Lafayette Square, Los Angeles
Lafayette Square is a historic and affluent semi-gated neighborhood in Los Angeles, California named after George Lafayette Crenshaw.[1] It sits just off of Crenshaw Boulevard in the Mid-City area. It was designated by the city as a Los Angeles Historic Preservation Overlay Zone in 2000 for its significant residential architecture and history.
History
According to the Los Angeles Conservancy, "Lafayette Square was the last and greatest of banker George L. Crenshaw's ten residential developments in the City of Los Angeles."[2] Around the turn of the twentieth century, there was a large oil boom in southern California: Between the extraordinary climate that California had to offer and the rich resources that provided jobs to the oil and agricultural industries, the state experienced great population booms. In Los Angeles, Crenshaw invested in and oversaw the development of ten residential real estate ventures to help satiate the population growth. Lafayette Square was founded in 1913 and developed during the early 20th century;[3] the gates surrounding the district are a relatively recent addition, coming only in 1989.
Description
Lafayette Square consists of eight blocks, centered on St. Charles Place, and situated between Venice Boulevard on the north, Washington Boulevard on the south, Crenshaw Boulevard on the east and West Blvd on the west. There are 236 homes in the neighborhood.[3] It is immediately south of Victoria Park, southeast of West Los Angeles (Crestview and Picfair Village) and immediately north of Wellington Square.
Crenshaw wanted this development to have a European flair so it was designed as an elegant residential park centered on St. Charles Place—a broad palm tree-lined avenue with a landscaped median. The houuses in Lafayette Square reflect residential styles popular during the 1910s and 1920s such as Italianate, Neo-Federalist, American Craftsman, Spanish Colonial Revival, and American Colonial Revival. Several houses, such as architect Paul Williams’ own home, were designed in the Modern style, exemplifying an important trend in Los Angeles’ architectural development.
The neighborhood was designed for wealthy families and now-historic houses regularly have 5,000 to 6,000 square feet (600 m2) floor plans, although the average home size is 3,600 square feet (330 m2).[3] According to a Los Angeles Times real-estate section article on the district, "Most of the properties have period details: Juliet balconies, mahogany staircases and libraries, sitting rooms, stained glass windows, triple crown molding, soaring ceilings—even four-car garages."[3]
Bildung
Most of the new families in the neighborhood do not send their children to public school.[3] And those that do use public schools tend to use Magnet and Charter schools outside the neighborhood.
The private schools commonly used by families in the neighborhood are:
- Marlborough School, private high for young women, 250 South Rossmore Avenue
- Loyola High School (Los Angeles), Jesuit preparatory school for young men
- Harvard-Westlake School, independent, co-educational university preparatory day school
The neighborhood is zoned to schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The neighborhood is zoned to the following schools:
- Alta Loma Elementary School
- Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Middle School (formerly Mount Vernon Middle School)
- Los Angeles High School
Notable Residents
- George Pepperdine (founder of Pepperdine University)
- W.C. Fields
- Fatty Arbuckle
- Norton Simon, industrialist and art collector
- Joe Louis, professional boxer
- Syd Tha Kyd
- Taco Bennett of Odd Future
- Paul R. Williams, famous architect (who designed his own home in the neighborhood)
- the Crenshaw family
References
- ^ http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/landofsunshine/whats-in-a-street-name/crenshaw-boulevard-cruising-through-the-decades.html
- ^ Los Angeles Conservancy, Los Angeles' Historic Preservation Overlay Zones, 2002, pp. 14-15.
- ^ a b c d e Cohen, Allison B., "Neighborly Advice: History behind iron gates in Lafayette Square," Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb 2003.
