52nd Place Historic District
Encyclopedia
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 contributing buildings and seven non-contributing buildings. The contributing buildings are one-story Craftsman houses designed and built by Tifal Brothers between 1911 and 1914. The characteristic feature of the contributing buildings include "low-pitched gabled roofs with overhanging eaves and exposed rafter tails, front porches and chimneys made of brick or river rock, and multi-paned wood-framed casement windows."
The 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 district was originally an all-white neighborhood. Its period of significance begins in 1930 as African Americans moved into and began the dominant demographic group in the district. The historic significance of the district is enhanced by its association with important African-American figures who lived in the district during its period of significance. Singer Ivie Anderson
lived at 724 E. 52nd Place from 1930 until 1945. Anderson performed with Duke Ellington
's band from 1931 to 1942 and recorded the vocals on several hit recordings, including "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
" (1932), "Stormy Weather
" (1933), and "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good" (1941). Civil rights activists and journalists, Joseph and Charlotta Bass, lived at 697 E. 52nd Place in the 1930s. Charlotta Bass
owned and operated the California Eagle
, the largest African-American newspaper on the West Coast, from 1912 to 1951.
Other buildings listed pursuant to the same African Americans in Los Angeles MPS include the Angelus Funeral Home
, Lincoln Theater
, Second Baptist Church
, 28th Street YMCA
, Prince Hall Masonic Temple
, 27th Street Historic District
, and two historic all-black segregated fire stations (Fire Station No. 14
and Fire Station No. 30
).
American Craftsman
The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...
style homes in the South Los Angeles area of Los Angeles, California
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 is located on 52nd Place between McKinley Avenue on the east and Avalon Boulevard on the west. The district includes 37 contributing buildings and seven non-contributing buildings. The contributing buildings are one-story Craftsman houses designed and built by Tifal Brothers between 1911 and 1914. The characteristic feature of the contributing buildings include "low-pitched gabled roofs with overhanging eaves and exposed rafter tails, front porches and chimneys made of brick or river rock, and multi-paned wood-framed casement windows."
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 pursuant to the registration requirements for residential districts set forth in a multiple property submission study, the African Americans in Los Angeles MPS. The district was originally an all-white neighborhood. Its period of significance begins in 1930 as African Americans moved into and began the dominant demographic group in the district. The historic significance of the district is enhanced by its association with important African-American figures who lived in the district during its period of significance. Singer Ivie Anderson
Ivie Anderson
Ivie Anderson was an American jazz singer. She was best-known for her performances with Duke Ellington's orchestra between 1931 and 1942....
lived at 724 E. 52nd Place from 1930 until 1945. Anderson performed with Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
's band from 1931 to 1942 and recorded the vocals on several hit recordings, including "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
"It Don't Mean a Thing " is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Mills, now accepted as a jazz standard. The music was written and arranged by Ellington in August 1931 during intermissions at Chicago's Lincoln Tavern and was first recorded by Ellington and his orchestra for...
" (1932), "Stormy Weather
Stormy Weather
"Stormy Weather" is a 1933 song written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. Ethel Waters first sang it at The Cotton Club night club in Harlem. It has since been covered by artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Clodagh Rodgers, and Reigning Sound; but most famously by Lena Horne and Billie Holiday...
" (1933), and "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good" (1941). Civil rights activists and journalists, Joseph and Charlotta Bass, lived at 697 E. 52nd Place in the 1930s. Charlotta Bass
Charlotta Bass
Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass was an American educator, newspaper publisher-editor, and civil rights activist. Bass was probably the first African-American woman to own and operate a newspaper in the United States; she published the California Eagle from 1912 until 1951...
owned and operated the California Eagle
California Eagle
The California Eagle was one of the oldest and longest-running African American newspapers in Los Angeles, California and the West. It started in 1879, founded by John J. Neimore, who had escaped slavery in Missouri...
, the largest African-American newspaper on the West Coast, from 1912 to 1951.
Other buildings listed pursuant to the same African Americans in Los Angeles MPS include the Angelus Funeral Home
Angelus Funeral Home
Angelus Funeral Home is a funeral home 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. In 1925, Angelus Funeral Home was the first black-owned business to be incorporated in California. ...
, 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...
, 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...
, 28th Street YMCA
28th 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...
, 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...
, 27th Street Historic District
27th Street Historic District
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.-Location and...
, 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