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Crenshaw, Los Angeles

Neighborhood of Los Angeles in California, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Crenshaw, Los Angelesmap
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Crenshaw, also referred to as the Crenshaw District, is a neighborhood in South Los Angeles, California.[2][3]

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In the post–World War II era, a Japanese American community was established in Crenshaw. African Americans started migrating to the district in the mid 1960s, and by the early 1970s were the majority.[4]

The Crenshaw Boulevard commercial corridor has had many different cultural backgrounds throughout the years,[5] but it is still "the heart of African American commerce in Los Angeles".[6]

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History

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After courts ruled segregation covenants to be unconstitutional, the area opened up to many different people. In the post-World War II era, a large Japanese American settlement ensued, which can still be found along Coliseum Street, east and west of Crenshaw Boulevard.[7]

African Americans started migrating to the district in the mid 1960s, and by the early 1970s later were the majority.[4] Due to a shared sense of discrimination, many Japanese-Americans had formed close relationships with the African-American community.[7]

There was an area Japanese school called Dai-Ichi Gakuen.[7] Around 1970, Dai-Ichi Gakuen had a peak of 700 students.[7] At At that time, Crenshaw was one of the largest Japanese-American settlements in California, with about 8,000 residents. [7]

Beginning in the 1970s the Japanese American community began decreasing in size and Japanese-American businesses began leaving. 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."[7] 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.[7]

In the 1970s, Crenshaw, Leimert Park and neighboring areas together had formed one of the largest African-American communities in the western United States.

By 1980, there were 4,000 Japanese ethnic residents, half of the previous size.[7] By 1990 there were 2,500 Japanese-Americans, mostly older residents. By 1993, the community was diminishing in size, with older Japanese Americans staying but with younger ones moving away. That year, Dai-Ichi Gakuen had only 15 students. In the 90s there began a shift to a new generation of Japanese Americans moving back into the neighborhood.[7]

Crenshaw had suffered significant damage from both the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the 1994 Northridge earthquake[8] but was able to rebound in the late 2000s with the help of redevelopment and gentrification.[9]

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.[10] The renovation was met with community opposition and did not happen.[11]

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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. [12] 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.[13]

The city has also installed a neighborhood sign at the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Slauson Avenue.[14]

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Mural of African-American Progress and apartment complexes, along Crenshaw Boulevard
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Government

Police department

Post office

Education

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

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 as a form of gentrification.[18]

Transportation

The K Line runs between Expo/Crenshaw station and Redondo Beach station, running generally north-south along Crenshaw Boulevard.[19][20]

Notable places

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Googie architecture of the former Holiday Bowl in 2002 before converting into a Starbucks
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Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments

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Media

Literature

The novel Southland, by Nina Revoyr, is set in the Crenshaw neighborhood.[24]

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.[25]

White Men Can't Jump - One of the main characters, Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes), lives in Crenshaw.[26]

Television

All American - The main character, Spencer James, lives in Crenshaw.[27]

Special events

Notable residents

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See also

Notes

    References

    External links

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