West Adams, Los Angeles

Neighborhood of Los Angeles in California, United States

West Adams

Neighborhood of Los Angeles

Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building

West Adams

Location in Central Los Angeles

Coordinates: 34°01′58″N 118°18′03″W﻿ / ﻿34.0327023°N 118.3009579°W﻿ / 34.0327023; -118.3009579
Country| United States
State| California
County| Los Angeles
Time zone| Pacific
Zip Code|

90018

Area code| 213/323 [1][2]

West Adams is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California.[3] The neighborhood is known for its large number of historic buildings, structures, notable houses, and mansions. It contains several Historic Preservation Overlay Zones as well as designated historic districts.

Eugene W. Britt House, now home of the LA84 Foundation House in 20th Street Historic District

## History

[edit]

Historic Engine House No. 18, built in a Mission Revival style in 1904.

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. West Adams was developed by railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington and wealthy industrialist Hulett C. Merritt of Pasadena. It was once the wealthiest neighborhood in the city, with its Victorian mansions and sturdy Craftsman bungalows, and a home to Downtown businessmen, as well as professors and academicians at the nearby University of Southern California.

### 1880s - 1890s

[edit]

In 1887, the Los Angeles Herald announced that the ensuing St. James Park neighborhood would have a stone entrance to "rival the Arc de Triomphe" and would be eventually be surrounded by "the most costly residences yet erected on this coast".[4] The parkland was named and donated to the city by George King and his wife in commemoration of their many trips to London.[5] The gated community of Chester Place was developed in 1889 [6] On October 24, 1901, Edward L. Doheny purchased number 8 Chester Place for $120,000 cash.[7]

In 1890, St. Margaret's School for Girls moved from Pasadena to West Adams. On October 1, 1890, the school opened at the corner of 23rd and Scarff Streets.[8][9] Occupying the empty Marlborough Hotel, the school adopted the name of its new location and was renamed the Marlborough School for Girls.[8] It remained in West Adams for 26 years before relocating to Hancock Park in 1916.[8]

### 1900s - 1910s

[edit]

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.[10] In September of that year, a Los Angeles Times 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. .[11] 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.[12]

In 1913, the Times announced that the Monarch Hotel was to be built in the "fashionable residence district" of West Adams.[13] By 1916, the Los Angeles Times 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 and Edward L. Doheny.[14] 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.[14] Adams Boulevard was now a "magnificent concourse" and "one of the most popular drives in Los Angeles".[14]

### 1920s - 1930s

[edit]

In 1921, the Automobile Club announced that it would build a new headquarters at Figueroa and Adams. Architects Sumner Hunt and S.R. Burns designed a building of "attractive Spanish design" that would be a "distinctive structure for the West Adams district".[15]

In 1925, silent screen star Ramon Novarro purchased a home in "the exclusive West Adams district" for $12,000 and spent an additional $100,000 on renovations.[16][17]

In 1927, during the prohibition era, 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.[citation needed]

In 1931, during the Great Depression, 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.[18]

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."[19]

### 1940s - 1950s

[edit]

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, civil rights activists John and Vada Sommerville, actress Louise Beavers, band leader Johnny Otis, performers Pearl Bailey and Ethel Waters.[20]

In December 1945, some of the white residents filed a lawsuit against 31 Black residents—including Hattie McDaniel. McDaniel held workshops to strategize for the case and gathered around 250 sympathizers to accompany her to court. Judge Thurmond Clarke 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."[21] McDaniel’s case would go on to set a precedent that later impacted the 1948 Shelley v. Kramer Supreme Court Ruling which in summary states that “holding that state courts may not enforce racially restrictive covenants.”[22]

West Adams Gateway Marker, in front of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building

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. It was once described as "the finest building to be erected and owned by African-Americans in the nation"[23]

### 1960s - 1970s

[edit]

Starting in 1961, construction of the ten-lane Santa Monica Freeway (Interstate 10) 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.[24] The construction resulted in substantial displacement of West Adams residents, including the relocation of much of the area's affluent Black families.[25] As the Los Angeles Sentinel 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![25]

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.[26]

In 1971, Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center opened as the city’s first black-owned hospital. According to the LA Weekly , "In the 1970s and '80s it was a thriving, vital part of the West Adams community."[27]

### 1980s - present day

[edit]

In 2000, the Alpha Gamma Omega sorority house, a Craftsman structure built in 1911 and located in West Adams, received a Preserve L.A. grant from the Getty Trust.[28]

In 2004, homes were demolished and lots were cleared in West Adams for what was then referred to as "Central High School No. 2".[29] 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.[29] West Adams Preparatory High School opened in the fall semester of 2007 with a final budget of $176 million.[30]

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.[31]

In 2010, This Old House magazine named West Adams as "one of the country’s best neighborhoods for old houses".[32] Criteria included "architectural diversity, craftsmanship of the homes, and the preservation momentum in the area".[33] 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.[34]

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."[35]

In 2016, then-rep.(D-Los Angeles) and now Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, 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."[36] That same year, an empty West Adams Hospital was transformed into a temporary art gallery.[27]

## Geography

[edit]

### The City of Los Angeles

[edit]

Neighborhood sign at
22nd Street and
Western Avenue

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 City Council in October 2001 and approved in February 2002.[37]

At that time, the city was directed to install "West Adams" neighborhood signs on Vermont, Western and Adams Boulevards [37][38][39][40]

West Adams is bounded by Western Avenue on the west, Vermont Avenue on the east, Jefferson Boulevard on the south and the Santa Monica Freeway on the north.[37]

Additionally, the area is marked with large concrete "gateway markers" at Western and Adams and Vermont and Adams.[31]

### Los Angeles Times and other sources

[edit]

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.[41] (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.)[42]

The book Images of America - West Adams by Don Lynch, Suzanne Tarbell Cooper, and John Kurtz states that West Adams stretches "roughly from Figueroa Street on the east to West Boulevard on the west, and from Pico Boulevard on the north to Jefferson Boulevard on the south."[43]

## Historic districts

[edit]

More than 70 sites in West Adams have received recognition as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, a California Historical Landmark, 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
* Lafayette Square
* Jefferson Park
* Menlo Avenue-West Twenty-ninth Street Historic District
* North University Park Historic District
* Twentieth Street Historic District
* Van Buren Place Historic District
* Western Heights
* West Adams Terrace

## Communities in West Adams

[edit]

West Adams is home to one of the largest collections of historic houses and small mansions west of the Mississippi River and contains many diverse architectural styles including: Queen Anne, Shingle, Gothic Revival, Transitional Arts and Crafts, American Craftsman/Ultimate Bungalow, Craftsman Bungalow, Colonial Revival, Renaissance Revival, Mediterranean Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Mission Revival, Egyptian Revival, Beaux-Arts and Neoclassical styles. West Adams boasts the only existing Greene and Greene house left in the city of Los Angeles.[44]

### Alphabetical listing of communities with West Adams nexus

[edit]

* Angelus Vista
* Arlington Heights
* Harvard Heights
* Lafayette Square
* Jefferson Park
* North University Park
* Victoria Park
* Wellington Square
* Western Heights
* West Adams Heights
* West Adams Terrace

### Areas west of West Adams

[edit]

West of West Adams, communities sought to capitalize on their proximity to the "magnificent West Adams district"[45] However, unlike the mansions and large homes east of Crenshaw Boulevard, the homes built in this area were bungalows.[46] They were advertised to people of "moderate means" and were priced to sell for "ten to twenty times" less than homes in West Adams.[47]

In 1911, Carlin Geer Smith, who developed DuRay Place,[48] petitioned the city to annex the "West Adams Extension District", but the city turned down the application.[49]

Glen Airy Place, "near the fashionable West Adams District, 1911 DuRay Place, "practically adjoing the exclusive West Adams District", 1912

* 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 on the north, roughly Mansfield Avenue on the east, Roseland Street on the south and the rear line of properties fronting on Edgewater Street on the west.[50]
* DuRay Place - Located near the intersection of Adams Boulevard and Washington Boulevard, DuRay Place called itself the "Tract of Opportunity". DuRay Place was "practically adjoining the exclusive West Adams District, where homes are selling at ten to twenty times our prices."

## Demographics

[edit]

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."[51]

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.[52]

In 2014, the Times stated that "after a recent wave of Latino immigration", young professionals were purchasing homes in the neighborhoods west of USC, including the "stately Victorian and Craftsman mansions of West Adams" and the "smaller Craftsman bungalows" of Jefferson Park.[53]

According to Mapping L.A., 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.[54]

## Education

[edit]

West Adams Preparatory High School

The schools within the West Adams neighborhood include:[55]

* 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, LAUSD, 1500 W. Washington Blvd.

## Recreation and parks

[edit]

* Loren Miller Recreation Center, 2717 Halldale Avenue [56]
* Richardson Family Park, 2700 S. Budlong Avenue [57]

## Transportation

[edit]

The Metro E Line from Downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica include stations in West Adams: Vermont/Expo and Expo/Western.[58]

## Government

[edit]

Map of United Neighborhoods of Arlington Heights, West Adams and Jefferson Park Community Neighborhood Council

### Fire department

[edit]

West Adams has one fire station in the neighborhood. The Los Angeles Fire Department operates Station 26, located at 2009 S. Western Avenue.[59]

### Police department

[edit]

Police services in West Adams are provided by the Los Angeles Police Department's Southwest Division.[60]

### Neighborhood councils

[edit]

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)[61][62][63]
* Empowerment Congress North Area Neighborhood Development Council (West Adams area)[61]
* Mid-City Neighborhood Council (Lafayette Square, Victoria Park and Wellington Square)[64]

## Notable places

[edit]

* Forthmann House – 1102 W. 28th Street. Designated Historic-Cultural Monument 103 on October 4, 1972.
* Frederick Hastings Rindge House \- 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 Offices and Memorial Library - 2107 Washington Boulevard. Designated Historic-Cultural Monument 776 on January 21, 2004.[65]

## Notable people

[edit]

(in alphabetical order)

* Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, actor and comedian
* Pearl Bailey, actress [20]
* Louise Beavers, actress [20]
* Busby Berkley, choreographer [66][67]
* Ben Carter, actor [68]
* Ray Charles, singer
* Clementina D. Griffin, school principal, aviator
* Lionel Hampton, musician
* Leila Holterhoff, singer, linguist, psychoanalyst
* Norman O. Houston, president of Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company [20]
* Little Richard, singer
* Joe Louis, boxer [69]
* Hattie McDaniel, actress, the first African-American to win an Academy Award.[70]
* Tim Moore, vaudeville comedian; star of CBS-TV's situation comedy, Amos 'n' Andy.
* Ramon Novarro, silent screen star [16]
* Ivy Pochoda, author [71]
* Ethel Waters, actress [20]

## In media

[edit]

* Visiting... with Huell Howser Episode 110.[72]

## In literature

[edit]

* These Women by Ivy Pochoda[73][74]

## See also

[edit]

* Los Angeles portal

* List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles
* List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in South Los Angeles
* South Los Angeles
* Untold L.A. - "a photo-documentary about the history-rich and once prominent Los Angeles neighborhood of West Adams".[75][76]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "April 2015 NPA Exhaust Projections" (PDF). Nanpa.com.
2. ^ "Application of the North American Numbering Plan Administrator" (PDF). cpuc.ca. November 24, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
3. ^ "West Adams". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
4. ^ "Beautiful St. James Park". Los Angeles Herald. September 4, 1887. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
5. ^ "St. James Park Enshines Era of Oldtime City". Los Angeles Times. July 26, 1942. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
6. ^ "Chester Place". ChesterPlace.org. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
7. ^ Bonino, MaryAnn (2009) The Doheny Mansion: A Biography of a Home, Edizioni Casa Animata, Los Angeles ISBN 978-0-98164-220-8
8. ^ a b c "School History". Marlborough.org. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
9. ^ "Marlborough School". Los Angeles Evening Express. September 17, 1890. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
10. ^ "Dry West Adams". Los Angeles Times. July 27, 1906. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
11. ^ "Latest Invasion by Apartments". Los Angeles Times. September 6, 1906. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
12. ^ "Looks Like Fine Home". Los Angeles Times. January 17, 1909. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
13. ^ "Hotel to be set in park". Los Angeles Times. May 25, 1913. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
14. ^ a b c "Making Great Boulevard of West Adams Street". Los Angeles Times. August 16, 1916. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
15. ^ "Distinctive Structure for West Adams District". Los Angeles Times. June 26, 1921. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
16. ^ a b Elenberger, Allan R. (July 11, 2015). Ramon Vovarro: A Biography. McFarland. p. 57\. ISBN 9781476607825. Retrieved July 4, 2024. "He purchased an old fashioned roomy house at 2265 W. 22nd Street in the exclusive West Adams District for $12,000. He spent $100,000 on the renovation, which took several months."
17. ^ "Ramon Novarro". West Adams Heritage Association. Retrieved July 4, 2024. "In 1925 Novarro purchased a house at 2265 West 22nd Street in West Adams for $12,000. He spent $100,000 on the renovation, adding a private wing with a suite of dressing rooms, servants' quarters, and his own theatre."
18. ^ "West Adams Jobless Aided". Los Angeles Times. February 12, 1931. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
19. ^ Turner, Timothy G. (May 9, 1937). "St. James Park Serves Old Time Exculsive Area". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
20. ^ a b c d e Smith, Michael; Stegall, Greg. "West Adams Heights: A Historic Neighborhood Faces Challenges". West Adams Heritage Association.
21. ^ "Victory on Sugar Hill". Time Magazine. December 17, 1945.
22. ^ "Wright v. Incline Vill. Gen. Improvement Dist". Case Text. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
23. ^ "Paul Williams Project Golden State Building". American Institute of Architects, Memphis Chapter. 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
24. ^ Masters, Nathan (September 10, 2012). "Creating the Santa Monica Freeway". KCET.
25. ^ a b Meares, Hadley (February 22, 2018). "The thrill of Sugar Hill". Curbed LA. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
26. ^ King, Noel (April 7, 2021). "A Brief History Of How Racism Shaped Interstate Highways". NPR News.
27. ^ a b Barragan, Bianca (September 30, 2016). "Abandoned West Adams hospital will be transformed into an art gallery". Curbed.com. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
28. ^ Malnic, Eric (July 28, 2000). "Getty Trust Gives $1.4 Million to Preserve 20 Landmark Sites". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 20, 2024. "The Alpha Gamma Omega sorority house was built as a private residence in the West Adams District in 1911. The Craftsman structure is now a chapter house for the sorority."
29. ^ a b Poole, Bob (May 27, 2004). "Old House Seeks a New Place It Can Call Home". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 7, 2023. "The classrooms haven't been built yet. But home work is already being parceled out at Central High School No. 2 in the West Adams district."
30. ^ Sondheimer, Eric (November 13, 2012). "Turmoil in West Adams Prep's sports program raises questions". Los Angeles Times. "Built at a cost of $176 million, Los Angeles West Adams Prep opened in 2007 with some of the best athletic facilities in the Los Angeles Unified School District."
31. ^ a b "LANI - West Adams Enhancement Program" (PDF). CRALA. March 15, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
32. ^ Boone, Lisa (February 18, 2010). "This Old House names West Adams one of the best old neighborhoods for 2010". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 28, 2024. "Los Angeles rarely lands on any 'best' quality of life lists, so it was nice to see This Old House magazine name West Adams as one of the country's best neighborhoods for old houses."
33. ^ Broverman, Neal (February 17, 2010). "West Adams Named One of Country's Best Old-House Neighborhoods". Curbed L.A. Retrieved August 28, 2024. "The mostly genteel neighborhood of West Adams has been named one of the country's "Best Old-House Neighborhoods" by This Old House magazine. Criteria included "architectural diversity, craftsmanship of the homes, and the preservation momentum in the area as well as neighborhood amenities including walkability, safety, and community""
34. ^ "Best Old House Neighborhoods 2010". This Old House. February 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2024. "West Adams, Los Angeles, California. Once home to Los Angeles's wealthiest 19th-century bankers and mining execs, West Adams seems like a studio backdrop for the set of a perfect small town. This is L.A., so even traditional styles, such as Craftsman and Mission, are glitzed to the max with detail. West Adams, Los Angeles, is among the best for: City Life, Movie Buffs,"
35. ^ Banks, Sandy (July 26, 2011). "West Adams neighbors fight for their streets". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
36. ^ Nolan, Conan (February 12, 2016). "The Rich History of West Adams, Once a Predominantly Black Suburb". NBCLosAngeles.com. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
37. ^ a b c "Council File 01-1874" (PDF). No. 16\. City of Los Angeles. January 2005. pp. 31, 46, 49. Retrieved August 31, 2020. "Area to be officially designated as "West Adams": • South Vermont Avenue between West 24th Street and West Jefferson Boulevard • West Jefferson Boulevard, between Western Avenue and South Vermont Avenue • South Western Avenue between West Jefferson Boulevard and the 10 "Santa Monica" Freeway • Santa Monica Freeway, between South Western Avenue and South Budlong Avenue • South Budlong Avenue, between the 10 "Santa Monica" Freeway and West 24th Street • West 24th Street between South Budlong Avenue and South Vermont Avenue"
38. ^ [1] Signage at Vermont and Adams, 2019
39. ^ [2] Signage at Western and Adams, 2019
40. ^ [3] Signage at Western and 22nd Street, 2021
41. ^ Hofmann, Michelle (February 27, 2010). "On the market: West Adams". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 9, 2023. "One of L.A.'s oldest neighborhoods, West Adams borders Figueroa Street on the east, West Boulevard on the west, Pico Boulevard on the north and Jefferson Boulevard on the south."
42. ^ Banks, Sandy (December 1, 1985). "The Battle of West Adams". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
43. ^ Lynch, Don; Cooper, Suzanne Tarbell; John, Kurtz (2008). "Introduction". Images of America - West Adams. Arcadia Publishing. p. 7\. ISBN 978-0-7385-5920-9. Retrieved December 24, 2023. "West Adams , an area roughly bounded by Figueroa Street, Jefferson Boulevard, Pico Boulevard and West Street."
44. ^ Macveen, Mary (June 12, 2010). "Greene & Greene for under $1 million". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 15, 2024. "The 2,620-square-foot house, designed in 1905 and expanded in 1917, sits on Cambridge Street in the area of West Adams known as Harvard Heights."
45. ^ "DuRay Place- the Tract of Opportunity". Los Angeles Evening Express. April 6, 1912.
46. ^ "DuRay Place Will Have Water Supply". Los Angeles Evening Express. May 18, 1912. Retrieved August 2, 2024. "Fourteen bungalows are complete in the DuRay Place tract and plans are complete for many more."
47. ^ "DuRay Place". Los Angeles Evening Post Record. March 23, 1912. Retrieved August 2, 2024. "DuRay Place, an ideal home spot for a man of moderate means; practically adjoining the exclusive West Adams district, where property is selling at ten to twenty times our prices."
48. ^ "Du Ray Place( Baldwin Hills, Mid-City)". LAStreetnames.com. "In 1912, realtor Carlin Geer Smith named his Du Ray Place tract in honor of his father and/or his brother."
49. ^ Lawrence, Diane (December 16, 2017). "The History of Adams Boulevard Crenshaw to Fairfax". The Neighborhood News. Retrieved August 2, 2024. "arlin Smith began to lobby Los Angeles officials, asking them to annex the area of his subdivisions – which he now called the "West Adams Extension District." But the city's elected officials turned down the application, and Smith bitterly complained ..."
50. ^ [4] G.W. Baist, David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, Plate 36, Los Angeles, California, 1921
51. ^ Price, Susan (December 21, 1986). "On The Street of Dreams". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 16, 2024. "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."
52. ^ "West Adams on the Down Low". Curbed LA. July 23, 2007. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
53. ^ Khouri, Andrew (April 30, 2014). "Soaring home prices spur a resurgence near USC". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
54. ^ "Adams-Normandie". Mapping L.A. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
55. ^ [5] “LA Unified Region South,” Los Angeles Unified School District
56. ^ "Loren Miller Recreation Center". LAParks.org. City of Los Angeles. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
57. ^ "Richardson Family Park". LAParks.org. City of Los Angeles. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
58. ^ "The Guide to the Metro Expo Line". Discover Los Angeles. Retrieved December 24, 2023. "Expo/Vermont - This station... in the West Adams district. Located in the West Adams district, the Expo/Western Station..."
59. ^ "Fire Station 26". LAFD. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
60. ^ "Southwest Community Police Station". LAPD Online. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
61. ^ a b "South LA Neighborhood Councils". USC Annenberg Center. Retrieved March 16, 2024. "United Neighborhoods Neighborhood Council (West Adams, Arlington Heights, Jefferson Park) - Empowerment Congress North Area Neighborhood Development Council (West Adams area)"
62. ^ "United Neighborhoods of the historic Arlington Heights, West Adams, and Jefferson Park Neighborhood Council" (PDF). LAcity.com. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
63. ^ "United Neighborhoods of the historic Arlington Heights, West Adams, and Jefferson Park Communities Neighborhood Council" (PDF). LACity.org. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
64. ^ "Neighborhood Council Elections in West Adams" (PDF). West Adams Heritage Association. Retrieved March 17, 2024. "Mid-City NC ("MINC" ) includes Lafayette Square, Victoria Park and Wellington Square"
65. ^ "Ray Charles Foundation". theraycharlesfoundation.org. Retrieved December 23, 2023. "The Ray Charles Memorial Library - 2107 W. Washington Boulevard."
66. ^ "Guasti Villa, West Adams". Calisphere.org. University of California. Retrieved July 8, 2024. "In 1910, leading vintner Secondo Guasti commissioned Hudson & Munsell Architects to design the mansion in the Beaux Arts and Italian styles. In 1937, the home was purchased by Busby Berkeley, who turned the basement wine cellar into a film editing studio. Then in 1944, the Los Angeles Physicians Aid Association acquired the property as a retirement home."
67. ^ "Guasti Villa - Busby Berkley Estate". LACity.org. Historic Places Los Angeles. Retrieved July 8, 2024. "neighborhood: West Adams Neighborhood (neighborhood)"
68. ^ Bogle, Donald (2009). Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams. Random House.
69. ^ "Joe Louis". West Adams Heritage Association. Retrieved March 15, 2024. "He maintained a home in Los Angeles in West Adams in the section called Lafayette Square ."
70. ^ Evans, Leslie. "Hattie McDaniel". westadamsheritage.org. West Adams Heritage Association. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
71. ^ Pochoda, Ivy (July 2020). "Let the women do the talking: Behind the Book by Ivy Pochoda". Bookpage.com. Retrieved January 20, 2024. "I live in a neighborhood called Harvard Heights, a small subsection of a much larger neighborhood called West Adams"
72. ^ "West Adams – Visiting (110) – Huell Howser Archives at Chapman University". December 7, 2016. "Tour the beautiful old homes in the West Adams district and meet their diverse owners who have lovingly restored them to their original splendor."
73. ^ Pochado, Ivy (May 21, 2020). "A West Adams Tour of Ivy Pochoda's New Literary Thriller These Women". Interview. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
74. ^ "These Women". GoodReads.com. Retrieved December 24, 2023. "In West Adams, a rapidly changing part of South Los Angeles, they're referred to as "these women.""
75. ^ Kramer, David. "Untold LA: A Project of Passion By Photographer & Producer Jett Loe". thecraftsmanbungalow.com. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
76. ^ Gallegos, Emma (May 19, 2012). "Project Aims to Tell the "Untold" History of West Adams". LAist.com. Retrieved March 17, 2024. "West Adams. Home to the greatest architectural treasure West of the Mississippi of Victorian, Queen Anne, Beaux Arts, Egyptian Revival, Mission and Craftsman homes, the stories of West Adams are just as wild as the houses."

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to West Adams, Los Angeles.

* WAHA—West Adams Heritage Association
* Los Angeles Times: Saving Harvard Heights
* Van Buren Place Community Restoration Association
* West Adams Heights/Sugar Hill Neighborhood Association
* United Neighborhoods Council

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Places adjacent to West Adams, Los Angeles

| Western Heights | West Adams Heights | Downtown Los Angeles

|
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|  |
West Adams Terrace |

West Adams

| North University Park
|  |
Jefferson Park | University Expo Park West | USC

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National Register of Historic Places listings in Los Angeles County, California

* 20th St.
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* 52nd Pl.
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* Anderton Court Shops
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* Malibu Historic District
* Menlo Ave.–W. 29th St.
* N. Harper Ave. (W. Hollywood)
* North University Park
* Old Pasadena
* Park Place–Arroyo Terrace (Pasadena)
* Pegfair Estates (Pasadena)
* Pisgah Home
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* Prospect (Pasadena)
* Redondo Beach Original Townsite
* Russian Village (Claremont)
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* S. Bonnie Brae
* South Pasadena
* S. Serrano Ave.
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South Los Angeles region, Los Angeles

Neighborhoods|

* Baldwin Hills
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Points of interest|

| Libraries|

* Angeles Mesa
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* Moneta
* Vermont Square
* William Andrews Clark

|

Museums|

* African American Firefighter
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* California Science Center
* Destination Crenshaw (under construction)
* Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (under construction)
* Natural History

Parks|

* Exposition Park
* Rose Garden
* Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
* Rancho Cienega Recreation Center

Religious|

* Bethlehem Baptist Church
* Crenshaw Christian Center
* First African Methodist Episcopal Church
* McCarty Memorial Christian Church
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* Senshin Buddhist Temple
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Residences|

| Historic
districts|

* 20th Street
* 27th Street
* 52nd Place
* Menlo Avenue–West 29th Street
* North University Park
* Adlai Stevenson II Birthplace
* Miller and Herriott House
* St. James Park
* Van Buren Place

|

Public
housing|

* Avalon Gardens
* Gonzaque Village
* Imperial Courts
* Jordan Downs
* Nickerson Gardens
* Pueblo Del Rio

Other|

* Eugene W. Britt
* Forthmann
* Frederick Hastings Rindge
* Holmes-Shannon
* John B. Kane
* Machell-Seaman
* Ralph J. Bunche
* Ramsay-Durfee
* Stimson

Restaurants|

* Holbox

Schools|

| High
schools|

* Animo Jackie Robinson and Animo Ralph Bunche
* Augustus F. Hawkins
* Crenshaw
* James A. Foshay Learning Center
* Jefferson
* John C. Fremont
* Jordan
* J. P. Widney
* Locke
* Manual Arts
* Orthopaedic Hospital Medical Magnet
* Susan Miller Dorsey
* Verbum Dei Jesuit
* View Park Preparatory
* Washington Preparatory

|

Colleges and
universities|

* East LA College South Gate Campus
* Hebrew Union
* Los Angeles Southwest
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* Mount Saint Mary's
* USC
* Doheny Library
* Leavey Library
* Tommy Trojan
* Widney Alumni House

Other|

* Marlton

Sports
arenas|

* BMO Stadium
* Galen Center
* John C. Argue Swim Stadium
* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Theaters|

* Lincoln
* Shrine Auditorium
* Vision

Other
buildings|

* 28th Street YMCA
* Angelus Funeral Home
* Annenberg (Armory)
* Bob Hope Patriotic Hall
* Casa de Rosas
* Dunbar Hotel
* Fire Stations No. 14 and 18
* Golden State Mutual Life Insurance (1928) and (1949)
* Holiday Bowl
* Prince Hall Masonic Temple

Other sites|

* Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
* Public Art
* Watts Station
* Watts Towers

Transportation|

| Bikeways|

* Expo Bike Path
* Park to Playa Trail
* Rail to Rail

|

Freeways|

* I-10
* I-105
* I-110
* Harbor Transitway
* Imperial Highway
* Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Memorial Interchange
* Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange
* Metro ExpressLanes

Metro|

* A Line
* C Line
* E Line
* J Line
* K Line
* Harbor Subdivision

Streets|

| East-west|

* 11 - 40th
* 41st - 250th
* Century
* Florence
* Jefferson
* Manchester
* Martin Luther King Jr.
* Obama
* Slauson

|

North-south|

* Alameda
* Avalon
* Central
* Crenshaw
* Malcolm X Route
* La Brea
* La Cienega
* Main
* San Pedro
* South Broadway
* Vermont
* Western

Intersections|

* Florence and Normandie
* Malcolm X Way
* Squares
* Barbara Morrison
* Dolphins of Hollywood
* Dosan Ahn Chang Ho
* Nipsey Hussle
* Roger Terry

Other|

* Alameda Corridor

Regions
Crescenta Valley
Downtown
Eastside
Harbor Area
Greater Hollywood
Northeast LA
Northwest LA
San Fernando Valley
South LA
Westside
Central Los Angeles & Wilshire area
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