Lincoln Heights
Lincoln Heights is a small neighborhood located in the Northeast Los Angeles region, east of present day downtown. It has a rich history as one of Los Angeles’ first neighborhoods and is home to a variety of historical sites from the Carnegie-funded historical Italian Renaissance style Library built in 1916 and Plaza de la Raza, the arts and cultural center in Lincoln Park and a former nexus of social movements, to the site of the first firehouse of the city and the first Boys and Girls Club. It was the originally the location of homes of the elite and governing agents of the early Anglo-Americanized city of Los Angeles. Lincoln Heights streets such as Johnston Street, Griffin Avenue, and Hancock Street are named after, Albert Sidney Johnston, commanding general of the Confederate States Army, his brother-in-law Dr. John Strother Griffin, and other family members.
The neighborhood was once filled with gardens and the hills were filled with eucalyptus, pepper trees, and a variety of nut trees. Many of the early prominent residents of the former suburb would take Sunday leisure strolls in parks and enjoyed time at the entertainment parks or the ostrich and alligator farms that no longer exist. Previously known as East Los Angeles, it was unanimously voted to change to Lincoln Heights in 1917.[1] The neighborhood has been home to multiple waves of immigrants coming from across seas and landlocked borders. When German and Italian immigrants arrived, it was coined the “Bread Basket” of Los Angeles and became a hub for baked goods in the City. Remnants of Lincoln Heights Italian past still live on in the San Antonio Winery. Residents of Lincoln Heights have seen industrial complexes pop up over the course of the 20th century within its politically flexible borders as well as the concrete channeling of the Los Angeles River. Lincoln Heights has been shaped by and experienced the rise and fall of socio-economics and has been at the center of social movements in particular to the Mexican-American community, including the Walkouts of the 1960’s, a meeting place for the Brown Berets, and even housing César Chávez during a hunger strike.
With a population estimated at 29,637 in 2008 by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, Lincoln Heights’ current working class residents are 70.7% Latino, 25.2% Asian, 2.7% White, 0.4% Black, and 1% Other. Overwhelmingly Latino and Asian, this small 2.51 square mile landlocked neighborhood is actually not considered diverse by Los Angeles standards, but moderately so in comparison to other neighborhoods of the County.[2] Proprietors living outside of the neighborhood own many businesses on Broadway that bisect Lincoln Heights, and many residents work elsewhere. Franchises such as Pollo Loco, McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, King Taco, and Subway line the street along with a growing handful of store-chain furnishings and fashion such as WSS Shoes, Dollar Tree, and 99 Cent Stores.
[1] Lincoln Heights Remember, “Historic News,” accessed January 18, 2015, http://www.lincolnheightsla.com/historicnews/
[2] Lincoln Heights, Mapping L.A., “Profile,” accessed September 25, 2014, http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/lincoln-heights/
