Crenshaw, Los Angeles

History

Real estate developer George L. Crenshaw named the neighborhood's main commercial thoroughfare, Crenshaw Boulevard, after himself in 1904.

In 1948, the Supreme Court ruled segregated housing covenants to be unconstitutional in Shelley v. Kraemer, allowing people of all races to legally inhabit the once all-white community. Following World War II, a large Japanese American community established itself in the area. At its peak, the Japanese American settlement in Crenshaw was one of the largest in California, with about 8,000 residents.

African Americans began migrating to the district in the mid 1960s and became the majority ethnic group by the early 1970s. Due to a shared sense of discrimination, many Japanese-Americans formed close relationships with the African-American community. In the 1970s, Crenshaw, Leimert Park, and neighboring areas together had formed one of the largest African-American communities in the western United States.

The neighborhood's Japanese population dwindled in the following decades, dropping to 4,000 people in 1980 and 2,500 in 1990. Scott Shibuya Brown stated that "some say" the effect was a "belated response" to the 1965 Watts riots and that "several residents say a wave of anti-Japanese-American sentiment began cropping up in the area, prompting further departures." Eighty-two-year-old Jimmy Jike was quoted in the Los Angeles Times in 1993, stating that it was mainly because the residents' children, after attending universities, moved away. Traces of Japanese influence are still visible in the neighborhood's cuisine and architecture.

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

In 2018, the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza shopping mall had been approved for a major renovation plan, that would have included apartments, shops, and more restaurants. The renovation was met with community opposition and did not happen.

Geography

In 1996, the Los Angeles Times defined Crenshaw as "the area bounded by the Santa Monica Freeway on the north, Van Ness Avenue on the east, Slauson Avenue on the south and La Brea Avenue on the west. In 2012, the Los Angeles Times reiterated that "the Santa Monica Freeway, completed in 1964, created an imposing barrier between the Crenshaw District" and neighborhoods to the north.

The city has also installed a neighborhood sign at the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Slauson Avenue.

Government

Police department

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

Post office

• Crenshaw Post Office - 3894 Crenshaw Boulevard

Education

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

• Crenshaw High School - 5010 11th Avenue
• Susan Miller Dorsey High School - 3537 Farmdale Avenue
• View Park Preparatory High School - 5701 Crenshaw Boulevard
• View Park Preparatory Middle School - 5311 Crenshaw Boulevard
• Celerity Nascent Charter School - 3417 W Jefferson Boulevard

Demographics

In 2006, the population of Crenshaw was around 27,600. In 1996, there was a demographic shift increase in which many middle and lower-class blacks and Latinos are migrating to cities in the Inland Empire as well as cities in the Antelope Valley sections of Southern California .

Transportation

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

Notable places

• Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza shopping mall – home to a tri-level Wal-Mart (formerly a Broadway department store, then later a JJ Newberry's), Sears and Macy's.

• Marlton Square (formerly known as Santa Barbara Plaza) – The center had aged over the years and was a failed redevelopment project.

• West Angeles Church of God in Christ – 3045 Crenshaw Boulevard

Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments

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

Media

Literature

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

Motion picture

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

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

Television

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

Special events

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

Notable residents

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

Notes

References

References

1. (August 11, 2005). "Japanese and Blacks, Sharing the 'Shaw". NPR News.
2. (November 30, 2015). "District Map & CA-37 Overview".
3. "Southwest Community Police Station".
4. Kurashige, Scott. (January 30, 2014). "Growing Up Japanese American in Crenshaw and Leimert Park". [[KCET]].
5. Robinson-Jacobs, Karen. (May 2, 2001). "Noticing a Latin Flavor in Crenshaw". [[Los Angeles Times]].
6. Tadesse, Alohie. (June 18, 2024). "Crenshaw Boulevard: the Heart of Black LA". CSUN University Library.
7. Brown, Scott Shibuya. (October 3, 1993). "Crenshaw: Littler Tokyo : Although their children have grown and gone, older Japanese-Americans still evince pride, loyalty in their changing community.". [[Los Angeles Times]].
8. Nakaji Monnier, Mia. (April 19, 2022). "Where to Find Remnants of Crenshaw's Japanese American History". PBS SoCal.
9. Feldman, Paul. (1994-01-22). "Quake Deals Riot Areas Another Disastrous Blow : Aftermath: Many homes and businesses are declared unsafe in neighborhoods still reeling from 1992 unrest.". Los Angeles Times.
10. Easter, Makeda. (January 30, 2019). "Destination Crenshaw art project aims to reclaim the neighborhood for black L.A.". [[Los Angeles Times]].
11. Barragan, Bianca (June 18, 2018) [https://la.curbed.com/2018/6/28/17442638/baldwin-hills-crenshaw-plaza-redevelopment-approval/,full.story "Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza redevelopment wins City Council approval"] ''[[Curbed LA]]''
12. Vincent, Roger. (June 15, 2020). "Developer drops plan to buy Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza and add offices, not housing". [[Los Angeles Times]].
13. (May 29, 1996). "Report Offers Selling Points for Crenshaw District Growth". [[Los Angeles Times]].
14. (September 16, 2012). "Crenshaw's Line of Vision". [[Los Angeles Times]].
15. "Street view of Neighborhood Sign".
16. "Southwest Community Police Station".
17. "Crenshaw Post Office".
18. "Celerity Schools". celerityschools.org.
19. Mu'min, Nijla. (September 20, 2015). "Calm before the storm of gentrification". [[Los Angeles Times]].
20. Sumers, Brian. (January 21, 2014). "Metro breaks ground on new $2 billion L.A. Crenshaw/LAX Line". [[Daily Breeze]].
21. (April 28, 2008). "Urban renewal project in L.A. begets blight instead". Los Angeles Times.
22. (November 21, 2008). "Game Over For Holiday Bowl?".
23. "Monument Search Results Page".
24. "Fiction Book Review: SOUTHLAND by Nina Revoyr, Author, Dennis Cooper, Editor . Akashic $15.95 (348p) ISBN 978-1-888451-41-2".
25. "Boyz N The Hood". Gene Siskel Film Center.
26. "White Men Can't Jump".
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28. (January 17, 2017). "Dr Martin Luther King Jr. celebrated at Kingdom Day Parade". abc7.com.
29. Flores, Jessica. (2019-10-22). "As South LA changes, Destination Crenshaw is 'absolutely necessary'". Curbed LA.
30. Axelrod, Jeremiah B. C. ([[Occidental College]]). "The Shifting Grounds of Race: Black and Japanese Americans in the Making of Multiethnic Los Angeles." ''[[The Journal of American History]]'', 12/2008. p. 909-910. Cited: p. 910.
31. Segal, Edward. [https://www.thevalleystarnews.com/post/valley-professor-june-edmonds-named-guggenheim-fellow "Valley Professor June Edmonds named Guggenheim Fellow,"] ''The Valley Star'', May 19, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
32. Zorka, Zoe. (2019-04-02). "Remembering the Business of Nipsey Hussle: From Entertainer to Entrepreneur".
33. Tafur, Vic. (May 21, 2011). "NFL star DeSean Jackson talks bullying in Oakland". [[SFGate]].
34. "Darryl Strawberry Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com.
35. Glicksman, Ben. (December 21, 2010). "Crenshaw football star De'Anthony Thomas has Hollywood flair".
36. (April 19, 2017). "Crenshaw Corridor Specific Plan". City of Los Angeles.
37. Blay, Zeba. (2019-04-04). "Nipsey Hussle's Work In The Black Community Went Deeper Than You Think".
38. Jennings, Angel. "Nipsey Hussle had a vision for South L.A. It all started with a trip to Eritrea". [[Los Angeles Times]].