Huntington Park is a city in the

Gateway Cities The Gateway Cities Region, or Southeast Los Angeles County (also shortened to Southeast Los Angeles and Southeast LA) is an urbanized region located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, between the City of Los Angeles proper, Orange C ...

district of southeastern

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 58,114, of whom 97% are Hispanic/Latino and about half were born outside the U.S. In 2019, Huntington Park was ranked lowest in California and 10th-worst nationally on a so-called “misery index”, based on census data compiled by ''

Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...

'', due to factors such as low household income. Nonetheless, Huntington Park and its

Pacific Boulevard Pacific Boulevard is a street and principal commercial thoroughfare in the city of Huntington Park, California and the Los Angeles County neighborhood of Walnut Park. It runs from Vernon and Santa Fe Avenues in Vernon to Cudahy Street in Walnut Pa ...

area are a busy and dynamic hub of the mostly Hispanic, working-class inner Southeast L.A. area.

History

Named for prominent industrialist Henry E. Huntington, Huntington Park was incorporated in 1906 as a

streetcar suburb A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Such suburbs developed in the United States in the years before the automobile, when ...

on the

Los Angeles Railway The Los Angeles Railway (also known as Yellow Cars, LARy and later Los Angeles Transit Lines) was a system of streetcars that operated in Central Los Angeles and surrounding neighborhoods between 1895 and 1963. The system provided frequent loc ...

for workers in the rapidly expanding industries to the southeast of downtown

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. To this day, about 30% of its residents work at factories in nearby Vernon and

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

. The stretch of

in downtown Huntington Park was a major commercial district serving the city's largely working-class residents as well as being the retail hub of

Southeast Los Angeles County The Gateway Cities Region, or Southeast Los Angeles County (also shortened to Southeast Los Angeles and Southeast LA) is an urbanized region located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, between the City of Los Angeles proper, Orange ...

. As with most of the other cities along the corridor stretching along the

Los Angeles River , name_etymology = , image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg , image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge , image_size = 300 , map = LARmap.jpg , map_size ...

to the south and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Huntington Park was an almost exclusively white community during most of its history; Alameda Street and

Slauson Avenue Slauson Avenue is a major east–west thoroughfare traversing the central part of Los Angeles County, California. It was named for the land developer and Los Angeles Board of Education member J. S. Slauson. It passes through Culver City, Lad ...

, which were fiercely defended segregation lines in the 1950s, separated it from black areas. The changes that shaped Los Angeles from the late 1970s onward—the decline of American manufacturing that began in the 1970s; the rapid growth of newer suburbs in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, the eastern San Gabriel, western

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

and Conejo valleys; the collapse of the aerospace and defense industry at the end of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

; and the implosion of the Southern California real estate boom in the early 1990s—resulted in the wholesale departure of virtually all of the white population of Huntington Park by the mid-1990s. The vacuum was filled almost entirely by two groups of

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

s: upwardly mobile families eager to leave the barrios of

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

, and recent Mexican immigrants. Today, Pacific Boulevard is once again a thriving commercial strip, serving as a major retail center for working-class residents of southeastern Los Angeles County—only now targeting a Hispanic public with many signs in Spanish.

Geography

Before California abolished judicial townships (some time after 1960), Huntington Park was located in San Antonio Township. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , all land. Cities surrounding Huntington Park include

Bell A bell 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 made by an inter ...

, Cudahy,

, Maywood, South Gate, and Vernon.

Climate

On average, there are 286 sunny days per year in Huntington Park, California. Annually the snowfall is 0 inches. The July high is around 82 degrees. The January low is 48. As of 2015 the average high temperatures have risen ranging from the low to mid 90s (°F).

Demographics

2012

A 2012 study by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy found Huntington Park, California had the highest percentage of overweight children in all of California with 53% of the city's child population being obese or overweight.

2010 census

At the 2010 census Huntington Park had a population of 58,114. The population density was . The racial and ethnic makeup of Huntington Park was 56,445 (97.1%) Hispanic or Latino, 29,776 (51.2%) White (1.6% Non-Hispanic White), 440 (0.8%) African American, 752 (1.3%) Native American, 393 (0.7%) Asian, 28 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 24,535 (42.2%) from other races, and 2,190 (3.8%) from two or more races. The census reported that 57,859 people (99.6% of the population) lived in households, 248 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 7 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 14,597 households, 8,581 (58.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,461 (51.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 3,212 (22.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,623 (11.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,377 (9.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 81 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,644 households (11.3%) were one person and 694 (4.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.96. There were 12,296 families (84.2% of households); the average family size was 4.19. The age distribution was 18,439 people (31.7%) under the age of 18, 6,984 people (12.0%) aged 18 to 24, 17,886 people (30.8%) aged 25 to 44, 10,942 people (18.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,863 people (6.6%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 28.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males. There were 15,151 housing units at an average density of 5,023.9 per square mile, of the occupied units 3,936 (27.0%) were owner-occupied and 10,661 (73.0%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.2%. 18,054 people (31.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 39,805 people (68.5%) lived in rental housing units. During 2009–2013, Huntington Park had a median household income of $36,397, with 28.7% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

2000 census

According to the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 61,348 people in 14,860 households, including 12,660 families, in the city. The population density was 20,252.4 inhabitants per square mile (7,817.4/km). There were 15,335 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 41.4% White, 0.8% Black or African American, 1.0% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 51.1% from other races, and 4.9% from two or more races. 95.6% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

or Latino of any race. As of 2000, speakers of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

as their

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

accounted for 90.77% of residents, while

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

was spoken by 9.17%,

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

by 0.05% of the population. Of the 14,860 households 58.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 20.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.8% were non-families. 10.9% of households were one person and 4.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 4.12 and the average family size was 4.34. The age distribution was 35.8% under the age of 18, 13.0% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 13.8% from 45 to 64, and 5.1% 65 or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males. The median household income was $28,941 and the median family income was $29,844. Males had a median income of $21,039 versus $16,733 for females. The per capita income for the city was $9,340. About 23.3% of families and 25.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 31.5% of those under age 18 and 18.7% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Pacific Boulevard

Architecture

was the busiest shopping district in the southeastern Los Angeles suburbs from the 1930s through the 1950s and boasted numerous department stores including the local

Wineman's Wineman's was a chain of department stores in Southern and Central California which started in Ventura in 1890, and later became iconic local department stores of Oxnard and, later, Huntington Park. Origins (1890-1920) Wineman's first opened a s ...

. Notable

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...

architecture includes the Lane-Wells Company Building and the W. W. Henry Company Building.

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

architecture is found in Huntington Park's commercial district, and include the former theaters along Pacific Blvd. The 1,468 seat Warner Theater on Pacific Boulevard opened in 1930, and was designed by B. Marcus Priteca. The California Theatre opened in 1925 and was operated by Fox Theatres as the Fox California Theatre. In the 1980s it was known as the California 3 Theatre. The theatre closed in 2006 and was later converted into a retail space. It was renamed California 2 Theatres and now there is a tuxedo shop along with other retail stores and restaurants. In 2019 the theater had been converted into a fitness center for recreational use.

Festival and fairs

Pacific Boulevard, the commercial business street of Huntington Park, has been the location for festivals, carnival fairs and parades. The "Carnaval Primavera" is held each year for three days across nine blocks of Pacific Boulevard in Huntington Park. The event features Central American and Mexican food, carnival rides, games, and live music.

Public libraries

County of Los Angeles Public Library LA County Library is one of the largest public library systems in the United States which serves residents living in 49 of the 88 incorporated cities of Los Angeles County, California. United States, and those living in unincorporated areas r ...

operates the Huntington Park Library.

Government

In the

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States. History On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Sessions as their first ...

, Huntington Park is in the Fourth District, represented by

Janice Hahn Janice Kay Hahn (born March 30, 1952) is an American politician serving as the member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from the 4th district since 2016 and Chair of Los Angeles County since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, ...

. In the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

, Huntington Park is in . In the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

, Huntington Park is split between , and . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, Huntington Park is in .

Education

Huntington Park is zoned to schools in the

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 ...

. Public elementary schools in Huntington Park include: *Hope Street Elementary School *Huntington Park New Elementary *Middleton Elementary School and Middleton New Primary Center *Miles Elementary School *Pacific Boulevard School *San Antonio Elementary School *Walnut Park Elementary School *Lucille Roybal- Allard Elementary School * KIPP Comienza Community Prep * Aspire: Antonio Maria Lugo Academy * Aspire: Titan Academy * Aspire: Junior Collegiate Academy * Academia Moderna Public middle schools include: *Gage Middle School *Nimitz Middle School *Centennial College Preparatory Academy * Aspire: Ollin University Preparatory Academy * Walnut Park Middle School * Prepa Tec * KIPP Comienza Community Prep Public high schools include: *

Huntington Park High School Huntington Park High School is a public high school in Huntington Park, California, part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. History The First Grammar School was initially built in 1904. The election was held with 21 registered voters ca ...

* Alliance Collins Family College Ready High School * Aspire Pacific Academy * Linda Esperanza Marquez High School * Maywood Academy High School * Alliance Margaret M. Bloomfield High School * Diego Rivera Learning Complex In addition Pacific Boulevard Special Education Center (ungraded) is in the city. Private schools include: * Church of the Nazarene School * St. Matthias Catholic Elementary School * Interamerican Adult School

Infrastructure

Emergency services

Fire protection in Huntington Park is provided by the

Los Angeles County Fire Department The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting services as well as technical rescue services, hazardous materials response services and emergency medical response services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County ...

. The Huntington Park Police Department provides law enforcement.

Transportation

Bus services are provided by both the

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), commonly branded as Metro, LA Metro, and L.A. Metro, is the state agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the transportation system in Los Angele ...

, and Huntington Park's own COMBI bus service. Slauson station and Florence station on the

Metro A Line The Metro A Line is a bus rapid transit line in the Twin Cities, Minnesota operated by Metro Transit. The A Line operates primarily along the Snelling Avenue corridor and travels through the cities of Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Falcon Heights, a ...

are near the city.

Notable people

Lois Andrews Lois Andrews (born Lorraine Gourley; March 24, 1924 – April 5, 1968) was an American actress who played in films during the 1940s and early 1950s. She is perhaps best known for her first role in 1943 as the comic strip character Dixie Dugan ...

- actress, notable for her portrayal of the comics character

Dixie Dugan ''Dixie Dugan'' is best known as a long-running syndicated newspaper comic strip published from October 21, 1929 to October 8, 1966. The title character was originally modeled after 1920s film actress Louise Brooks and early stories followed Dix ...

. *

Elton Gallegly Elton William Gallegly (born March 7, 1944) is a former U.S. Representative from California. A Republican, he last represented . He previously represented the 23rd and 21st Districts, and served from 1987 to 2013. He did not seek re-election in ...

- former US Representative, California's 24th District. * Ofelia Hernandez - former mayor and City Council member *

Leon Leyson Leon Leyson (born Leib Lejzon; September 15, 1929 – January 12, 2013) was a Polish-American Holocaust survivor and one of the youngest , Jews saved by Oskar Schindler. His posthumously published memoir, ''The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Imp ...

- youngest person on

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film fo ...

, taught at

."Leon Leyson's Life Featured in 'A Child on Schindler's List,'"
''NBC Los Angeles'' (July 22, 2009). *

Rosario Marin Rosario Marin (born April 4, 1958) is a Mexican-American politician who served as the 41st Treasurer of the United States from August 16, 2001, to June 30, 2003, serving under President George W. Bush. She is the first person since William Clar ...

- 41st

Treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage produc ...

and a former mayor of Huntington Park. * Lorenzo Mata - professional basketball player. *

Jeremy McKinney Jeremy Adam McKinney (born January 6, 1976) is a former American football offensive guard in the National Football League for the St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at ...

- professional football player. *

Wilbur Nelson Wilbur Eugene Nelson (September 25, 1910 – August 22, 2003) was an American Christian radio broadcaster, church minister, gospel singer and composer, and published author. He produced and hosted the nationally-syndicated ''Morning Chapel Hour' ...

- minister at Grace Church of Huntington Park and radio broadcaster *

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

- American Thrash metal band originated out of Huntington Park *

Tim Wallach Timothy Charles Wallach (born September 14, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played seventeen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman, most notably for the Montreal Expos from to . A five- ...

- professional baseball player. * Terry Wilson - stuntman and actor, noted for his role as "Bill Hawks" on the television series ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It ...

''. *

Tex Winter Morice Fredrick "Tex" Winter (February 25, 1922 – October 10, 2018) was an American basketball coach and innovator of the triangle offense. He was a head coach in college basketball for 30 years before becoming an assistant coach in the National ...

- basketball coach.

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Los Angeles County, California Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods in California Gateway Cities Streetcar suburbs Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1906 1906 establishments in California