Leimert Park (; ) is a neighborhood 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 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, ...

, California. Developed in the 1920s as a mainly residential community, it features Spanish Colonial Revival homes and tree-lined streets. The Life Magazine/Leimert Park House is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. The core of Leimert Park is Leimert Park Village, which consists of Leimert Plaza Park, shops on 43rd Street and on Degnan Boulevard, and the Vision Theater. The village has become the center of both historical and contemporary African-American art, music, and culture in Los Angeles.

History

Leimert Park is named for its developer, Walter H. Leimert, who began the subdivision business center project in 1928. The master plan was designed by the

Olmsted Brothers The Olmsted Brothers company was a Landscape architecture, landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape ar ...

company, which was managed by the sons of

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

(1822–1903), the landscape designer best known for

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

in New York City. Elderly Japanese-American residents still live in the area, and some of the

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...

s still exist. The Crenshaw Square Shopping Center was inspired and designed in the style of

Japanese architecture has been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors ('' fusuma'') and other traditional partitions were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space ...

. The center was a hub of retailing in the mid 1950s. In 2013 and 2014, resurgent home prices in South Los Angeles spurred much interest among many young professionals into moving into Leimert Park and among other areas within the region. Observers took note with mixed feelings: fears of

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 ...

and hope for increased business investment. The trend continued with 2021 seeing a jump in house prices.

Geography

Map of the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles California

Neighborhood boundaries

According to

LAist KPCC ( FM 89.3) – branded LAist 89.3 – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed in Pasadena, California. KPCC itself is primarily serving Greater Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley; through rebroadcating and translat ...

: The boundaries are Obama Boulevard (formerly Rodeo Road) on the north, 4th Avenue and Roxton Avenue on the east, West Vernon Avenue on the south, and Crenshaw Boulevard on the west. The Crenshaw District lies to the northwest, View Park and Baldwin Hills are to the west and southwest, Vermont Square is to the east, and Jefferson Park is to the north. According to the Los Angeles Times

Mapping L.A. Mapping L.A. was a 2009 project of the ''Los Angeles Times''. It identified 158 cities and Unincorporated area, unincorporated areas within Los Angeles County, California. It also drew boundary lines for 114 neighborhoods within the Los Angeles, C ...

project: Leimert Park is bounded by Exposition Boulevard on the north, South Van Ness Avenue and Arlington Avenue on the east, West Vernon Avenue on the south, and Victoria Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard on the west.
"Leimert Park," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times'' Jefferson Park is to the north, Exposition Park (Los Angeles neighborhood), the Exposition Park neighborhood and Vermont Square are to the east, Hyde Park to the south and View Park-Windsor Hills and Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw to the west. Leimert Park angles to the West Adams district on the northwest. According to Google Maps: the boundaries are Exposition Boulevard on the north, Western Avenue on the east, West Vernon Avenue on the south, and Crenshaw Boulevard on the west. According to the books "Leimert Park (Images of America)" and "Los Angeles Residential Architecture", Leimert Park was established with the following boundaries: Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (formerly Santa Barbara Avenue) on the north, Arlington on the east, Vernon to the south and Crenshaw Boulevard (formerly Angeles Mesa Drive) on the west.

Historic Leimert Park Village

Within the Leimert Park neighborhood lies the city-designated "Historic Leimert Park Village". On May 1, 2018, the Los Angeles City Council designated the area between the intersections at Vernon Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard, 43rd Street and Crenshaw Boulevard, Leimert Boulevard and 43rd Street, Leimert Boulevard and Vernon Avenue, and Degnan Boulevard and 43rd Street as “Historic Leimert Park Village" and directed the Department of Transportation to erect permanent ceremonial sign(s) to this effect at these locations. In 2005, a "Leimert Park Village" brick gateway marker was installed.

Demographics

A total of 11,782 people lived in Leimert Park according to the 2000 U.S. census— counted 9,880 residents in the 1.19 square-mile neighborhood. The median age was 38. The percentage of residents aged 65 and above was among the county's highest. Within the neighborhood, African Americans made up 79.6% of the population, with Latinos at 11.4%, Asians at 4.9%, White at 1.5%, and other races at 3.2%.

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 ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

were the most common places of birth for the 10.7% of the residents who were born abroad. This is a low percentage of foreign-born when compared with the overall city or

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

. The median household income in 2008 dollars was $45,865, considered average for the city but low for the county. The percentage of households earning $20,000 or less was high, compared to the county at large. The average household size of 2.2 people was low for both the city and the county. Renters occupied 54.1% of the housing units, and homeowners occupied the rest. In 2000 there were 817 families headed by single parents, or 27.7%, a rate that was high for the city and the county. There were 990 veterans, or 11.1% of the population, considered high when compared with the city overall. The percentage of veterans who served in 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.

Arts and culture

Leimert Park Village

The core of Leimert Park is Leimert Park Village, which consists of Leimert Plaza Park, two blocks of 43rd Street, and one block of Degnan Boulevard. Leimert Park Village has historically served as a hub of African-American art and culture in Los Angeles, has been compared to both Harlem and Greenwich Village, and in 1998 was seen as "the cultural heartbeat of black Los Angeles."Jocelyn Y. Stewart, "A Community's Cultural Heartbeat," ''Los Angeles Times,'' October 9, 1998, image 35
/ref> Leimert Plaza Park was designed by the Olmsted Brothers to serve as the public hub of the master planned community. The park has been a go-to community space for the African American community since the 1980s hosting art walks, a regular drum circle, annual celebrations, rallies, protests, and memorials. The village has

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

night clubs, theaters for musicals, dramatic performances, award ceremonies, comedy specials, and poetry readings, and venues for hip hop. The intersection of 43rd Street and Degnan Boulevard was dedicated as Barbara Morrison Square on the anniversary of her birth, September 10. 2022. Project Blowed is the longest-running

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

open mic in the world, started in 1994 by rapper Aceyalone and friends. It is hosted by Kaos Network, and held every Thursday night at 43rd Place and Leimert Boulevard.

Vision Theatre

April 21, 2019, marked the 87th anniversary of the opening of the Vision Theatre (initially named the Leimert). This Mediterranean Revival Style theater is at the south end of Leimert Park Village at 3341 West Forty-Third place and Degnan Avenue. It was designed in 1931 by the architectural firm Morgan, Walls & Clements and opened as a movie theater on April 21, 1932. In 1977 the theater came under the ownership of the

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

known as the "Assembly Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses". Actress

Marla Gibbs Marla Gibbs (born Margaret Theresa Bradley; June 14, 1931) is an American actress, singer, comedian, writer, and television producer whose career spans seven decades. She is known for her role as George Jefferson's maid, Florence Johnston, on th ...

bought the theater in 1990 and renamed it the Vision Theatre, intending to make it a venue for African-American movies, live theater, and dance productions. In 1992 the Los Angeles civil unrest and an economic recession hit the area hard, and the property fell into

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has Default (finance), stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the Collateral (finance), coll ...

. The City of Los Angeles acquired the theater in 1999. The Department of Cultural Affairs manages the theater with the goal of providing a performing arts venue for professional performing arts presentations; a training center for talent reflective of South Los Angeles; and a venue for the production and presentation of world-class theater, music, and dance performances. The first phase of renovations to the Vision Theatre included upgrades to the lobbies, restrooms, office space, and classrooms in 2011. Phase II of the renovation began in March 2018. The rehabilitation of the remaining portions of the theater includes the historic refurbishment and expansion of the theater and auditorium, and the addition of an orchestra pit and a fly loft. The grand reopening of the Vision Theatre is planned for 2022.

The Leimert Park Book Fair

The Leimert Park Book Fair began in 2007 and attracts "more than 200 authors, poets, spoken-word artists, storytellers and other participants."

Destination Crenshaw

Sankofa Park will anchor the northern end of Destination Crenshaw, an open-air museum of African American history and culture that will extend 1.3-miles (2.1 km) down Crenshaw Boulevard through the Hyde Park neighborhood.

Juneteenth

Juneteenth is commemorated with a

street festival A street fair celebrates the character of a neighborhood. As its name suggests, it is typically held on the main street of a neighborhood. The principal component of street fairs are booths used to sell goods (particularly food) or convey informa ...

that brings together artists and residents for a day of fun and remembrance. The event celebrates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved African Americans were liberated. The celebration in Leimert Park dates back to 1949 when a new resident started hosting a barbeque in his backyard. He was surprised that it was not a popular tradition like it was in Texas. The celebration expanded and has been organized by Black Arts Los Angeles since 2009. During the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

celebration, the iconography of the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

movement, and images of George Floyd and

Breonna Taylor Breonna Taylor (June 5, 1993 – March 13, 2020) was an African-American woman who Killing of Breonna Taylor, was shot and killed while unarmed in her Louisville, Kentucky home by three police officers who entered under the auspices of a No-kn ...

were part of the celebration.

Parks and recreation

* Leimert Plaza Park is at 4395 Leimert Boulevard, between Vernon and 43rd Place. The park is unstaffed, with picnic tables, park bathrooms, benches, and a decorative water fountain * People St Plaza, between the Leimert Plaza Park and the Vision Theater on 43rd Place * Pocket Park at Degnan Boulevard, Norton Avenue and Edgehill Drive, unnamed''The Thomas Guide,'' 2006, page 633

Landmarks

*Emmanuel Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church – 4254–4260 3rd Avenue, the church is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 578. * Leimert Plaza – 4395 Leimert Boulevard, designed by the

, the park is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 620. * Life Magazine/Leimert Park House – 3892 Olmstead Avenue, the home is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 864.

Economy

Tavis Smiley Tavis Smiley (; born September 13, 1964) is an American talk show host and author. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and grew up in Bunker Hill, Indiana. After attending Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University, he worked durin ...

, host and producer of

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

(NPR) and the former nationally syndicated talk show ''

'' on PBS, has production studios called The Smiley Group, Inc., within the Leimert Park neighborhood. LeimertParkhouses

Transportation

October 7, 2022, the K (Crenshaw) Line is open. This line of Metro has two stations at Leimert Park : Martin Luther King Jr. station at Baldwin Hills and Leimert Park and Leimert Park station.

Education

Leimert Park residents aged 25 and older holding a four-year degree amounted to 55.9% of the population in 2000, about average within the city and the county. A high percentage of residents aged 25 and older had a college education. Leimert Park is served by

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 ...

. Within Leimert Park are the following schools:
"Leimert Park Schools," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times'' * C.A.T.C.H High School, Charter school, charter high school, 4120 11th Avenue * Audubon Middle School, 4120 11th Avenue, LAUSD * Tom Bradley Global Awareness Magnet, LAUSD alternative, 3875

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Avenue * New Heights Charter Elementary, 2202 West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (LAUSD) * Forty-Second Street Elementary, 4231 4th Avenue (LAUSD)

Other schools

*Libertas College Preparatory (on the Tom Bradley campus), 2875 Dublin Avenue (charter)

Notable people

* Mark Bradford, artist known for grid-like abstract paintings combining collage with paints. * Tom Bradley (1917–1998), Los Angeles mayor * Busdriver, hip-hop artist *

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

(1930–2004), singerGayle Pollard-Terry, "Activism, Music Intersect in Leimert Park," ''Los Angeles Times,'' December 25, 2005
/ref> *

Alonzo Davis Alonzo Joseph Davis Jr. (February 2, 1942 – January 27, 2025) was an American artist and academic known for co-founding the Brockman Gallery in Los Angeles with his brother Dale Brockman Davis. In reaction to a perceived lack of coverage of bl ...

, artist, academic, and co-founder of the Brockman Gallery *

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

(1917–1996), singer * Ras G, record producer and DJ *

Dom Kennedy Dominic Ross Hunn (born August 22, 1984), better known by his stage name Dom Kennedy, is an American rapper. His fourth mixtape, ''From the Westside with Love'' (2010), was met with critical acclaim; its sequel, '' From the Westside with Love II' ...

, rapper * Holly Mitchell, county supervisor, former State Assembly member * Carl C. Rasmussen (1901–1952), Los Angeles City Council member

In popular culture

* ''Leimert Park'' is a comedy series on BET that premiered in 2021. * ''Leimert Park After Dark'', album by pianist/composer Bobby West * ''

Moesha ''Moesha'' (, ) is an American television sitcom that aired on UPN from January 23, 1996, to May 14, 2001. The series stars Contemporary R&B, R&B singer Brandy Norwood, Brandy as Moesha Denise Mitchell, an African-American teenager living with ...

'' is a 1996 television series. The Mitchell family lived in Leimert Park. * '' Insecure'' has highlighted community businesses. While Issa Rae is proud that the show has changed the public perception of South Los Angeles, she is concerned about gentrification. * It is the discovery site of the "

Black Dahlia Elizabeth Short (July 29, 1924 – , 1947), posthumously known as the Black Dahlia, was an American woman found murdered in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on January 15, 1947. Her case became highly publicized owin ...

" murder. * '' White Men Can't Jump'' starring

Jack Harlow Jackman Thomas Harlow (born March 13, 1998) is an American rapper and singer. He began his recording career in 2015, and released several EPs and mixtapes until signing with Don Cannon and DJ Drama's record label Generation Now, an imprint of A ...

and Sinqua Walls featured a scene with a major basketball tournament that was filmed in Leimert Park Village. * ''

Creed III ''Creed III'' is a 2023 American sports drama film starring and directed by Michael B. Jordan in his directorial debut, and produced by Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, Eliza ...

'' (2023). Directed and starring Michael B. Jordan by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

and

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

. * '' Collateral'' (2004). Directed by

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter, author and producer, best known for his stylized crime dramas. He has received a BAFTA Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for four ...

starring Jamie Foxx and

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...

; the Jazz Club scene where Vincent has Max take him so he can assassinate jazz club owner Daniel, who is set to testify against Vincent's client. * '' Beauty Shop'' * ''

Snowfall Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

'' (2017–2023); TV series created by

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for ...

starring Damson Idris * '' You People'' (2023); directed by Kenya Barris

References

External links

Leimert Park 20/20 Vision
* ttp://projects.latimes.com/mapping-la/neighborhoods/neighborhood/leimert-park/crime/Leimert Park crime map and statistics
Leimert Park Beat: "The Soul of Los Angeles" is an online community focused on Leimert Park and the surrounding area of South Los Angeles
*
Photograph of Leimert Park fountain, 1995
{{Authority control Leimert Park, Los Angeles Neighborhoods in Los Angeles Japanese-American culture in California Populated places established in 1928 South Los Angeles