Crenshaw, Los Angeles, California

Crenshaw, or the Crenshaw District, is a neighborhood in South Los Angeles, California.

In the post–World War II era, a Japanese American community was established in Crenshaw. African Americans started migrating to the district in the mid 1960s, and by the early 1970s were the majority.

The Crenshaw Boulevard commercial corridor has had many different cultural backgrounds throughout the years, but it is still "the heart of African American commerce in Los Angeles".

History

Crenshaw had suffered significant damage from both the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the 1994 Northridge earthquake but was able to rebound in the late 2000s with the help of redevelopment and gentrification.

Geography

According to Google Maps, the Crenshaw neighborhood is centered on Crenshaw Boulevard and Buckingham Road. The neighborhood of Baldwin Hills is to the south, Baldwin Village is to the west, Leimert Park is to the east and Crenshaw Manor to the north.

Cartographer Eric Brightwell considers Baldwin Village to be part of Crenshaw. Google Maps includes in Crenshaw areas labelled by Brightwell as being Baldwin Hill Estates, Baldwin Hill, Baldwin Village, and southern parts of West Adams and Jefferson Park. Google Maps plots Crenshaw as bounded by Crenshaw Boulevard, Stocker Street, and South La Brea Avenue, with the border going along West Jefferson Boulevard to Vineyard Ave, northeast to West 30th Street, east to 11th Avenue, south and west along West Exposition Boulevard.

Demographics

In the post-World War II era, a Japanese-American community was established in Crenshaw. There was an area Japanese school called Dai-Ichi Gakuen. Due to a shared sense of discrimination, many Japanese-Americans had formed close relationships with the African-American community.

At its peak, it was one of the largest Japanese-American settlements in California, with about 8,000 residents around 1970, and Dai-Ichi Gakuen had a peak of 700 students.

Beginning in the 1970s the Japanese American community began decreasing in size and Japanese-American businesses began leaving. Scott Shibuya Brown stated that "some say" the effect was a "belated response" to the 1965 Watts riots and that "several residents say a wave of anti-Japanese-American sentiment began cropping up in the area, prompting further departures." Eighty-two-year-old Jimmy Jike was quoted in the ''Los Angeles Times'' in 1993, stating that it was mainly because the residents' children, after attending universities, moved away.

By 1980, there were 4,000 Japanese ethnic residents, half of the previous size. By 1990 there were 2,500 Japanese-Americans, mostly older residents. By 1993, the community was diminishing in size, with older Japanese Americans staying but with younger ones moving away. That year, Dai-Ichi Gakuen had 15 students. In the 90s there began a shift to a new generation of Japanese Americans moving back into the neighborhood.

Government

Police department

* Police services in Baldwin Hills are provided by the Los Angeles Police Department's Southwest Division. The station is located at 1546 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Post office

* Crenshaw Post Office - 3894 Crenshaw Boulevard

Education

Public schools are operated by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Schools

* Crenshaw High School, which is south of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and east of Crenshaw Boulevard, is the local public high school.
* Susan Miller Dorsey High School

The district's charter schools in the area include the KIPP network. KIPP Academy of Opportunity
*Celerity Nascent Charter School
*the New Design Charter School (built in 2004)
* View Park Preparatory High School
*View Park Preparatory Middle School.

Neighborhood

Crenshaw is a largely residential neighborhood of single-story houses, bungalows and low-rise condominiums and apartments. There are also commercial buildings with an industrial corridor along Jefferson Boulevard. There are also several other commercial districts throughout the neighborhood.

After courts ruled segregation covenants to be unconstitutional, the area opened up to other races. A large Japanese American settlement ensued, which can still be found along Coliseum Street, east and west of Crenshaw Boulevard. African Americans started migrating to the district in the mid 1960s, and by the early 1970s later were the majority.

In the 1970s, Crenshaw, Leimert Park and neighboring areas together had formed one of the largest African-American communities in the western United States.

In 2006, the population of Crenshaw was around 27,600. Currently, there is a huge demographic shift increase in which many middle and lower-class blacks and Latinos are migrating to cities in the Inland Empire as well as cities in the Antelope Valley sections of Southern California as a form of gentrification. The gentrification process continues into 2010's as the Crenshaw mall been approved for a major renovation plan, that will include apartments, shops, and more restaurants.Barragan, Bianca (June 18, 2018
"Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza redevelopment wins City Council approval"
''Curbed LA''

Transportation

The K Line runs between Expo/Crenshaw station and Redondo Beach station, running generally north-south along Crenshaw Boulevard.

Notable places

*Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza shopping mall is a landmark. It was home to a tri-level Wal-Mart (formerly a Broadway department store, then later a JJ Newberry's), Sears and Macy's.
*Marlton Square (formerly known as Santa Barbara Plaza) was a shopping center. The center had aged over the years and was a failed redevelopment project.
*The Crenshaw Square Shopping Centre and sign, a local landmark, had been in some disrepair throughout the years. In 2007, the sign was replaced by a modern illuminated red-and-green sign. The Crenshaw Square outdoor shopping center was sold in 2015 and underwent a significant renovation in 2016.
*The West Angeles Church of God in Christ, a Pentecostal church near the intersection of Crenshaw and Exposition boulevards, is home to Bishop Charles E. Blake.

Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments

*The Holiday Bowl was a bowling alley and café known for being a center of ethnic diversity during the 1960s and 1970s. It featured a sushi bar known as the Sakiba Lounge with live musical acts. Its historic Modernist Googie architecture style has been refurbished by the building's new tenants along with a newly outdoor shopping center that opened in early 2006. It is City of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #688.

In other media

Literature

The novel ''Southland,'' by Nina Revoyr, is set in the Crenshaw neighborhood.

Motion picture

''Boyz n the Hood'' - This was the main setting in the film as a boy is sent to live with his father in Crenshaw and experiences its booming gang culture.

''White Men Can't Jump'' - One of the main characters, Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes), lives in Crenshaw.

Television

'' All American'' - The main character, Spencer James, lives in Crenshaw.

Special events

* The annual Kingdom Day Parade: Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr., the Parade held its 35th edition in 2018. It is usually broadcast in the LA area on KABC-TV. The parade goes west on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Crenshaw Boulevard.
*The Taste of Soul Festival takes place every October (since 2005).

Notable residents

* Tom Bradley, former mayor of Los Angeles
*Darwin Cook, National Basketball Association (NBA) player
*Baron Davis, NBA player
* Eric Davis, Major League Baseball (MLB) player
*June Edmonds, painter and public artistSegal, Edward
"Valley Professor June Edmonds named Guggenheim Fellow,"
''The Valley Star'', May 19, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
*Richard Elfman and Danny Elfman, musicians
*Tremaine Fowlkes, NBA player
*David Fulcher, National Football League (NFL) player
*Tiffany Haddish, comedian and actress
*James Hahn, former mayor of Los Angeles
*Kenneth Hahn (1920–1997), Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors member
*Nipsey Hussle (1985–2019), rapper, entrepreneur, community activist
*Ice Cube, rapper
*Ice-T, musician and actor
*DeSean Jackson, NFL player
*Dom Kennedy, rapper
*Kurupt, rapper
* Arthur Lee, singer
* Lords of Lyrics, rap group
* Spencer Paysinger, NFL player
*Peter Ramsey, film director
*Skee-Lo, rapper
*Darryl Strawberry, MLB player
* Syd, singer and producer
*De'Anthony Thomas, NFL player
* Pam Ward, novelist

See also

* List of districts and neighborhoods of Los Angeles
* Crenshaw Boulevard

Notes

References

External links

Articles about the Crenshaw district
in the ''Los Angeles Times.''

{{Authority control

Neighborhoods in Los Angeles
African-American history in Los Angeles
Japanese-American culture in Los Angeles
1904 establishments in California
South Los Angeles