Athens is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in the
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of Downtown Los Angeles, downtown.
It is de ...
region of
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...
, United States, numbering 9,101 people in the 2000 census. It is the home site of
Los Angeles Southwest College.
Geography
Athens is south of unincorporated
Westmont, east of
Hawthorne, north of
Gardena, and west of the
Broadway-Manchester neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles.
[ It is bounded on the north by Imperial Highway, on the east by Vermont Avenue, on the south by El Segundo Boulevard and the Gardena city limits and on the west by South Van Ness Avenue, South Wilton Place and the Hawthorne city boundary. It is bisected by the Interstate 105 Century Freeway.
]
Demographics
In the 2000 census, there were 9,101 people in Athens' 1.33 square miles, which put its population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...
at 6,829 per square mile, "among the lowest densities for South L.A.," according to the ''Los Angeles Times.'' The ethnic distribution was black, 54.3%; Latino, 39.78%; Asian, 2.9%; white, 1.2%, and other, 2%. Twenty-eight percent of the residents were foreign born, average for both South Los Angeles and for the county as a whole. Mexican and Belize
Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
an were the most common ancestries, and Mexico and El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
were the most common foreign places of birth.[
The median income was $48,824 in 2008 dollars, which was considered high for the South Los Angeles region. One-eighth of residents aged 25 or older had a college degree, which was "high for South L.A. but low for the county," the ''Times'' reported. The median age was 27, "about average for South L.A. but young for the county," and the percentage of residents ages 10 or younger was among the county's highest. There were 520 families headed by single parents, low for South L.A. but high for the county.][
The percentage of veterans who served during the ]Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
was among the county's highest.[
]
Government
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...
operates the South Los Angeles station in Athens, at 1310 West Imperial Highway.
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
See also
* West Athens, California, West Athens
References
External links
Athens Services
"The Bastard Question: A former Blood explores the roots of our nation’s longest-running war"
''LA Weekly
''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...
'' article that reports on a movie by Cle "Bone" Sloan about the Athens Park Bloods gang and other gangs in Los Angeles
The Homicide Report
Homicide report for Athens, ''Los Angeles Times''
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Los Angeles County, California
Unincorporated communities in California
Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods in California