The Harbor Gateway is a in the Los Angeles Harbor Region, in the southern part of the city. The neighborhood is narrow and long, running along a north-south axis. Its unusual shape has given it the alternative name of "the Shoestring Strip". The northern limit of the neighborhood is Imperial Highway, a city street just north of I-105. Harbor Gateway was attached to Los Angeles in 1906 to serve as a link to the Pacific Ocean port cities of Wilmington and San Pedro. It was given its present name in 1985. With a relatively youthful and ethnically diverse population of over 42,000, the center of the community is anchored by Gardena High School. The neighborhood is bisected by Artesia Boulevard and has two neighborhood councils, one north of the boulevard and the other south of it. A large transportation center serves the south Los Angeles County area.

Geography

Harbor Gateway is a narrow north-south corridor situated approximately between

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 ...

and

Figueroa Street Figueroa Street is a major north-south street in Los Angeles County, California, spanning from the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington north to Eagle Rock. A short, unconnected continuation of Figueroa Street runs just south of Marengo Driv ...

north of Interstate 405, and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and Normandie avenues south of I-405. The territory was acquired by the city of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in a shoestring annexation, specifically to connect San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City and the Port of Los Angeles with the rest of the city. Harbor Gateway abuts Broadway-Manchester on the north and is flanked by

Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated ...

, Carson and West Carson to the east, West Carson and Harbor City to the south and

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and Gardena to the west and Torrance to the south and west. The neighborhood's street boundaries are 120th Street on the north and

and

on the west and east respectively, running south to 182nd Street, where the neighborhood takes a jog to the west and draws its western boundary at Western Avenue, its eastern line at

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 ...

and its southern border at West

Sepulveda Boulevard Sepulveda Boulevard is a major street and transportation corridor in the City of Los Angeles and several other cities in western Los Angeles County, California. The street parallels Interstate 405 for much of its route. Portions of Sepulveda Bou ...

. A southeastern section bounded by 192nd Street on the north, Hamilton Avenue on the east, Del Amo Boulevard on the south and railroad tracks on the west includes the

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...

Harbor Gateway.''The Thomas Guide,'' 2006, pages 734, 763, 764 and 793
"Harbor Gateway," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times'' Another section between 177th and 182nd Streets includes Gardena High School. North of Interstate 405 (California), I-405 and Artesia Boulevard is North Harbor Gateway, which lies between Vermont Avenue and Figeroa Street, a one-block strip that is bisected by 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 ...

I-110 Interstate 110 may refer to: *Interstate 110 and State Route 110 (California), Interstate 110 (California), a north–south freeway running through Los Angeles, California *Interstate 110 (Florida), a spur route in Pensacola, Florida *Interstate 1 ...

. South of I-405 the strip follows a different one-block strip between Western Avenue and Normandie Avenue, with the southern end of the neighborhood being Sepulveda Avenue, this southern section is defined as South Harbor Gateway. Connecting the two strips is a one-block east-west strip between West 182nd and West 190th Streets. The independent cities of Torrance, and Gardena lie immediately west of the strip, while the unincorportated community of West Rancho Dominguez and the independent city of Carson lie to its east.

Population

A total of 39,688 people lived in Harbor Gateway's 5.14 square miles, according to the 2000 U.S. census—averaging 7,720 people per square mile, about the same

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

for the city as a whole. Population was estimated at 42,005 in 2008. The median age was 27, young for the city of Los Angeles. The percentage of married women (56.2%) was among the county's highest. Harbor Gateway is considered highly diverse ethnically, with a

diversity index A diversity index is a quantitative measure that reflects how many different types (such as species) there are in a dataset (a community), and that can simultaneously take into account the phylogenetic relations among the individuals distributed a ...

of 0.648 In 2000

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 ...

made up 53.4% of the population,

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 ...

were at 16.3%, Asians at 16%,

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 ...

at 11.8% and others at 2.4%. Mexico and the Philippines were the most common places of birth for the 40.8% of the residents who were born abroad, considered an average percentage of foreign-born when compared with the city as a whole. The $47,849 median household income in 2008 dollars was average for the city. Renters occupied 59.7% of the housing units, and homeowners occupied the rest. In 1992, it was noted that the poorest part of the area was between Rosecrans Avenue and Artesia Boulevard.

History

The city of Los Angeles annexed the area on December 26, 1906 "in anticipation of taking over, several years later, the independent cities of Wilmington and San Pedro" in order to create the Port of Los Angeles. Because of its slim shape, once likened to two shoelaces tied together with a

granny knot The granny knot is a binding knot, used to secure a rope or line around an object. It is considered inferior to the reef knot (square knot), which it superficially resembles. Neither of these knots should be used as a bend knot for attaching tw ...

,"Council District 15: Harbor Gateway, the City on a Shoestring," ''Los Angeles Times,'' December 23, 2011
/ref> the neighborhood—only a half mile wide at some points—was known for years as the "city strip," the " shoestring strip" or simply "the strip." The strip was simply open fields before World War II, but "Then came factories, attracting workers who needed housing," and builders "filled those fields with small houses and duplexes." Cubans settled in the 1960s and Mexican immigrants in the 1970s. From 1985 to 1992, some seventy-five single-family homes were replaced by nearly five hundred apartment units, and the neighborhood gained some 1,500 residents, with "no plan, no thought," as the area's leading developer put it.Sam Quinones, "How a Community Imploded," ''Los Angeles Times,'' March 4, 2007
/ref> In 1985, the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the City of Los Angeles in California. The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tem ...

renamed the area as Harbor Gateway.Sheryl Stolberg, "In Search of an Identity: Area Lacks a Sense of Community," ''Los Angeles Times,'' January 1, 1989 (three screens)
/ref> But a ''Los Angeles Times'' reporter noted four years later that

Harbor Gateway lacks much of what makes a community a community—no central business district, no
civic center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...
or gathering place, no library branch, no police station ... no post office. Its largest park is a cemetery. And, despite the new name, mailing addresses of residents remain unchanged. They still say Torrance or Gardena, not Los Angeles.

In 1985, Harbor Gateway was referred to as a "crime-plagued area," and residents blamed the widespread availability of alcohol for "dozens of robberies, burglaries and other crimes" in the

blue-collar A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...

neighborhood. There were at that time 51 liquor outlets within a two-mile radius of the intersection of El Segundo Boulevard and

. In 1989, however, Harbor Gateway was tied with the Westwood neighborhood as Los Angeles's second-fastest-growing area, Sylmar being first. However, the contrast between the unkempt Los Angeles side of Gardena Boulevard and the tidy Gardena side was striking. In March 1988, the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

of Los Angeles declared Harbor Gateway an "under-served geographic area," noting "real gaps in law enforcement" and in social services. At the same time, there became a "major drawing card for commercial development" along the 190th Street corridor where "Gleaming high-rises with pleasant landscaping have replaced a Shell oil refinery and manufacturing plants." By 1992, the United Way had "funneled $100,000 to the few private charities serving the area, including a small free medical clinic, a job center and an ad hoc coalition helping the homeless." It was written that "extended families crowd into single apartments, and the homeless sleep under freeway overpasses."Ronald B. Taylor, "Stretched Thin: Public Services: Harbor Gateway, an Eight-Mile Ribbon of Los Angeles, Is Long on Need and Short on Government Support," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 30, 1992
/ref> In 2013, it was noted that one section of Harbor Gateway had "one of the city's highest concentrations of registered sex offenders," with 86 living in a 13-block area, and so the city began a campaign to force some of them to move by building pocket parks in Harbor Gateway and in Wilmington. In California, such offenders are barred by law from living near schools and parks. The small park was built on city-owned land on the southeast corner of Torrance Boulevard and Denker Avenue.

Racial violence

In 1991, parts of the Gateway were known to be "the turf of warring black and Latino gangs, and Gardena High School students of those two ethnicities "clashed after a multicultural program in the school auditorium." In December 2006 the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that racial tensions "have held this working-class neighborhood in a state of fear for years" and that the Latino 204th Street Gang, "noted for preying on" blacks had warned all blacks to stay south of 206th Street. The neighborhood averaged "about one Latino-on-black homicide" each year since 1997, the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

reported.Sam Quinones, "Man Gets 238 Years in L.A. Hate-Crime Slaying of Teenage Girl," ''Los Angeles Times,'' June 22, 2012
/ref>

In 1997, police, the county Human Relations Commission and neighbors organized to fight the gang and the blight. The city added bulletproof streetlight covers. Residents repaired holes in fences -- escape routes for gang members. Girl Scouts, accompanied by officers, picked up trash and painted over graffiti. More than 100 gang members -- black and Latino -- were sent to jail for parole or probation violations. Police patrols increased. Violence fell. But the campaign dissipated, and gang members slowly returned. By 1999, the Latino-on-black violence resumed.

In December 2006, a 14-year-old black girl, Cheryl Green, was shot and killed while talking with friends on Harvard Boulevard just south of the 206th Street dividing line. Jonathan Fajardo, 18, was sentenced to death for killing Green and for stabbing a "potential witness" to death.Victoria Kim, "Death Penalty Ordered for Two in Harbor Gateway," ''Los Angeles Times,'' September 28, 2010
/ref> Another culprit, Ernesto Alvarez, was sentenced to a range of 238 years to life in state prison for the acting as a lookout in Cheryl's death. A Latino gang, the 204th Street Gang, came into existence, but as the African-American population rose from 313 in 1990 to 835 in 2000, a black gang also formed—the 208th Street Crips. "The Crip gang's willingness to go to the police with complaints offended the Latino gang's sense of honor," wrote reporter Sam Quinones for the ''Los Angeles Times.'' Yet the gang was never "rooted in the neighborhood," and by 2001 it had faded away. There has been animosity between blacks and Latinos, and in 2007, a

gang injunction A civil gang injunction or CGI is a type of restraining order issued by courts in the United States prohibiting gang members in particular cities from participating in certain specified activities. It is based on the legal theory that gang activi ...

has been enforced against Latino gangs. In 2008, another

put many Latino gang members in jail, and by 2009, racial tensions had "definitely calmed," and a new community center was opened at 1435 Del Amo Boulevard in the city of Torrance and named in honor of Cheryl Green. "Cheryl's death was the tipping point for L.A.," said Los Angeles Councilwoman

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, ...

, yet gang graffiti still abounded in the neighborhood and blacks were fearful of Latino animosity.

Government and infrastructure

The

Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (abbreviated DHS and LADHS) operates the public hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles County, and is the United States' second largest municipal health system, after NYC Health + Hospitals. DHS ope ...

operates the Torrance Health Center in Harbor Gateway, near Torrance. The National Transportation Safety Board operates the Gardena Aviation Field Office in Harbor Gateway; it is the regional headquarters of the NTSB Aviation Western Region. The area is served by two neighborhood councils—Harbor Gateway North and Harbor Gateway South, with the division between the two at

Artesia Boulevard Artesia Boulevard is a west-east thoroughfare in Los Angeles County and Orange County. Route description Artesia Boulevard begins at the intersection with Pacific Coast Highway. West of this point, Artesia Boulevard becomes Gould Avenue and l ...

Economy

Many trucking, shipping and

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

companies are based in Harbor Gateway. The headquarters of National Stores (Fallas Paredes) is in Harbor Gateway, near Gardena. Yoshinoya America's headquarters are in Harbor Gateway, near Torrance.

Faraday Future Faraday Future is an American start-up technology company focused on the development of electric vehicles, founded in 2014. History Founding Faraday Future was founded by Chinese businessman Jia Yueting in April 2014 and is headquartered in L ...

is headquartered is located in Harbor Gateway, near Carson, CA, even though it has a Gardena address. Roosevelt Memorial Park is a cemetery between Vermont and Normandie north of 184th Street.

Education

Just 12.4% of Harbor Gateway's residents aged 25 or older had completed a four-year degree by 2000, an average figure when compared with the city at large. The percentage of residents of that age without a high school diploma was high for the county.

Schools

The schools within Harbor Gateway's boundaries are: GardenaHSLosAngelesCA

* Gardena High School,

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 ...

,1301 West 182nd Street * Moneta Continuation School, LAUSD, 1230 West 177th Street * Magnolia Science Academy Santa Clara, LAUSD charter, no address given * One Hundred Thirty-Fifth Street Elementary School, LAUSD, 801 West 135th Street * Gardena Elementary School, LAUSD, 647 West Gardena Boulevard * Gardena Valley Christian School, private, 1473 West 182nd Street * One Hundred Eighty-Sixth Street Elementary School, LAUSD, 1581 West 186th Street. In 2011, the school was one of only three in the Los Angeles Unified School District where bus transportation was provided "solely because of safety concerns." Otherwise, Harbor Gateway pupils would "have to cross railroad tracks and major freeway onramps and offramps" to get to their school. The community, it was said, was also home to "dozens of paroled sex offenders." * Halldale Elementary School, LAUSD, 21514 Halldale Avenue * Environmental Charter Middle School, 812 W 165th Pl. The northern end of the Gardena HS campus has LAUSD staff housing, Sage Park Apartments.

Libraries

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 Harbor Gateway-Harbor City Branch.

Recreation and parks

The Rosecrans Recreation Center/CVS Playground is in Harbor Gateway, on Vermont Avenue south of 149th Street. The playground was developed by the nonprofit Boundless Playgrounds.Rosecrans Recreation Center/CVS Playground
Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks

Public transportation

Artesia Transit Center & Metro Silver Line- Picture 10

The

Harbor Gateway Transit Center Harbor Gateway Transit Center, formerly Artesia Transit Center, is a large bus station at the southern end of the Harbor Transitway that serves as a transport hub (known locally as a transit center) for the South Bay region of Los Angeles Count ...

is a big transportation hub for various bus lines. The Metro Silver Line bus rapid transit line runs between

El Monte Station El Monte Station is a large regional bus station in the city of El Monte, California, United States, adjacent to Interstate 10, serving the Metro J Line, Foothill Transit, Greyhound Lines, and El Monte Transit. It is the Metro J Line's easter ...

, Downtown Los Angeles and the

and select trips to San Pedro, which is the line's southern terminus. The Metro Silver Line operates on the

Harbor Transitway The Harbor Transitway (also known as the I-110 Express Lanes) is a shared-use express bus corridor (known as a busway or transitway) and high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes running in the median of Interstate 110 (Harbor Freeway) between Downtown ...

(

freeway) between Downtown Los Angeles, the

and San Pedro. The

is located at 731 W. 182nd Street, Gardena, CA 90248. Nine Metro bus lines (including the Metro Silver Line) operate to various destinations from the transit center. In addition,

Torrance Transit Torrance Transit is a transit agency primarily serving the South Bay region of Los Angeles County. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . History Torrance Transit inaugurated service on January 15, 1940 using thre ...

lines 1, 4X, 6, and 13 serve the transit center, while Gardena Transit lines 2, 4 (school days only), and 7X (NFL game days only) also serve at the transit center.

References

External links

Los Angeles population by neighborhood and race, 2000 census, ''Los Angeles Almanac''

Harbor Gateway crime map and statistics {{Coord, 33.850072 , N, 118.299068, W, display=title Harbor Gateway, Los Angeles, Neighborhoods in Los Angeles Los Angeles Harbor Region