There’s a group of Leimert Park residents leading the charge to get the historically Black enclave placed on the National Register of Historic Places, ensuring the preservation of their neighborhood.
A historic designation would preserve residential properties, and in some cases, prohibit developers and home owners from changing the original architectual design of the neighborhood.
Diane Robertson is an 11-year homeowner in Leimert Park and one of six people on the Preserve Leimert Park Homeowners’ Committee, which is currently working to raise money to submit an application to the National Park Service.
The committee announced in December that it will receive a $75,000 grant through the Los Angeles Conservancy to cover the research and application’s submission preparation.
“This milestone brings us one step closer to preserving the legacy of our neighborhood and honoring its architectural, cultural, and historical significance,” a statement on the committee’s website states.
The group said it needs to raise $90,000 and is asking for donations to raise the final $10,000. The money will be used to survey about 2,000 properties in Leimert Park to determine how many of them still have original architectural detail. For now, only the residential properties will be included in the process.
The fundraising has been part of a two and a half year effort to educate residents about the application process, which included the committee hosting town hall meetings and neighborhood walks. The committee also says studies have shown having properties listed on the National Register will increase property values and “enhance desirability.”
In 2023, the committee issued a survey to residents and commercial property owners. The results showed more than 90% of the 419 respondents supported applying for the historic designation.
“What they’re doing for the residential properties, I think it’s fantastic and I support it 100%,” said Ben Caldwell, owner of the KAOS Network building in Leimert Park Village.
In order for properties to be considered a historic place for the National Register, they must be at least 50 years old, according to NPS. Some homes in Leimert Park are nearly 100 years old.
The time it takes to be nominated varies from state to state but it takes at least 90 days to meet review and notification requirements. Once a complete application is submitted, the National Park Service will make a decision within 45 days, the agency’s website states.
“A lot of people are very surprised that it’s not officially designated as historic,” Robertson said. “So, the Preserve Leimert Park Homeowners Committee is leading the charge.”
Leimert Park was originally built for low to middle class families
Leimert Park is a roughly 1.5 square mile neighborhood that sits in the heart of South LA’s Crenshaw District. Its boundaries include Obama Boulevard to the north, Vernon Avenue to the south, Arlington Avenue to the east and Crenshaw Boulevard to the west.
It is considered the Black cultural arts hub of Los Angeles and last year, the average price for homes in Leimert Park was $1,065,000, according to realtor.com .
“It is quite a unique community and really, there’s no other community like it in Los Angeles,” Robertson said.
The transformation of the neighborhood was decades in the making.
Leimert Park was originally developed in 1928 by Walter H. Leimert and it was designed to cater to low to middle income families making $3,000 to $5,000 a year, according to the Society of Architectural Historians. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that’s about $55,000 to $91,000 today.
The 230-acre plot of land was one of the first planned subdivisions in Los Angeles and built after a huge population boom in Southern California in the early 20th Century, the architectural historians said.
The subdivision grew from about 70 homes to more than 500 in less than two years. The development plan ranged from single family homes to six-family flats or residential apartments within a larger building.
But like most neighborhoods existing under segregation laws at the time, racial and ethnic covenants, or legal restrictions that dictate how a homeowner can use their property, were placed in Leimert Park home deeds creating an all white neighborhood through the end of World War II.
After the Supreme Court outlawed restrictive housing covenants, more Black families began moving to the area. By the 1960s, Leimert Park became the largest predominantly Black neighborhood in Los Angeles, the architectural historians said.
“People who look like me were never intended to purchase homes here,” Robertson said. “Well, generations later, we have claimed Leimert Park and it is now the epicenter of African American music, art, and culture in the city of Los Angeles.”