27th Street Historic District
Encyclopedia
The 27th Street Historic District is a historic district in the South Los Angeles area of Los Angeles, California
. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2009 as part of the multiple property submission for African Americans in Los Angeles.
. The district contains 43 contributing buildings and 13 non-contributing buildings. It extends south along Paloma Avenue to East 29th Street.
houses dating from the 1890s and 1900s. Other contributing buildings in the district include homes in the Colonial Revival and Transitional Craftsman styles. The districts notable residential structures include the following:
style church located at the northeast corner of E. 27th Street and Paloma Avenue. It was built from 1895 to 1896 for the Haven Methodist Episcopal Church. In the early 1900s, the church was a center of the city's prohibition movement. In October 1902, the church hosted a speech by a member of the Anti-Saloon League
. In July and November 1902, the church was the site of all-day meetings of the city's federation of Women's Christian Temperance Unions. One of the members gave a talk on the effect of the corset on the body, asserting that "good men will not select the girl with a wasp-like waist for a wife and as a mother to his children." The Haven Methodist congregation celebrated 20 years on the site in September 1915 with anniversary and homecoming services. In the early 1920s, as the demographics of the neighborhood changed, the Haven Methodist congregation moved to a new location on South Normandie, and the church building at 21st and Paloma was sold to the Beth Eden Baptist Temple, an African-American congregation. In August 1925, the 34th annual convention of the Western Baptist Association drew several hundred delegates from 48 "colored Baptist churches" in Southern California to Beth Eden. In July 1927, the relocated Haven Methodist congregation became the first church in Los Angeles to file a bankruptcy petition. The Los Angeles Times reported that the congregation had been divided by ultra-modernism and "circus ballyhoo" methods.
structure located at the northeast corner of East 28th Street and Paloma Avenue. The structure was built in 1906 for the Salem Congregational Church, a congregation serving the white population that initially settled in the neighborhood. The church as dedicated in May 1906 with seating for 1,000 persons and, according to the Los Angeles Times, "everything being modern and up-to-date." In 1911, the Salem Congregational Church successfully lobbied for an ordinance permitting the display of "moving pictures" in churches after the pastor, Rev. B. H. Reutepohler, hit upon a play to illustrate his Sunday evening sermons with motion pictures. After the ordinance passed, Salem Congregational became the first church in Los Angeles to take advantage of the new law. The church building was purchased in January 1917 by a group of Armenian Congregationalists and was renamed the Armenian Gethsemane Congregational Church. From 1917 to 1944, the church served the influx of Armenian immigrants in the area. In October 1942, the church hosted the 56th Annual Convention of the Los Angeles Association of Congregational Churches. In 1944, the church building was sold to an African-American congregation and was renamed the E. 28th Street Christian Church. Since 2003, the church building is operated as a Spanish-language church, the Nueva Iglesia Bautista en Cristo, serving the neighborhood's Hispanic population.
, listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places
, also lies within the borders of the 27th Street Historic District. The YMCA building, sometimes referred to in its early years as the "Colored YMCA", was built in 1926 based on a design by the African American
architect Paul R. Williams
. The YMCA provided a swimming pool for use by the African American community in an era when the city's public swimming pools were racially segregated.
. The district represents "one of the few neighborhoods along the Central Avenue corridor to retain sufficient integrity for listing in the National Register."
The Central Avenue Corridor became the cultural and business hub of the African-American community in Los Angeles from the 1920s to the 1950s. Other buildings along this corridor which were listed pursuant to the African Americans in Los Angeles MPS include the Lincoln Theater
(located a short walk from the district on Central Avenue), Second Baptist Church
(located four blocks north of the district along Griffith Avenue), Prince Hall Masonic Temple
, 52nd Place Historic District
, and two historic all-black segregated fire stations (Fire Station No. 14
and Fire Station No. 30
).
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2009 as part of the multiple property submission for African Americans in Los Angeles.
Location and buildings
The 27th Street Historic District is centered on the intersection of East 27th Street and Paloma Avenue, one block to the west of Central AvenueCentral Avenue (Los Angeles)
Central Avenue is a major north-south thoroughfare in the central portion of the Los Angeles, California metropolitan area. Located just to the west of the Alameda Corridor, it runs from the eastern end of the Los Angeles Civic Center south, ending at Del Amo Boulevard in Carson...
. The district contains 43 contributing buildings and 13 non-contributing buildings. It extends south along Paloma Avenue to East 29th Street.
Residential buildings
The vast majority of the contributing buildings are private residences, including many Victorian Queen Anne styleQueen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
houses dating from the 1890s and 1900s. Other contributing buildings in the district include homes in the Colonial Revival and Transitional Craftsman styles. The districts notable residential structures include the following:
- 901 E. 27th Street - Victorian Queen Anne style house constructed in 1895
- 909 E. 27th Street - Victorian Queen Anne style house constructed in 1895
- 912 E. 27th Street - Victorian Queen Anne style house constructed in 1895
- 913-915 E. 27th Street - Colonial Revival style duplex constructed in 1922
- 912 E. 27th Street - Victorian Queen Anne style house constructed in 1895
- 920 E. 27th Street - Transitional Craftsman style house constructed in 1905
- 925 E. 27th Street - Colonial Revival style house constructed in 1895
- 1002 E. 27th Street - Victorian Queen Anne style house constructed in 1895
- 1008 E. 27th Street - One-story turn-of-the-century cottage built in 1901
- 1014 E. 27th Street - Victorian Queen Anne style house constructed in 1895
- 1017 E. 27th Street - Cottage with Victorian detailing constructed in 1895
- 1020 E. 27th Street - Victorian Queen Anne style house constructed in 1915
- 1023 E. 27th Street - Cottage with Victorian detailing constructed in 1898
- 1013 E. 28th Street - Transitional Craftsman style house constructed in 1912
- 1014 E. 28th Street - Victorian Queen Anne style house constructed in 1893
- 1001 E. 29th Street - American FoursquareAmerican FoursquareThe American Foursquare or American Four Square is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass produced elements of the Victorian and other Revival styles popular throughout the last half of the 19th century, the American Foursquare was...
style home constructed in 1895
Institutional buildings
The district also includes two extant church buildings, now known as the Crouch Memorial Church of God and Christ and the Nueva Iglesia Bautista en Cristo, and a historically significant YMCA building. As noted in the registration form supporting the inclusion of the two church buildings as contributing structures in the historic district, the two extant church buildings "are typical of those along the Central Avenue corridor in that they have been occupied by several congregations, reflecting the changing demographics of the neighborhood."Crouch Memorial Church
The 27th Street Historic District includes the Crouch Memorial Church of God and Christ, a Romanesque RevivalRomanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
style church located at the northeast corner of E. 27th Street and Paloma Avenue. It was built from 1895 to 1896 for the Haven Methodist Episcopal Church. In the early 1900s, the church was a center of the city's prohibition movement. In October 1902, the church hosted a speech by a member of the Anti-Saloon League
Anti-Saloon League
The Anti-Saloon League was the leading organization lobbying for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. It was a key component of the Progressive Era, and was strongest in the South and rural North, drawing heavy support from pietistic Protestant ministers and their...
. In July and November 1902, the church was the site of all-day meetings of the city's federation of Women's Christian Temperance Unions. One of the members gave a talk on the effect of the corset on the body, asserting that "good men will not select the girl with a wasp-like waist for a wife and as a mother to his children." The Haven Methodist congregation celebrated 20 years on the site in September 1915 with anniversary and homecoming services. In the early 1920s, as the demographics of the neighborhood changed, the Haven Methodist congregation moved to a new location on South Normandie, and the church building at 21st and Paloma was sold to the Beth Eden Baptist Temple, an African-American congregation. In August 1925, the 34th annual convention of the Western Baptist Association drew several hundred delegates from 48 "colored Baptist churches" in Southern California to Beth Eden. In July 1927, the relocated Haven Methodist congregation became the first church in Los Angeles to file a bankruptcy petition. The Los Angeles Times reported that the congregation had been divided by ultra-modernism and "circus ballyhoo" methods.
Nueva Iglesia Bautista en Cristo
The second contributing church building in the district is now known as the Nueva Iglesia Bautista en Cristo, a Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
structure located at the northeast corner of East 28th Street and Paloma Avenue. The structure was built in 1906 for the Salem Congregational Church, a congregation serving the white population that initially settled in the neighborhood. The church as dedicated in May 1906 with seating for 1,000 persons and, according to the Los Angeles Times, "everything being modern and up-to-date." In 1911, the Salem Congregational Church successfully lobbied for an ordinance permitting the display of "moving pictures" in churches after the pastor, Rev. B. H. Reutepohler, hit upon a play to illustrate his Sunday evening sermons with motion pictures. After the ordinance passed, Salem Congregational became the first church in Los Angeles to take advantage of the new law. The church building was purchased in January 1917 by a group of Armenian Congregationalists and was renamed the Armenian Gethsemane Congregational Church. From 1917 to 1944, the church served the influx of Armenian immigrants in the area. In October 1942, the church hosted the 56th Annual Convention of the Los Angeles Association of Congregational Churches. In 1944, the church building was sold to an African-American congregation and was renamed the E. 28th Street Christian Church. Since 2003, the church building is operated as a Spanish-language church, the Nueva Iglesia Bautista en Cristo, serving the neighborhood's Hispanic population.
28th Street YMCA
The 28th Street YMCA28th Street YMCA
The 28th Street YMCA is a historic YMCA building in South Los Angeles, California. It was listed as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2006 and on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. The four-story structure was built in 1926 at a cost of $200,000. The building was...
, listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, also lies within the borders of the 27th Street Historic District. The YMCA building, sometimes referred to in its early years as the "Colored YMCA", was built in 1926 based on a design by the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
architect Paul R. Williams
Paul Williams (architect)
Paul Revere Williams, FAIA was a Los Angeles-based, American architect. He practiced largely in Southern California and designed the homes of numerous stars including Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball/Desi Arnaz, Lon Chaney, and Charles Correll...
. The YMCA provided a swimming pool for use by the African American community in an era when the city's public swimming pools were racially segregated.
Historic significance
The 27th Street Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009 pursuant to the registration requirements for residential districts set forth in a multiple property submission study, the African Americans in Los Angeles MPS. The neighborhood was originally occupied exclusively by white residents. Its period of historical significance begins in 1923, when an African-American congregation acquired the church at the corner of East 27th Street and Paloma Avenue, and as African-Americans began to move into the neighborhood and build important cultural and business institutions along the nearby Central Avenue CorridorCentral Avenue (Los Angeles)
Central Avenue is a major north-south thoroughfare in the central portion of the Los Angeles, California metropolitan area. Located just to the west of the Alameda Corridor, it runs from the eastern end of the Los Angeles Civic Center south, ending at Del Amo Boulevard in Carson...
. The district represents "one of the few neighborhoods along the Central Avenue corridor to retain sufficient integrity for listing in the National Register."
The Central Avenue Corridor became the cultural and business hub of the African-American community in Los Angeles from the 1920s to the 1950s. Other buildings along this corridor which were listed pursuant to the African Americans in Los Angeles MPS include the Lincoln Theater
Lincoln Theater (Los Angeles, California)
The Lincoln Theater is a historic theater in South Los Angeles, California. The Moorish Revival building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009...
(located a short walk from the district on Central Avenue), Second Baptist Church
Second Baptist Church (Los Angeles, California)
Second Baptist Church is a historically African-American Baptist church located in South Los Angeles, California. The current Lombardy Romanesque Revival building was built in 1926 and has been listed as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument and on the National Register of Historic Places...
(located four blocks north of the district along Griffith Avenue), Prince Hall Masonic Temple
Prince Hall Masonic Temple (Los Angeles, California)
The Prince Hall Masonic Temple in South Los Angeles area of Los Angeles, California is a historic club building associated with Prince Hall Freemasonry. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009...
, 52nd Place Historic District
52nd Place Historic District
The 52nd Place Historic District is a historic district consisting of American Craftsman style homes in the South Los Angeles area of Los Angeles, California. The district is located on 52nd Place between McKinley Avenue on the east and Avalon Boulevard on the west. The district includes 37...
, and two historic all-black segregated fire stations (Fire Station No. 14
Fire Station No. 14 (Los Angeles, California)
Fire Station No. 14 is a historic fire station in the South Los Angeles area of Los Angeles, California. The three-story structure was designed by Earl T...
and Fire Station No. 30
Fire Station No. 30, Engine Company No. 30
Fire Station No. 30, Engine Company No. 30 is a historic fire station and engine company in the South Los Angeles area of Los Angeles, California...
).
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Los Angeles, California
- List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in South Los Angeles