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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, Gardena, Torrance, Rancho Palos Verdes California, U.S.
Nearest metro station:
North endWilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles
South endBurrell Lane in Rancho Palos Verdes

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

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Crenshaw Boulevard was named after banker and Los Angeles real estate developer George Lafayette Crenshaw who also developed the 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 (4.8 km) in travel over the nearest through road (Western Avenue) and five miles (8.0 km) 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 Avenue 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

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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] About 1,000 10 to 14 foot (3.0 to 4.3 m) high trees were replanted in 2013.[12] 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.[13][14]: 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.[15] 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.[16] The project includes pocket parks, outdoor sculptures, murals, street furniture, and landscaping.[17]

Malcolm X Route

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In 2023, a five-mile stretch (8.0 km) of Crenshaw Boulevard in Leimert Park, transacting the Rosa Parks Freeway, Obama Boulevard, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and Nipsey Hussle Square, was designated Malcolm X Route in honor of the minister and civil rights leader.[18][19]

Transportation

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

Metro Local

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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 LA Metro lines:

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

LADOT

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Crenshaw Boulevard is served by these LADOT Dash lines:

Notable landmarks

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References

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  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 (May 17, 2019). "How Crenshaw became black LA's main street". Curbed LA. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  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 October 5, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  8. ^ "5 Line". Archived from the original on January 3, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  9. ^ a b Crenshaw Boulevard Streetscape Plan (PDF) (Report). Los Angeles City Planning. March 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 24, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  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 May 11, 2019.
  12. ^ "Trees Return Along Shuttle Endeavour's Route to Science Center". NBC Los Angeles. January 18, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  13. ^ Barragan, Bianca (March 31, 2014). "Crenshaw Boulevard Losing Even More Trees For Crenshaw Line". Curbed LA. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ Dorsey, Danielle (February 28, 2024). "8 Black-owned spots that define the Crenshaw corridor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  16. ^ Flores, Jessica (March 2, 2020). "Actress Issa Rae at Destination Crenshaw groundbreaking: 'We're not going anywhere'". Curbed LA. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  17. ^ Dambrot, Shana Nys (November 14, 2018). "Destination Crenshaw: Black Los Angeles Greets the World". LA Weekly. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  18. ^ Jackson-Fossett, Cora (May 25, 2023). "Malcolm X Route Designated in South L.A. Along Crenshaw Blvd". Los Angeles Sentinel.
  19. ^ "LA dedicates portion of Crenshaw Boulevard in honor of Malcolm X for his civil rights contributions". ABC7 Los Angeles. May 21, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  20. ^ Cosgrove, Jaclyn (April 9, 2019). "Crenshaw and Slauson intersection to be named in honor of Nipsey Hussle". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  21. ^ "Game Over For Holiday Bowl?". November 21, 2008. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  22. ^ "Monument Search Results Page". Cityplanning.lacity.org. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  23. ^ "SpaceX erects historic 16-story-tall rocket booster outside its Hawthorne headquarters". daily breeze.com. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
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