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Crenshaw Boulevard

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Crenshaw Boulevard
Former name(s)Angeles Mesa Drive
NamesakeGeorge L. Crenshaw
Length23.46 mi (37.76 km)
LocationLos Angeles, Inglewood, Hawthorne, Torrance, Rancho Palos Verdes California, U.S.
Nearest metro station
North endWilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles
South endCrest Drive in Rancho Palos Verdes

Crenshaw Boulevard is a north-south thoroughfare in Los Angeles, California, that runs through Crenshaw and other neighborhoods along a 23-mile (37.76 km) route in the west-central part of the city.[1]

Angeles Mesa Drive, as shown (7) on this 1927 Los Angeles Times map, was the original name of Crenshaw Boulevard south of Adams Street.
Crenshaw Boulevard at Stocker Street, 2016

The street extends between Wilshire Boulevard in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, on the north and Rolling Hills, on the south. Crenshaw marks the eastern boundaries of Torrance, and Hawthorne and the western border of Gardena.

The commercial corridor in the Hyde Park neighborhood is known as "the heart of African American commerce in Los Angeles".[2][3]

History

Crenshaw Boulevard was named after banker and Los Angeles real estate developer George Lafayette Crenshaw who also developed the affluent Lafayette Square.[4]

The southern end of Crenshaw Boulevard was at Adams Street until 1916-1918, when the road was extended between Adams on the north and Slauson Avenue on the south. The extension saved three miles in travel over the nearest through road (Western Avenue) and five miles over the nearest paved road (Vermont Avenue).[5][6]

The street became a major transportation route with tracks for the 5 Line streetcar line[7] in the median between Leimert Boulevard[8] on the north close to Florence Ave on the south. With the abandonment of the streetcar system in the 1950s, the railway median was narrowed, the driving lanes improved and the street reconfigured for automobiles, buses and trucks.[9]: 1-1 

Revitalization project

Many local residents were disappointed that 71 mature street-line trees were cut down in 2012 to make way for the Space Shuttle Endeavour to be moved from LAX to the California Science Center in nearby Exposition Park.[10][11] The construction of the K Line required the removal of additional trees in 2014. City officials promised that more trees would be planted than were removed.[12][13]: 12  The improvements will include bike lanes, wider sidewalks, new Metro bus stops, LED traffic lights and street lights.[10][9]: 1-5  The revitalization was coordinated with the construction of Destination Crenshaw. A 1.3-mile-long (2.1 km) portion of Crenshaw Boulevard in the Hyde Park and Leimert Park neighborhoods will become an open-air museum dedicated to preserving the history and culture of African Americans.[14] The project includes pocket parks, outdoor sculptures, murals, street furniture, and landscaping.[15]

Transportation

Main articles: Metro Local, C Line (Los Angeles Metro), E Line (Los Angeles Metro), and K Line (Los Angeles Metro)

Metro Local

Metro Local lines 40 and 210, and Torrance Transit line 10 serve Crenshaw Boulevard; Metro line 210 run through the majority of Crenshaw Boulevard to Artesia Boulevard, Metro line 40 from Crenshaw District to Hyde Park, and Torrance Transit line 10 south of Artesia Boulevard. The Metro C Line serves the Crenshaw station on Crenshaw Boulevard underneath Interstate 105, while the Metro E and K Lines serves Expo/Crenshaw station at the intersection with Exposition Boulevard.

In the Crenshaw district, Crenshaw Boulevard and Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza are served primarily by LADOT trolleys, buses and a light rail subway line Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus lines that are:

Crenshaw Boulevard is also briefly served in the Crenshaw district by the following LACMTA lines:

Additionally, the Metro K Line runs along the Crenshaw Boulevard alignment from the E Line to 67th Street, serving three more additional stations:

LADOT

Crenshaw Boulevard is served by these LADOT Dash lines:

Notable landmarks

References

  1. ^ Christopher Hawthorne, "Crenshaw Boulevard comes to a crossroads", Los Angeles Times, September 15, 2012.
  2. ^ Robinson-Jacobs, Karen (May 2, 2001). "Noticing a Latin Flavor in Crenshaw". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  3. ^ Meares, Hadley (2019-05-17). "How Crenshaw became black LA's main street". Curbed LA. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  4. ^ Parra, Alvaro (October 23, 2014). "Crenshaw Boulevard: Cruising Through the Decades". KCET. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  5. ^ "Road Project Is in Peril," Los Angeles Times August 20, 1916, image 23
  6. ^ "After Many Delays," Los Angeles Times, January 27, 1918, image 82
  7. ^ "Los Angeles Railway in Brief - Map of Streetcar Routes". Archived from the original on 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  8. ^ "5 Line". Archived from the original on 2007-01-03. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  9. ^ a b Crenshaw Boulevard Streetscape Plan (PDF) (Report). Los Angeles City Planning. March 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-03-24. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  10. ^ a b Jennings, Angel "Tree removal along Crenshaw has residents stumped" Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2014
  11. ^ Zahniser, David (May 9, 2019). "South L.A. was promised a Target. Millions of dollars later, it has a vacant lot". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  12. ^ Barragan, Bianca (2014-03-31). "Crenshaw Boulevard Losing Even More Trees For Crenshaw Line". Curbed LA. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  13. ^ "Crenshaw Corridor Specific Plan" (PDF). City of Los Angeles. April 19, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 5, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  14. ^ Flores, Jessica (2020-03-02). "Actress Issa Rae at Destination Crenshaw groundbreaking: 'We're not going anywhere'". Curbed LA. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  15. ^ Dambrot, Shana Nys (2018-11-14). "Destination Crenshaw: Black Los Angeles Greets the World". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  16. ^ Cosgrove, Jaclyn (April 9, 2019). "Crenshaw and Slauson intersection to be named in honor of Nipsey Hussle". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  17. ^ "Game Over For Holiday Bowl?". November 21, 2008. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  18. ^ "Monument Search Results Page". Cityplanning.lacity.org. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  19. ^ "SpaceX erects historic 16-story-tall rocket booster outside its Hawthorne headquarters". daily breeze.com. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
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