladeck) contributed to the community of Boyle Heights in a big way because it was not just a building, it was "a venue for a wide range of activities that promoted Jewish culture and politics".
Government and infrastructure
![Evergreen Cemetery Boyle Heights (8505344341) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Evergreen_Cemetery_Boyle_Heights_%288505344341%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (abbreviated DHS and LADHS) operates the public hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles County, and is the United States' second largest municipal health system, after NYC Health + Hospitals.
DHS op ...
operates the Central Health Center in
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...
, serving Boyle Heights.
The
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
's Boyle Heights Post Office is located at 2016 East 1st Street.
The Social Security Administration is located at 215 North Soto Street Los Angeles, CA 90033 1-800-772-1213
Transportation
Boyle Heights is home to four stations of the
LA Metro:
*
Mariachi Plaza station
Mariachi Plaza station is an underground light rail station on the L Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. It is located under 1st Street at its at the intersection of Boyle Avenue, with the main exit located at Mariachi Plaza, after whi ...
*
Soto station
Soto station is an underground light rail station on the L Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. It is located underneath 1st Street at its intersection with Soto Street in the heart of the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.
*
Pico/Aliso station
Pico/Aliso station is an at-grade light rail station on the L Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. It is located in the median of East 1st Street between South Anderson Street and South Utah Street in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of ...
*
Indiana Station
Education
![Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Francisco_Bravo_Medical_Magnet_High_School.jpg)
Just 5% of Boyle Heights residents aged 25 and older had earned a
four-year degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
by 2000, a low percentage for the city and the county. The percentage of residents in that age range who had not earned a
high school diploma
A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...
was high for the county.
Public
SIATech Boyle Heights Independent Study Charter High School, 501 South Boyle Avenue
Extera Public School Charter Elementary, 1942 E. 2nd Street and 2226 E. 3rd Street
Extera Public School #2 Charter Elementary, 1015 S. Lorena Street
*
Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School
Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School is a magnet public high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District with a focus on serving students who plan to study in the healthcare field. It is located near the LAC+USC Medical Center, in the ...
, alternative, 1200 North Cornwell Street
*
Theodore Roosevelt High School, 456 South Mathews Street
* Mendez High School 1200 Playa Del Sol
* Animo
Oscar De La Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...
Charter High School, 1114 South Lorena Street
* Boyle Heights
Continuation School
A continuation high school is an alternative to a comprehensive high school. In some countries it is primarily for students who are considered at risk of not graduating at the normal pace. The requirements to graduate are the same, but the s ...
, 544 South Mathews Street*
Central Juvenile Hall
Central Juvenile Hall (also known as Eastlake Juvenile Hall or Central) is a youth detention center in Los Angeles County. Central houses both boys and girls. The Central Juvenile Hall complex was originally established in 1912 as the first juv ...
, 1605 Eastlake Avenue
* Hollenbeck Middle School, 2510 East Sixth Street
* Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School, 725 South Indiana Street
* KIPP Los Angeles College Preparatory, charter middle, 2810 Whittier Boulevard
* Murchison Street Elementary School, 1501 Murchison Street
* Evergreen Avenue Elementary School, 2730 Ganahl Street
* Sheridan Street Elementary School, 416 North Cornwell Street
* Malabar Street Elementary School, 3200 East Malabar Street
* Breed Street Elementary School, 2226 East Third Street
* First Street Elementary School, 2820 East First Street
* Second Street Elementary School, 1942 East Second Street
* Soto Street Elementary School, 1020 South Soto Street
* Euclid Avenue Elementary School, 806 Euclid Avenue
* Sunrise Elementary School, 2821 East Seventh Street
* Utah Street Elementary School, 255 Gabriel Garcia Marquez Street
* Bridge Street Elementary School, 605 North Boyle Avenue
*
Garza (Carmen Lomas) Primary Center, elementary, 2750 East Hostetter Street
* Christopher Dena Elementary School, 1314 Dacotah Street
* Learning Works Charter School, 1916 East First Street
* Lorena Street Elementary School, 1015 South Lorena Street
* PUENTE Learning Center, 501 South Boyle Avenue
* East Los Angeles Occupational Center (Adult Education), 2100 Marengo Street
* Endeavor College Preparatory Charter School, 1263 S Soto St, Los Angeles, CA 90023
Private
*
Bishop Mora Salesian High School, 960 South Soto Street
* Santa Teresita Elementary School, 2646 Zonal Avenue
* Assumption Elementary School, 3016 Winter Street
* Saint Mary Catholic Elementary School, 416 South Saint Louis Street
* Our Lady of Talpa, elementary, 411 South Evergreen Avenue
* East Los Angeles Light and Life Christian School, 207 South Dacotah Street
* Santa Isabel Elementary School, 2424 Whittier Boulevard
*
Dolores Mission School, elementary, 170 South Gless Street
* Cristo Viene Christian School, 3607 Whittier Boulevard
* Resurrection, elementary, 3360 East Opal Street
* White Memorial Adventist School, 1605 New Jersey Street
* PUENTE Learning Center, 501 South Boyle Avenue
Landmarks
Existing
*
Breed Street Shul
Breed Street Shul, also known as Congregation Talmud Torah of Los Angeles or Breed Street Synagogue, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles, California. It was the largest Orthodox synagogue west of Chicago fr ...
, which was declared a historic-cultural monument in 1988
*
Self-Help Graphics and Art, the first community-based organization in the country to create a free public celebration of
Day of the Dead
The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...
*
Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center
LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to:
Science and technology
* Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation
* Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers
* Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...
/
Keck School of Medicine of USC
The Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California teaches and trains physicians, biomedical scientists and other healthcare professionals, conducts medical research, and treats patients. Founded in 1885, it is the second oldest ...
*
Los Angeles County Department of Coroner
*
Estrada Courts Murals
*
Evergreen Cemetery
*
Hazard Park
Hazard Park is a city park in Los Angeles, California. The park was named after Henry T. Hazard, the 20th mayor of Los Angeles.
The park is abutted by County+USC Medical Center and the Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School.
History
Named ...
*
Mariachi Plaza
Mariachi Plaza is a plaza located in the Boyle Heights district of the city of Los Angeles, California. The plaza is known for its history as a center for mariachi music. Since the 1950s, mariachi musicians have gathered in hopes of being hired ...
*
Hollenbeck Park
Hollenbeck Park is a city park in the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles, California. It is located on the corner of Saint Louis and Fourth Streets, near Boyle Avenue.
The park features grassy knolls, picnic areas, playgrounds, a skateboard p ...
*
Linda Vista Community Hospital
Linda Vista Community Hospital is a former hospital located at 610-30 South St. Louis Street in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the Boyle Heights neighborhood. The hospital was originally constructed for employees of the Santa Fe Rail ...
(Now Hollenbeck Terrace Apartments, former Santa Fe Coast Lines Hospital)
*
Sears Building,
Olympic Boulevard and Soto St.
*
Malabar Public Library
* Lucha Underground Temple, where the television program ''
Lucha Underground
Lucha Underground was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2014 by United Artists Media Group. Partly owned by Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), ''Lucha Underground'' also refers to its weekly television program, which featured c ...
'' is taped.
[
* St. Mary's Catholic Church (4th and Chicago Streets)
]
Demolished
* Soto-Michigan Jewish Community Center
Soto-Michigan Jewish Community Center (active from 1934–2006) was a community center located at the corner of Soto Street and Michigan Avenue in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles, California. The building was notable for its architecture a ...
* Aliso Village
* Sisters Orphan Home, operated by Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul
The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul ( la, Societas Filiarum Caritatis a Sancto Vincentio de Paulo), commonly called the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent De Paul, is a Society of Apostoli ...
, 917 S. Boyle Ave. demolished due to earthquake damage and construction of freeway
Notable people
Politics
* Sheldon Andelson, first openly gay person to be appointed to the University of California Regents
The Regents of the University of California (also referred to as the Board of Regents to distinguish the board from the corporation it governs of the same name) is the governing board of the University of California (UC), a state university sys ...
or any high position in state government
* Hal Bernson
Harold M. Bernson (November 19, 1930July 20, 2020) was a Los Angeles City Council member for 24 years, from 1979 until his retirement in 2003. A conservative Republican, he was a leading proponent of the San Fernando Valley seceding from the rest ...
, Los Angeles City Council member, 1979–2003
* Martin V. Biscailuz, attorney and Common Council member, 1884–85
* Howard E. Dorsey, City Council member, 1937[Los Angeles Public Library reference file]
This file was compiled in 1937 by Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
worker Clare Wallace from an interview with Dorsey on June 23 of that year and from newspaper articles.
* Oscar Macy
Oscar Macy (July 28, 1829 – November 1, 1910) was an American politician, newspaper publisher, and pioneer in Los Angeles County, California. The son of Obed Macy, he was served on the Los Angeles Common Council, served as a county sheriff, an ...
, county sheriff and member of the Board of Supervisors
* Edward R. Roybal
Edward Ross Roybal (February 10, 1916 – October 24, 2005) was a member of the Los Angeles City Council for thirteen years and of the U.S. House of Representatives for thirty years.
Biography
Roybal was born on February 10, 1916, into a Me ...
, Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives for the 30th District and later for the 25th District of California; member of the Los Angeles City Council
* Winfred J. Sanborn, City Council member, 1925–29[Devin Carroll, Brian Carroll and Wayne Raymond, ''Winfred and Mamie Sanborn'' (privately printed)]
* Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr.; born January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillary ...
, Mayor of Los Angeles
* Zev Yaroslavsky
Zev Yaroslavsky (born December 21, 1948) is a politician from Los Angeles County, California. He was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from District 3, which includes the San Fernando Valley, the Westside of Los Angeles and ...
, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, 3rd District
Sports
*Lillian Copeland
Lillian Copeland (born Lillian Drossin; November 24, 1904 – July 7, 1964) was an American track and field Olympic champion athlete, who excelled in discus, javelin throwing, and shot put, setting multiple world records. She has been called ...
(1904–1964), Olympic discus champion; set world records in discus, javelin, and shot put
* William Harmatz
William Harmatz (February 9, 1931 – January 27, 2011) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey who won the 1959 Preakness Stakes aboard Royal Orbit. The recipient of the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1960, given to a jockey ...
, jockey
*Ron Mix
Ronald Jack Mix (born March 10, 1938) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle. He is a member of the American Football League (AFL) All-Time Team, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 19 ...
(born 1938), Football Hall of Famer
* Donald Sterling
Donald T. Sterling (born Donald Samuel Tokowitz; April 26, 1934) is an American attorney and businessman who was the owner of the San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers professional basketball franchise of the National Basketball Association (NBA) fro ...
, Former Los Angeles Clippers owner
Crime
* Mickey Cohen
Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen (September 4, 1913 – July 29, 1976) was an American gangster, boxer and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles during the mid-20th century.
Early life
Mickey Cohen was born on September 4, 1913, in New York City to Je ...
, gangster
Arts and culture
* Oscar Zeta Acosta
Oscar "Zeta" Acosta Fierro (; April 8, 1935 – disappeared 1974) was a Mexican-American attorney, politician, novelist and activist in the Chicano Movement. He was most well known for his novels ''Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo'' (1972) and ...
, attorney, writer, community activist
* Lou Adler
Lester Louis Adler (born December 13, 1933) is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of iconic musical artists, including The Grass Ro ...
, record producer, manager
* Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...
* Greg Boyle
Gregory Joseph Boyle, S.J. (born May 19, 1954) is an American Roman Catholic priest of the Jesuit order. He is the founder and director of Homeboy Industries, the world's largest gang-intervention and rehabilitation program, and former pastor o ...
, Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
, community activist
* Norman Granz
Norman Granz (August 6, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American jazz record producer and concert promoter. He founded the record labels Clef, Norgran, Down Home, Verve, and Pablo. Granz was acknowledged as "the most successful impresar ...
* Josefina López
Josefina López (born 1969, San Luis Potosí, Mexico) is a Chicana playwright, perhaps best known as the author of the play (and co-author of the screenplay) '' Real Women Have Curves''. López is also the Founding Artistic Director of the CASA ...
, writer
* Anthony Quinn
Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...
, actor
* Andy Russell, international singing star
* Julius Shulman
Julius Shulman (October 10, 1910 – July 15, 2009) was an American architectural photographer best known for his photograph " Case Study House #22, Los Angeles, 1960. Pierre Koenig, Architect." The house is also known as the Stahl House. Shulman ...
, photographer
* Taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
, rapper
* will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas.
...
, recording artist and music producer
Publishing
*Jack T. Chick
Jack Thomas Chick (April 13, 1924 – October 23, 2016) was an American cartoonist and publisher, best known for his fundamentalist Christian "Chick tracts". He expressed his perspective on a variety of issues through sequential-art morali ...
, publisher of Chick tracts
In popular culture
* 1917: ''Nuts in May
''Nuts in May'' is a television film devised and directed by Mike Leigh, filmed in March 1975, and originally broadcast as part of the BBC's ''Play for Today'' series on 13 January 1976. It is the comical story of a nature-loving and rather sel ...
''
* 1957: ''The Pajama Game
''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell.
The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. and dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his c ...
''
* 1979: '' Boulevard Nights''
* 1980: ''The Other Side of the Bridge
''The Other Side of the Bridge'' is the second novel by Canadian novelist Mary Lawson. It became a bestseller in Canada, and was longlisted for The Booker Prize.
Plot summary
As with her first novel, '' Crow Lake'', the setting is Northern Onta ...
'' ( es, Del Otro Lado del Puente)
* 1987: '' Born in East L.A.''
* 1992: ''American Me
''American Me'' is a 1992 American crime drama film produced and directed by Edward James Olmos, his first film as a director, and written by Floyd Mutrux and Desmond Nakano. Olmos also stars as the film's protagonist, Montoya Santana, loose ...
''
* 1993: ''Blood In Blood Out
''Blood In Blood Out'' (also known as ''Bound by Honor'' and ''Blood In Blood Out: Bound By Honor'') is a 1993 American epic crime drama film directed by Taylor Hackford that has become a cult-classic film with a cult following among the Mexic ...
''
* 1995: ''Dangerous Minds
''Dangerous Minds'' is a 1995 American drama film directed by John N. Smith and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It is based on the autobiography ''My Posse Don't Do Homework'' by retired U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, who in 1989 too ...
''
* 1998–2009 '' Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed''
* 2007: ''Under the Same Moon
''Under the Same Moon'' ( es, La misma luna) is a 2007 Mexican-American drama film in Spanish and English directed by Patricia Riggen (in her feature film directorial debut) and starring Kate del Castillo, Adrián Alonso, and Eugenio Derbez.
P ...
''
* 2008: '' The Take''
* 2011: '' A Better Life''
* 2014–present: ''Lucha Underground
Lucha Underground was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2014 by United Artists Media Group. Partly owned by Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), ''Lucha Underground'' also refers to its weekly television program, which featured c ...
''
* 2015: '' East LA Interchange'' (documentary)
* 2015/2016: ''No más bebés
''No Más Bebés'' () is an American documentary film that tells the story of immigrant women who were sterilized upon going into labor. Having been sterilized without knowing at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, the mothers sued county d ...
''
* 2018–2020: ''Vida
Vida means “life” in Spanish and Portuguese. It may refer to:
Geography
* Vida (Gradačac), village in Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Lake Vida, Victoria Valley, Antarctica
* U.S. settled places:
** Vida, Montana
** Vida, Oregon
** Vida, Missour ...
''
* 2020–2021: ''Gentefied
''Gentefied'' is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chávez, that premiered on Netflix on February 21, 2020. The series stars Karrie Martin, Joseph Julian Soria, Carlos Santos and Jo ...
''
* 2021: ''Night Teeth
''Night Teeth'' is a 2021 American vampire thriller film directed by Adam Randall from a screenplay by Brent Dillon. The film stars Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Debby Ryan, Lucy Fry, Raul Castillo, Sydney Sweeney, Megan Fox, and Alfie Allen.
''Night Teet ...
''
See also
*
* List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles
This is a list of notable districts and neighborhoods within the city of Los Angeles, California, present and past. It includes residential and commercial areas and business-improvement districts, but does not include sales subdivisions or sales ...
References
Further reading
*
*''Boyle Heights: How a Los Angeles Neighborhood Became the Future of American Democracy.'' George F. Sanchez. Berkeley: Univ. of Calif. Press, 2021.
External links
Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council
Boyle Heights Beat
Self Help Graphics & Art
CASA 1010 Theater
Boyle Heights: Power of Place
History of Aliso Village
Breed Street Shul Project, Inc.
Boyle Heights Learning Collaborative
Boyle Heights Historical Society
Comments about living in Boyle Heights
Boyle Heights crime map and statistics
{{Coord, 34.03389, -118.20444, type:city_region:US, format=dms, display=title
Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods in California
Neighborhoods in Los Angeles
Eastside Los Angeles
1875 establishments in California
Populated places established in 1875
Historic Jewish communities in the United States