Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California
Lincoln Heights is a district on the
East Side of
Los Angeles, California.
Lincoln Heights is bounded by the
Los Angeles River on the west, the
San Bernardino Freeway (
I-10) on the south, and Soto Street on the east; the district's northern border is unclear due to the area's uneven terrain. Adjacent communities include
El Sereno on the east,
City Terrace on the southeast,
Boyle Heights on the south,
Chinatown and
Solano Canyon on the west,
Cypress Park on the northwest,
Mt. Washington on the north, and
Montecito Heights on the northeast. Major thoroughfares include Valley Boulevard; Mission Road; Pasadena Avenue; North Main, Marengo, Daly, and
Figueroa Streets; and North Broadway. The
Golden State Freeway (
I-5) runs through the district, and the
Metro Gold Line has a stop in the far northwestern portion of the district. Lincoln Heights'
ZIP Code is 90031.
Lincoln Heights is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, dating to the 1880s. Perched on bluffs above the Los Angeles River, it was originally home to some of the city's wealthiest residents, who built a large number of
Victorian mansions in the district (many of which have been preserved under the city's
historic preservation program). North Broadway became a busy commercial strip, which it remains today. By the turn of the 20th century, however, the rapid industrial development along the riverbanks made it less appealing for wealthy Angelenos, who moved on first to the
Arroyo Seco area and
Hollywood, then (from the 1920s onward) to rapidly developing
Mid-Wilshire. As wealthy residents departed, Lincoln Heights became home to a large
Italian American population, as well as an increasingly large
Mexican American population. It and its cross-river neighbor "Little Italy" (what is now Chinatown) formed the heart of southern California's Italian-American community. One of the major landmarks from this period, the
San Antonio Winery, continues to operate today, albeit with non-local grapes.
Beginning just after
World War II, Italians and some Mexicans began migrating out of Lincoln Heights and into working-class and middle-class suburbs in the
San Gabriel Valley, including
Alhambra,
San Gabriel, and
Rosemead. This process accelerated during the 1950s with the construction of the Golden State Freeway, which split the district right down the middle and devastated the neighborhoods through which it passed. Ever since, Lincoln Heights has been a poor-to-working class Chicano and Latin American immigrant
barrio. However, many and their US-born children also reside in Lincoln Heights, due to its proximity to
Chinatown.
*
Lincoln High School*
Lincoln Park*
Los Angeles Alligator Farm*
Los Angeles Ostrich Farm*
Plaza de la Raza*
San Antonio Winery*
Selig Zoo*
The History of Lincoln Heights, CA 90031 through old photos and memories*
A Second Visit - A personal account of life in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles during the 1920's
