Highland Park is a neighborhood in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, located in the city's

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

region. It was one of the first subdivisions of Los Angeles and is inhabited by a variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

History

The area was settled thousands of years ago by

Paleo-Indians Paleo-Indians were the first peoples who entered and subsequently inhabited the Americas towards the end of the Late Pleistocene period. The prefix ''paleo-'' comes from . The term ''Paleo-Indians'' applies specifically to the lithic period in ...

, and would later be settled by the Kizh. After the founding of Los Angeles in 1781, the Corporal of the Guard at the

Mission San Gabriel Arcángel Mission San Gabriel Arcángel () is a Californian mission and historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. It was founded by the Spanish Empire on the Nativity of Mary September 8, 1771, as the fourth of what would become twenty-one Spanish mi ...

, Jose Maria Verdugo, was granted the 36,403 acre

Rancho San Rafael Rancho San Rafael was a Spanish land grant in the San Rafael Hills, bordering the Los Angeles River and the Arroyo Seco in present-day Los Angeles County, southern California, given in 1784 to Jose Maria Verdugo. Geography The rancho include ...

which included present day Highland Park. Drought in the mid-19th century resulted in economic hardship for the Verdugo family, which eventually compelled them to auction off Rancho San Rafael in 1869 for $3,500 over an unpaid loan. The San Rafael tract was purchased by Andrew Glassell and Albert J. Chapman, who leased it out to sheep herders. In 1885, during the 1880s land boom, it was sold to George Morgan and Albert Judson, who combined it with other parcels they had purchased from the Verdugo family to create the Highland Park tract in 1886. Two rail lines were built to Highland Park, which later helped the town to survive the burst of the property bubble. Highland Park was annexed to Los Angeles in 1895. In the early 20th century, Highland Park and neighboring Pasadena became enclaves for artists and intellectuals who were adherents of the

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

movement. With the completion of

Arroyo Seco Parkway The Arroyo Seco Parkway, also known as the Pasadena Freeway, is one of the oldest controlled-access highway, freeways in the United States. It connects Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles with Pasadena, California, Pasadena alongside the Arr ...

in 1940, Highland Park began to experience

white flight The white flight, also known as white exodus, is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the Racism ...

, losing residents to the Mid-Wilshire district and newer neighborhoods in Temple City and in the San Fernando Valley. By the mid-1960s, it was becoming a largely Latino district. Mexican immigrants and their American-born children began owning and renting in Highland Park, with its schools and parks becoming places where residents debated over how to fight discrimination and advance civil rights. In the final decades of the 20th century, portions of Highland Park suffered waves of gang violence as a consequence of the Avenues street gang claiming them and the adjacent neighborhood of Glassell Park as its territory. At the beginning of the 21st century, then-City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, a Highland Park native, intensified efforts to rid Northeast Los Angeles of the Avenues. In 2006, four members of the gang were convicted of violating federal hate crime laws. In June 2009, police launched a major raid against the gang, rooting out many leaders of the gang with a federal racketeering indictment, demolishing the gang's Glassell Park stronghold. Law enforcement, coupled with community awareness efforts such as the annual Peace in the Northeast March, have led to a drastic decrease in violent crime in the 2010s. In the early 2000s, relatively low rents and home prices, as well as Highland Park's pedestrian-friendly streets and proximity to

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

attracted people of greater affluence than had previously been typical, as well as a reversal of the white flight from previous decades. Of special interest were the district's surviving Craftsman homes. Similar to

Echo Park Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake, Los Angeles, Silver Lake to the west and Chinato ...

and Eagle Rock, Highland Park has experienced rapid

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

. The topic of Highland Park's rapid neighborhood changes has garnered national and international attention. In the 2010s, Highland Park experienced significant job growth, especially with businesses along Figueroa Street and York Boulevard. Its educational, health, and social service careers also developed robustly during this period. However, most workers employed in Highland Park do not live there but commute from surrounding areas instead. The benefits of Highland Park's 21st century economic revitalization have been experienced unevenly, bypassing many of the area’s longtime Latino residents. View of Highland Park from Avenue 64

Geography and climate

Highland Park’s boundaries are roughly the

( California Route 110) on the southeast,

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

on the northeast, Oak Grove Drive on the north, South Pasadena on the east, and Avenue 51 on the west. Primary thoroughfares include York Boulevard and

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

. Highland Park sits within the Northeast Los Angeles region along with Mount Washington, Cypress Park, Glassell Park, and Eagle Rock.

Demographics

The 2000 U.S. census counted 56,566 residents in the 3.42-square-mile neighborhood—an average of 16,835 people per square mile. In 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 60,841. The median age for residents was 28. The ethnic composition of Highland Park in 2000 was 72.4% Latino, 11.3%

Non-Hispanic White Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

, 11.2% Asian, 8.4%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, and others, 2.6%. Among the 45% of residents born abroad, Mexico and El Salvador were the most common countries of origin. Mexican and German were the most common ancestries. The median household income in 2008 dollars was $45,478, and 59% of households earned $40,000 or less. The average household size was 3.3 people. Renters occupied 60.9% of the housing units. The percentage of never-married men was 41%. The 2000 census found that 21% of families were headed by single parents. There were 1,942 military veterans in 2000, or 4.9% of the population. According to the 2020 United States census, the ethnic composition of Highland Park in 2020 was 58.7% Latino, 21.8%

, 13.4% Asian, 1.8%

, and 4.3% others. Overall, the population of Highland Park decreased by 7% between 2010 and 2020.

Government and infrastructure

* The Highland Park

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

- 5930 North Figueroa Street. *

Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides firefighting services and technical rescue services, hazardous materials services, and emergency medical services to the residents of the city of Los Angeles, California, United ...

Station 12 - 5921 North Figueroa Street.

Transportation

* The A Line - The Highland Park Station is located at the intersection of North Avenue 57 at Marmion Way. Built upon the same site as another rail station which was demolished in 1965, the new Highland Park Station was opened in 2003 as part of the original Gold Line. *

Metro Local The Los Angeles Metro Bus is the transit bus service in Los Angeles County, California, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). Metro Bus operates in the Los Angeles Basin, the San Fernando Valley, and th ...

bus lines 81 & 182 connect to the surrounding areas of Pasadena, South Pasadena, the

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley (), sometimes referred to by its initials as SGV, is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, with the city of Los Angeles directly bordering it to the west and occupying the vast majority of the southeastern ...

, and Downtown Los Angeles. *

Pasadena Transit Pasadena Transit, formerly known as Pasadena Area Rapid Transit System (Pasadena ARTS), is the transit bus service in the city of Pasadena, California, Pasadena, California. The system was launched as a single shuttle route ahead of the 1994 FIF ...

33 has served the area since Dec. 15, 2024. * LADOT's DASH Highland Park/Eagle Rock bus line begins in San Pascual Park and ends near the city limits with Glendale. The route connects several local schools, shopping districts, and the Eagle Rock Plaza. *

( California State Route 110) - formerly known as the Pasadena Freeway, it runs through Highland Park and has served local commuters since it opened in 1940.

Parks and libraries

* Highland Park Recreation Center - 6150 Piedmont Avenue. * York Boulevard Park - 4948 York Boulevard. * Sycamore Grove Park - 4702 N. Figueroa St. * Hermon Park/Arroyo Seco Park - 5566 Via Marisol. * Garvanza Park - 6240 Meridian St. Arroyo Seco Branch Library 1914

* Arroyo Seco Regional Library - 6145 N Figueroa Street. It is a branch of

Los Angeles Public Library The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California, operating separate from the Los Angeles County Public Library system. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million resid ...

. Highland Park was served by a series of public libraries starting in 1890. It housed a collection of 50 books at the now demolished Miller's Hall, formerly located on York Boulevard between Avenues 63 and 64. As the library's collection grew, it was moved to other locations along nearby Avenue 64 in order to accommodate. A grant from Andrew Carnegie made possible a purpose-built facility which eventually became the original Arroyo Seco Library. Its location was decided upon in 1911 as a compromise between the competing residential centers of the district, as well in order to adhere to the stipulations of the grant. The library was opened in 1914. On October 17, 1960, a newly constructed Arroyo Seco Library was opened to the public, replacing the original building after 46 years of service. Designed by architect John Landon, the second Arroyo Seco Library was the base of operations for the entire northeast region of the Los Angeles Public Library system. It also was equipped with rooftop parking which had access to the library's front door, a feature that was first of its kind among public libraries in the United States. This building would itself be replaced by another, modernized facility in 2003.

Religion

Highland Park is home to a wide array of religious practitioners. The St. Ignatius Church has been the house of worship for followers of

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in the district since the early 20th century. Originally located on Avenue 52, the church was moved to its present location on the corner of Avenue 60 and Monte Vista Street in 1915. Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park and Eagle Rock was founded in Highland Park in 1923 and constructed its building in 1930. It is the second oldest synagogue in Los Angeles still operating in its original location, after the Wilshire Boulevard Temple (built in 1929).

Landmarks and attractions

* Galco's Soda Pop Stop has been owned and operated by the Nese family for more than a century. * Avenue 50 Studio, a nonprofit community-based organization grounded in Latino and Chicano culture. * Tierra de la Culebra Park, a public art park. * Pisgah Home Historic District - added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Historic-Cultural Monuments

The following Historic-Cultural Monuments are located in Highland Park: * #68 – Charles Lummis Residence, 200 E. Avenue 43, 1970 * #105 – Hiner House, 757 N. Figueroa Street, 1972 * #106 – San Encino Abbey, 6211 Arroyo Glen, 1972 * #142 – El Mio, 5905 El Mio Drive, 1975 * #143 – Stroh Residnce, 6028 Hayes Avenue, 1975 * #274 – Highland Park Police Station, 6045 York Boulevard, 1984 * #282 – Highland Park Masonic Temple, 104 N. Avenue 56, 1984 * #284 – Ebell Club Building, 125-135 S. Avenue 57, 1984 * #287 – Yoakum House, 140-154 S. Avenue 59, 1985 * #338 – Drake House, 210-220 S. Avenue 60, 1988 * #339 – Santa Fe Arroyo Seco Railroad Bridge, 162 S. Avenue 61, 1988 * #400 – Sunrise Court, 5721-5729 Monte Vista Street, 1988 * #416 – Ziegler Estate, 4601 N. Figueroa Boulevard, 1989 * #469 – Ivar I. Phillips Dwelling, 4200 N. Figueroa Street, 1989 * #470 – Ivar I. Phillips Residence, 4204 N. Figueroa Street, 1989 * #492 – Arroyo Seco Bank Building, 6301-6311 N. Figueroa Street, 1990 * #493 – Casa de Adobe, 4603-4613 Figueroa Street, 1990 * #494 – Kelman Residence and Carriage Barn, 5029 Echo Street, 1990 * #539 – J.E. Maxwell Residence, 211 S. Avenue 52, 1991 * #541 – Reverend Williel Thomson Residence, 215 S. Avenue 52, 1991 * #549 – Highland Theatre, 5604 N. Figueroa Street, 1991 * #558 – Department of Water and Power Distributing Station No. 2, 211-235 N. Avenue 61, 1992 * #564 – E.A. Spencer Estate, 5660 Ash Street, 1992 * #575 – Security Trust and Savings Bank, 5601 N. Figueroa Street, 1993 * #581 – York Boulevard State Bank, 1301-1313 N. Avenue 51, 1993 * #582 – W.F. Poor Residence, 120 N. Avenue 54, 1993 * #585 – Occidental College Hall of Letters Building (Savoy Apartments), 121 N. Avenue 50, 1993 * #780 – Murdock Residence, 4219 N. Figueroa Street, 2004 * #781 – Mills Cottage, 4746 Toland Way, 2004 * #877 – Wilkins House, 915 North Avenue 57, 2007 * #1071 – York Boulevard Church of Christ, 4908 York Boulevard, 2015 * #1107 – Coughlin House, 1501 Nolden Street, 2016 * #1233 – Centro de Arte Publico, 5605-5607 N. Figueroa Street, 2021 * #1234 – Mexicano Art Center, 5337-41 N. Figueroa Street, 2021 * #1279 – Mexico-Tenochitlan: The Wall that Talks, 100-120 N. Avenue 61 & 6029 N. Figueroa St, 2023

Education

Highland Park is zoned to the following schools in the

Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...

. Zoned elementary schools include: * Aldama Elementary School * Annandale Elementary School * Buchanan Elementary School * Bushnell Way Elementary School * Garvanza Elementary School * San Pascual Elementary School * Saint Ignatius of Loyola School (K-8) * Toland Way Elementary School * Yorkdale Elementary School * Monte Vista Elementary School * Arroyo Seco Museum Science Magnet School (K-8) Residents are zoned to Luther Burbank Middle School and Benjamin Franklin High School. Los Angeles International Charter High School and Academia Avance Charter also serve the community.

Notable people

* Isaac Colton Ash, City Council member, 1925–27Los Angeles Public Library file
/ref> *

Maggie Baird Maggie May Baird (born March 29, 1959) is an American actress. She grew up in Colorado performing music, and studied theater and dance at the University of Utah, before moving to New York City, where she performed on Broadway. She made her tele ...

, actress and screenwriter * Jackie Beat, drag performer and comedian *

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

, musician *

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

, musician * Rose La Monte Burcham (1857–1944), medical doctor and mining executive whose Highland Park house still standsBradford Caslon
"Rose La Monte Burcham -- 4900 Pasadena Avenue"
''A Look Back at Vintage Los Angeles'' (November 9, 2011). *

Zack de la Rocha Zacharias Manuel de la Rocha (born January 12, 1970) is an American musician, rapper, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Rage Against the Machine. Through both Rage Against ...

, musician * Rocky Delgadillo, City Attorney of Los Angeles, 2001–2009 *

Daryl Gates Daryl Francis Gates (born Darrel Francis Gates; August 30, 1926 – April 16, 2010) was an American police officer who served as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992. His length of tenure in this position was second only t ...

, police chief from 1971 to 1992 *

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single "Ocean Eyes (song), Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her broth ...

, musician, singer-songwriter * Che Flores, basketball referee * Edward Furlong, actor * John C. Holland, Los Angeles City Council member, 1943–67, businessmanLos Angeles Public Library reference file
/ref> *

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...

, Academy Award-winning actress, brought up in Highland Park * Mike Kelley, artist *

Marc Maron Marc David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician. In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' and appeared more than forty times ...

, comedian and actor * Finneas O’Connell, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actor *

Ariel Pink Ariel Marcus Rosenberg ( ; born June 24, 1978), professionally known as Ariel Pink, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter whose work draws heavily from the popular music of the 1960s–1980s. His lo-fi aesthetic and home-recorded al ...

, musician * Fritz Poock, artist * Cora Scott Pond Pope, real estate developer of the Mt. Angelus area of Highland Park *

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...

, musician * Emily Wells, musician * David Weidman, silkscreen artist and animation background painter * Miles Heizer, actor * Marilyn Ferguson, New Age author and publisher *

Colm Tóibín Colm Tóibín ( , ; born 30 May 1955) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet. His first novel, ''The South (novel), The South'', was published in 1990. ''The Blackwater Lightship'' was short ...

, Irish novelist * Dan Hentschel, online comedian

In popular culture

Motion pictures that have been shot in Highland Park include: * ''

Reservoir Dogs ''Reservoir Dogs'' is a 1992 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino in his feature-length directorial debut. It stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Tarant ...

'' * '' The Lincoln Lawyer'' – location for the bar The York on York * '' Gangster Squad'' – In early 2012 the entire Highland Park downtown area along Figueroa Street was redone to look like post-WWII-era Los Angeles for the film. * '' Yes Man'' * ''

Cyrus Cyrus () is a Persian-language masculine given name. It is historically best known as the name of several List of monarchs of Iran, Persian kings, most notably including Cyrus the Great, who founded the Achaemenid Empire in 550 BC. It remains wid ...

'' * '' Tuff Turf'' Television and feature films have used the old Los Angeles Police Department building in the 6000 block of York Boulevard. Smith Estate, an historic hilltop Victorian house, has been a shooting location for horror films such as '' Spider Baby'', '' Silent Scream'' and '' Insidious: Chapter 2''.

References

External links

History of Highland Park
��Occidental College Sociology Department article

��Audubon Center at Debs Park
Southwest Museum
��Autry National Center, Southwest Museum of the American Indian
Heritage Square Museum
��Historic Rescued Homes
York & Fig
—a reporting project by ''

Marketplace A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...

'' on the gentrification of Highland Park
laparks.org Highland Park bike route MAP
{{Authority control Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County) Los Angeles Historic Preservation Overlay Zones Neighborhoods in Los Angeles Northeast Los Angeles San Rafael Hills