Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw is a neighborhood in the south region of the

city of 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' ...

. It is divided between the upscale, principally home-owning Baldwin Hills residential district to the south and a more concentrated apartment area to the north, just south of

Jefferson Boulevard Jefferson Boulevard is a street in Los Angeles and Culver City, California. Its eastern terminus is at Central Avenue east of Exposition Park. At its entrance to Culver City, it splits with National Boulevard. North of Sawtelle Boulevard, it ...

. A commercial corridor along

Crenshaw Boulevard Crenshaw Boulevard is a north-south thoroughfare in Los Angeles, California, that runs through Crenshaw and other neighborhoods along a 23-mile (37.76 km) route in the west-central part of the city. The street extends between Wilshire Bouleva ...

includes

Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza (alternately BHCP) is a shopping mall located in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. This was one of the first regional shopping centers in the United States built specifically for the automo ...

Marlton Square Marlton Square is a one-block medical facility, retail and residential portion of Marlton Ave, located in the Baldwin Village neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California. It is bordered by Martin Luther King Jr Blvd on the north, Marlto ...

and Crenshaw Boulevard.

History

19th century

Timeline

*"Lucky" Baldwin: Baldwin Hills and other surrounding geography are named for the noted 19th-century horse racing and land development pioneer, Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin. *

Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad * Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos *Ranchos, Buenos A ...

: historic early-19th-century eastern hills Rancho land grant. **Sanchez Adobe de Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera. The adobe was once the center of the rancho. In the 1920s, an addition was built linking the structures and the building was converted into a larger clubhouse for the Sunset Golf Course. *

Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad * Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos *Ranchos, Buenos A ...

: original early-19th-century western section Rancho land grant. *Olympic Village: The Baldwin Hills were the site of the very first

Olympic Village An Olympic Village is an accommodation center built for the Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials and athletic trainers. Afte ...

ever built, for the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games. Built for male athletes only, the village consisted of several hundred buildings, including

post offices A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

and

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

offices, an amphitheater, a hospital, a fire department, and a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

. Female athletes were housed at the Chapman Park Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard. The Olympic Village was demolished after the Summer Olympic Games.

Geography

Description

According to the Mapping L.A. project of the ''Los Angeles Times'', Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw is bounded by Culver City, Jefferson Park,

Ladera Heights Ladera Heights is a community and unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 6,634 at the 2020 census. Culver City lies to its west, the Baldwin Hills neighborhood to its north, the View Park-Windsor Hills co ...

View Park-Windsor Hills A view is a sight or prospect or the ability to see or be seen from a particular place. View, views or Views may also refer to: Common meanings * View (Buddhism), a charged interpretation of experience which intensely shapes and affects thou ...

and West Adams. Areas within it are Baldwin Village, Baldwin Vista, The Dons and

Village Green A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...

.
"Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw," Mapping LA, ''Los Angeles Times'' The neighborhood limits, according to Mapping L.A, are

on the north,

Ballona Creek Ballona Creek (pronunciation: “Bah-yo-nuh” or “Buy-yo-nah” ) is an channelized stream in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, that was once a “year-round river lined with sycamores and willows.” Ballona Creek ...

, Jefferson Boulevard and La Brea Avenue on the west, the

Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, or Kenneth Hahn Park, is a state park unit of California in the Baldwin Hills Mountains of Los Angeles. The park is managed by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. As one of the largest ...

and Stocker Street on the south and

on the east.

Neighborhoods

Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw contains several neighborhoods:
"South L.A.," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times'' * Baldwin Hills ** Baldwin Hills Estates ("The Dons") ** Baldwin Vista ***

** An unincorporated portion outside Los Angeles city limits * Baldwin Village * Crenshaw, Los Angeles, Crenshaw * Crenshaw Manor - Crenshaw Manor is bordered by Crenshaw Blvd to the east, W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd to the south, W. Exposition Blvd to the north, and Farmdale Avenue/Chesapeake Ave/Coliseum St. to the West.

Population

The 2000 U.S census counted 30,123 residents in Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw and its area of 2.88 square miles gave it a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of 10,446 people per square mile, about average for Los Angeles and

the county ''The County'' ( is, Héraðið) is a 2019 Icelandic Melodrama#Film, melodrama directed by Grímur Hákonarson. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. Cast * Arndís Hrönn Egi ...

as a whole. In 2008 the city estimated that 32,234 people lived there. The median age was 36, older than the city as a whole. The percentage of residents aged 65 and older was among the county's highest.

Ethnic composition

The neighborhood was considered "moderately diverse" in 2000, with 71.3% of residents being of black or African-American ancestry, 17.3% Latino, 4.7% Asian, 3.3% white and 3.4% of other backgrounds. The neighborhood had the fifth-highest concentration of black residents in the city.
"Black," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times'' The average household size was 2.3 people, low compared to the city as a whole. Almost 32% of the 2,400 families living in Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw were headed by single parents, the third-highest rate in the city, after Watts, Los Angeles, Watts and

Vermont Knolls Vermont Knolls is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, within the South Los Angeles region. Geography Vermont Knolls a neighborhood. The neighborhood is bounded by Florence Avenue on the north, the 110 Freeway on the east, Manchester Boul ...

."Single Parents," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times''
/ref> The median household income at $37,948 in 2008 dollars was low compared with both city and county populations. The percentage of households earning $20,000 or less a year was high for the county. The percentage of residents 25 and older with a high school education and some college was high for the county, Those with a college degree were about the same as the rest of the city and county. The large number of veterans, 2,272 or 10.2% of the population, was high for both the city and the county. The percentage of veterans who served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

or the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

was among the county's highest. Only 16.6% of the residents were foreign born, a low figure for both the city and the county. Mexico (31%) and El Salvador (16.8%) were the most common foreign places of birth.

Disasters

On December 14, 1963, a crack appeared in the Baldwin Hills Dam impounding the

Baldwin Hills Reservoir Baldwin is a Germanic name, composed of the elements ''bald'' "bold" and ''win'' "friend". People * Baldwin (name) Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, Q ...

. Within a few hours, water rushing through the crack eroded the earthen dam, gradually widening the crack until the dam failed catastrophically at 3:38 pm. Although the area had been evacuated after the crack had been discovered, several homes were destroyed, and most of Baldwin Vista and the historic Village Green community were flooded. The dam's failure was ultimately determined to be the result of subsidence, caused by overexploitation of the Inglewood Oil field. The dam's failure prompted the

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest municipal utility in the United States with 8,100 megawatts of electric generating capacity (2021-2022) and delivering an average of 435 million gallons of water per day to more ...

to close and drain other small local reservoirs with similar designs, such as the

Silver Lake Reservoir The Silver Lake Reservoir Complex comprises two concrete-lined basins, Ivanhoe Reservoir and Silver Lake, divided by a spillway, in the Silver Lake community of Los Angeles, California. History The lower body of water was named in 1906 for Wat ...

. The Baldwin Hills Dam was not rebuilt—instead, the empty reservoir was demolished, filled with earth, landscaped, and converted to Kenneth Hahn Regional Park. During the summer of 1985, an arsonist started a brush fire along

La Brea Avenue La Brea Avenue is a prominent north-south thoroughfare in the City of Los Angeles and in Los Angeles County, California. La Brea is known for having diverse ethnic communities, and many shops and restaurants along its route. History ''La Br ...

. The fire spread up the canyon towards the expensive homes along Don Carlos Drive in the Baldwin Hills Estates tract. Many homes were destroyed despite the efforts of the

Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides emergency medical services, Fire investigation, fire cause determination, fire prevention, Firefighting, fire suppression, Dangerous goods, hazardous materials mitigation, and Resc ...

to suppress the flames. The fire killed three people and destroyed 69 homes;Pollard-Terry, Gayle (October 29, 2006)
"Years later, the pitch still delivers"
Neighborly Advice. ''

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 U ...

''. p. K2. the arsonist was never caught.

Parks and recreation

Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook is a California State Park is located just southwest of downtown Culver City. To some Los Angeles area residents, the site is more commonly known as the Culver City Stairs. This outdoor staircase is designed into ...

: The park is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset. The Visitor Center is open Thursday–Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The park includes an amphitheater, drinking water, the Evan Frankel Discovery Center, gardening boxes, picnic tables, a permeable parking lot ($6), toilets, and walking paths with a central feature known as the Culver City Stairs. The Visitor Center has a guide to the native plants of the area and history of Culver City. * Kenneth Hahn State Regional Park: recreation and sports areas, and preservation of the open-space lands and native

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s: ''entrance on South La Cienega Boulevard''. *

Norman O. Houston Park Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

* Jim Gilliam Recreation Center

Government

The

Station 94 serves the neighborhood.

Library

The

Los Angeles Public Library The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the large ...

operates the Baldwin Hills Branch Library.

Notable people

Richard Elfman Richard Elfman (born March 6, 1949) is an American actor, musician, director, producer, screenwriter, journalist, author and magazine publisher. Early life Richard Elfman was born in the Watts district of inner-city Los Angeles. His mother, B ...

and Danny Elfman, musicians *

Nipsey Hussle Airmiess Joseph Asghedom (August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle (often stylized as Nipsey Hu$$le), was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Emerging from the West Coast hip hop scene in the mid- ...

, rapper, entrepreneur and community activist * Ice-T, rapper and actor * Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, actress and wife of

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

* Darryl Strawberry, professional baseball player *

De'Anthony Thomas De'Anthony Marquies Thomas (born January 5, 1993) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Dr ...

, professional football player

References

External links

Los Angeles Times: Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw area crime map and statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin Hills Crenshaw, Los Angeles * Baldwin Hills (mountain range) Neighborhoods in Los Angeles South Los Angeles