Los Angeles Times Article June 21, 2007 on EAST L.A. Cityhood

Opinion
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Patt Morrison:
A city is born, maybe
East L.A. has been trying to stand on its own for more than 40 years.
June 21, 2007
LET'S CLEAR UP the geographical quirks first.There is the east side of Los Angeles, which is the part of the city of Los Angeles that lies east of the L.A. River. It is home to neighborhoods like Highland Park and Lincoln Heights, and it is sometimes collectively called "the Eastside" — one word. (The same holds for "the Westside," the part of the city that lies west of whatever money meridian celebutantes refuse to cross.)

And then there is East Los Angeles. It is not the Eastside, nor is it part of the city of Los Angeles. It is east of Los Angeles, in L.A. County, an "unincorporated area" hunkered between Boyle Heights and Monterey Park, Commerce and Montebello. Its seven-ish square miles are bounded by more freeways than Beverly Hills and Brentwood and Bel-Air have put together.East Los Angeles is the foundry of many things Mexican American: zoot suiters, dazzling murals, cherry low-riders, Los Lobos music, Chicano protests and Garfield High, where Bolivian-born Jaime Escalante taught his students college-level calculus. And here in "East Los" 20 years ago, Richard Anthony Marin — Cheech, short for "Chicharron," Marin — starred in the comedy "Born in East L.A.," about a Mexican American mistakenly deported to Mexico; some things, as recent headlines prove, do not change. (Marin, who lives in Malibu, the 88th incorporated city in Los Angeles County, unfortunately wouldn't say anything about the prospect of East L.A. becoming the 90th city in Los Angeles County. Too bad; he'd have a great shot at becoming mayor.)East Los has been trying to become its own city since Cheech Marin was a teenager. The first time, about a week after the Bay of Pigs disaster in 1961, the bid lost by 340 votes. The second time, in 1964, cityhood supporters couldn't get enough signatures on the petitions. The third time, in 1974, the idea got clobbered by East L.A. voters and buried so deep that it hadn't been undertaken again in more than 30 years.Poor East Los.Always the dama at someone else's quinceañera. It's had to watch as Hidden Hills and Palmdale and Carson and Diamond Bar and Westlake Village all grew up and became cities. Vernon — population under 100, which doesn't count the doomed critters about to be turned into Dodger Dogs — has been a city for more than 100 years. Even Hawaiian Gardens — a midget of a town named after a bootlegger's punch stand — became a real burg.Now East L.A. wants to try again, on the November 2008 ballot. Some of the residents are frustrated at having only one local political voice — Gloria Molina's. She represents its population of 143,000 on the county Board of Supervisors, but she represents another 1,857,000 people too.Those early cityhood elections were about pride, about waving the flag of a Latino city — a tortilla island in the Wonder Bread ocean that was L.A. back when its Nebraska-born mayor pronounced the city's name Loss Ang Hell Iss. Now there are Latino cities and Latino politicians all over the county, starting with a certain Antonio Villaraigosa.You can't eat pride, and you can't spend it. In the 1970s, some Mexican Americans didn't want any part of any tight little Chicano municipal club. Their biggest concern was money. How could a city of East Los Angeles support itself? Even Hawaiian Gardens has a casino.THE BAR FOR cityhood is a very high jump. To get cityhood on a ballot, East L.A. has to qualify in the civic Olympics, as judged by a county commission. Cityhood supporters pay for a financial feasibility study. Can East Los pay its own way? How much will it cost for the sheriff's protection that the county now writes a check for? What's the tax base?Can a place where one in four residents earn less than the poverty-level pay for a mayor, a city council and all the rest of the services and bureaucracy required to exchange county rule for self-rule? Only after the commission gives its approval can organizers start collecting signatures to put the question on the ballot. Read the blogs and you'll see that the financials aren't being judged only by the commission. Here's a bit from an exchange between "Laura" and "Si Mon."Laura: "This cannot just be about pride in a community…. It has to be about the very real financial burden that will affect every citizen…. "Si Mon: "Yes to cityhood! Perhaps we could … rid the area of unsightly commercial trucks, illegal home-based businesses. Most of all we get rid of the tired county supervisors…. It's a godsend to think that my tax dollars will actually help other permanent residents…. "Ordinarily I'd be inclined to regard the quest for cityhood as politicians hustling to create new government berths after term limits booted them out of Sacramento. Not this time — if only because running East Los would be a tough slog. And a new city of East Los Angeles would have more claim to a civic identity and a more singular character than some other Southern California neighborhoods that were merely rich enough to cut their county moorings and make themselves into municipalities. Make no mistake: I don't want to open the floodgates to willy-nilly cityhood. I'd drop the hammer on any temptation for every few square miles of L.A. to declare itself a theme neighborhood and declare cityhood, cutting itself out of the larger fabric. Start down that road and someone soon will be voting on whether to incorporate the San Fernando Valley town of Pornopolis.


Copyright 2007 Los Angeles Times

Where Would You Say the Westside of L.A. begins and Why?

I will start this off by saying simply that I believe that Downtown L.A. is the heart ie center of the City. Everything North, East South and west radiate from the center. Main Street , at First Street and Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles, right by City Hall, is actually the start of the North, South, East and West "sides" of the City. I think that is why the "Central" label of "South-Central" Los Angeles was very useful in that it helped to define the Central Southern section of the City as opposed to the "South Los Angeles" area. Central helped to define the area as being in close proximity to the Center of the City or Downtown Los Angeles. In that regard the "Near" West Side of the City ie West Lake/MacArthur Park area, is the West Central Area of the City. A good description for the area I think.

Other Articles Dealing with the Eastside/Westside Issue in the City of Los Angeles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Los_Angeles_(region)

http://blogging.la/archives/2006/12/best_new_restaurant_on_the_eas.phtml

http://lacitynerd.blogspot.com/2006/12/eastside-westside-all-around-town.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g32655-s204/Los-Angeles:California:Neighborhoods.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Cienega_Boulevard

http://blogging.la/archives/2004/03/riddle_me_this_batman.phtml

http://www.latimes.com/features/magazine/west/la-tm-southcentral41oct08,1,5037476.story?coll=la-headlines-west

http://wikitravel.org/en/Talk:Los_Angeles/West

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_districts_and_neighborhoods_of_Los_Angeles

http://www.yesterdayla.com/westside.html

http://www.answers.com/topic/west-los-angeles-region

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2007/05/club_los_globos.php

http://www.beverlyhillspeople.com/realestate/westside-properties.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Wilshire

http://www.seemyla.com/mapsandguides_guides_wperfect.aspx

http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2006/08/bldgblog-moves-to-los-angeles.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g32655-s204/Los-Angeles:California:Neighborhoods.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/los-angeles/29138-great-site-need-advice-best.html

The Eastside of Los Angeles??

Once again I have read an article that refers to the northwest area of Los Angeles as "L.A.'s Eastside". The first time I read this some years ago I immediately thought they were talking about my community of Boyle Heights or the unincorporated area of East L.A.. At least something EAST of the L.A. River, EAST of Downtown Los Angeles. But to my astonishment they were talking about nothing of the kind. Instead they were talking about the northwest L.A. communities of Echo Park, Silver Lake and yes even Los Feliz. Keep in mind these communties are WEST of Downtown L.A., WEST of the Central Core of the City. In fact a little more northwest than anything. And yet here they were being refered to as the "Eastside" of L.A.. Why? How can communities on the westside of the Central City be refered to as the "eastside"?? What are they "east" of? Certainly not the Central City. Unless, that is, they don't view Downtown Los Angeles as the Central Core of the City. So then how do these people view L.A.? Where do they pin point the center of the city? Certinly not Downtown L.A.. Can it be as one person once told me, in the L.A. "that counts"?? That is to say the far westside. Again the "far westside" perspective prevails in defining the City's boundaries. Any other perspective is ultimately seen as erroneous by them. People who, by their very own claims, seldom venture east of La Cienega, Sepulveda, Fairfax or La Brea are defining what is east and west in the City? If this is so then Downtown Los Angeles has lost it's place, in their eyes at least, as the City Center. Replaced by the far westside that the media often seems to use to define L.A.. How unfortunate.

OUR COMMUNITIES- From the LAPD website

A Adams-Normandie Aliso Village Angelino Heights Argyle Arleta Arlington Heights Artists Lofts Athens Park Atwater Village Avalon Gardens B Baldwin Hills Baldwin Village Baldwin Vista Bel Air Benedict Canyon Beverly Crest Beverly Glen Beverlywood Blythe Street Boyle Heights Brentwood Brookside Park Bunker Hill/Historic Core C Cahuenga Pass Canoga Park Carthay Circle Central City East Century City Chatsworth Chesterfield Square Cheviot Hills Chinatown Civic Center Country Club Park Crenshaw Crestview Cypress Park D Del Rey Downtown Los Angeles E Eagle Rock East Hollywood Echo Park El Sereno Elysian Park Elysian Valley Encino Estrada Court Exposition Park F Fairfax Fashion District Financial District Franklin Hills G Garden Boulevard Garvanza Glassell Park Glen Ridge Gramercy Park Granada Hills Greater Wilshire H Hacienda Village Hancock Park Harbor City Harbor Gateway Harvard Heights Hermon Highland Park Hillside Village Historical Filipinotown Hobart Hollywood Hollywood Hills Hollywood/La Brea Hyde Park I Imperial Courts J Jefferson Park Jewlery District Jordan Downs K Knollwood Korea Town L La Tuna Canyon Lafayette Park Lake Balboa Lake View Terrace Larchmont Village Leimert Park Lincoln Heights Little Armenia Little Ethiopia Little Tokyo Los Feliz M MacArthur Park Manchester Square Mandeville Canyon Mar Vista Melrose District Mid-City Mid-Wilshire Miracle Mile Mission Hills Montecito Heights Monterey Hills Morningside Park Mount Olympus Mount Washington N Nickerson Gardens North Hills North Hollywood Northridge O Oakwood Old Bank District Olympic Park P Pacific Palisades Pacoima Palms Panorama City Park La Brea Parkside Manor Pico Gardens Pico-Union Playa del Rey Playa Vista Porter Ranch Pueblo Del Rio R Ramona Gardens Rancho Park Reseda Roscomare Valley Rose Hills Courts Rustic Canyon
S San Pedro San Vicente Santa Monica Canyon Sawtelle Sepulveda Shadow Hills Sherman Oaks Sierra Vista Silver Lake Solano Canyon South Carthay South Park-51st and Menlo South Park-Entertainment Spaulding Square Studio City Sun Valley Sunland Sunset Strip Sylmar
T Tarzana Temple-Beaudry Terminal Island Thai Town Toluca Lake Toluca Woods Toy District Tujunga U Union Square Universal City University Hills University Park V Valley Glen Valley Village Van Nuys Venice Ventura Business District Vermont Knolls Vermont Park View Heights Village Green Vine/Willoughby Virgil Village W Warner Center Watts Wellington Square West Adams West Hills West Los Angeles West Toluca West Van Nuys Westchester Western Heights Westlake Westwood Wilmington Wilshire Center Wilshire Vista Windsor Square Winnetka Woodland Hills

Old Community Names

Does anyone have any information on any of these old community names? Dayton Heights, Pico Heights, Mateo, Florence-Graham, Fremont and Belvedere Gardens. Some of these communities are or were in the County of Los Angeles and I have some information about their boundaries if anyone is interested.

West Central Los Angeles: The Eastside of the Westside

Why is it, that all the other "sides" of the city begin immediately adjacient to Downtown Los Angeles with little or no debate on their actual boundary line? For example, the eastside of Los Angeles is always designated as beginning east of the L.A. River. Likewise the southside of the city, whether it's called South Los Angeles or South-Central Los Angeles, begins immediately south of Downtown L.A.. There are even signs south of Washington Bl. attesting to it's boundary. Lastly, the Northeast section of the city begins once you cross the various bridages spanning the L.A. River, north of the Industrial Distict. Once you leave Chinatown and the railroad yards of the Central City's northern portion and cross the river you are no longer "Downtown", but in the Northest section of the City. It is only when you attempt to define the boundary of the westside where arguements erupt. Debates range from where the boundary of the westside of L.A. begins, to redefining the "eastside" of Los Angeles. Many times these debates are over "who" can define their area of the city as being on the western section. Debates can get heated and often times tempers flare as individuals attempt to correct one another as to where these boundaries lie.


What I have noticed in all of these debates is that for the most part these verbal confrontations or online discussions take place among residents of the far westside of the city. In other words the debates,the arguments,the redefining of traditional boundaries and even community names are all being done from a far westside perspective,with very little or no imput at all from residents of other sections of the City. Many times these other sections of the City are home to people who have lived here for generations, as opposed to many far westsiders who are recent eastcoast or midwest transplants. And yet,it is these very people and their perspective, the perspective of the far westsider,whose point of view often times becomes the "official" perspective. As such that perspctive is the one that makes it online as well as on to the printed and tv/radio media. As a result anyone attempting to voice another point of view is quickly dismissed as being wrong or not knowledgeable. The result is that the perspective of the far westsider goes unchallenged and thus creates the view point that L.A. IS the "westside" and everything outside of that general area is either not worthy of coverage, dangerous or filled with people who have been deemed not important. As a third generation Angeleno, and a lifetime resident of the Eastside of Los Angeles,(Boyle Heights/East L.A.), I am here to offer a different perspective. One that is shared by many and yet seldom heard. That perspective is that the westside of Los Angeles, just like it's eastside, southside and northeast counterparts begins west of Downtown L.A.. Granted that the area immediately west of the Central City to the Pacific Ocean is a huge area, but so is the southside of the City, covering the area south of Downtown L.A. to the Harbor. In actuality one need look no further than the City's street designation signs that begin at 1st and Main Streets, in Downtown L.A.. It is there, on that very cornor that one will see that the sections of the City begin not in far off La Cienega or Sepulveda Blvds., but there on that little cornor in the core of the City.


As this article is concerned with the boundary of the westside of Los Angeles I will concentrate my thinking in that direction and begin to offer support to my perspective. Heading west from that previously mentioned cornor towards the western edge of the Central City we reach the Harbor Freeway or 110 Fwy.. This freeway helps to define the boundary between the westside of the City and it's central core. In fact "City West" is actually the first community of the City's westside. Now I know that refering to this area of the City as the "westside" may baffle many. However it is only proper, since it does mark the beginning of the City's western sector. One would be wise to observe the street signs in that area as well as the signs on libaries, theaters, parks and government buildings. ALL read "west" in either their street designation or title or section. As for the street names many abound with the term "west" in them. Street names such as Western Ave., West Bl., Westmoreland Ave., West St. and West Lake Av., just to name a few. Now from the perspective of an eastside like myself, this is definately NOT the eastside. Nor does it come anywhere near being part of Downtown L.A. as many seem to think. No, this area of the City is part of the larger westside and I for one refer to it as the Near Westside or West Central area of the City. True, it may not have the affluence of the far westside, nor the income brackets of residents that inhabit the far westside nor even the institutions that reside in the far westside. However what it does have are the houses, buildings and street names of what was once the City's original westside. And in fact when first incorporated into the City, west of Alvarado, was called the Western Sector.


I do admit that the westside is a huge area to begin with. Therefore from my perspective it can be divided into three distinct parts. Those are the Near Westside or West Central area, the Mid City District and the Far Westside or like many might consider it westside proper. But nonetheless it is on the western side of the City's Central Core. The idea of refering to the Near Westside/West Central area as the "eastside", a practice I have not only read in the printed media but heard on tv and radio commentaries as well, is erroneous. If that area is the eastside then it can only be the Eastside of the Westside but westside nevetheless.