Jefferson Park is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Located within the West Adams district, there are fourteen Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in the neighborhood, and in 1987, the 1923 Spanish Colonial Revival Jefferson Branch Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places. A portion of the neighborhood is a designated Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ).

History

In the early 1800s, the area that would become Jefferson Park was partly within the Rancho Las Cienegas and partly within the common lands surrounding the pueblo. The area remained farmland into the 1900s. (One of the original farmhouses, the Starr Dairy Farmhouse, still remains in the community.)

By 1903, there were trolley cars running down Jefferson and Adams Boulevard. With easy access to downtown, Jefferson Park became a desirable place to build a home. Developed from 1905 to 1920, Jefferson Park grew to approximately 2500 homes spread over 50 square blocks.

Jefferson Park also saw an influx of Creoles of color in the post-World War II period. The resulting area was dubbed "Little New Orleans" and contained a number of Creole-owned businesses such as Harold & Belle's, an upscale Creole restaurant and Big Loaf Bakery.

In September 1998, the Jefferson Park Gateway Monument was unveiled at the corner of Crenshaw Boulevard and Jefferson Boulevard. According to then-councilman Nate Holden, the project was a sign of the ongoing revitalization of the area. and May 2012 when the corner lot was redeveloped.

In 2005, the Star Dairy Farmhouse was condemned by the city as a nuisance. Built in 1887, it had fallen into disrepair. After years of restoration, in 2014 it received a preservation award from the Los Angeles Conservancy. The Conservancy stated: "The farmhouse is now the oldest remaining house in the West Adams neighborhood of Jefferson Park, and the last link to the area’s agricultural history." Jefferson Park is bounded by West Adams, West Adams Terrace, Adams-Normandie, Crenshaw, University Park, Leimert Park, and Exposition Park neighborhoods, as well as the greater USC campus.

It was designated an official city neighborhood in 1988, The preservation plan offers guidelines for both commercial and residential structures in the community.

The HPOZ does not cover the entire Jefferson Park neighborhood.

The HPOZ is bounded by Adams Boulevard on the north, 7th Avenue on the west, Exposition Boulevard on the south (from Crenshaw Boulevard to Arlington Avenue), and Jefferson Boulevard on the south (from Arlington Avenue to Western Avenue). Street signs in the area have an additional sign to indicate that the street is part of the HPOZ area.

Population

2000

A total of 23,130 people lived in the neighborhood's 1.42 square miles, according to the 2000 U.S. census—averaging 16,300 people per square mile, among the highest population density in the city as a whole. The median age was 31, about the same as the rest of the city.

Historic-Cultural Monuments

  • Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2230 W. Jefferson Blvd. Designated Historic-Cultural Monument 229 on June 11, 1980
  • Walker Mansion, 3300 W Adams Boulevard. Designated Historic-Cultural Monument 419 on March 3, 1989
  • Wells-Halliday Mansion, 2146 W. Adams Blvd. Designated Historic-Cultural Monument 458 on November 3, 1989
  • Guasti Villa/Busby Berkeley Estate, 3500 W Adams Boulevard.

thumb|[[Betty Hill (activist)|Betty Hill House, 2024]]thumb|Joseph L. Starr Farmhouse, 2024

Landmarks and attractions

  • Trinity Baptist Church, 2040 W. Jefferson Boulevard. Originally located at 36th and Normandie, it moved to its present location in 1948. The master plan for the church was designed by noted African-American architect Paul Williams.
  • Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2230 West Jefferson Boulevard. Established in 1904, is one of the oldest African-American Presbyterian churches in California.

Parks and Libraries

  • Leslie N. Shaw Park, 2250 West Jefferson Boulevard.
  • Jefferson-Vassie D. Wright Memorial Branch Library, 2211 W. Jefferson Boulevard. In 1987, the Jefferson branch library was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Education

LAUSD has three schools within the Jefferson Park boundaries:

  • Eric Dolphy, 1593 W 36th Street
  • Jack Johnson, American professional boxer, 2130 W 29th Street
  • Paul Revere Williams, 1271 W 35th Street
  • Betty Hill

References

  • Historic Jefferson Park official community site
  • "‘Bungalowland’  Train lines and kit houses made Jefferson Park the textbook streetcar suburb," Curbed 24 Jan 2020 by Hadley Meares
  • LA City Jefferson Park HPOZ
  • Jefferson Park Historic Resources Survey Report
  • Jefferson Park Historic Neighborhood Profile at The Los Angeles Conservancy
  • Huell Howser video from 2003 about Jefferson Park in his "Our Neighborhoods" series, hosted by Chapman University, home of the Huell Howser archive.