East Los Angeles, California, United States

🇺🇸 East Los Angeles, or East L.A., often referred to by locals as "East Los", is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California, United States. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau regards East Los Angeles as a place (CDP).

The area is notable for its high Hispanic/Latino population, which, at over 95%, is the highest proportion of Hispanic/Latino Americans of any city or place in the United States outside of Puerto Rico.

History Original East Los Angeles Historically, when it was founded in 1873, the neighborhood north-east of downtown known today as Lincoln Heights was originally named East Los Angeles, but in 1917 residents voted to change the name to its present name. Today it is considered part of L.A.'s Eastside, the geographic region east of the Los Angeles River that includes three neighborhoods within the city of Los Angeles (Boyle Heights, El Sereno and Lincoln Heights) and the unincorporated community in Los Angeles County known today as "East Los Angeles". Lincoln Heights is 4 miles (6 km) north-west of present-day East Los Angeles. When Lincoln Heights, the first east-side subdivision created in 1873, changed its name in 1917, Belvedere (Belvedere Gardens and Belvedere Heights) and surrounding unincorporated county areas were given the moniker of East Los Angeles. By the 1930s, most maps had started to label the Belvedere area as "East Los Angeles".

Belvedere The cornerstone of the first building of Occidental College was laid in September 1887 on Rowan Street. In 1896, the building was destroyed by fire.

On April 2, 1905, it was reported that the Janss Investment Company would be developing an area "on Boyle Heights" (later, Boyle Heights would refer only to a smaller area to the west, i.e. the neighborhood now called Boyle Heights within the Los Angeles city limits). The 170-acre (0.69 km²) tract was located at the eastern terminus of the Los Angeles Railway's "R" streetcar line. Originally known as "Hazard's Eastside Extension", was to be named Highland Villa, but would later be rechristened Belvedere Heights. Belvedere Heights, at its launch in 1905, extended from the L.A. city limits (Indiana Av.) on the west to Rowan Av. on the east, from Aliso St. on the south to Wabash Av. on the north, the north-western portion of today's East Los Angeles, thus including the lower portions of what today is called City Terrace.

By the early 1920s, workers in the sprouting industrial district to the south were seeking nearby housing. At the time, the unincorporated region was undeveloped and or preserved for agriculture and oil extraction. Belvedere township included the territory that in 1902 became the city of Montebello.

By 1922 Janss advertised that it had sold 6000 lots there and that 35,000 people lived in Belvedere Heights. Buildings that were described as being in Belvedere Heights included the junior high school on Record between Brooklyn and Michigan, now called Belvedere Middle School.

In February 1921 Janss announced that it had purchased 150 acres (61 ha) adjacent to the end of the streetcar line on Stephenson Avenue, now Whittier Boulevard, south of Belvedere Heights, and divided the empty land into housing lots of square-mile grid cells. Janss called the new tract Belvedere Gardens, an area still found today on maps for the area east of the Long Beach Freeway.

New name: ** East Los Angeles** In 1932 local business leaders gave the name East Los Angeles to Belvedere and adjacent areas (that had been known as Belvedere Gardens, Belvedere Heights, Laguna, etc.) However, in 1937 the Automobile Club of Southern California put up three large signs, "Belvedere Gardens". This led to the business leaders uprooting the signs, with a "burial ceremony" for the signs with 150 state, county and city officials attending, and rechristening the area, East Los Angeles. Several county buildings were renamed in line with the new appellation. At that time the area had 75,000 residents and was "declared to be the largest unincorporated locality in the world".

East Los Angeles was a significant site during the Chicano Movement, which included the East L.A. Walkouts in 1968 and the National Chicano Moratorium, in which Ruben Salazar was killed.

Multiple campaigns by residents have been made for cityhood for East Los Angeles, such as in 2010.

Geography East L.A. is located immediately east of the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles, south of the El Sereno district of Los Angeles, north of the city of Commerce, and west of the cities of Monterey Park and Montebello.

The unincorporated area known as City Terrace occupies the northern part of the CDP. The Census Bureau definition of the area may not precisely correspond to the local understanding of the community.

Library: East Los Angeles The County of Los Angeles Public Library operates the East Los Angeles Library. The East Los Angeles Library opened on May 1, 1923; originally it was a collection of books in a store. A building was built to house the collection several months later. A new library building opened in 1924. In 1932 the library moved to a new building. In 1967 the library moved into another building, which was 15,120 square feet (1,405 m²) large. In 2004 the library moved to its current location, a 26,300 square feet (2,440 m²) facility designed by Stephen Finney of the Glendale firm CWA AIA, Inc. The current library has areas for adults and children, the Chicano Resource Center (CRC) established in 1976, a 175-person meeting room, a computer room, a Friends of the Library bookstore, and free parking areas. The library design has Mayan design and themes, as requested from area residents. References to the sun and moon, which are themes in Mayan art, were incorporated in the library.

Library: Anthony Quinn Also, the county operates the Anthony Quinn Library with a moderne architecture, originally known as the Belvedere Library, which opened in January 1914. In 1925 the library moved to a storefront facility; at that time its collection was several thousand books. In 1937 the library moved to a new site. In 1973 the library moved to its current location. On January 5, 1982, the library took its current name; the childhood house of actor Anthony Quinn was located on the present day site of the library, and the library was renamed after Quinn. In 1987, Quinn donated his collection of movie scripts, scrapbooks, and personal papers to the library name after him. The First Supervisorial District funded a renovation that occurred in 2000. The library reopened in February 2001 with a new appearance and new furnishings.

Library: Other In addition the county operates the El Camino Real Library at 5,529 sq ft. with a meeting room capacity 45. The library opened in 1929 as the Stephenson Library. In 1972 the library moved to its current location, and in 1975 it was rededicated as the El Camino Real library, as it is located on the historic El Camino Real. The library was rededicated again in November 2014 after a renovation and expansion that added a meeting room, teen area, and outdoor reading patio. The county operates the City Terrace Library. The library has been in its current location since 1979 and refurbished in 2009.

Our Lady of Solitude Our Lady of Solitude, known as Soledad Church, opened its doors on Christmas Day in 1925. Located in the neighborhood now known as Old Town Maravilla. The church was constructed in Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. In December 1931, the Church held its first outdoor procession in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a ritual that continues today. The Guadalupe Procession is the oldest religious procession in Los Angeles.

Starting in the 1960s, labor leader Cesar Chavez and members of the United Farm Workers met with the Claretian priests, who also became activists, in the church's basement. The street in front of the church is known as Cesar Chavez Avenue. In October 1993, the Los Angeles City Council and the County Board of Supervisors approved the renaming of the stretch of roadway, but agreed to delay the change until 1994 and to put up historic plaques along Brooklyn Avenue to accommodate the opposition, many of whom believed that the new name would cause people to forget the Jewish history of the area. In 1979, the tile-clad cupola and bell tower were removed due to termite damage, and the bells were reinstalled near the church entrance.

The Golden Gate Theater The former Golden Gate Theater movie palace a Spanish Baroque Revival Churrigueresque-style building built in 1927, is one of fewer than two dozen buildings in Los Angeles in the Spanish Churrigueresque style and one of a few remaining in southern California. The Golden Gate Theater is the first East Los Angeles building listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Maravilla Handball Court and El Centro Grocery Completed in 1928 the Maravilla handball court was built brick-by-brick by residents, with the El Centro Grocery and residence added in 1946. The oldest remaining handball court in the Los Angeles region. In the early 1940s, Michi and Tommy Nishiyama operated the property and in the 1950s following Michi's internment at a Japanese relocation camp. The only court in East Los Angeles where players still played bola basca, also known as Basque pelota. In 2012, the Maravilla handball court and grocery store were put on the California Register of Historical Resources.

Veterans memorial The obelisk-shaped monument at Atlantic Park was dedicated on May 30, 1930, during a Memorial Day Parade that ended at what was then called Belvedere Gardens Park. A plaque on the monument reads, "In memory of heroes of all American wars". According to a Los Angeles Times story at the time, over 2,000 ex-servicemen and members of service clubs marched in the parade.

Latino Walk of Fame The Walk of Fame is similar to the one in Hollywood but with a focus on Latino celebrities. The Latino Walk of Fame was inaugurated on April 30, 1997, to honor outstanding leaders who have made historical and social contributions with a Sun Plaque on Whittier Boulevard the heart of East L.A. Spaces have been created for over 280 plaques. Permanent granite plaques have been put in place for the first 20 honorees. The merchants’ association of East Los Angeles sponsors a comprehensive clean-up campaign that cleans the sidewalks and gutters daily and removes litter and trash.

Parks and recreation Los Angeles County operates parks and recreation in East Los Angeles.

Built in 1942 and originally known as Soledad Park, the 39.1-acre (15.8 ha) Belvedere Community Regional Park has a baseball diamond and picnic area that was upgrade in the 1980s, basketball courts, a playground, community centre, fitness zone, gymnasium, skate park, soccer field, splash pad, an Olympic-size swimming pool, and tennis courts. The park was renamed in 1949 and has a Vernacular architecture style. The LA county constructed a courthouse and sheriff's station on the south end of Belvedere Park in the mid-1950s. Then more buildings were added in time, in conjunction with the East Los Angeles Library, turning the southern end of the park into in effect a civic center. The construction of the Pomona Freeway (I-60) in the 1960s cut through the park, dividing it into two connected by a bridge. In the late 1960s the county also constructed a pond (Belvedere Lake) in the southern area of the park, known to locals as "El Parque de los Patos" (The duck park). The park is a popular place for festivals and host musicians, artisans, fishing and other events in its lakeside amphitheater. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife supplies the lake with rainbow trout during the Winter through early Spring and catfish during the Summer. There are also some largemouth bass, carp and bluegill in the lake. On August 29, 1970, Belvedere Park was the starting point of the Chicano Moratorium. An estimated 30,000 people marched from Belvedere Park to Laguna Park (now Salazar Park). In the 1990s the northern region of the part was revitalized.

Atlantic Avenue Park has a children's play area, picnic, and barbecue areas, a men's locker room, a women's locker room, and a 50-meter, six-lane swimming pool. In addition, the park has a rose garden maintained by volunteers.

Eugene A. Obregon Park is named after Eugene A. Obregon, a veteran and Medal of Honor recipient. The park's official opening was on May 26, 1966. The park includes basketball courts, ceramic rooms, a community room, a computer centre, a fitness zone, a gymnasium, a multi-purpose field, a swimming pool, and a walking path.

The 8.4-acre (3.4 ha) Salazar Park is within East Los Angeles and has a moderne architecture. The county purchased the original 1.47 acres (0.59 ha) of park property from Cedars of Lebanon Hospital on March 8, 1938. The land was officially designated as the "East Los Angeles Playground" two months later. On June 25, 1940, the property was renamed the "Laguna Park and Playground". On September 17, 1970, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors gave the park its current name. The park includes a baseball diamond, basketball courts, a children's play area, a community room, a computer centre, a gymnasium, picnic shelters, a senior centre, a swimming pool, and tennis courts. On August 29, 2014, the County dedicated a plaque at the site in honor of Ruben Salazar.

The 4.8-acre (1.9 ha) Saybrook Park is also in East Los Angeles. The County Board of Supervisors approved final plans for developing the park on May 1, 1973. The park includes two outdoor basketball courts, a ball diamond, children's play areas, a community building with a community room, a computer technology building with a computer room, picnic and barbecue areas, and a tennis court.

City Terrace County Park was developed in 1933 by Works Progress Administration crews; the park occupied a piece of 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) terrace that was formed after crews hacked a rugged and barren hill. In 1957 600,000 cubic yards (460,000 m3) of soil that had been removed from the construction of the Los Angeles Civic Center was transported to the City Terrace County Park. The soil filled a ravine, tripling the park's original acreage. The park has a basketball court, a children's playground, a community room, a computer centre, a gymnasium, a multi-purpose field, a swimming pool, and tennis courts.

The Eastside Eddie Heredia Boxing Club, operated by the county, is inside a former fire station. The club was named after Eddie Heredia, the first club champion, who died of leukemia at age 17. One of the members of the Heredia club became a member of the United States Olympic Boxing Team and entered the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Transport Light rail service to East L.A. is provided by the L Line's Eastside Extension, which opened in 2009. The L Line train is not the first light rail line to travel to East LA. In the early 1900s, people needing to access the cemeteries on the east side took the streetcar, the Stephenson Avenue Line. Stephenson Avenue (before 1920) now known as Whittier Boulevard. In time factories needed a better road to move their goods south. Stephenson Avenue was public choice. Historian Matt Roth of the Auto Club says Whittier Boulevard is the main thoroughfare through the east side. "The City Council renamed it Whittier Boulevard in 1921", he says, "out of recognition that it was serving an inter-regional function because it was the main road to Whittier and beyond". Into the 1960s Union Pacific Chicago-bound passenger trains made stops in East Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) provides bus service from East L.A. throughout the L.A. area. A Metro Customer Center is located at 4501 B Whittier Blvd. Local shuttle service is provided by El Sol (the East Los Angeles Shuttle).

The Metro Atlantic Parking Structure is a paid daily on-site parking with 238 Spaces and paid reserved on-site parking 24 Spaces supporting the L Line. Bike rack Spaces and Bike Lockers also support most Golden line stations.