Morningside Park, Inglewood, California

Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, near Los Angeles International Airport.

History

The earliest residents of what is now Inglewood were Native Americans who used the Aguaje de Centinela natural springs in today's Edward Vincent Jr. Park (known for most of its history as Centinela Park). Local historian Gladys Waddingham wrote that these springs took the name Centinela from the hills that rose gradually around them, and which allowed ranchers to watch over their herds," (thus the name ''centinelas ''or sentinels).

Spanish era

The original settlers of Los Angeles in 1781, one of whom was Spanish soldier Jose Manuel Orchado Machado, "a 23-year-old muleteer from Los Alamos in Sinaloa". These settlers, she wrote, were ordered by the officials of the San Gabriel Mission "to graze their animals on the ocean side of Los Angeles in order not to infringe on mission lands." As a result, the settlers, or ''pobladores'', drove some of their cattle to the "lush pasture lands near Centinela Springs", and the first construction there was done by Bruno Ygnacio Ávila, who received a permit in 1822 to build a "corral and hut for his herders." The area that is now Inglewood was divided into two ''rancho'' grants: Rancho Sausal Redondo and Rancho Aguaje de la Centinela.

Mexican era

Later, Avila constructed a three-room adobe house on a slight rise overlooking the creek that ran from Centinela Springs all the way to the ocean. According to the LAOkay web site, this adobe was built where the present baseball field is in the park. It no longer exists.

In 1834, Ygnacio Machado, one of the sons of Jose Machado, built the Centinela Adobe, which sits on a rise above the present Interstate 405 (San Diego Freeway) and is used as the headquarters of the Centinela Valley Historical Society. Two years later, Ygnacio was granted the Rancho Aguaje de la Centinela, though this land had already been claimed by Avila.

American era

Daniel Freeman acquired the rancho and was a founder of the Centinela-Inglewood Land Company in 1887, which developed the city. That year it was reported that:

The Centinela-Inglewood Company has put on a four-horse coach between their office and Inglewood, leaving at 9:30 am and returning at 2 pm to carry passengers desiring to see the property. It is understood that arrangements will soon be completed for frequent fast trains between Los Angeles and Inglewood over the California Southern.

Inglewood Park Cemetery, a widely used cemetery for the entire region, was founded in 1905. The city has been home to the Hollywood Park Racetrack from 1938 to 2013, one of the premier horse racing venues in the United States. Fosters Freeze, the first soft serve ice cream chain in California, was founded by George Foster in 1946 in Inglewood. Inglewood was named an All-America City by the National Civic League in 1989 and yet again in 2009 for its visible progress.

The Ku Klux Klan had a presence in Inglewood in the 1920s, with the most notable event being the 1922 raid, the Klan had a chapter in Inglewood as late as October 1931.

Labor unions

Labor troubles became a serious issue in 1941. From August 1939 to June 1941, Stalin and Hitler supported each other as war raged in Europe. In the U.S., Communist local union officials opposed American aid to Britain's war against Germany. They called strikes in war industries that were supplying Lend-Lease materiel to Britain. The United Auto Workers (UAW) won the election over the International Association of Machinists and represented all the employees at the North American Aviation factory in Inglewood. UAW negotiators demanded a starting pay of 75 cents an hour, plus a 10-cent raise for the 11,000 current employees. The UAW had made a no-strike pledge, but suddenly a wildcat strike on June 4 closed the plant that produced a fourth of the nation's fighter planes. The UAW was unable to get the workers to return, when Washington intervened. With the approval of national CIO leadership, President Franklin Roosevelt sent in the California national guard to reopen the plant. When Germany suddenly invaded the USSR in late June 1941, though, the Communist activists suddenly became the strongest supporters of war production; they crushed wildcat strikes.

African-American influence

"No blacks had ever lived in Inglewood", Gladys Waddingham wrote, but by 1960, "they lived in great numbers along its eastern borders. This came to the great displeasure of the predominantly white residents already residing in Inglewood. In 1960, the census counted only 29 "Negroes" among Inglewood's 63,390 residents. Not a single black child attended the city's schools. Real-estate agents refused to show homes to blacks. A rumored curfew kept blacks off the streets at night. Inglewood was a prime target because of its previous history of restrictions." "Fair housing and school busing were the main problems of 1964. The schools were not prepared to handle racial incidents, even though any that occurred were very minor. Adults held many heated community meetings, since the blacks objected to busing as much as did the whites." In 1969, an organization called "Morningside Neighbors" changed its name to "Inglewood Neighbors" "in the hope of promoting more integration."

On February 3, 1969, Harold P. Moret (of Louisiana Creole ancestry) became Inglewood's first black police officer. A year later, Jimmy Lee Worsham became the second. He was followed by Barbara Harris, the first black female officer, then Otis Hendricks, Melvin Lovelace, and Eugene Lindsey. The seventh black officer was James T. Butts Jr. He became Inglewood's first black motorcycle traffic-enforcement officer, first black lieutenant and captain, and only black deputy chief in the history of the department. In September 1991 at the age of 38, Butts became the first person of color to command the Santa Monica Police Department as chief of police, and the youngest to do so.

On July 22, 1970, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Max F. Deutz ordered Inglewood schools to desegregate in response to a suit filed by 19 parents. At least since 1965, said Deutz, the Inglewood school board had been aware of a growing influx of black families into its eastern areas, but had done nothing about the polarization of its pupils into an eastern black area and a western white one. On August 31, he rejected an appeal by four parents who said the school board was not responsible for the segregation, but that the blacks "selected their places of residence by voluntary choice."

The first black principal among the 18 Inglewood schools was Peter Butler at La Tijera Elementary, and in 1971, the "Stormy racial meetings in 1971" included a charge by "some real estate men in the overflowing Crozier Auditorium" that the Human Relations Commission was acting like "the Gestapo". In that year, Loyd Sterling Webb, president of Inglewood Neighbors, became the first black officeholder when voters elected him to the school board.

In 1972, Curtis Tucker, Sr., was appointed as the first black city council member. That year, composer LeRoy Hurte, an African-American, took the baton of the Inglewood Symphony Orchestra and continued to work with it for 20 years. Edward Vincent Jr. became Inglewood's first black mayor in 1983. In that decade, whites left the city in increasing numbers, and Inglewood became the first city in California to declare the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. a holiday. Since the term of Edward Vincent Jr. (1983–1997), Inglewood has consecutively elected African-American mayors: Roosevelt F. Dorn (1997–2010), Danny Tabor (2010–2011), and James T. Butts Jr. (2011–present).

Rise of Latino population

The 1990 census showed that Latinos in Inglewood had increased by 134% since 1980, the largest jump in the South Bay. Economic factors apparently played a role in where new arrivals settled, said David Heer, a USC professor of sociology and associate director of the university's Population Research Laboratory. "Housing is generally less expensive here than elsewhere . . . and I would say that they receive a warmer welcome here", said Norm Cravens, assistant city manager in Inglewood, where the white population dropped from nearly 21% in 1980 to 8.5% in 1990.

In the 2000 census, blacks made up 47%t of the city's residents (53,060 people), and Latinos comprised 46% (51,829), but the Census Bureau estimated that in 2007, the percentage of blacks had declined to 41% (48,252) and that Latinos were at 52.5% (61,847). The white population declined from 19 (21,505) to 17.7% (20,853).

That year, though, only one of the city's five city council members was Latino: Jose Fernandez. No Latinos were on the five-member board of education.

Religious history

In 2007, the area served by the Inglewood post office (including Lennox) had 98 churches, temples, mosques, chapels and other houses of worship, according to the AreaConnect.com website.

The first church service was held on April 22, 1888, in the Inglewood House hotel on Commercial Street (today's La Brea Avenue), popularly called Mrs. Belden's Boarding House, when Inglewood had only 300 residents and 112 registered voters. Later, services were in Bucephalus Hall, but eventually the congregation moved to Hyde Park, which left Inglewood with no church. On January 19, 1890, Inglewood's first permanent church – Presbyterian – was established on Market Street. A bit later, the nitedBrethren constructed a building on South Market Street.

In 1907, a group of Episcopalians began services in a private home, and a few years later, the first Catholic services were held in Bank Hall. In 1910, the Presbyterians moved their two buildings, a sanctuary and a manse, to the corner of Grevillea and Nutwood "because the streetcars n Market Streetwere so noisy and threw so much dust and sand fleas in the windows."

In 1923, St. John Chrysostom Catholic Church was founded. The current church at the intersection of Centinela and Florence was built in 1959 and is the tallest point in the city. It is the largest congregation in the city, consisting of almost 10,000 registered families. Next door is St. John Chrysostom School, educating children since 1927 from prekindergarten through eighth grade.

The Methodists had built a structure at Manchester and La Brea, but in 1940, they moved to a new building at Kelso and Spruce.

2016 killing of Marquintan Sandlin and Kisha Michael

The deaths of Kisha Michael, 31, a single mother of three sons, and Marquintan Sandlin, 32, a single father of four daughters, occurred on February 21, 2016, when police responded to a call of a suspicious vehicle parked on Manchester Boulevard around 3:10 am. When police arrived, they engaged in a 45-minute-long standoff before opening fire on the man and the armed woman inside the vehicle, killing them both. Michael was shot 13 times and pronounced dead at the scene. Sandlin was shot eight times and died at a hospital shortly thereafter.

Law enforcement officials involved in the shooting have claimed that Michael had a gun in her lap, although authorities have not stated whether either victim reached for or touched the weapon. No one has indicatedthat the victims' vehicle was used in a violent manner toward the officers. Mayor James T. Butts Jr. said that the couple was unconscious when police first encountered them.

After an investigation, the City of Inglewood fired the five officers involved in the shooting in May 2017, while the district attorney's office had yet to reach a decision regarding criminal liability of those officers.

Trash-hauling pact

In 2018, an investigation began into a 2012 trash-hauling contract valued at $100 million; it went to a bidder with connections to current mayor James T. Butts. The bidder, Consolidated Disposal Services, secured the contract soon after hiring Michael Butts, brother of Mayor Butts, as an operations manager.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of . Downtown Inglewood is from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). It is part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan statistical area.

Neighborhoods

Inglewood consists of 10 neighborhoods that are indicated by symbols on street signs. The neighborhoods are: Morningside Park, Downtown Inglewood, Fairview Heights, Arbor Village, Hollypark Knolls, Centinela Heights, Century Heights, Inglewood Knolls, and Lockhaven.

Crenshaw-Imperial

The Crenshaw-Imperial district was a later annexation to Inglewood, California. It has its own branch public library and an important shopping center for the area. (Also see Inglewood Knolls)

Morningside Park

Morningside Park is a commercial district in the eastern part of the city. Though the city of Inglewood does not define the district's boundaries, it may be delineated by Hyde Park on the north, Manchester Square on the east, Century Boulevard on the south and Prairie Avenue on the west. The major streets that run through the area are Manchester and Crenshaw boulevards. It is six miles (10 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and about two miles (3 km) from SoFi Stadium, the home of the NFL's Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers. The district is also the location of Kia Forum, an entertainment venue and where for 32 years the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and NHL's Los Angeles Kings played and The Village at Century shopping center. This neighborhood was once the site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack. It is also the home to three gated-communities called Carlton Square, Briarwood Village & The Renaissance.

North Inglewood and Fairview Heights

North Inglewood is a neighborhood north of the former Santa Fe railroad tracks, where the K Line currently is. In 2009, it was reported to be the site of a "burgeoning arts scene" at East Hyde Park Boulevard and La Brea Avenue. Fairview Heights is a signed area north of Florence and east of La Brea Avenues.

Inglewood Knolls

Situated in the southeastern corner of the city, Inglewood Knolls is a subdivision of tract homes built in 1953–54. It is bordered by Crenshaw Blvd. on the west, 108th St. on the north, Spinning Ave. on the east, and Imperial Highway on the south. A shopping center on the northeastern quadrant of the intersection of Crenshaw and Imperial was also constructed in the mid-1950s, originally including a Food Giant grocery store, Thrifty Drug, J.J. Newberrys, and Lishon's Music Store, among others. Century Park Elementary School on Spinning Ave., although fully within Inglewood city limits, is actually part of the L.A. school district.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2010 census

The 2010 United States Census reported that Inglewood had a population of 109,673. The population density was . The racial makeup of Inglewood was 50.6% Hispanics or Latinos (of any race),
43.9% African American, 23.3% White (2.9% non-Hispanic White), 0.7% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 26.3% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races. The Census reported that 98.6% of the population lived in households, 0.9% lived in noninstitutionalized group quarters, and 0.5% were institutionalized.

Of the 36,389 households, 42.1% had children under living in them, 36.0% were married couples living together, 24.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.1% had a male householder with no wife present, 6.4% were unmarried partnerships, 0.6% were same-sex partnerships, 25.7% were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.97. With 25,019 families (68.8% of all households), the average family size was 3.59.

The age distribution was 26.7% under 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 or older. The median age was 33.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

The 38,429 housing units had an average density of , of which 37.0% were owner-occupied and 63.0% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.5%, while 39.2% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 59.4% lived in rental housing units.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Inglewood had a median household income of $43,394, with 22.4% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

Mapping L.A.

Mexican and Salvadoran are the common ancestries in Inglewood.

In 2009, the ''Los Angeles Timess "Mapping L.A." project supplied these neighborhood statistics based on the 2000 census. "Inglewood" entry on the Los Angeles Times "Mapping L.A." website
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The population was 112,482, or 12,330 people per square mile, among the highest densities for the South Bay and among the highest densities for the county. The percentage of African Americans was high for the county, and the population was moderately diverse. Median household income was $46,574, low for both the South Bay and for the county. The median age was 29, young for the county; the percentage of residents aged 10 or under was among the county's highest. Three people, on the average, lived in each household – high for the South Bay but about average for the county. There was a higher percentage of families headed by single parents than elsewhere in the county. The percentage of veterans who served during 1975–89 and 1990–99 was among the county's highest.

(*) "The diversity index measures the probability that any two residents, chosen at random, would be of different ethnicities. If all residents are of the same ethnic group it's zero. If half are from one group and half from another it's .50."

Arts and culture

Landmarks

The Forum was built in 1967 and designed by architect Charles Luckman, who also designed Madison Square Garden."The Forum." The Forum. The Madison Square Garden Company, n.d. Web. March 31, 2015. The Forum was intended to evoke the Roman Forum in Rome. For decades the Forum was one of LA's biggest concert venues; Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin and the Jackson 5 were among the superstars to headline the arena. The Forum also achieved its greatest fame as the home of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and the NHL's Los Angeles Kings. In 1999, both teams moved to the Staples Center and the Forum was sold to the Faithful Central Bible Church, which used it for Sunday services and rented it out for concerts or sporting events. In 2012, the Forum was purchased by The Madison Square Garden Company, owners of New York's Madison Square Garden, for $23.5 million; MSG announced plans to spend $50 million to refurbish and renovate the arena for use as a "world-class" concert venue. The "Fabulous" Forum presented by Chase re-opened on January 15, 2014, with the first of six historic performances by the Eagles. The reinvention of the Forum has created the largest indoor performance venue in the country designed with a focus on music and entertainment. On April 4, 2022, "The Forum" was renamed "Kia Forum" due to a naming rights deal with Steve Ballmer the owner of The Fourm and the Kia automaker.

On February 24, 2015, the Inglewood City Council approved plans for the construction of an NFL-capacity stadium, later named SoFi Stadium, with a 5–0 unanimous vote to combine the plot of land with the larger Hollywood Park development and rezone the area to include Sports/Entertainment capabilities. of Hollywood Park were devoted to Lake Park, a naturally-replenishing water feature which is claimed to recycle 26 million gallons of water annually. This cleared the way for developers to begin construction on the venue as planned in December 2015. On January 13, 2016, one day after the NFL approved of the Rams return to Los Angeles, construction began on the Inglewood site. SoFi Stadium opened in 2020.

Public libraries

The City of Inglewood operates a main library in the city's Civic Center, in addition to a branch in the southeastern corner of the city, near the intersection of Crenshaw and Imperial.

Symphony

The Southeast Symphony Association is a non-profit, musical and cultural association in Inglewood, founded in 1948 to create an orchestra that welcomes African-American musicians.

Open Studios

The annual Open Studios event features "drawing, painting, photography and more", organized by a volunteer group of artists with support by the Inglewood Cultural Arts, Inc. (ICA) organization. The first year of the event saw six artists featured, but at the November 2011 event "more than 30" were expected, said Renee Fox, gallery director at the Beacon Arts Building on North La Brea Avenue. The structure has been turned into 14 artists' studios, with 16 more to be added by the end of 2011. A nearby former auto showroom has also been turned over to artists.

Sports

Professional sports

Inglewood is home to the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League who play at SoFi Stadium. The stadium hosted Super Bowl LVI in 2022. The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings played their home games at Kia Forum until the completion of Crypto.com Arena in Downtown Los Angeles.

On July 26, 2019, the Los Angeles Clippers announced plans to build a new arena and entertainment center in Inglewood. The announcement explained that the new arena would be completed in the fall of 2024, the same time their current leasing agreement with Crypto.com Arena is set to expire.The privately financed project includes the arena, the team's business and basketball offices, training facility, community and retail spaces. Weeks later, on September 10, 2019, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer announced plans to invest $100 million into the city of Inglewood as part of the arena deal. The investment includes $80 million for affordable housing, assistance to renters and first-time homebuyers. Another $12.75 million will be invested into school and youth programs.

Former Teams

Inglewood was the former home of the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA and of the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL from 1967 to 1999, as well as the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA from 1997 to 2000. All teams moved to Crypto.com Arena for the following seasons.

Olympics

At the 1984 Summer Olympics, The Forum hosted the basketball competition and the men's handball final. During the 2028 Summer Olympics, the opening and closing ceremonies will be held at the SoFi Stadium. The venue will also host soccer games during the Olympics while the grounds outside the stadium will host archery. The Forum will host all the gymnastics events during the games.

2026 FIFA World Cup

SoFi Stadium will host several matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held across the US, Canada and Mexico.

Government

Municipal

The City of Inglewood has a council–city manager type of government. The mayor is an elected office and is the chief executive officer, but in all other regards is an equal member of the city council.

The current Mayor of Inglewood is James T. Butts Jr. who took office after unseating Daniel K. Tabor who completed the term of Roosevelt Dorn.

The Inglewood Police Department is the city's police department. Inglewood has contracted fire service with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Federal representation

In the United States House of Representatives, Inglewood is split between , and .

State representation

In the California State Legislature, Inglewood is in , and in .

Los Angeles County

Inglewood is part of Los Angeles County, for which the Government of Los Angeles County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Los Angeles. The county government is primarily composed of the elected five-member Board of Supervisors, other elected offices including the Sheriff, District Attorney, and Assessor, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the chief executive officer.

Regional

The city is a member of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments.

Politics

Inglewood has the highest percentage of registered Democrats of any city in California, with 75.6 percent of its 48,615 voters registered in May 2009 as Democrats. Seven percent were registered as Republicans, and 14.1 percent declined to state a preference.

In 2005, the Bay Area Center for Voting Research, a nonpartisan organization in Berkeley, ranked Inglewood as the sixth-most-liberal city in the United States, after Oakland, California, and just ahead of Newark, New Jersey