East Los Angeles, California
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East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
and
census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) situated within
Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...
, United States. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, East Los Angeles is designated as a
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) for statistical purposes. The most recent data from the 2020 census reports a population of 118,786, reflecting a 6.1% decrease compared to the
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
population of 126,496. The concentration of Hispanic/Latino Americans is 95.16 percent, the highest of any large city or census-designated place in the United States outside of
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
.


History


Original East Los Angeles

Historically, when it was founded in 1873, the neighborhood northeast of downtown known today as Lincoln Heights was originally named East Los Angeles, but in 1917, residents voted to change the name to its present name. Today, it is considered part of Eastside Los Angeles, the geographic region east of the
Los Angeles River The Los Angeles River (), historically known as by the Tongva and the by the Spanish, is a major river in Los Angeles County, California. Its headwaters are in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and it flows nearly from Canoga Park ...
that includes three neighborhoods within the city of Los Angeles ( Boyle Heights, El Sereno, and Lincoln Heights) and the unincorporated community in Los Angeles County known today as "East Los Angeles". Lincoln Heights is northwest of present-day East Los Angeles. When Lincoln Heights, the first Eastside subdivision created in 1873, changed its name in 1917, Belvedere (Belvedere Gardens and Belvedere Heights) and surrounding unincorporated county areas were given the moniker of East Los Angeles. By the 1930s, most maps had started to label the Belvedere area as "East Los Angeles".


Belvedere

The cornerstone of the first building of Occidental College was laid in September 1887 on Rowan Street. In 1896, the building was destroyed by fire. On April 2, 1905, it was reported that the Janss Investment Company would be developing an area "on Boyle Heights" (later, Boyle Heights would refer only to a smaller area to the west, i.e. the neighborhood now called Boyle Heights within the Los Angeles city limits). The tract was located at the eastern terminus of the Los Angeles Railway's "R" streetcar line. Originally known as "Hazard's Eastside Extension", was to be named Highland Villa, but would later be rechristened Belvedere Heights. Belvedere Heights, at its launch in 1905, extended from the L.A. city limits (Indiana Av.) on the west to Rowan Av. on the east, from Aliso St. on the south to Wabash Av. on the north, the northwestern portion of today's East Los Angeles, thus including the lower portions of what today is called City Terrace. By the early 1920s, workers in the sprouting industrial district to the south were seeking nearby housing. At the time, the unincorporated region was undeveloped and or preserved for
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
and oil extraction. Belvedere township included the territory that in 1902 became the city of Montebello. By 1922 Janss advertised that it had sold 6000 lots there and that 35,000 people lived in Belvedere Heights. Buildings that were described as being in Belvedere Heights included the junior high school on Record between Brooklyn and Michigan, now called Belvedere Middle School. In February 1921 Janss announced that it had purchased adjacent to the end of the streetcar line on Stephenson Avenue, now Whittier Boulevard, south of Belvedere Heights, and divided the empty land into housing lots of square-mile grid cells. Janss called the new tract Belvedere Gardens, an area still found today on maps for the area east of the Long Beach Freeway. The area was able to avoid being annexed into the City of Los Angeles because of a private groundwater utility formed in 1926 now known as the California Water Service, which would later become a customer of the Metropolitan Water District. Prior to the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, governing bodies would set property taxes independently, which led to a cumulative overlapping rate including bond taxes for large infrastructure projects such as the building of the Port of Los Angeles. However, unincorporated areas were often forced to incorporate or be annexed into these taxing entities in order to obtain critical municipal services such as water from the Los Angeles Aqueduct. For decades, the lack of a city property tax and bond taxes made East Los Angeles a tax haven for the working class.


New name: East Los Angeles

In 1932 local business leaders gave the name East Los Angeles to Belvedere and adjacent areas (that had been known as Belvedere Gardens, Belvedere Heights, Laguna, etc.) However, in 1937 the Automobile Club of Southern California put up three large signs, "Belvedere Gardens". This led to the business leaders uprooting the signs, with a "burial ceremony" for the signs with 150 state, county, and city officials attending, and they rechristened the area East Los Angeles. Several county buildings were renamed in line with the new appellation. At that time the area had 75,000 residents and was "declared to be the largest unincorporated locality in the world." East Los Angeles was a significant site during the Chicano Movement, which included the East L.A. Walkouts in 1968 and the National Chicano Moratorium, in which Ruben Salazar was killed. Multiple campaigns by residents have been made for cityhood for East Los Angeles, such as in 2010.


Geography

East L.A. is located immediately east of the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles, south of the El Sereno district of Los Angeles, north of the city of
Commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...
, and west of the cities of Monterey Park and Montebello. The unincorporated area known as City Terrace occupies the northern part of the CDP. The Census Bureau definition of the area may not precisely correspond to the local understanding of the community.


Climate

East L.A. has a very warm
hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
.


Demographics

East Los Angeles first appeared as an unincorporated place in the 1960 United States census as part of the Southeast census county division; and as a
census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
in the 1980 United States census.


2020

East Los Angeles is the least ethnically diverse community in Los Angeles County, as noted by the ''Los Angeles Times " Mapping L.A." survey. Mexican (85.4%) and Italian (0.2%) are the most common ancestries.
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
were the most common foreign places of birth.


2010

The 2010 United States census reported that East Los Angeles had a population of 126,496.
Population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...
was . The racial makeup of East Los Angeles was 53,934 (50.5%)
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
(1.5% Non-Hispanic White), 817 (0.6%)
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1,549 (1.2%) Native American, 1,144 (0.9%) Asian, 63 (0.0%)
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 54,846 (43.4%) from other races, and 4,143 (4.3%) from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 122,784 persons (97.1%). The Census reported that 126,176 people (99.7% of the population) lived in households, 174 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 146 (0.1%) were institutionalized. There were 30,816 households, out of which 17,509 (56.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 15,497 (50.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 7,104 (23.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 3,238 (10.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,516 (8.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 199 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,781 households (12.3%) were made up of individuals, and 1,781 (5.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.09. There were 25,839 families (83.8% of all households); the average family size was 4.33. The population was spread out, with 39,804 people (31.5%) under the age of 18, 15,193 people (12.0%) aged 18 to 24, 37,354 people (29.5%) aged 25 to 44, 23,281 people (18.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 10,864 people (8.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males. There were 32,201 housing units at an average density of , of which 10,986 (35.7%) were owner-occupied, and 19,830 (64.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.2%. 47,123 people (37.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 79,053 people (62.5%) lived in rental housing units. According to the 2010 United States Census, East Los Angeles had a median household income of $37,982, with 26.9% of the population living below the federal poverty line.


2000

As of 2000, there were 124,283 people, 29,844 households, and 25,068 families residing in the community. The population density was . There were 31,096 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the community was 39.3%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 4.52%
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.29% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.06%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 54.01% from other races, and 4.22% from two or more races. 96.8% of the population were
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino. As of 2000, speakers of Spanish as a
first language A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period hypothesis, critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' ...
accounted for 87.30%, while English accounted for 12.65%, Japanese was spoken by 0.16%,
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 around the ...
made up 0.09%, Vietnamese was at 0.07%, Chinese at 0.05%, Russian at 0.04%, Tagalog at 0.03%, and Mandarin was at 0.03% of the population. There were 29,844 households, out of which 51.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 21.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.0% were non-families. 12.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.15 and the average family size was 4.42. The age distribution of the community was as follows: 34.6% under the age of 18, 12.6% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 14.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.2 males. The median income for a household in the community was $28,544, and the median income for a family was $29,755. Males had a median income of $21,065 versus $18,475 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the community was $9,543. About 24.7% of families and 27.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.0% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over. East Los Angeles has a very large Latino population that consists of Mexicans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, and Nicaraguans. Latino communities


Homelessness

In 2022, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count counted 617 homeless individuals in East Los Angeles.


Government

In the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
house, East Los Angeles is in the district served by Jimmy Gomez. At the
California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
, East Los Angeles is in , and in . As East Los Angeles is an unincorporated community, it does not have a local government and relies on the County of Los Angeles for local services. Supervisor Hilda L. Solis represents East LA on the Board of Supervisors. The East Los Angeles county hall houses the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works - East Los Angeles Building And Safety Office. Since East Los Angeles is an unincorporated area, fire protection in East Los Angeles is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department with ambulance transport by Care Ambulance Service. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) operates the East Los Angeles Station in East Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Central Health Center in
Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...
, serving East Los Angeles. The
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
East Los Angeles Post Office is located at 975 South Atlantic Boulevard.


Transportation

Light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
service to East L.A. is provided by the E Line's Eastside Extension, which opened in 2009 as an extension of the Gold Line. The E Line train is not the first light rail line to travel to East LA. In the early 1900s, people needing to access the cemeteries on the east side took the streetcar, the Stephenson Avenue Line. Stephenson Avenue (before 1920) now known as Whittier Boulevard. In time factories needed a better road to move their goods south. Stephenson Avenue was public choice. Historian Matt Roth of the Auto Club says Whittier Boulevard is the main thoroughfare through the east side. "The City Council renamed it Whittier Boulevard in 1921," he says, "out of recognition that it was serving an inter-regional function because it was the main road to Whittier and beyond." Into the 1960s
Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
-bound passenger trains made stops in East Los Angeles. The
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), branded as Metro, is the county agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the Transportation in Los Angeles, public transportation system in Los Ang ...
(Metro) provides bus service from East L.A. throughout the L.A. area. A Metro Customer Center is located at 4501 B Whittier Blvd. Local shuttle service is provided by El Sol (the East Los Angeles Shuttle). The Metro Atlantic Parking Structure is a paid daily on-site parking with 238 spaces and paid reserved on-site parking 24 spaces supporting the E Line. Bike rack Spaces and bike lockers also support most E Line stations.


Education


Primary and secondary schools


Public schools

East Los Angeles is split between
Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...
and Montebello Unified School District. LAUSD operates Amanecer PC in East Los Angeles, which is a
preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...
. LAUSD elementary schools in East Los Angeles include Anton, Belvedere, Brooklyn Avenue, City Terrace, Eastman, Fourth Street, Ford Boulevard (open July 1, 1923), Harrison, Humphreys Avenue Elementary School and STEM
Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...
School (open July 1, 1922), Robert F. Kennedy, Marianna, Rowan Avenue and Hamasaki Elementary
medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
and
science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...
, originally named Riggin Elementary School and renamed in 1990. Montebello USD schools include Gascon Elementary School, Montebello Park Elementary School, and Winter Gardens Elementary School. At one time Hammel Elementary School was in East Los Angeles.DiMassa, Cara Mia.
Los Angeles; Accord Reached on High School for East L.A.; Proposal aims to ease the enrollment burden at Garfield. It involves building on the site of an elementary campus.
" ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''. May 22, 2004. California Metro, Part B, Metro Desk. B3. Retrieved on March 15, 2010. "building the school on the site of what is now Hammel Street Elementary."
Middle schools include Belvedere and Griffith
STEAM Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
Magnet. In 2017, a petition was started to remove the name D. W. Griffith from the East Los Angeles middle school because his 1915 film ''
The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'' is a 1915 American Silent film, silent Epic film, epic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and ...
'' celebrated the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
. Griffith who also co-produced The Life of General Villa, a biographical action–drama film starring
Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...
as himself, shot on location in Mexico during the
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...
. James A. Garfield High School and
Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
Magnet is the sole traditional LAUSD public
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
in East Los Angeles. Garfield High School opened its doors in 1925, grades 7 through 12. It was a six-year school in which one could earn two diplomas, one from Garfield Junior High School after completion of 9th grade and one from Garfield Senior High School. By the late 1930s, Garfield became overcrowded and a new Junior High School for grades 7 through 9 was built, Kern Avenue Junior High School, located on Fourth Street and Kern Avenue, now called Griffith STEAM Magnet Middle School. Garfield High School participates in the " East LA Classic" against Theodore Roosevelt High School a
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
game that traditionally draws over 25,000 fans. Ramona Opportunity High School, an alternative all girl public high school, is in East Los Angeles serving grades 7-12. Esteban Torres High School opened in 2010 on the former Hammel Street Elementary School grounds and in former housing developments. There are five autonomous pilot high schools located on the Esteban E. Torres High School campus, part of the Los Angeles Education Partnership's network of partner and community schools. Monterey High School, a continuation high school, serves the needs of at-risk students in the East Los Angeles community. In 2013 adult education programs from the Eastside Learning Center and East Los Angeles Occupational Center relocated at the East Los Angeles Star Hospital site to form an adult learning center and high school academy. The modified 1929, three-story structure houses the Hilda L. Solis Learning Academy School of Technology, Business and Education (STBE) high school and East LA Star Adult Education East Los Angeles College (ELAC) was part of unincorporated East Los Angeles before it was annexed by Monterey Park in the early 1970s.


Charter schools

Other schools in the area include the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) charter schools Raíces Academy (Grades Transitional kindergarten (TK)-4), Iluminar Academy (Grades TK-4), Sol Academy (Grades 5-8), Academy of Innovation (Grades 5-8). The KIPP is a nationwide network of free open-enrollment college-preparatory schools. The Arts in Action Community Charter Elementary School (Grades TK-5) open and started classes at its new school site in the 2019–2020 school year. Five middle schools that include in 2014 the Ánimo Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle School was founded and named after former
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...
and Director of the Johnson Space Center. The Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy 8 opened August 1, 2014. The Arts in Action Charter Middle school opened in summer 2020. Construction of a new Ednovate Charter High School to be named Esperanza College Prep was started in October 2021. Expected to be ready by fall 2022. Once completed, about 440 Esperanza students currently split between Hilda Solis Learning Academy and the former Our Lady of Soledad ( Our Lady of Solitude) School will be taught under one roof. A performance space and a dance studio will allow a Baile Folklorico dance program to practice. The Alliance Morgan McKinzie High School opened August 31, 2009. The Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo Charter High School was temporary in the Salesian Boys and Girls Club of Los Angeles before it moved to it new location in Boyle Heights (it opened its doors in August 2003).


Private schools

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles operates
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...
in the CDP. Schools include
Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (; ) is one the Marian devotions, devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of Lourdes apparitions, 18 apparitions reported by ...
School (July 1, 1980 K-8), St. Alphonsus School (July 1, 1980 K-8), and Our Lady of Guadalupe School (July 1, 1980 K-8).


Public libraries


East Los Angeles

The County of Los Angeles Public Library operates the East Los Angeles Library.East Los Angeles Library
." County of Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved on March 15, 2010.
The East Los Angeles Library opened on May 1, 1923; originally it was a collection of books in a store. A building was built to house the collection several months later. A new library building opened in 1924. In 1932 the library moved to a new building. In 1967 the library moved into another building, which was large. In 2004 the library moved to its current location, a facility designed by Stephen Finney of the Glendale firm CWA AIA, Inc. The current library has areas for adults and children, the Chicano Resource Center (CRC) established in 1976, a 175-person meeting room, a computer room, a Friends of the Library bookstore, and free parking areas. The library design has Mayan design and themes, as requested from area residents. References to the sun and moon, which are themes in Mayan art, were incorporated in the library.


Anthony Quinn

The county operates the
Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known as Anthony Quinn, was an American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental virility" in over 100 ...
Library with a moderne architecture, originally known as the Belvedere Library, which opened in January 1914. In 1925 the library moved to a storefront facility; at that time its collection was several thousand books. In 1937 the library moved to a new site. In 1973 the library moved to its current location. On January 5, 1982, the library took its current name; the childhood house of actor Anthony Quinn was located on the present day site of the library, and the library was renamed after Quinn. In 1987, Quinn donated his collection of movie scripts, scrapbooks, and personal papers to the library name after him. The First Supervisorial District funded a renovation that occurred in 2000. The library reopened in February 2001 with a new appearance and new furnishings.


Other

The county operates the El Camino Real Library at 5,529 sq ft. with a meeting room capacity 45.El Camino Real Library
." County of Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved on March 15, 2010.
The library opened in 1929 as the Stephenson Library. In 1972 the library moved to its current location, and in 1975 it was rededicated as the El Camino Real library, as it is located on the historic El Camino Real. The library was rededicated again in November 2014 after a renovation and expansion that added a meeting room, teen area, and outdoor reading patio. The county operates the City Terrace Library. The library has been in its current location since 1979 and refurbished in 2009.


Notable places


Our Lady of Solitude

Our Lady of Solitude, known as Soledad Church, opened its doors on
Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...
in 1925. Located in the neighborhood now known as Old Town Maravilla. The church was constructed in Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. In December 1931, the Church held its first outdoor procession in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a ritual that continues today. The Guadalupe
Procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...
is the oldest religious procession in Los Angeles. Starting in the 1960s, labor leader Cesar Chavez and members of the United Farm Workers met with the Claretian priests, who also became activists, in the church's basement. The street in front of the church is known as Cesar Chavez Avenue. In October 1993, the Los Angeles City Council and the County Board of Supervisors approved the renaming of the stretch of roadway, but agreed to delay the change until 1994 and to put up historic plaques along Brooklyn Avenue to accommodate the opposition, many of whom believed that the new name would cause people to forget the Jewish history of the area. In 1979, the tile-clad
cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...
and
bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
were removed due to termite damage, and the
bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...
s were reinstalled near the church entrance.


The Golden Gate Theater

The former Golden Gate Theater movie palace a Spanish Baroque Revival Churrigueresque-style building built in 1927, is one of fewer than two dozen buildings in Los Angeles in the Spanish Churrigueresque style and one of a few remaining in southern California. The Golden Gate Theater is the first East Los Angeles building listed in the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1982.


Maravilla Handball Court and El Centro Grocery

Completed in 1928 the Maravilla
handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...
court was built brick-by-brick by residents, with the El Centro Grocery and residence added in 1946. The oldest remaining handball court in the Los Angeles region. In the early 1940s, Michi and Tommy Nishiyama operated the property and in the 1950s following Michi's internment at a Japanese relocation camp. The only court in East Los Angeles where players still played ''bola basca'', also known as
Basque pelota Basque pelota (Basque: '' pilota'', Spanish: '' pelota vasca'', French: '' pelote basque'') is the name for a variety of court sports played with a ball using one's hand, a racket, a wooden bat or a basket, against a wall (''frontis or fronto ...
. In 2012, the Maravilla handball court and grocery store were put on the
California Register of Historical Resources The California Register of Historical Resources is a California state government program for use by state and local agencies, private groups, and citizens to identify, evaluate, register, and protect California's historical resources. The Calif ...
.


Veterans memorial

The obelisk-shaped monument at Atlantic Park was dedicated on May 30, 1930, during a Memorial Day Parade that ended at what was then called Belvedere Gardens Park. A plaque on the monument reads, "In memory of heroes of all American wars".


Latino Walk of Fame

The Walk of Fame is similar to the one in Hollywood but with a focus on Latino celebrities. The Latino Walk of Fame was inaugurated on April 30, 1997, to honor outstanding leaders who have made historical and social contributions with a Sun Plaque on Whittier Boulevard the heart of East L.A. Spaces have been created for over 280 plaques. Permanent granite plaques have been put in place for the first 20 honorees. The merchants’ association of East Los Angeles sponsors a comprehensive clean-up campaign that cleans the sidewalks and gutters daily and removes litter and trash. Though the Latino Walk of Fame is there, it seems to go unnoticed, "The Latino Walk of Fame had a good run once it started...".


El Pino

El Pino (The Pine Tree) is a large
bunya pine ''Araucaria bidwillii'', commonly known as the bunya pine (), banya or bunya-bunya, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae which is Endemism, endemic to Australia. Its natural range is southeast Queensland with two ver ...
located on the southeastern corner of Folsom Street and N. Indiana Street overlooking the Wellington Heights neighborhood of East Los Angeles and the Boyle Heights from atop a small hill. The people of East Los Angeles consider the tree a living monument of the area's multifaceted ethnic background. The tree has become a symbol of community resistance to the
gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...
of their neighborhood.


Parks and recreation

Los Angeles County operates parks and recreation in East Los Angeles. Built in 1942 and originally known as Soledad Park, the Belvedere Community Regional Park has a baseball diamond and picnic area that was upgrade in the 1980s, basketball courts, a playground, community center, fitness zone, gymnasium, skate park, soccer field, splash pad, an Olympic-size swimming pool, and tennis courts. The park was renamed in 1949 and has a
Vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...
style. The LA county constructed a courthouse and sheriff's station on the south end of Belvedere Park in the mid-1950s. Then more buildings were added in time, in conjunction with the East Los Angeles Library, turning the southern end of the park into in effect a civic center. The construction of the Pomona Freeway (I-60) in the 1960s cut through the park, dividing it into two connected by a bridge. In the late 1960s the county also constructed a pond (Belvedere Lake) in the southern area of the park, known to locals as "El Parque de los Patos" (The duck park). The park is a popular place for festivals and host musicians, artisans, fishing and other events in its lakeside amphitheater. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife supplies the lake with
rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...
during the Winter through early Spring and
catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...
during the Summer. There are also some largemouth bass,
carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...
and
bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, in Texas, "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands ea ...
in the lake. On August 29, 1970, Belvedere Park was the starting point of the Chicano Moratorium. An estimated 30,000 people marched from Belvedere Park to Laguna Park (now Salazar Park). In the 1990s the northern region of the part was revitalized. Atlantic Avenue Park has a children's play area, picnic, and barbecue areas, a men's locker room, a women's locker room, and a 50-meter, six-lane swimming pool. In addition, the park has a rose garden maintained by volunteers. Eugene A. Obregon Park is named after Eugene A. Obregon, a veteran and
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
recipient. The park's official opening was on May 26, 1966. The park includes basketball courts, ceramic rooms, a community room, a computer center, a fitness zone, a gymnasium, a multi-purpose field, a swimming pool, and a walking path. The Salazar Park is within East Los Angeles and has a moderne architecture. The county purchased the original of park property from Cedars of Lebanon Hospital on March 8, 1938. The land was officially designated as the "East Los Angeles Playground" two months later. On June 25, 1940, the property was renamed the "Laguna Park and Playground." On September 17, 1970, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors gave the park its current name. The park includes a baseball diamond, basketball courts, a children's play area, a community room, a computer center, a gymnasium, picnic shelters, a senior center, a swimming pool, and tennis courts. On August 29, 2014, the County dedicated a plaque at the site in honor of Ruben Salazar. The Saybrook Park is also in East Los Angeles. The County Board of Supervisors approved final plans for developing the park on May 1, 1973. The park includes two outdoor basketball courts, a ball diamond, children's play areas, a community building with a community room, a computer technology building with a computer room, picnic and barbecue areas, and a tennis court. City Terrace County Park was developed in 1933 by
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
crews; the park occupied a piece of terrace that was formed after crews hacked a rugged and barren hill. In 1957 of soil that had been removed from the construction of the Los Angeles Civic Center was transported to the City Terrace County Park. The soil filled a ravine, tripling the park's original acreage. The park has a basketball court, a children's playground, a community room, a computer center, a gymnasium, a multi-purpose field, a swimming pool, and tennis courts. The Eastside Eddie Heredia Boxing Club, operated by the county, is inside a former fire station. The club was named after Eddie Heredia, the first club champion, who died of leukemia at age 17. One of the members of the Heredia club became a member of the United States Olympic Boxing Team and entered the 2008 Beijing Olympics.


Notable people

* Efraín Álvarez, soccer player * Roberto Esteban Chavez, artist, muralist * Gary Clarke, American actor best known for his role as Steve Hill * Oscar De La Hoya, world boxing champion and 1992 Olympic gold medalist, born to Mexican migrant farmworker parents * Jaime Escalante, educator, subject of the film ''Stand and Deliver'' * Seniesa Estrada, world boxing champion * Dorothy Granada, nurse, humanitarian, and peace and social justice activist who was raised in East Los Angeles and won the International Pfeffer Peace Award in 1997 * Suzanna Guzmán, mezzo soprano, an original associate artists of Los Angeles Opera * Antonia Hernandez, philanthropist, attorney, activist * Sam Johnson, American football player * Patrick Kearney, serial killer, rapist, and necrophile * Constance Marie, actress * Carlos Mencia, comedianRivera, Carla. "East L.A.'s loss is personal." ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''. May 22, 2007. p
1
Retrieved on March 29, 2014. "Its alumni include an array of politicians, actors, comedians, musicians, artists and sports figures, including comic Carlos Mencia and boxer Oscar De La Hoya."
* Xavier Montelongo, professional boxer * Carlos Montes, Chicano activist and co-founder of the Brown Berets * Sergio Mora, boxer * Julian Nava United States Ambassador to Mexico and prominent educator * Edward James Olmos, actor, producer, and director * Dan Peña,
financial analyst A financial analyst is a professional undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job. Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
*
Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known as Anthony Quinn, was an American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental virility" in over 100 ...
, actor * Luis J. Rodriguez, writer and activist *
Lucille Roybal-Allard Lucille Elsa Roybal-Allard (born June 12, 1941) is an American politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from California from 1993 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...
, U.S. Representative * Hope Sandoval, singer and songwriter * Jesse Valadez, owner of the famous lowrider ''Gypsy Rose'' * Linda Vallejo is an American artist known for painting, sculpture and ceramics. * Antonio Villaraigosa, 41st mayor of Los Angeles * Maria Helena Viramontes, writer and professor * Ersi Arvizu, boxer, singer and composer


See also

* Calvary Cemetery (Los Angeles) * Chicano Moratorium * East L.A. walkouts * East Los Streetscapers * Golden Gate Theater * Home of Peace Cemetery (East Los Angeles) * Ruben Salazar * Zoot Suit Riots * List of U.S. cities with large Hispanic populations * History of Mexican Americans in Los Angeles * Cholo (subculture)


References


External links


East Los Angeles Chamber of CommerceThe EastsiderCityhood for East Los Angeles
{{authority control Census-designated places in Los Angeles County, California Hispanic and Latino American culture in Los Angeles Mexican-American culture in Los Angeles Neighborhoods in Los Angeles Ethnic enclaves in California Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods in California Eastside Los Angeles California Enterprise Zones Census-designated places in California Communities in the San Gabriel Valley