Ramona Gardens

Last updated
Buildings in Ramona Gardens Ramona Gardens Boyle Heights Los Angeles California 1.jpg
Buildings in Ramona Gardens

Ramona Gardens is a public housing development in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is operated by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles. Currently and historically Latino, it is also the home of the Big Hazard street gang, connected to the Mexican Mafia, and has been the center of the illegal drug market in Southern California.

Contents

The development abuts the Interstate 10 and is part of LAPD's Hollenbeck Division.

Initial construction

The Ramona Gardens project was designed by Housing Architects Associated, made up of Ralph Flewelling, George J. Adams, Lloyd Wright, Lewis Eugene Wilson, Walter S. Davis and Eugene Weston Jr. They had previously designed the Utah Street housing project under the name of Utah Street Architects Association and designed the Aliso Village project under the name Housing Group Architects. [1] The landscaping was by the firm of Bashford and Barlow. [2]

The project was originally named Ramona Village, it was changed in November 1939 because it conflicted with the name of a private land development. At the time, Ramona Gardens was billed a "slum clearance and low-rent housing project". [3] Construction began in February or March 1940, with a groundbreaking ceremony on March 16, 1940 attended by Governor Culbert Olson. [4] [5] [6] [7]

It was built on 32 acres (13 ha) with 610 apartment units in over 100 buildings. The planned cost was $2 million, 90% funded by the United States Housing Authority through the Housing Act of 1937. [8] [9] [7] [6] [5] [4] It was built by the Herbert M. Baruch Corporation. [10] [11]

Demonstration units opened in October 1940, [12] with the first six families occupying apartments on 2 January 1941. [13] It was dedicated on 22 February 1941 with both Governor Olson and Mayor Fletcher Bowron in attendance. At that time, 252 of 610 units were occupied, with the remainder expected to be complete within two months. [14] [15] The Christian Science Monitor praised the "home conveniences that many of [the residents] never before enjoyed—electric refrigerators, new gas ranges, gas water heaters, and wall furnaces—at rentals ranging from $11 to $18 a month, including all utilities." [8] Two hundred members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) toured the development in May 1941, including architect and AIA President Richmond Shreve. [16]

Community efforts and further development

Jewish residents of Boyle Heights started the racially and economically integrated Heights Cooperative Nursery School for Ramona Gardens children in 1949. It was held at the Jewish Cultural Center nearby in City Terrace until Interstate 10 widening required it to be moved in about 1969. The nursery continued operating through at least 1974. It was used as a training school by education students at California State University, Los Angeles and by the Head Start Program. [17]

In 1988, 10 mobile homes or trailers were brought into Ramona Gardens and parked on playfields. They were used as transitional housing for the city's large homeless population. Residents agreed to participate after receiving promises they would be given to families, not "the stereotypical single men who live on Skid Row." [18] [19]

After the initial number of 610 housing units in just over 100 buildings, varying numbers of units have been given: 488 units in 1985, [20] 497 with about 2000 predominantly Latino residents in 2007. [21]

The housing contains public murals that were created by the residents of Ramona Gardens between 1973 and 1977, with the assistance of the Mechiano Arts Center. [22] [23] At least one was painted by Willie Herron inside the administration building. [23]

In 1982, motivated by President Ronald Reagan, residents repainted every building in the complex in five months. They used tools and paint from the Housing Authority and sponsored by the East Los Angeles Community Development Project. The Big Hazard gang brought in rivals from Avenidas, Dogtown, and Garrity's to work on the project. [24] [25] Acknowledging the fresh paint and graffiti-free buildings, the Los Angeles Times named the area as the "center for drug traffic", remarking "users from as far away as San Diego drive to [Ramona Gardens] to buy drugs". PCP was heavily trafficked, but heroin and marijuana were also common. Both dealers and customers were often from outside of the projects but came to Ramona Gardens for the large and open marketplace, called a "24-hour drive-through drug market" by a police officer. Police were assigned on daily foot patrols and would often bring their first arrest to the station within 30 minutes of their shift. A tenants' association was formed, as well as a group called Mothers Against PCP and the federally funded Narcotics Prevention Project. [26] [27]

Gang activity, drugs, police tension, and crime

Buildings in Ramona Gardens Ramona Gardens Boyle Heights Los Angeles California 2.jpg
Buildings in Ramona Gardens

The housing project is especially known for a pattern of tension between residents, gang members, and police, as well as significant racial tension.

The street gang Big Hazard ("Hazard Grande"), associated with the Mexican Mafia, is from Ramona Gardens. [21] Gang and drug activity historically centered around The Square, an intersection and parking lot in the project. [27] [28]

Gang-on-gang crime occurs in and near the park. Two teenagers were shot and stabbed to death while attending a baby shower in January 1974, less than a month after another gang-related shooting fatality. [29]

An Alternative Education and Work Center (AEWC) opened at Ramona Gardens in December 1989, giving Big Hazard gang members a place to finish high school, since Lincoln High School is in rival gang territory. [30]

In 1967, a 17-year-old "Mexican boy", a suspect to an arson that occurred minutes before, was shot and killed by police. The police showed in large numbers to mediate the tension. The Los Angeles Sentinel said the scene was "an ominous, uneasy silence, like a placid lid resting atop a seething volcano." Further saying that help was being provided to the blacks by the Symbionese Liberation Army, and that the sides "were at war", with only the "strong presence of police officers who live in daily and nightly fear of snipers." [31] Nine days later, the officer was cleared by the coroner's jury as a justifiable shooting. [32] In 1974, four teenagers shot and killed a Thai ice cream vendor in what was called a "thrill killing" while children were waiting for ice cream. [33] In 1991, two black families were firebombed in a racially motivated incident. [21] [34]

In 1991, police shot and killed an unarmed gang member, leading to an FBI investigation and grand jury probe of the police department for it and three other police killings. [35] [36] [21] A firefight between gang members and police in 1996 ended with one gang member dead, a police officer wounded, and an angry crowd. Gang members shot at patrol vehicles in 2006. In 2007, a gang member died while in LAPD custody. The 2007 incident erupted in a riot involving 50 gang members and 100 police equipped in riot control gear. [21]

On May 15, 2014, a number of apartments in Ramona Gardens were firebombed with Molotov cocktails. There were no injuries. Most of the victims were African American. [37]

See also

Related Research Articles

Watts, Los Angeles Neighborhood of Los Angeles in California, United States

Watts is a neighborhood in southern Los Angeles, California. It is located within the South Los Angeles region, bordering the cities of Lynwood and South Gate to the east and southeast, respectively, and the unincorporated community of Willowbrook to the south.

Robert Taylor Homes Former public housing development in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Robert Taylor Homes was a public housing project in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was located along State Street between Pershing Road and 54th Street, east of the Dan Ryan Expressway. The project was named for Robert Rochon Taylor, an African-American activist and the first African American chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA). It was a part of the State Street Corridor which included other CHA housing projects: Stateway Gardens, Dearborn Homes, Harold Ickes Homes, and Hilliard Homes.

Nickerson Gardens Public housing complex in Los Angeles, California, United States

Nickerson Gardens is a 1,066-unit public housing apartment complex at 1590 East 114th Street in Watts, Los Angeles, California. Nickerson Gardens is the largest public housing development west of the Mississippi River and was the first home of many notable people, including Jazz Joy and Roy Global Radio host Roy O’Dell Gray, who, according to Hollywood insiders, is the first cousin of Mary Mary Super Producer Warryn Campbell.

Venice 13 or West Side Venice 13, abbreviated as V13 or VX3, is a Mexican American street gang based in the Oakwood neighborhood of Venice, a section of Los Angeles, California. It has a substantial presence in East Venice as well as the Culver City/Los Angeles border, especially around Washington Blvd.

Mar Vista Gardens Housing project in Los Angeles

Mar Vista Gardens is a housing project at 11965 Allin Street in Del Rey, a district of southwestern Los Angeles County, California near Culver City, bordering Ballona Creek. It is operated by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA).

The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) is a state-chartered public agency. Established in 1938, HACLA provides the largest stock of affordable housing in the city Los Angeles, California and is one of the nation's oldest public housing authorities.

Gonzaque Village is public housing project located in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is operated by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles. It was built in 1942 on 17.6 acres of flat land. Its 71 one-story buildings have 182 units housing 437 residents.

Crips Street gang from Los Angeles, California

The Crips is an alliance of street gangs which is based in the coastal regions of southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips were initially a single alliance between two autonomous gangs; it is now a loosely-connected network of individual "sets", often engaged in open warfare with one another. Traditionally, since around 1973, its members have worn blue clothing.

Varrio Nuevo Estrada, also known as VNEx3, is a Chicano criminal street gang founded in Boyle Heights, California, in the Estrada Courts housing projects. VNE is one of 34 gangs in a 15-square-mile area east of downtown Los Angeles.

Los Four was a Chicano artist collective active based in Los Angeles, California. The group was instrumental in bringing the Chicano art movement to the attention of the mainstream art world.

The Colonia is a neighborhood located in the central portion of the city of Oxnard, California, USA. The neighborhood was laid out by the Colonia Land Improvement Company in close proximity of the sugar factory and beet fields to house workers just east of the city's downtown business district. Long a Latino barrio, it is home to lower-income families, former resident César Chávez once lived there, also known world wide as Boxnard because of La Colonia Youth Boxing Club, which has produced notable fighters such as Fernando Vargas, Robert Garcia, Miguel Angel Garcia, Victor Ortíz, Brandon Rios and Mia St. John.

Skid Row, Los Angeles Neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles

Skid Row is a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles. The area is officially known as Central City East.

The Avalon Gardens is a public housing project located in the Green Meadows neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is one of the oldest housing projects owned by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles.

Avenues (gang) Mexican-American street gang

The Avenues, also known as Avenidas or AVE's, is a Mexican/Mexican American criminal street gang mostly in Los Angeles County, California. They originally started as a social club for local Latino youths to protect themselves from other violent youths. The Avenues, like most Mexican gangs in Los Angeles, are under the direct control of the Mexican Mafia when sent to State, County, or Federal prisons.

Aliso Village was a housing project in Los Angeles, California. It was built in 1942 and demolished 1999. The 29-acre (120,000 m2) parcel was replaced by Pueblo del Sol.

Pueblo Del Rio is a public housing project located in the Central-Alameda neighborhood of South Los Angeles, California. The address of Pueblo Del Rio is 1801 East 53rd Street, which is near the intersection of 55th and Alameda streets.

The Grape Street Watts Crips is a Crip subset based in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. The gang's rivalry with the Bounty Hunter Bloods has been described as being "the most violent and long lasting feud between two gangs that are in the Watts area."

Bounty Hunter Watts Bloods African American street gang

The Bounty Hunter Watts Bloods, also known as the Bounty Hunter Bloods, is a predominantly African American street gang situated in the Nickerson Gardens public housing projects in Watts, Los Angeles.

Sons of Samoa Crips-affiliated gang from Long Beach, California

Sons of Samoa is a Crips-affiliated street gang based in Long Beach, California, United States. Its membership mainly consists of Samoan Americans with other Pacific island members.

The Calliope Projects, also known as B. W. Cooper Public Housing Development, was a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans and one of the housing projects of New Orleans. This project of New Orleans gained notoriety for its extremely high violent crime rate and was known to be one of the most violent housing projects in the United States. It was demolished in 2014 and replaced with newer, mixed-income apartment buildings.

References

  1. ↑ Cuff, Dana (2000). The Provisional City: Los Angeles Stories of Architecture and Urbanism. MIT Press. p. 158. ISBN   0-262-03276-7.
  2. ↑ Keylon, Steven. "Taming the Car — A Vision for Los Angeles: Fred Barlow, Jr.'s Innovative Landscape for Baldwin Hills Village". Eden: Journal of the California Garden and Landscape History Society, vol. 16, no. 1 (Winter 2013).
  3. ↑ "Project Name Changes Made". Los Angeles Times . 27 November 1939. p. A2.
  4. 1 2 "Low Rent Housing Project Starts Soon". Los Angeles Times . 31 January 1940. p. 2.
  5. 1 2 "Low-Rent Housing Program Will Provide Jobs For 1200". Los Angeles Times . 7 February 1940. p. A3.
  6. 1 2 "Ramona Gardens Ceremony Fixed". Los Angeles Times . 12 March 1940. p. A10.
  7. 1 2 "Olson Dedicates Housing Project". Los Angeles Times . 17 March 1940. p. 2.
  8. 1 2 "Los Angeles Brings 'Luxuries' to Low-Pay Class". The Christian Science Monitor . 21 March 1941. p. 6.
  9. ↑ "Housing Project Rising Rapidly". Los Angeles Times . 2 July 1940. p. 20.
  10. ↑ "Firm Occupies New Building". Los Angeles Times . 9 December 1951. p. F6.
  11. ↑ "Herbert M. Baruch, 61, Contractor, Ends Life". Los Angeles Times . 21 October 1955. p. 4.
  12. ↑ "New Low Cost Housing Unit Is Now Open". Los Angeles Sentinel . 24 October 1940. p. 1.
  13. ↑ "Housing Unit Gets Tenant". Los Angeles Times . 3 January 1941.
  14. ↑ "Dedication of City Housing Project Set". Los Angeles Times . 17 February 1941. p. 10.
  15. ↑ "Housing Fete to Be Today". Los Angeles Times . 23 February 1941. p. 16.
  16. ↑ "Noted Architects Will View Housing Projects". Los Angeles Times . 22 May 1941. p. A10.
  17. ↑ Castro, Mike (15 March 1974). "ONE OF OLDEST IN CITY". Los Angeles Times . p. C1.
  18. ↑ Harris, Scott (30 September 1987). "Mobile Homes for the Poor to Be Located in Projects". Los Angeles Times . p. 8.
  19. ↑ Kelsey, Thomas (24 November 1987). "Metro Digest: Trailers for the Homeless". Los Angeles Times . p. C2.
  20. ↑ Clifford, Frank (9 December 1985). "14th District's Election Lacks Fire but Still Stirs Concerns". Los Angeles Times . p. V1.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 Pringle, Paul (16 February 2007). "Mired in violence at Ramona Gardens; Neither police nor a gang gives ground at L.A.'s oldest project". Los Angeles Times . p. A1.
  22. ↑ "The Murals and Culture of Ramona Gardens". Mapping Los Angeles Public Art . Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  23. 1 2 Del Olmo, Frank (3 December 1973). "Murals Changing Face of East L.A.". Los Angeles Times . p. B1.
  24. ↑ Smith, Dave (11 September 1983). "Housing Project's War on Graffiti Over and Won: Ramona Gardens Celebrates Its Victory". Los Angeles Times . p. B7.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  25. ↑ Smith, Dave (11 September 1983). "Housing Project Wins Graffiti War". Los Angeles Times . p. OC_A11.
  26. ↑ "Garden Spot in the Making". Los Angeles Times . 6 July 1984. p. C6.
  27. 1 2 Igler, Marc (5 July 1984). "Ramona Gardens: Center for Drug Traffic". Los Angeles Times . p. D1.
  28. ↑ Furillo, Andy (13 October 1984). "Police Arrest 23 in PCP Raid at 'The Square' in Boyle Heights". Los Angeles Times . p. A32.
  29. ↑ "2 TEEN-AGE GANG MEMBERS SLAIN; REPRISALS FEARED". Los Angeles Times . 21 January 1974. p. A3.
  30. ↑ Walker, Jill (11 April 1990). "New Schools for Gangs Pose Unique Segregation Concern". Washington Post . p. A3.
  31. ↑ "The Inside Story". Los Angeles Sentinel . 1 June 1967. p. D4.
  32. ↑ "POLICEMAN CLEARED IN SLAYING OF YOUTH". Los Angeles Times. 10 June 1967. p. 2.
  33. ↑ Burke, Kathy (30 October 1974). "Ice Cream Vendor Shot to Death in His Truck". Los Angeles Times . p. 3.
  34. ↑ "D.A. To Investigate Racially-Motivated Firebombings". Atlanta Daily World . UPI. 24 September 1992.
  35. ↑ "Residents Seek Inquiry Into Police Shooting". New York Times . Associated Press. 5 August 1991. p. A11.
  36. ↑ "Feds Probe Sheriff's Killings of Four Men". Los Angeles Sentinel . 20 February 1992. p. A15.
  37. ↑ "Gang member gets 16 years for firebombing Black families' homes". Los Angeles Times. 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2022-05-11.

Coordinates: 34°03′29″N118°11′38″W / 34.05797°N 118.193804°W / 34.05797; -118.193804

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.