Eastern Los Angeles
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East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, when it was 126,496. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined East Los Angeles as a census-designated place (CDP). The area is notable for its high Hispanic proportion, which at over 95%, is the highest proportion of Hispanic Americans out of any city or Census-designated place in the United States outside of Puerto Rico.


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 L.A.'s Eastside, the geographic region east of the Los Angeles River 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 east-side 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 Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...
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,"Broad Acres To Be Platted; Janss Investment Company Makes Big Purchase", ''Los Angeles Herald'', April 2, 1905
/ref> 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 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.


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 rechristening 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." Multiple campaigns by residents have been made for cityhood for East Los Angeles.


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, 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.


Demographics

East Los Angeles is the least ethnically diverse community in
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
, as noted by the ''Los Angeles Times "
Mapping L.A. Mapping L.A. is a project of the ''Los Angeles Times'', beginning in 2009, to draw boundary lines for 158 cities and unincorporated places within Los Angeles County, California. It identified 114 neighborhoods within the City of Los Angeles and 42 ...
" survey.
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
(85.4%) and Italian (0.2%) are the most common ancestries.


2010

The
2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
reported that East Los Angeles had a population of 126,496. Population density was 16,973.5 people per square mile (6,553.5/km2). The racial makeup of East Los Angeles was 53,934 (50.5%) White (1.5% Non-Hispanic White), 817 (0.6%) African American, 1,549 (1.2%) Native American, 1,144 (0.9%) Asian, 63 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 54,846 (43.4%) from other races, and 4,143 (4.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic 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 POSSLQ ( , plural POSSLQs) is an abbreviation (or acronym) for "Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters", a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of ...
, 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, 4.52% Black or African American, 1.29% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 54.01% from other races, and 4.22% from two or more races. 96.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino. As of 2000, speakers of Spanish as a first language accounted for 87.30%, while English accounted for 12.65%, Japanese was spoken by 0.16%, Armenian made up 0.09%, Vietnamese was at 0.07%, Chinese at 0.05%, Russian at 0.04%,
Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...
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 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


Government

In the U.S. Representative house, East Los Angeles is in the district served by Lucille Roybal-Allard. At the
California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...
, 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 Hilda Lucia Solis (; born October 20, 1957) is an American politician and a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 1st district. Solis previously served as the 25th United States Secretary of Labor from 2009 to 2013, as par ...
represents East LA on the
Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...
. 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) 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 East Los Angeles. The United States Postal Service East Los Angeles Post Office is located at 975 South Atlantic Boulevard.


Transportation

Light rail service to East L.A. is provided by the L Line's Eastside Extension, which opened in 2009. The L 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 A car club or automotive enthusiast community is a group of people who share a common interest in motor vehicles. Car clubs are typically organized by enthusiasts around the type of vehicle (e.g. Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang), brand (e.g. ...
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 Chicago-bound passenger trains made stops in East Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) provides
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
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 L Line. Bike rack Spaces and Bike Lockers also support most Golden 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 public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...
and Montebello Unified School District. LAUSD operates Amanecer PC in East Los Angeles, which is a preschool. 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 Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
Magnet School (open July 1, 1922), Robert F. Kennedy, Marianna, Rowan Avenue and Hamasaki Elementary medical and science magnet, 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''. 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 A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
include Belvedere and Griffith
STEAM Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
Magnet. In 2017, a petition was started to remove the name
D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...
from the East Los Angeles middle school because his 1915 film '' The Birth of a Nation'' celebrated the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
. Griffith who also co-produced The Life of General Villa, a biographical action–drama film starring Pancho Villa as himself, shot on location in Mexico during the
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
. James A. Garfield High School and Computer Science Magnet is the sole traditional LAUSD public high school 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, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
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 Esteban Torres High School is a public high school, it opened in 2010 in East Los Angeles, an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County, California. History The school was originally known as East Los Angeles Area High School #2. In 2006 the ...
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 Esteban Edward Torres (January 27, 1930 – January 25, 2022) was an American politician who served as member of the United States House of Representatives for California's 34th congressional district from 1983 to 1999. Early life Torres was bo ...
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 A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
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 human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
and Director of the
Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...
. 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 on 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 private schools in the CDP. Schools include Our Lady of Lourdes 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 Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...
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

Also, the county operates the Anthony Quinn 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

In addition 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 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 is the oldest religious procession in Los Angeles. Labor leader
Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged ...
and members of the United Farm Workers use to meet with the Claretian priests, who also became an activist, 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 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 tower ...
were removed due to termite damage, and the bells were reinstalled near the church entrance.


The Golden Gate Theater

The former Golden Gate Theater movie palace a
Spanish Baroque Revival Spanish Baroque is a strand of Baroque architecture that evolved in Spain, its provinces, and former colonies. History As Italian Baroque influences penetrated across the Pyrenees, they gradually superseded in popularity the restrained classic ...
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 in 1982.


Maravilla Handball Court and El Centro Grocery

Completed in 1928 the Maravilla
handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic 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 throwing it into the g ...
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 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 ...
. The only court in East Los Angeles where players still played ''bola basca'', also known as Basque pelota. In 2012, the Maravilla handball court and grocery store were put on the California Register of Historical Resources.


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." According to a ''Los Angeles Times'' story at the time, over 2,000 ex-servicemen and members of service clubs marched in the parade.


Latino Walk of Fame

The Walk of Fame is similar to the one in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * 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.


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 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 The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is a state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages and protect ...
supplies the lake with
rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...
during the Winter through early Spring and catfish during the Summer. There are also some largemouth bass,
carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
and
bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...
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 Eugene Arnold Obregon (November 12, 1930 – September 26, 1950) was a United States Marine who was posthumously awarded the United States' highest military decoration for valor — the Medal of Honor — for sacrificing his life to sa ...
, a veteran and Medal of Honor 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 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 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
.


Notable people

* Suzanna Guzmán, mezzo soprano, an original associate artists of
Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Leadersh ...
* Dan Peña, financial analyst on
Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
*
Linda Vallejo Linda Vallejo (born 1951 in East Los Angeles) is an American artist known for painting, sculpture and ceramics. Her work often addresses her Mexican-American ethnic identity within the context of American art and popular culture. The founder o ...
is an American artist known for painting, sculpture and ceramics. *
Maria Helena Viramontes Helena Maria Viramontes (born February 26, 1954) is an American fiction writer and professor of English. She is known for her two novels, '' Under the Feet of Jesus'' and '' Their Dogs Came With Them'', and is considered one of the most signi ...
, writer and professor * Constance Marie, actress *
Luis J. Rodriguez Luis Javier Rodriguez (born 1954) is an American poet, novelist, journalist, critic, and columnist. He was the 2014 Los Angeles Poet Laureate. Rodriguez is recognized as a major figure in contemporary Chicano literature, identifying himself as ...
, writer and activist * Lucille Roybal-Allard, U.S. Representative * Anthony Quinn, actor *
Gary Clarke Gary Clarke (born Clarke Frederick L'Amoreaux; August 16, 1933) is an American actor best known for his role as Steve Hill in the NBC western television series '' The Virginian'' with James Drury and Doug McClure. Early life Clarke was born in ...
, American actor best known for his role as Steve Hill * Hope Sandoval, singer and songwriter * * Edward James Olmos, actor, producer, and director * Antonio Villaraigosa, 41st mayor of Los Angeles * Oscar De La Hoya, world boxing champion and 1992 Olympic gold medalist, born to Mexican migrant farmworker parents * Seniesa Estrada, world boxing champion *
Antonia Hernandez Antonia may refer to: People * Antonia (name), including a list of people with the name * Antonia gens, a Roman family, any woman of the gens was named ''Antonia'' * Antônia (footballer) * Antônia Melo Entertainment * ''Antonia's Line'', orig ...
, philanthropist, attorney, activist * Jaime Escalante, educator, subject of the film ''Stand and Deliver'' * Sam Johnson, American football player *
Xavier Montelongo Xavier Montelongo (born February 26, 1992, in East Los Angeles, California) Mexican American professional boxer in the Featherweight division. Amateur career Montelongo had over 200 bouts, with 40 amateur titles and 20 national titles. Xavier eve ...
, professional boxer * Sergio Mora, boxer * Carlos Mencia, comedianRivera, Carla. "East L.A.'s loss is personal." '' Los Angeles Times''. 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."
*
Roberto Esteban Chavez Roberto Chavez (born Roberto Esteban Chavez; August 3, 1932) is an American artist. known for his personally symbolic portraits, public murals and "funny-grotesque" paintings that reflect the multicultural landscape of Los Angeles. He was recentl ...
, artist, muralist * Patrick Kearney, serial killer, rapist, and necrophile


See also

*
Calvary Cemetery (Los Angeles) Calvary Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles runs in the community of East Los Angeles. It is also called "New Calvary Cemetery" because it succeeded the original Calvary Cemetery (on north Broadway), over whic ...
* Chicano Moratorium *
East L.A. walkouts The East Los Angeles Walkouts or Chicano Blowouts were a series of 1968 protests by Chicano students against unequal conditions in Los Angeles Unified School District high schools. The first walkout occurred on March 5, 1968. The students who orga ...
*
East Los Streetscapers East Los Streetscapers Public Art Studios is a muralist art collective and fine art studio based in East Los Angeles, California. Its members have executed over twenty murals and large-scale public artworks, primarily in the Los Angeles area. Histo ...
* Golden Gate Theater * Home of Peace Cemetery (East Los Angeles) * Ruben Salazar * Zoot Suit Riots *
List of U.S. cities with large Hispanic populations This list of U.S. cities by American Hispanic and Latino population covers all incorporated cities and Census-designated places with a population over 100,000 and a proportion of Hispanic and Latino residents over 30% in the 50 U.S. states, the ...
* 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 Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods in California Eastside Los Angeles California Enterprise Zones Census-designated places in California