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I am very curious about the area north of 10, east of downtown to Mar Vista and south of Beverly Hills... basically the Mid-City/Fairfax/Pico-Roberson/Palms district and Westside L.A area back in the late 1960's, 1970's and 80's. What were the demographics, who were the people who moved into that area, the jobs and schools back then. Anybody who went Hamilton, University or Faxfair High schools please give information. Especially Hami! What were those schools rivals and their differences and cultures. What were the popular shopping malls or centers, clubs, family restaurants??? Or the popular places to hangouts.
I am very curious about the area north of 10, east of downtown to Mar Vista and south of Beverly Hills... basically the Mid-City/Fairfax/Pico-Roberson/Palms district and Westside L.A area back in the late 1960's, 1970's and 80's. What were the demographics, who were the people who moved into that area, the jobs and schools back then. Anybody who went Hamilton, University or Faxfair High schools please give information. Especially Hami! What were those schools rivals and their differences and cultures. What were the popular shopping malls or centers, clubs, family restaurants??? Or the popular places to hangouts.
Thanks.
"Uni prepares kids for UCLA. Hami prepares kids for Nam."
Even when Hami was majority white (up until the early '70s) it was segregated on the basis of class - intended to keep the kids from the working class sections of the west side separate from the middle class, upper middle class, and upper class sections of the westside. Hami did have middle class kids attending, but not as many as the other westside schools. It had a sizable Jewish presence considering it included the South Robertson and Beverlywood areas, but its Jews tended to be more working class/lower middle class than the other westside schools. In the '70s it became black majority as many of the neighborhoods within its borders experienced white flight. It was the first westside LAUSD school to become dangerous. In the '80s gang problems there were out of control. Hami's main rivals were L.A. High and Venice High.
Fairfax encompassed a wide range of economic classes but was even more Jewish dominated in the 1960s and early 1970s than the other westside LAUSD high schools. It was famous for producing people who would go on to be stars in the entertainment industry. It also had major countercultural activity in the late '60s and early '70s - as the Sunset Strip was within its boundaries, this was fitting. The anti-Vietnam War protests spilled over from UCLA to Fairfax (along with Uni) almost right after they started. In the 1970s there were some racial changes in some of the neighborhoods within its area, and the school wound up changing. It underwent white flight throughout the '70s and '80s. It eventually became troubled like Hollywood (its big rival) or Hamilton. By the late '80s it got violent and became infamous for racial and ethnic tension between many, many different groups.
Uni, my alma mater, was known as the best school in the LAUSD for decades. It was overwhelmingly white into the '80s although it had a large Asian population and had Hispanics and had both groups for many years. Busing brought blacks in, which produced some tensions, although there was not as much busing as there was at Pali (which did not have a resident Hispanic nor a resident Asian population within its borders). There were also some tensions when the Iranians showed up en masse after the Iranian revolution, coincidentally right as Iran was holding our guys hostage - in my senior year a ton of Iranians came in. As a whole everyone who was from the west side got along. Certain kids who were bused in clearly did not want to get along. Gang issues were minor until the late '80s, several years after my time. It was a great place to go to school. The rivals were Venice, Pali, and non-LAUSD Samo and Beverly. Economically, Uni was middle class and up, with some lower middle class and working class kids. Uni was a major center of the hippie counterculture and the punk movement.
GREAT info!!! Just what I needed. So if you were black and middle class, what high school would fit that persona in the westside. How was Venice High back in the 70's and 80's. Also, when did Hami become "ghetto" or change, what were the years of transition??? Also what good malls were popular hangouts bakc in the 70's and early 80's???
Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by majoun
"Uni prepares kids for UCLA. Hami prepares kids for Nam."
Even when Hami was majority white (up until the early '70s) it was segregated on the basis of class - intended to keep the kids from the working class sections of the west side separate from the middle class, upper middle class, and upper class sections of the westside. Hami did have middle class kids attending, but not as many as the other westside schools. It had a sizable Jewish presence considering it included the South Robertson and Beverlywood areas, but its Jews tended to be more working class/lower middle class than the other westside schools. In the '70s it became black majority as many of the neighborhoods within its borders experienced white flight. It was the first westside LAUSD school to become dangerous. In the '80s gang problems there were out of control. Hami's main rivals were L.A. High and Venice High.
Fairfax encompassed a wide range of economic classes but was even more Jewish dominated in the 1960s and early 1970s than the other westside LAUSD high schools. It was famous for producing people who would go on to be stars in the entertainment industry. It also had major countercultural activity in the late '60s and early '70s - as the Sunset Strip was within its boundaries, this was fitting. The anti-Vietnam War protests spilled over from UCLA to Fairfax (along with Uni) almost right after they started. In the 1970s there were some racial changes in some of the neighborhoods within its area, and the school wound up changing. It underwent white flight throughout the '70s and '80s. It eventually became troubled like Hollywood (its big rival) or Hamilton. By the late '80s it got violent and became infamous for racial and ethnic tension between many, many different groups.
Uni, my alma mater, was known as the best school in the LAUSD for decades. It was overwhelmingly white into the '80s although it had a large Asian population and had Hispanics and had both groups for many years. Busing brought blacks in, which produced some tensions, although there was not as much busing as there was at Pali (which did not have a resident Hispanic nor a resident Asian population within its borders). There were also some tensions when the Iranians showed up en masse after the Iranian revolution, coincidentally right as Iran was holding our guys hostage - in my senior year a ton of Iranians came in. As a whole everyone who was from the west side got along. Certain kids who were bused in clearly did not want to get along. Gang issues were minor until the late '80s, several years after my time. It was a great place to go to school. The rivals were Venice, Pali, and non-LAUSD Samo and Beverly. Economically, Uni was middle class and up, with some lower middle class and working class kids. Uni was a major center of the hippie counterculture and the punk movement.
GREAT info!!! Just what I needed. So if you were black and middle class, what high school would fit that persona in the westside.
Hami and Fairfax.
Culver (which is not LAUSD) started to have a black middle class student population in the mid-late '70s, although it was majority white in the period you have in mind (in the '60s it had almost no blacks). It was better able to survive ethnic changes because it did not have busing. Also, there were few economic extremes. (Rival schools: Beverly, Venice)
The black kids who lived within Uni boundaries were generally middle class, and some of those bused in were (some were even upper middle class and showbiz connected like the white kids who went to Uni), although it was a mostly white school. Uni produced a lot of future actors, actresses, musicians, entertainment execs, etc. It was an open campus and a lot of people smoked weed.
Quote:
How was Venice High back in the 70's and 80's.
In the early '70s it was OK, but as time went on and gangs got worse (i.e. once the Shoreline Crips started) it got worse. It was rougher than Uni, Pali, Samo or Culver, not as rough as Hami. There was gang activity there and ethnic/racial tension. The movie "American History X" is based loosely on events that occurred in Venice at the beginning of the '80s. Venice had the largest Hispanic population of the west side schools. It had a larger white population than Hami did. It had a wide mix of economic classes and ethnicities. Back in the '70s my parents moved so I wouldn't have to go to Venice because they were scared by the violence. Hami to them would have been totally unacceptable.
Quote:
Also, when did Hami become "ghetto" or change, what were the years of transition??? Also what good malls were popular hangouts bakc in the 70's and early 80's???
Thanks.
Hami became ghetto in the late '70s. Fairfax became ghetto about the mid '80s but it had been declining for awhile. It was on its way to becoming ghetto when the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slash, Demi Moore, etc. were going there.
As for hangouts: kids in the '70s westside didn't really hang out in malls. The big hangouts were Westwood Village, the beaches, the Strip, etc. Melrose became popular in the '80s. Century City had been built already, and Fox Hills was built in the '70s, but I don't remember them as hangouts. The Third Street Mall (now the Promenade) in Santa Monica was a rundown joke. Marina Del Rey attracted a few kids from the surrounding neighborhoods but that was a more adult oriented area. Arcades and bowling alleys were popular hangouts.
The Beverly Center opened up in 1983 and the Westside Pavilion opened up a few years later - those changed the westside.
Wow, I was told Culver was racist and they didn’t sell their homes to black families in 1970's. Maybe I was wrong.
Where exactly did the black middle kids within Uni boundaries and Fairfax and Hami live. What were the neighborhoods. This is awesome info for my research in this area.
Also what beaches were popular??? What arcades and bowling alley's were popular hangouts also. Did Melrose become popular in the late 70’s also???
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by majoun
Hami and Fairfax.
Culver (which is not LAUSD) started to have a black middle class student population in the mid-late '70s, although it was majority white in the period you have in mind (in the '60s it had almost no blacks). It was better able to survive ethnic changes because it did not have busing. Also, there were few economic extremes. (Rival schools: Beverly, Venice)
The black kids who lived within Uni boundaries were generally middle class, and some of those bused in were (some were even upper middle class and showbiz connected like the white kids who went to Uni), although it was a mostly white school. Uni produced a lot of future actors, actresses, musicians, entertainment execs, etc. It was an open campus and a lot of people smoked weed.
In the early '70s it was OK, but as time went on and gangs got worse (i.e. once the Shoreline Crips started) it got worse. It was rougher than Uni, Pali, Samo or Culver, not as rough as Hami. There was gang activity there and ethnic/racial tension. The movie "American History X" is based loosely on events that occurred in Venice at the beginning of the '80s. Venice had the largest Hispanic population of the west side schools. It had a larger white population than Hami did. It had a wide mix of economic classes and ethnicities. Back in the '70s my parents moved so I wouldn't have to go to Venice because they were scared by the violence. Hami to them would have been totally unacceptable.
Hami became ghetto in the late '70s. Fairfax became ghetto about the mid '80s but it had been declining for awhile. It was on its way to becoming ghetto when the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slash, Demi Moore, etc. were going there.
As for hangouts: kids in the '70s westside didn't really hang out in malls. The big hangouts were Westwood Village, the beaches, the Strip, etc. Melrose became popular in the '80s. Century City had been built already, and Fox Hills was built in the '70s, but I don't remember them as hangouts. The Third Street Mall (now the Promenade) in Santa Monica was a rundown joke. Marina Del Rey attracted a few kids from the surrounding neighborhoods but that was a more adult oriented area. Arcades and bowling alleys were popular hangouts.
The Beverly Center opened up in 1983 and the Westside Pavilion opened up a few years later - those changed the westside.
Wow, I was told Culver was racist and they didn’t sell their homes to black families in 1970's. Maybe I was wrong.
Where exactly did the black middle kids within Uni boundaries and Fairfax and Hami live. What were the neighborhoods. This is awesome info for my research in this area.
Also what beaches were popular??? What arcades and bowling alley's were popular hangouts also. Did Melrose become popular in the late 70’s also???
Thanks!
Prior to 1970 for all practical purposes there were no blacks living in Culver City.
Culver City integrated slowly over the '70s, but without major incident. Fox Hills and Raintree were the last neighborhoods to be developed and they went out of their way to be inclusive. Blair Hills also integrated quietly and without incident. In other areas it happened over a period of time. When blacks moved in, whites did not flee - mainly because of the lack of economic difference and the lack of busing. But during the period you're interested Culver City was overwhelmingly majority white with established Hispanic and Asian populations.
Mid-City has black middle class areas. The Picfair Village neighborhood in particular is traditionally black middle class ; parts of South Robertson also qualify for what you're looking for.
Great Information, this is so helping me. So out of two, which schools were better back in 70's and 80's??? Hami or Fairfax and what school would of been best minorities or "good" middle class blacks. What grocery stores and restaurants were good in those areas also???
Thank you so much majoun!
Quote:
Originally Posted by majoun
Prior to 1970 for all practical purposes there were no blacks living in Culver City.
Culver City integrated slowly over the '70s, but without major incident. Fox Hills and Raintree were the last neighborhoods to be developed and they went out of their way to be inclusive. Blair Hills also integrated quietly and without incident. In other areas it happened over a period of time. When blacks moved in, whites did not flee - mainly because of the lack of economic difference and the lack of busing. But during the period you're interested Culver City was overwhelmingly majority white with established Hispanic and Asian populations.
Mid-City has black middle class areas. The Picfair Village neighborhood in particular is traditionally black middle class ; parts of South Robertson also qualify for what you're looking for.
Melrose in the late '70s wasn't yet popular.
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