South Park, Los Angeles

This article is about the neighborhood in South Los Angeles. For the neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles, see South Park (Downtown Los Angeles). For other uses, see South Park (disambiguation).

South Park is a 1.41-square-mile. low-income neighborhood in South Los Angeles, California. It is notable for its dense concentration of residents, their youthful age range, their high ratio of single parents, their low rate of marriage and their low median household income. South Park is third on the list of Los Angeles city neighborhoods where adults over age 25 failed to finish high school—69.4%. The district has three middle and four elementary schools.[1][2]

Geography

South Park as outlined by the Los Angeles Times

South Park is flanked by Historic South Central on the north, Central-Alameda on the east, Florence on the south and Vermont-Slauson and Vermont Square on the west.[3] The neighborhood's street boundaries are East Vernon Avenue on the north, Central Avenue on the east, Slauson Avenue on the south and the Harbor Freeway on the west.[1][4]

Adjacent neighborhoods

Relation of South Park to other communities:[1][5]

 Exposition Park Historic South Central Downtown
Vermont-Slauson and Vermont Square Central-Alameda
   South Park  
Vermont-Slauson Florence Florence-Firestone

Population

A total of 30,496 people lived in South Park's 1.41 square miles, according to the 2000 U.S. census—averaging 21,638 people per square mile, among the highest population densities in the city as a whole. Population was estimated at 32,851 in 2008. The median age was 23, considered young when compared to the city as a whole. The percentages of residents aged birth to 34 were among the county's highest.[1]

Latinos made up 78.6% of the population, with African Americans at 19.2%, white 1%, Asian 0.1%, and other 1%. Mexico and El Salvador were the most common places of birth for the 49.4% of the residents who were born abroad, a high percentage of foreign-born when compared with the city or county as a whole.[1]

The $29,518 median household income in 2008 dollars was considered low for the city and county. The percentage of households earning $20,000 or less was high, compared to the county at large. The average household size of 3.9 people was high for the city. Renters occupied 72.3% of the housing units, and homeowners occupied the rest.[1]

In 2000 there were 1,607 families headed by single parents, or 27.9%, a rate that was high for the county and the city. The percentages of never-married women (39.1) and never-married men (45.5) were among the county's highest.[1]

In 2000 there were 569 military veterans, or 3% of the population, low when compared to the city as a whole.[1]

Education

Just 3.4% of South Park residents aged 25 or older had completed a four-year degree in 2000, which was a low figure when compared with the city and the county at large; the percentage of those residents with less than a high school diploma (69.4%) was the third-highest of any city neighborhood.[1][2]

The schools within South Park's boundaries are:[6]

Recreation and parks

The neighborhood took the name of a municipal park, named South Park, which opened in 1900.[7]

The neighborhood's only recreation facility, South Park is at 345 East 51st Street,[8] was established on a 20-acre plot purchased from "the Boetcher estate" in 1900, and after its planting with orange, oak and walnut trees, it was said to "compare favorably with any of the city's older beauty spots." It fronted on South Park Avenue, now Avalon Boulevard. The water well and pump house developed at that time are still in existence.[7]

The park features a baseball diamond (lighted), basketball courts (lighted/outdoor), children's play area, picnic tables, seasonal pool (outdoor/unheated) and tennis courts (lighted).[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "South Park," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
  2. 1 2 "Less Than High School," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
  3. ↑ "South L.A.," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
  4. ↑ The Thomas Guide, 2006, page 674
  5. ↑ The Thomas Guide: Los Angeles County, 2006, page 674
  6. ↑ "South Park Schools," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
  7. 1 2 "Wonderful Development of the City's New 'South Park,' " Los Angeles Sunday Times, September 13, 1903, part VI, page 1
  8. 1 2 Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks

External links

33°59′54″N 118°16′26″W / 33.99833°N 118.27389°W / 33.99833; -118.27389Coordinates: 33°59′54″N 118°16′26″W / 33.99833°N 118.27389°W / 33.99833; -118.27389

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