West Adams, Los Angeles
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West Adams is a
neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...
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, 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, ...
. The neighborhood is known for its large number of historic
buildings A building or edifice is an enclosed structure with a roof, walls and windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout ...
, structures, notable houses, and
mansions A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... from the Latin w ...
. It contains several Historic Preservation Overlay Zones as well as designated historic districts.


History

West Adams is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Los Angeles, with most of its buildings erected between 1880 and 1925, including the
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library (Clark Library), is a library affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles. It holds books and manuscripts with particularly many regarding English literature and history from the 17th-19th ...
. West Adams was developed by railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington and wealthy industrialist Hulett C. Merritt of
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 ...
. It was once the wealthiest neighborhood in the city, with its
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...
mansions A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... from the Latin w ...
and sturdy Craftsman bungalows, and a home to
Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...
businessmen, as well as professors and academicians at the nearby
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
.


1880s - 1890s

In 1887, the ''
Los Angeles Herald The ''Los Angeles Herald'' or the ''Evening Herald'' was a newspaper published in Los Angeles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1873 by Charles A. Storke, the newspaper was acquired by William Randolph Hearst in 1931. It ...
'' announced that the ensuing St. James Park neighborhood would have a stone entrance to "rival the
Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...
" and would be eventually be surrounded by "the most costly residences yet erected on this coast". The parkland was named and donated to the city by George King and his wife in commemoration of their many trips to London. The gated community of Chester Place was developed in 1889 On October 24, 1901, Edward L. Doheny purchased number 8 Chester Place for $120,000 cash. In 1890, ''St. Margaret's School for Girls'' moved from
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 ...
to West Adams. On October 1, 1890, the school opened at the corner of 23rd and Scarff Streets. Occupying the empty Marlborough Hotel, the school adopted the name of its new location and was renamed the ''Marlborough School for Girls''. It remained in West Adams for 26 years before relocating to
Hancock Park Hancock Park is a city park in the Miracle Mile section of the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The park's destinations include the La Brea Tar Pits; the adjacent George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries, which displa ...
in 1916.


1900s - 1910s

In 1906, numerous West Adams residents experienced a water shortage because the new pipe from the Ivanhoe reservoir was not completed on time. The new reservoir would hold nearly "a billion gallons" of water. In September of that year, a ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' reporter wrote: "The growing popularity of apartment houses is causing them to encroach on grounds heretofore exclusively reserved for high-class residences". He was reporting on "one of the handsomest apartment-houses in the city", which was designed by Thornton Fitzhue and was to be built on the southern side of St. James Park. . Landowner John R. Powers completed another apartment building in St. James Place in 1909, with an entrance also on Scarff Street. Designed by George W. Wryman, it was divided into four apartments of seven rooms each; the venture represented an investment of $35,000. By 1912, other wealthy neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area were being developed; tracts were being advertised in the yet-to-be-incorporated
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
that would "make the dwellers of the West Adams District green with envy". In 1913, the ''Times'' announced that the Monarch Hotel was to be built in the "fashionable residence district" of West Adams. By 1916, the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' stated that the area was "already known for its private parks and handsome homes". At that time, improvements to the boulevard were being spearheaded by five prominent residents including Isidore B. Dockweiler,
William May Garland William May Garland (March 31, 1866 – September 26, 1948) was the son of Jonathan May Garland and Rebecca Heagan Jewett. His real estate company contributed greatly to the growth of Los Angeles in the years before and after 1900, and he was re ...
and Edward L. Doheny. After convincing thirty-five other residents to help with funding, the old street paving between Figueroa and Hoover streets was replaced with an asphalt surface. Adams Boulevard was now 65 feet wide with a series of center islands planted with flowers, shrubs and mature palms. Six-cluster electroliers, which were duplicates of those that lined Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, were installed on both sides of Adams Street. Adams Boulevard was now a "magnificent concourse" and "one of the most popular drives in Los Angeles".


1920s - 1930s

In 1921, the Automobile Club announced that it would build a new headquarters at Figueroa and Adams. Architects
Sumner Hunt Sumner P. Hunt (Brooklyn, New York state, May 8, 1865 – Los Angeles, California, November 19, 1938) was an architect in Los Angeles from 1888 to the 1930s. On January 21, 1892, he married Mary Hancock Chapman. They had a daughter Louise Hunt. ...
and S.R. Burns designed a building of "attractive Spanish design" that would be a "distinctive structure for the West Adams district". In 1925, silent screen star
Ramon Novarro Ramón Gil Samaniego (February 6, 1899 – October 30, 1968), known professionally as Ramon Novarro, was a Mexican actor. He began his career in American silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box-offic ...
purchased a home in "the exclusive West Adams district" for $12,000 and spent an additional $100,000 on renovations. In 1927, during the
prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...
, the ''Times'' reported that the vice squad raided a "luxurious fourteen rooom mansion in the exclusive West Adams district". The mansion, located at 2234 Adams Street, contained "the most extensive and elaborate moonshine production plant" they had seen in many months. In 1931, during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, the recently organized West Adams Relief Committee provided work for twenty men for ninety days. Married men with families who lived in West Adams and were registered voters would be paid $2 a day. Though West Adams had previously been described as "fashionable" and "exclusive", in 1937 the ''Times'' wrote: "St James Place, Chester Place, Scarff Street - those place-names mean little to present day Angelinos. Yet they spell an aristocratic Los Angeles of the past, and to a good extent, the present. They are of the wealthy Los Angeles of a past generation, and a visitor to the neighborhood will find evidence of its elegance, if somewhat frayed and faded in spots."


1940s - 1950s

African-Americans began to move in around this time. Notable residents included Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company president Norman O. Houston, actress
Hattie McDaniel Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893 – October 26, 1952) was an African-American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. For her role as Mammy in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the f ...
, civil rights activists John and Vada Sommerville, actress
Louise Beavers Louise Beavers (March 8, 1900 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress who appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows from the 1920s to 1960. She played a prominent role in advancing the lives of black Am ...
, band leader
Johnny Otis Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes (Greek language, Greek: Ιωάννης Αλέξανδρος Βελιώτης)); December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was a Greek American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, ...
, performers
Pearl Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer, comedian and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the ti ...
and
Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...
. In December 1945, some white residents filed a lawsuit against 31 Black residents—including Hattie McDaniel. She held workshops to strategize for the case and gathered around 250 sympathizers to accompany her to court. Judge
Thurmond Clarke Thurmond Clarke (June 29, 1902 – February 28, 1971) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California and the United States District Court for the Central District of California. E ...
left the courtroom to see the disputed neighborhood and threw out the case the following day. He said, "It is time that members of the Negro race are accorded, without reservations or evasions, the full rights guaranteed them under the 14th Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Judges have been avoiding the real issue too long." McDaniel’s case set a precedent that later impacted the 1948 '' Shelley v. Kramer'' decision by the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
, which held that state courts may not enforce racially restrictive covenants. In 1949, the headquarters building of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company opened. The building is a late-period Moderne structure designed by architect
Paul Williams Paul Williams may refer to: Authors * Paul Williams (Crawdaddy) (1948–2013), American music and science fiction journalist; founder of ''Crawdaddy'' and the Philip K. Dick Society * Paul Williams (Irish journalist) (born 1964), Irish journalis ...
. It was once described as "the finest building to be erected and owned by African-Americans in the nation."


1960s - 1970s

Starting in 1961, construction of the ten-lane
Santa Monica Freeway Interstate 10 (I-10) is a transcontinental Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from Santa Monica, California, to Jacksonville, Florida. The segment of I-10 in California, also known as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway, ru ...
(
Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...
) tore through West Adams' core, with the freeway routed east to west just north of Adams Boulevard. Its construction resulted in the taking (by eminent domain) and demolition of numerous West Adams homes, including a number of mansions owned by African Americans. The construction resulted in substantial displacement of West Adams residents, including the relocation of much of the area's affluent Black families. As the ''
Los Angeles Sentinel The ''Los Angeles Sentinel'' is a weekly African-American owned newspaper published in Los Angeles, California. The paper boasted of reaching 125,000 readers , making it one of the oldest, largest and most influential African-American newspaper ...
'' reported:
The road could have been built without cutting through the so-called Sugar Hill section. However, in order to miss Sugar Hill, it was "said" that the route would have to cut through fraternity and sorority row area around USC. Sorority and fraternity row still stands and Sugar Hill doesn't, so you know who won out!
As in many other American cities during the heyday of Interstate Highway Act construction, interstate highway rights of way were disproportionately routed through predominantly African American communities, causing substantial displacement of residents and steep declines in neighborhood viability. In 1971, the West Adams Community Hospital opened as the city’s first black-owned hospital. Located at 24th Street and Western Avenue, it was considered a landmark in the community. According to the ''
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), ...
'' , "In the 1970s and '80s it was a thriving, vital part of the West Adams community." (It later became the Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center. It shut down 2013.)


1980s - present day

In 2000, the
Alpha Gamma Omega Alpha Gamma Omega (, or AGO) is an American Christian fraternity. It was founded in 1927 at University of California, Los Angeles and now has chapters at universities in California, Colorado, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Histor ...
sorority house, a Craftsman structure built in 1911 and located in West Adams, received a Preserve L.A. grant from the Getty Trust. In 2004, homes were demolished and lots were cleared in West Adams for what was then referred to as "Central High School No. 2". The ''Times'' reported that "a century-old neighborhood of houses and businesses" were demolished to make room for a new $130 million 15-acre high school.
West Adams Preparatory High School West Adams Preparatory High School is a secondary school in Central Los Angeles, California. The school is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District and is operated by a nonprofit organization working in conjunction with LAUSD. The orga ...
opened in the fall semester of 2007 with a final budget of $176 million. In 2007, the city approved the "West Adams Streetscape Enhancement Program" proposed by LANI (Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative). Improvements included the installation of four "gateway markers" at the corners of Adams Boulevard and Western Avenue and Adams Boulevard and Vermont Avenue. Additionally, 58 magnolia trees were planted along Adams Boulevard between Western and Vermont Avenues, along with additional trees clustered near the gateway markers. In 2010,
This Old House ''This Old House'' is an American home improvement media brand with television shows, a magazine, and a website. The brand is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The television series airs on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television ...
magazine named West Adams as "one of the country’s best neighborhoods for old houses". Criteria included "architectural diversity, craftsmanship of the homes, and the preservation momentum in the area". The magazine noted that West Adams was "once home to Los Angeles’s wealthiest 19th-century bankers" and that the neighborhood was best for movie buffs and city life. In 2011, the ''Times'' reported on neighbors pushing back against crime and wrote: "The neighborhood around them at Western Avenue and Adams Boulevard might be blighted, but they are not about to cede to urban ills their graceful streets of century-old bungalows, well-tended lawns and curbside jacarandas and towering palms." In 2016, then-U.S. Representative (D-Los Angeles) and now Los Angeles Mayor
Karen Bass Karen Ruth Bass (; born October 3, 1953) is an American politician who has served as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Bass previously served in the United States House ...
said, "I tour people through the area all the time and they are surprised when they see beautiful homes, because it's not the perception of the neighborhood." That same year, an empty West Adams Hospital was transformed into a temporary art gallery.


Geography


The City of Los Angeles

Beginning in 2000, the Eighth District Empowerment Congress began working on the "Naming Neighborhoods Project" to identify and name the communities with the neighborhood council area. Through research, a meeting with an urban historian, and numerous community meetings, sixteen neighborhoods, including the neighborhood of West Adams, were submitted to the City Council in October 2001 and approved in February 2002. At that time, the city was directed to install "West Adams" neighborhood signs on Vermont and Western avenues and Adams Boulevard. West Adams is bounded by the
Santa Monica Freeway Interstate 10 (I-10) is a transcontinental Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from Santa Monica, California, to Jacksonville, Florida. The segment of I-10 in California, also known as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway, ru ...
on the north, Vermont Avenue on the east,
Jefferson Boulevard Jefferson Boulevard is a street in Los Angeles and Culver City, California. Its eastern terminus is at Central Avenue east of Exposition Park. At its entrance to Culver City, it splits with National Boulevard. North of Sawtelle Boulevard, ...
on the south and Western Avenue on the west. Additionally, the area is marked with large concrete "gateway markers" at Western and Adams and Vermont and Adams.


''Los Angeles Times'' and other sources

According to the ''Los Angeles Times,'' West Adams is bounded by Figueroa Street on the east, West Boulevard on the west, Pico Boulevard on the north and Jefferson Boulevard on the south. (Previously, the ''Times'' defined West Adams with a slightly smaller boundary: Vermont Avenue on the east, Crenshaw Boulevard on the west, Venice Boulevard on the north, and Jefferson Boulevard on the south.) The book ''Images of America - West Adams'' by
Don Lynch Don Lynch is a historian with the Titanic Historical Society. He co-authored the book ''Titanic: An Illustrated History'' in 1992 with Ken Marschall and later co-authored ''Ghosts of the Abyss''. Lynch has an extensive collection of Titanic memora ...
, Suzanne Tarbell Cooper, and John Kurtz states that West Adams stretches "roughly from
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 ...
on the east to West Boulevard on the west, and from
Pico Boulevard Pico Boulevard is a major Los Angeles street that runs from the Pacific Ocean at Appian Way in Santa Monica to Central Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. It is named after Pío Pico, the last Mexican governor of Alta C ...
on the north to
Jefferson Boulevard Jefferson Boulevard is a street in Los Angeles and Culver City, California. Its eastern terminus is at Central Avenue east of Exposition Park. At its entrance to Culver City, it splits with National Boulevard. North of Sawtelle Boulevard, ...
on the south."


Historic districts

More than 70 sites in West Adams have received recognition as a
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites which have been designated by the Los Angeles, California, Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria. History The Historic-Cul ...
, a
California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...
, or listing on the National Register of Historic Places. In recognition of their outstanding architectural heritage, there are several Historic Preservation Overlay Zones within West Adams, including: ''(listed in alphabetical order)'' *
Harvard Heights Harvard Heights is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. It lies within a municipally designated Los Angeles Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, historic preservation overlay zone designed to protect its architecturally significant s ...
* Lafayette Square * Jefferson Park *
Menlo Avenue-West Twenty-ninth Street Historic District Menlo may refer to: Geography *Menlo, County Galway, Ireland *Menlo Park (disambiguation), multiple places United States *Menlo, Georgia *Menlo, Iowa *Menlo, Kansas *Menlo, Washington Institutions *Menlo College, Atherton, California *Menlo Sch ...
* North University Park Historic District *
Twentieth Street Historic District The Twentieth Street Historic District in Los Angeles, California, consists of a row of bungalow and Craftsman style houses in the 900 block on the south side of 20th Street, within the West Adams neighborhood. With Geography The Twentiet ...
* Van Buren Place Historic District * Western Heights * West Adams Terrace


Communities in West Adams

West Adams is home to one of the largest collections of historic houses and small mansions west of the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
and contains many diverse architectural styles including: Queen Anne, Shingle,
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
, Transitional Arts and Crafts,
American Craftsman American Craftsman is an American domestic architectural style, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which included interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts, beginning in the last years of the 19th century. ...
/
Ultimate Bungalow An ultimate bungalow is a large and detailed American Craftsman-style home, based on the bungalow form. Overview The ultimate bungalow style is associated with such California architects as Greene and Greene, Bernard Maybeck and Julia Morgan. ...
, Craftsman Bungalow,
Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...
,
Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...
,
Mediterranean Revival Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references to Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonial ...
,
Spanish Colonial Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general. Thes ...
,
Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...
,
Egyptian Revival Egyptian Revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon's French campaign in Egypt and Syria, invasion of ...
, Beaux-Arts and Neoclassical styles. West Adams boasts the only existing
Greene and Greene Greene and Greene was an architecture, architectural firm established by brothers Charles Sumner Greene (1868–1957) and Henry Mather Greene (January 23, 1870 – October 2, 1954), influential early 20th century American architects. Active prim ...
house left in the city of Los Angeles.


Alphabetical listing of communities with West Adams nexus

* Angelus Vista * Arlington Heights *
Harvard Heights Harvard Heights is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. It lies within a municipally designated Los Angeles Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, historic preservation overlay zone designed to protect its architecturally significant s ...
* Lafayette Square * Jefferson Park * North University Park * Victoria Park *
Wellington Square Wellington Square may refer to: * Wellington Square, North Adelaide, South Australia * Wellington Square, Perth, in Western Australia * A neighbourhood in Burlington, Ontario, Canada * A square in Kolkata, India, renamed Subodh Chandra Mallik Squar ...
* Western Heights * West Adams Heights * West Adams Terrace


Areas west of West Adams

West of West Adams, communities sought to capitalize on their proximity to the "magnificent West Adams district" However, unlike the mansions and large homes east of Crenshaw Boulevard, the homes built in this area were bungalows. They were advertised to people of "moderate means" and were priced to sell for "ten to twenty times" less than homes in West Adams. In 1911, Carlin Geer Smith, who developed DuRay Place, petitioned the city to annex the "West Adams Extension District", but the city turned down the application. Named tracts in this area include: * Glen Airy Place - Glen Airy Place was a residential subdivision advertised as "near the fashionable West Adams District". An official subdivision map gives the boundaries as Adams Street (now Adams Boulevard) on the north, Vancouver Avenue (now La Brea Avenue) on the east, Roseland Street on the south and Edgemar Street (now Cochran Avenue) on the west. * DuRay Place - Located near the intersection of Adams Boulevard and Washington Boulevard, DuRay Place was "practically adjoining the exclusive West Adams District, where homes are selling at ten to twenty times our prices." An official subdivision map gives the boundaries as Adams Street on the north, DuRay Place and Dunsmuir Avenue on the east, Jefferson Boulevard on the south and Clyde Avenue on the west.


Demographics

In 1985, West Adams was a predominantly "Black middle-class area with growing Latino and Korean segments, plus a mix of Hungarians, Poles, Japanese, USC students and an increasing young professional and gay population." In 2007, it was noted that African-American gays were "eschewing the overpriced and completely gentrified territory of West Hollywood" and were instead moving to West Adams. In 2014, the ''Times'' stated that "after a recent wave of Latino immigration", young professionals were purchasing homes in the neighborhoods west of
USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...
, including the "stately Victorian and Craftsman mansions of West Adams" and the "smaller Craftsman bungalows" of Jefferson Park. According to
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 ...
, Mexican (29.2%) and Salvadoran (5.7%) were the most common ancestries in 2000. Mexico (37.4%) and El Salvador (25.1%) were the most common foreign places of birth.


Education

The schools within the West Adams neighborhood include:
“LA Unified Region South,” Los Angeles Unified School District
* 32nd Street / USC Performing Arts Magnet, LAUSD, 822 W. 32nd St. * John W. Mack Elementary School, LAUSD, 3020 S. Catalina St. * Norwood Street Elementary, LAUSD, 2020 Oak St. * Vermont Avenue Elementary School, LAUSD, 1435 W. 27th St. * Camino Nuevo Elementary No. 3, Charter, 1723 Cordova St. *
West Adams Preparatory High School West Adams Preparatory High School is a secondary school in Central Los Angeles, California. The school is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District and is operated by a nonprofit organization working in conjunction with LAUSD. The orga ...
, LAUSD, 1500 W. Washington Blvd.


Recreation and parks

* Loren Miller Recreation Center, 2717 Halldale Avenue * Richardson Family Park, 2700 S. Budlong Avenue


Transportation

The E Line (Los Angeles Metro), Metro E Line from
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 ...
to
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
include stations in West Adams: Vermont/Expo and Expo/Western.


Government


Fire department

West Adams has one fire station in the neighborhood. The
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 ...
operates Station 26, located at 2009 S. Western Avenue.


Police department

Police services in West Adams are provided by the Los Angeles Police Department's Southwest Division.


Neighborhood councils

West Adams is served by multiple neighborhood councils. *United Neighborhoods of the historic Arlington Heights, West Adams, and Jefferson Park Community Neighborhood Council (West Adams, Arlington Heights, Jefferson Park) *Empowerment Congress North Area Neighborhood Development Council (West Adams area) *Mid-City Neighborhood Council (Lafayette Square, Victoria Park and Wellington Square)


Notable places

* Forthmann House – 1102 W. 28th Street. Designated Historic-Cultural Monument 103 on October 4, 1972. *
Frederick Hastings Rindge House Built in 1904, The Frederick Hastings Rindge House is a historic house located in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1986, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. History The Rindge House was built ...
- 2263 Harvard Boulevard. Designated Historic-Cultural Monument 95 on February 23, 1972. * John B. Kane Residence - 2122 Bonsallo Avenue. Designated Historic-Cultural Monument 500 on June 12, 1990. *
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 ...
Offices and Memorial Library - 2107 Washington Boulevard. Designated Historic-Cultural Monument 776 on January 21, 2004.


Notable people

''(in alphabetical order)'' *
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson Edmund Lincoln Anderson (September 18, 1905 – February 28, 1977) was an American actor and comedian. To a generation of early radio and television comedy audiences, he was known as "Rochester". Anderson entered show business as a teenager on ...
, actor and comedian *
Pearl Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer, comedian and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the ti ...
, actress *
Louise Beavers Louise Beavers (March 8, 1900 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress who appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows from the 1920s to 1960. She played a prominent role in advancing the lives of black Am ...
, actress * Busby Berkley, choreographer * Ben Carter, actor *
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 ...
, singer *
Johnnie Cochran Johnnie Lee Cochran Jr.Adam Bernstei ''The Washington Post'', March 30, 2005; retrieved April 17, 2006. ( ; October 2, 1937 – March 29, 2005) was an American attorney from California who was involved in numerous civil rights and Police b ...
, attorney * Clementina D. Griffin, school principal, aviator *
Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...
, musician * Leila Holterhoff, singer, linguist, psychoanalyst * Norman O. Houston, president of Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company *
Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...
, singer *
Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...
, boxer *
Hattie McDaniel Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893 – October 26, 1952) was an African-American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. For her role as Mammy in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the f ...
, actress, the first African-American to win an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
. * Tim Moore, vaudeville comedian; star of CBS-TV's situation comedy,
Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' was an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago then later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio sho ...
. *
Ramon Novarro Ramón Gil Samaniego (February 6, 1899 – October 30, 1968), known professionally as Ramon Novarro, was a Mexican actor. He began his career in American silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box-offic ...
, silent screen star * Ivy Pochoda, author *
Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...
, actress


In media

*''Visiting... with
Huell Howser Huell Burnley Howser (October 18, 1945 – January 7, 2013) was an American television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, and voice artist, best known for hosting, producing, and writing ''California's Gold'' and his human interest sh ...
'' Episode 110.


In literature

* ''These Women'' by Ivy Pochoda


See also

*
List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places in the city of Los Angeles. (For those in the rest of Los Angeles County, refer to National Register of Historic Places listings in Los Angeles County, California.) Current listings ' ...
*
List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in South Los Angeles This is a list of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in South Los Angeles, California. In total, there are over 144 Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, Historic-Cultural Monuments (HCM) in the South Los Angeles region, which includes 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 ...


References


Further reading

* "A photo-documentary about the history-rich and once prominent Los Angeles neighborhood of West Adams". ** **


External links


WAHA—West Adams Heritage Association


*
West Adams Heights/Sugar Hill Neighborhood Association

United Neighborhoods Council
{{Los Angeles Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods in California Los Angeles Historic Preservation Overlay Zones Neighborhoods in Los Angeles South Los Angeles