Pico-Union is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. The name "Pico-Union" refers to the neighborhood that surrounds the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Union Avenue. Located immediately west of Downtown Los Angeles, it is home to over 40,000 residents. The neighborhood contains two historic districts, both listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It has five public schools as well as a public library.

Geography

Google Maps

Google Maps draws the following boundaries for Pico-Union: Olympic Boulevard on the north, the

Harbor Freeway A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

on the east, the

Santa Monica Freeway Interstate 10 (I-10) is a transcontinental Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from Santa Monica, California to Jacksonville, Florida. The segment of I-10 in California runs east from Santa Monica through Los Angeles, San Bernar ...

on the south and Hoover St. on the west. Map of the Pico-Union neighborhood of Los Angeles, California

Mapping L.A. Project

According to the Los Angeles Times' Mapping L.A. project, Pico-Union is bounded by Olympic Boulevard on the north, the Harbor Freeway on the east, the Santa Monica Freeway on the south and

Normandie Avenue Normandie Avenue is one of Los Angeles County's longest north–south streets, with a stretch of about . It lies between Western Avenue to the west and Vermont Avenue to the east. The avenue begins in the south by branching off from Vermont Aven ...

on the west. It also includes the

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enforcem ...

station beneath the

Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Memorial Interchange The Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Memorial Interchange, also known as the Harbor–Santa Monica Freeway Interchange, is a three-level cloverstack interchange that serves as the junction between the Harbor ( Interstate 110 and State Route 110) and Santa Mon ...

northeast of Washington Boulevard. Pico-Union is flanked by

Koreatown A Koreatown ( Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula. History Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have ...

and Westlake to the north and northeast, Downtown to the east, Adams-Normandie, University Park and Exposition Park to the south and Harvard Heights to the west.
"Central L.A.," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times''
"Pico-Union," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times''
South L.A.," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times''

History

The area encompassed by Pico-Union was developed as a middle and upper middle class residential district beginning in the 1910s. Easy access to downtown Los Angeles and the nearby Wilshire District drew large numbers of affluent homeowners. Following the Second World War, the Pico-Union area, like many inner city neighborhoods, experienced an outflux of residents to the suburbs. The loss of residents and business led to high vacancy rates and lower property values in much of the neighborhood by the 1960s. In the late 1970s and 1980s, the area became a major point of entry for

Salvadoran Salvadorans (Spanish: ''Salvadoreños''), also known as Salvadorians (alternate spelling: Salvadoreans), are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvad ...

and Guatemalan immigrants seeking refuge from

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, according to the ''Pico Union Self-Guided Walking Tour,'' published in 2009 by the Los Angeles Conservancy. Pico-Union became the city's 19th

Historic Preservation Overlay Zone The Historic Preservation Overlay Zone of the City of Los Angeles in California has been hailed by historic preservation advocates for its pioneering program, which designates not just buildings but entire neighborhoods or districts as worthy of h ...

on August 10, 2004. It contains two historic districts listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

: South Bonnie Brae Tract Historic District and

Alvarado Terrace Historic District Alvarado Terrace Historic District is a designated historic district in the Pico-Union district of Los Angeles, California. It is located southwest of Downtown Los Angeles, along Alvarado Terrace between Pico Boulevard and Alvarado Street. S ...

. In August 2012, the City of Los Angeles designated a portion of

Vermont Avenue Vermont Avenue is one of the longest running north–south streets in City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, California. With a length of , is the third longest of the north–south thoroughfares in the region. For most of its length be ...

in Pico-Union as El Salvador Community Corridor; parts of Pico-Union are also being considered for designation as The Central American Historical District. The former

First Church of Christ, Scientist The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the administrative headquarters and mother church of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as the Christian Science church. Christian Science was founded in the 19th century in Lynn, Massachusetts ...

, once one of

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide ...

Peoples Temple The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, originally Peoples Temple Full Gospel Church and commonly shortened to Peoples Temple, was an American new religious organization which existed between 1954 and 1978. Founded in Indianapolis, Ind ...

s, was located in Pico-Union, at the corner of

Alvarado Street Alvarado Street is a north–south thoroughfare in Los Angeles, California in the United States. The street was named after California governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. Geography North of Glendale Boulevard, it starts off as a residential street ...

and Alvarado Terrace.

Population

Pico-Union is the fourth-most-dense neighborhood in Los Angeles, surpassed only by

East Hollywood East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

, Westlake and

. The 2000 U.S. census counted 42,324 residents in the 1.67-square-miles neighborhood—an average of 25,352 people per square mile. In 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 44,664. The median age for residents was 27, considered young for the city and the county. The ethnic breakdown in 2000 was:

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spaniards, Spanish and/or Latin Americans, Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include a ...

, 85.4%; Asians, 7.6%;

whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

, 3.0%,

blacks Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...

, 2.9%; and others, 1.1%. El Salvador (44.4%) and Mexico (23.3%) were the most common places of birth for the 64.6% of the residents who were born abroad, a figure that was considered high in comparison with foreign-born in the city as a whole. Other immigrants come from Guatemala, Honduras and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

.Antonio Olivo, "Learning From a Community’s Hard Work," ''Los Angeles Times,'' October 2, 1999, pageB-1
/ref> The median household income in 2008 dollars was $26,424, considered low for both the city and the county. The percentage of households earning $20,000 or less was high, compared to the county at large. The average household size of 3.3 people was relatively high for Los Angeles. Renters occupied 90.5% of the housing units, and home- or apartment owners the rest. The percentages of never-married men (43.4%) and never-married women (36.2%) were among the county's highest. The census found 2,113 families headed by single parents, the 23.3% rate being considered high for both the city and the county. In 2000 there were 667 military veterans living in Pico-Union, or 2.3% of the population, considered a low rate for the city and the county overall.

Education

Pico-Union residents aged 25 and older holding a four-year degree amounted to 6.7% of the population in 2000, considered low for both the city and the county, and there was a high percentage of residents with less than a high school diploma.

Schools

These are the elementary or secondary schools within the neighborhood's boundaries: *

West Adams Preparatory High School West Adams Preparatory High School is a secondary school in the Pico-Union neighborhood of Central Los Angeles, California. The school is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District and is operated by a nonprofit organization working in c ...

LAUSD 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 ...

, 1500 West Washington Boulevard * SIATech Pico-Union is a public charter high school, 2140 West Olympic Boulevard suite 327. "Classes are held from approximately 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. This site is an independent study school where students complete work at home, online and on site." *

Loyola High School of Los Angeles Loyola High School is a private, Roman Catholic, college-preparatory high school for boys in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was established in 1865 and is part of the Society of Jesus. It is the oldest continuously run educational inst ...

, private, 1901 Venice Boulevard * Berendo Middle School, LAUSD, 1157 South Berendo Street, which claims the title as the oldest

intermediate school 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. ...

continuously in operation in Los Angeles and perhaps in the entire United States * Sophia T. Salvin Special Education Center, LAUSD, 1925 Budlong Avenue * Leo Politi Elementary School, LAUSD, 2481 West 11th Street * Tenth Street Elementary School, LAUSD, 1000 Grattan Street *

Saint Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twi ...

School, private elementary, 2632 West 15th Street * Magnolia Avenue Elementary School, LAUSD, 1626 South Orchard Avenue * Los Angeles Christian School, private, 1630 West 20th Street
Equitas Academy Charter Schools
charter, 1700 West Pico Boulevard

Public library

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

operates the Pico-Union Branch Library at 1030 South Alvarado Street.

Cemetery

Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery is a cemetery in Los Angeles at 1831 West Washington Boulevard in the Pico-Union district, southwest of Downtown. It was founded as Rosedale Cemetery in 1884, when Los Angeles had a population of approximately 28,000, o ...

was founded as Rosedale Cemetery in 1884, when Los Angeles was a small city of around 28,000 people, on of land between Washington and Venice boulevards (then 16th Street) between Normandie Avenue and Walton and Catalina Streets.''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', Nov. 20, 1884, "Rosedale—The Opening of a New Cemetery in this City," p. 0_4

Notable people

Larry Elder Laurence Allen Elder (born April 27, 1952) is an American right-wing political commentator and conservative talk radio host. Elder hosts ''The Larry Elder Show'', based in California. The show began as a local program on Los Angeles radio stat ...

, talk show host and politician * Elizabeth Harrower (1918 - 2003), actress, writer *

, founder and the leader of the

* Jacob Kuhrts, 19th Century Los Angeles businessman and politician * Pomeroy Wills Powers, president, Los Angeles City Council, 1900–02 * Susan Seaforth Hayes, actress

References

Notes

External links

Comments about living in Pico-Union

Pico-Union crime map and statistics

Map of Street Gangs in Pico-Union Neighborhood

Project One, Community Redevelopment Agency

Project Two, Community Redevelopment Agency

LA City Office of Historic Resources

Historic Preservation Plan

The Graff Lab

The King of Pop Michael Jackson Mural "MJ2010," MJFanClub.net {{Northwest Los Angeles Pico-Union, Los Angeles, Neighborhoods in Los Angeles Central Los Angeles Northwest Los Angeles Salvadoran-American culture in California Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods in California