"Where the working man is welcomed": Working-class suburbs in Los Angeles, 1900-1940

Pacific Historical Review

Volumn 68, Issue 4, 1999, Pages 517-559

  Nicolaides, Becky M ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY; LABOR MARKET; SUBURBAN AREA; URBAN ECONOMY;

UNITED STATES;

EID: 0033427621     PISSN: 00308684     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/4492370     Document Type: Article

References (147)

1. Richard Harris, Unplanned Suburbs: Toronto's American Tragedy, 1900 to 1950 (Baltimore, 1996).
2. This definition is especially drawn from Kenneth T. Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States (New York, 1985), 11. Robert Fishman would add that true suburbs exclude industry and extensive business activity and that political independence is not a prerequisite for suburban status. Robert Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias: The Rise and Fall of Suburbia (New York, 1987).
3. This definition is especially drawn from Kenneth T. Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States (New York, 1985), 11. Robert Fishman would add that true suburbs exclude industry and extensive business activity and that political independence is not a prerequisite for suburban status. Robert Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias: The Rise and Fall of Suburbia (New York, 1987).
4. Richard A. Walker, "A theory of suburbanization: capitalism and the construction of urban space in the United States," in Michael Dear and Allen J. Scott, eds., Urbanization and Urban Planning in Capitalist Society (New York, 1981), 383-429, quotes at 396 and 398; Walker, "The Transformation of Urban Structure in the Nineteenth Century and the Beginnings of Suburbanization," in Kevin Cox, ed., Urbanization and Conflict in Market Societies (Chicago, 1978), 165-212.
5. Richard A. Walker, "A theory of suburbanization: capitalism and the construction of urban space in the United States," in Michael Dear and Allen J. Scott, eds., Urbanization and Urban Planning in Capitalist Society (New York, 1981), 383-429, quotes at 396 and 398; Walker, "The Transformation of Urban Structure in the Nineteenth Century and the Beginnings of Suburbanization," in Kevin Cox, ed., Urbanization and Conflict in Market Societies (Chicago, 1978), 165-212.
6. These early studies (sociological and otherwise) particularly focused on class variations. For example, see Margaret Byington, Homestead: The Households of a Mill Town (1910, reprinted Pittsburgh, 1974); Graham R. Taylor, Satellite Cities: A Study of Industrial Suburbs (New York, 1915); Harlan Paul Douglas, The Suburban Trend (New York, 1925). In the 1960s sociologists "rediscovered" working-class suburbia. See Bennett Berger, Blue Collar Suburb: A Study of Auto Workers in Suburbia (Berkeley, 1960); William M. Dobriner, Class in Suburbia (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1963); Herbert J. Gans, "Urbanism and Suburbanism as Ways of Life: A Re-evaluation of Definitions," in Arnold M. Rose, ed., Humon Behavior and Social Processes: An Interactionist Approach (Boston, 1962), 625-648.
7. These early studies (sociological and otherwise) particularly focused on class variations. For example, see Margaret Byington, Homestead: The Households of a Mill Town (1910, reprinted Pittsburgh, 1974); Graham R. Taylor, Satellite Cities: A Study of Industrial Suburbs (New York, 1915); Harlan Paul Douglas, The Suburban Trend (New York, 1925). In the 1960s sociologists "rediscovered" working-class suburbia. See Bennett Berger, Blue Collar Suburb: A Study of Auto Workers in Suburbia (Berkeley, 1960); William M. Dobriner, Class in Suburbia (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1963); Herbert J. Gans, "Urbanism and Suburbanism as Ways of Life: A Re-evaluation of Definitions," in Arnold M. Rose, ed., Humon Behavior and Social Processes: An Interactionist Approach (Boston, 1962), 625-648.
8. These early studies (sociological and otherwise) particularly focused on class variations. For example, see Margaret Byington, Homestead: The Households of a Mill Town (1910, reprinted Pittsburgh, 1974); Graham R. Taylor, Satellite Cities: A Study of Industrial Suburbs (New York, 1915); Harlan Paul Douglas, The Suburban Trend (New York, 1925). In the 1960s sociologists "rediscovered" working-class suburbia. See Bennett Berger, Blue Collar Suburb: A Study of Auto Workers in Suburbia (Berkeley, 1960); William M. Dobriner, Class in Suburbia (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1963); Herbert J. Gans, "Urbanism and Suburbanism as Ways of Life: A Re-evaluation of Definitions," in Arnold M. Rose, ed., Humon Behavior and Social Processes: An Interactionist Approach (Boston, 1962), 625-648.
9. These early studies (sociological and otherwise) particularly focused on class variations. For example, see Margaret Byington, Homestead: The Households of a Mill Town (1910, reprinted Pittsburgh, 1974); Graham R. Taylor, Satellite Cities: A Study of Industrial Suburbs (New York, 1915); Harlan Paul Douglas, The Suburban Trend (New York, 1925). In the 1960s sociologists "rediscovered" working-class suburbia. See Bennett Berger, Blue Collar Suburb: A Study of Auto Workers in Suburbia (Berkeley, 1960); William M. Dobriner, Class in Suburbia (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1963); Herbert J. Gans, "Urbanism and Suburbanism as Ways of Life: A Re-evaluation of Definitions," in Arnold M. Rose, ed., Humon Behavior and Social Processes: An Interactionist Approach (Boston, 1962), 625-648.
10. These early studies (sociological and otherwise) particularly focused on class variations. For example, see Margaret Byington, Homestead: The Households of a Mill Town (1910, reprinted Pittsburgh, 1974); Graham R. Taylor, Satellite Cities: A Study of Industrial Suburbs (New York, 1915); Harlan Paul Douglas, The Suburban Trend (New York, 1925). In the 1960s sociologists "rediscovered" working-class suburbia. See Bennett Berger, Blue Collar Suburb: A Study of Auto Workers in Suburbia (Berkeley, 1960); William M. Dobriner, Class in Suburbia (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1963); Herbert J. Gans, "Urbanism and Suburbanism as Ways of Life: A Re-evaluation of Definitions," in Arnold M. Rose, ed., Humon Behavior and Social Processes: An Interactionist Approach (Boston, 1962), 625-648.
11. These early studies (sociological and otherwise) particularly focused on class variations. For example, see Margaret Byington, Homestead: The Households of a Mill Town (1910, reprinted Pittsburgh, 1974); Graham R. Taylor, Satellite Cities: A Study of Industrial Suburbs (New York, 1915); Harlan Paul Douglas, The Suburban Trend (New York, 1925). In the 1960s sociologists "rediscovered" working-class suburbia. See Bennett Berger, Blue Collar Suburb: A Study of Auto Workers in Suburbia (Berkeley, 1960); William M. Dobriner, Class in Suburbia (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1963); Herbert J. Gans, "Urbanism and Suburbanism as Ways of Life: A Re-evaluation of Definitions," in Arnold M. Rose, ed., Humon Behavior and Social Processes: An Interactionist Approach (Boston, 1962), 625-648.
12. Sam Bass Warner, Jr., Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston, 1870-1900 (Cambridge, Mass., 1962); Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier. Examples of the vast literature on elite and middle-class suburbs include Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias; Zane Miller, Suburb: Neighborhood and Community in Forest Park, Ohio, 1935-1976 (Knoxville, Tenn., 1981); Carol A. O'Connor, A Sort of Utopia: Scarsdale, 1891-1981 (Albany, N.Y., 1983); John Stilgoe, Borderland: Origins of the American Suburb, 1820-1939 (New Haven, Conn., 1988); Margaret Marsh, Suburban Lives (New Brunswick, N.J., 1990). For historiography, see Margaret Marsh, "Reconsidering the Suburbs: An Exploration of Suburban Historiography," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 112 (1988), 579-605.
13. Sam Bass Warner, Jr., Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston, 1870-1900 (Cambridge, Mass., 1962); Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier. Examples of the vast literature on elite and middle-class suburbs include Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias; Zane Miller, Suburb: Neighborhood and Community in Forest Park, Ohio, 1935-1976 (Knoxville, Tenn., 1981); Carol A. O'Connor, A Sort of Utopia: Scarsdale, 1891-1981 (Albany, N.Y., 1983); John Stilgoe, Borderland: Origins of the American Suburb, 1820-1939 (New Haven, Conn., 1988); Margaret Marsh, Suburban Lives (New Brunswick, N.J., 1990). For historiography, see Margaret Marsh, "Reconsidering the Suburbs: An Exploration of Suburban Historiography," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 112 (1988), 579-605.
14. Sam Bass Warner, Jr., Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston, 1870-1900 (Cambridge, Mass., 1962); Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier. Examples of the vast literature on elite and middle-class suburbs include Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias; Zane Miller, Suburb: Neighborhood and Community in Forest Park, Ohio, 1935-1976 (Knoxville, Tenn., 1981); Carol A. O'Connor, A Sort of Utopia: Scarsdale, 1891-1981 (Albany, N.Y., 1983); John Stilgoe, Borderland: Origins of the American Suburb, 1820-1939 (New Haven, Conn., 1988); Margaret Marsh, Suburban Lives (New Brunswick, N.J., 1990). For historiography, see Margaret Marsh, "Reconsidering the Suburbs: An Exploration of Suburban Historiography," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 112 (1988), 579-605.
15. Sam Bass Warner, Jr., Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston, 1870-1900 (Cambridge, Mass., 1962); Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier. Examples of the vast literature on elite and middle-class suburbs include Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias; Zane Miller, Suburb: Neighborhood and Community in Forest Park, Ohio, 1935-1976 (Knoxville, Tenn., 1981); Carol A. O'Connor, A Sort of Utopia: Scarsdale, 1891-1981 (Albany, N.Y., 1983); John Stilgoe, Borderland: Origins of the American Suburb, 1820-1939 (New Haven, Conn., 1988); Margaret Marsh, Suburban Lives (New Brunswick, N.J., 1990). For historiography, see Margaret Marsh, "Reconsidering the Suburbs: An Exploration of Suburban Historiography," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 112 (1988), 579-605.
16. Sam Bass Warner, Jr., Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston, 1870-1900 (Cambridge, Mass., 1962); Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier. Examples of the vast literature on elite and middle-class suburbs include Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias; Zane Miller, Suburb: Neighborhood and Community in Forest Park, Ohio, 1935-1976 (Knoxville, Tenn., 1981); Carol A. O'Connor, A Sort of Utopia: Scarsdale, 1891-1981 (Albany, N.Y., 1983); John Stilgoe, Borderland: Origins of the American Suburb, 1820-1939 (New Haven, Conn., 1988); Margaret Marsh, Suburban Lives (New Brunswick, N.J., 1990). For historiography, see Margaret Marsh, "Reconsidering the Suburbs: An Exploration of Suburban Historiography," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 112 (1988), 579-605.
17. Sam Bass Warner, Jr., Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston, 1870-1900 (Cambridge, Mass., 1962); Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier. Examples of the vast literature on elite and middle-class suburbs include Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias; Zane Miller, Suburb: Neighborhood and Community in Forest Park, Ohio, 1935-1976 (Knoxville, Tenn., 1981); Carol A. O'Connor, A Sort of Utopia: Scarsdale, 1891-1981 (Albany, N.Y., 1983); John Stilgoe, Borderland: Origins of the American Suburb, 1820-1939 (New Haven, Conn., 1988); Margaret Marsh, Suburban Lives (New Brunswick, N.J., 1990). For historiography, see Margaret Marsh, "Reconsidering the Suburbs: An Exploration of Suburban Historiography," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 112 (1988), 579-605.
18. Sam Bass Warner, Jr., Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston, 1870-1900 (Cambridge, Mass., 1962); Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier. Examples of the vast literature on elite and middle-class suburbs include Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias; Zane Miller, Suburb: Neighborhood and Community in Forest Park, Ohio, 1935-1976 (Knoxville, Tenn., 1981); Carol A. O'Connor, A Sort of Utopia: Scarsdale, 1891-1981 (Albany, N.Y., 1983); John Stilgoe, Borderland: Origins of the American Suburb, 1820-1939 (New Haven, Conn., 1988); Margaret Marsh, Suburban Lives (New Brunswick, N.J., 1990). For historiography, see Margaret Marsh, "Reconsidering the Suburbs: An Exploration of Suburban Historiography," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 112 (1988), 579-605.
19. Sam Bass Warner, Jr., Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston, 1870-1900 (Cambridge, Mass., 1962); Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier. Examples of the vast literature on elite and middle-class suburbs include Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias; Zane Miller, Suburb: Neighborhood and Community in Forest Park, Ohio, 1935-1976 (Knoxville, Tenn., 1981); Carol A. O'Connor, A Sort of Utopia: Scarsdale, 1891-1981 (Albany, N.Y., 1983); John Stilgoe, Borderland: Origins of the American Suburb, 1820-1939 (New Haven, Conn., 1988); Margaret Marsh, Suburban Lives (New Brunswick, N.J., 1990). For historiography, see Margaret Marsh, "Reconsidering the Suburbs: An Exploration of Suburban Historiography," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 112 (1988), 579-605.
20. Harris, Unplanned Suburbs; Richard Harris, "Self-building and the social geography of Toronto, 1901-1913: a challenge for urban theory," Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 15 (1990), 387-402; Richard Harris, "Chicago's Other Suburbs," Geographical Review, 84 (1994), 394-410; Richard Harris and Robert Lewis, "Constructing a Fault(y) Zone: Misrepresentations of American Cities and Suburbs, 1900-1950," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 88 (1998), 622-639; Andrew Wiese, "Places of Our Own: Suburban Black Towns Before 1960," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 30-54; Wiese, "The Other Suburbanites: African American Suburbanization in the North before 1950," Journal of American History, 85 (1999), 1-26. For an overview of nineteenth-entury industrial suburbs, see Jon Teaford, City and Suburb: The Political Fragmentation of Metropolitan America, 1850-1970 (Baltimore, 1979).
21. Harris, Unplanned Suburbs; Richard Harris, "Self-building and the social geography of Toronto, 1901-1913: a challenge for urban theory," Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 15 (1990), 387-402; Richard Harris, "Chicago's Other Suburbs," Geographical Review, 84 (1994), 394-410; Richard Harris and Robert Lewis, "Constructing a Fault(y) Zone: Misrepresentations of American Cities and Suburbs, 1900-1950," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 88 (1998), 622-639; Andrew Wiese, "Places of Our Own: Suburban Black Towns Before 1960," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 30-54; Wiese, "The Other Suburbanites: African American Suburbanization in the North before 1950," Journal of American History, 85 (1999), 1-26. For an overview of nineteenth-entury industrial suburbs, see Jon Teaford, City and Suburb: The Political Fragmentation of Metropolitan America, 1850-1970 (Baltimore, 1979).
22. Harris, Unplanned Suburbs; Richard Harris, "Self-building and the social geography of Toronto, 1901-1913: a challenge for urban theory," Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 15 (1990), 387-402; Richard Harris, "Chicago's Other Suburbs," Geographical Review, 84 (1994), 394-410; Richard Harris and Robert Lewis, "Constructing a Fault(y) Zone: Misrepresentations of American Cities and Suburbs, 1900-1950," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 88 (1998), 622-639; Andrew Wiese, "Places of Our Own: Suburban Black Towns Before 1960," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 30-54; Wiese, "The Other Suburbanites: African American Suburbanization in the North before 1950," Journal of American History, 85 (1999), 1-26. For an overview of nineteenth-entury industrial suburbs, see Jon Teaford, City and Suburb: The Political Fragmentation of Metropolitan America, 1850-1970 (Baltimore, 1979).
23. Harris, Unplanned Suburbs; Richard Harris, "Self-building and the social geography of Toronto, 1901-1913: a challenge for urban theory," Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 15 (1990), 387-402; Richard Harris, "Chicago's Other Suburbs," Geographical Review, 84 (1994), 394-410; Richard Harris and Robert Lewis, "Constructing a Fault(y) Zone: Misrepresentations of American Cities and Suburbs, 1900-1950," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 88 (1998), 622-639; Andrew Wiese, "Places of Our Own: Suburban Black Towns Before 1960," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 30-54; Wiese, "The Other Suburbanites: African American Suburbanization in the North before 1950," Journal of American History, 85 (1999), 1-26. For an overview of nineteenth-entury industrial suburbs, see Jon Teaford, City and Suburb: The Political Fragmentation of Metropolitan America, 1850-1970 (Baltimore, 1979).
24. Harris, Unplanned Suburbs; Richard Harris, "Self-building and the social geography of Toronto, 1901-1913: a challenge for urban theory," Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 15 (1990), 387-402; Richard Harris, "Chicago's Other Suburbs," Geographical Review, 84 (1994), 394-410; Richard Harris and Robert Lewis, "Constructing a Fault(y) Zone: Misrepresentations of American Cities and Suburbs, 1900-1950," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 88 (1998), 622-639; Andrew Wiese, "Places of Our Own: Suburban Black Towns Before 1960," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 30-54; Wiese, "The Other Suburbanites: African American Suburbanization in the North before 1950," Journal of American History, 85 (1999), 1-26. For an overview of nineteenth-entury industrial suburbs, see Jon Teaford, City and Suburb: The Political Fragmentation of Metropolitan America, 1850-1970 (Baltimore, 1979).
25. Harris, Unplanned Suburbs; Richard Harris, "Self-building and the social geography of Toronto, 1901-1913: a challenge for urban theory," Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 15 (1990), 387-402; Richard Harris, "Chicago's Other Suburbs," Geographical Review, 84 (1994), 394-410; Richard Harris and Robert Lewis, "Constructing a Fault(y) Zone: Misrepresentations of American Cities and Suburbs, 1900-1950," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 88 (1998), 622-639; Andrew Wiese, "Places of Our Own: Suburban Black Towns Before 1960," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 30-54; Wiese, "The Other Suburbanites: African American Suburbanization in the North before 1950," Journal of American History, 85 (1999), 1-26. For an overview of nineteenth-entury industrial suburbs, see Jon Teaford, City and Suburb: The Political Fragmentation of Metropolitan America, 1850-1970 (Baltimore, 1979).
26. Harris, Unplanned Suburbs; Richard Harris, "Self-building and the social geography of Toronto, 1901-1913: a challenge for urban theory," Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 15 (1990), 387-402; Richard Harris, "Chicago's Other Suburbs," Geographical Review, 84 (1994), 394-410; Richard Harris and Robert Lewis, "Constructing a Fault(y) Zone: Misrepresentations of American Cities and Suburbs, 1900-1950," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 88 (1998), 622-639; Andrew Wiese, "Places of Our Own: Suburban Black Towns Before 1960," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 30-54; Wiese, "The Other Suburbanites: African American Suburbanization in the North before 1950," Journal of American History, 85 (1999), 1-26. For an overview of nineteenth-entury industrial suburbs, see Jon Teaford, City and Suburb: The Political Fragmentation of Metropolitan America, 1850-1970 (Baltimore, 1979).
27. Postmodern geographers have especially embraced Los Angeles as not only emblematic but paradigmatic of twentieth-century urbanism. See Michael Dear and Steven Flusty, "The Resistable Rise of the Los Angeles School," in Michael Dear, ed., From Chicago to Los Angeles: Revisioning Urban Theory (forthcoming), and a suggestive statement in Michael J. Dear, H. Eric Schockman, and Greg Hise, eds., Rethinking Los Angeles (Thousand Oaks, Calif., 1996), 1-14.
28. Postmodern geographers have especially embraced Los Angeles as not only emblematic but paradigmatic of twentieth-century urbanism. See Michael Dear and Steven Flusty, "The Resistable Rise of the Los Angeles School," in Michael Dear, ed., From Chicago to Los Angeles: Revisioning Urban Theory (forthcoming), and a suggestive statement in Michael J. Dear, H. Eric Schockman, and Greg Hise, eds., Rethinking Los Angeles (Thousand Oaks, Calif., 1996), 1-14.
29. Marsh, Suburban Lives, 168; Robert Fogelson, The Fragmented Metropolis: Los Angeles, 1850-1930 (Cambridge, Mass., 1967), 157; Mark S. Foster, "The Model-T, the Hard Sell, and Los Angeles's Urban Growth: The Decentralization of Los Angeles during the 1920s," Pacific Historical Review (1975), 459-484; Marc A. Weiss, The Rise of the Community Builders (New York, 1987). In broader histories of suburbanization, both Fishman and Marsh used case studies of Los Angeles to make points about twentieth-century suburbanization, mostly elite (Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias, chapter 6, and Marsh, Suburban Lives, chapter 6).
30. Marsh, Suburban Lives, 168; Robert Fogelson, The Fragmented Metropolis: Los Angeles, 1850-1930 (Cambridge, Mass., 1967), 157; Mark S. Foster, "The Model-T, the Hard Sell, and Los Angeles's Urban Growth: The Decentralization of Los Angeles during the 1920s," Pacific Historical Review (1975), 459-484; Marc A. Weiss, The Rise of the Community Builders (New York, 1987). In broader histories of suburbanization, both Fishman and Marsh used case studies of Los Angeles to make points about twentieth-century suburbanization, mostly elite (Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias, chapter 6, and Marsh, Suburban Lives, chapter 6).
31. Marsh, Suburban Lives, 168; Robert Fogelson, The Fragmented Metropolis: Los Angeles, 1850-1930 (Cambridge, Mass., 1967), 157; Mark S. Foster, "The Model-T, the Hard Sell, and Los Angeles's Urban Growth: The Decentralization of Los Angeles during the 1920s," Pacific Historical Review (1975), 459-484; Marc A. Weiss, The Rise of the Community Builders (New York, 1987). In broader histories of suburbanization, both Fishman and Marsh used case studies of Los Angeles to make points about twentieth-century suburbanization, mostly elite (Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias, chapter 6, and Marsh, Suburban Lives, chapter 6).
32. Marsh, Suburban Lives, 168; Robert Fogelson, The Fragmented Metropolis: Los Angeles, 1850-1930 (Cambridge, Mass., 1967), 157; Mark S. Foster, "The Model-T, the Hard Sell, and Los Angeles's Urban Growth: The Decentralization of Los Angeles during the 1920s," Pacific Historical Review (1975), 459-484; Marc A. Weiss, The Rise of the Community Builders (New York, 1987). In broader histories of suburbanization, both Fishman and Marsh used case studies of Los Angeles to make points about twentieth-century suburbanization, mostly elite (Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias, chapter 6, and Marsh, Suburban Lives, chapter 6).
33. Marsh, Suburban Lives, 168; Robert Fogelson, The Fragmented Metropolis: Los Angeles, 1850-1930 (Cambridge, Mass., 1967), 157; Mark S. Foster, "The Model-T, the Hard Sell, and Los Angeles's Urban Growth: The Decentralization of Los Angeles during the 1920s," Pacific Historical Review (1975), 459-484; Marc A. Weiss, The Rise of the Community Builders (New York, 1987). In broader histories of suburbanization, both Fishman and Marsh used case studies of Los Angeles to make points about twentieth-century suburbanization, mostly elite (Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias, chapter 6, and Marsh, Suburban Lives, chapter 6).
34. Marsh, Suburban Lives, 168; Robert Fogelson, The Fragmented Metropolis: Los Angeles, 1850-1930 (Cambridge, Mass., 1967), 157; Mark S. Foster, "The Model-T, the Hard Sell, and Los Angeles's Urban Growth: The Decentralization of Los Angeles during the 1920s," Pacific Historical Review (1975), 459-484; Marc A. Weiss, The Rise of the Community Builders (New York, 1987). In broader histories of suburbanization, both Fishman and Marsh used case studies of Los Angeles to make points about twentieth-century suburbanization, mostly elite (Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias, chapter 6, and Marsh, Suburban Lives, chapter 6).
35. Fred Viehe, "Black Gold Suburbs: The Influence of the Extractive Industry on the Suburbanization of Los Angeles, 1890-1930," Journal of Urban History, 8 (1981), 3-26; Greg Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles: Planning the Twentieth-Century Metropolis (Baltimore, 1997).
36. Fred Viehe, "Black Gold Suburbs: The Influence of the Extractive Industry on the Suburbanization of Los Angeles, 1890-1930," Journal of Urban History, 8 (1981), 3-26; Greg Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles: Planning the Twentieth-Century Metropolis (Baltimore, 1997).
37. These characteristics are drawn from Harris, Unplanned Suburbs, passim, and Becky M. Nicolaides, "In Search of the Good Life: Community and Politics in Working-Class Los Angeles, 1920-1955" (Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1993).
38. These themes are explored more fully in Becky M. Nicolaides, My Blue Heaven: Life and Politics in the Working-Class Suburbs of Los Angeles, 1920-1965 (Chicago, forthcoming).
39. Direct data on owner building were never systematically collected before 1940.
40. Robert Whitten and Thomas Adams, Neighborhoods of Small Homes: Economic Density of Low-Cost Housing in America and England (Cambridge, Mass., 1931). This housing analysis should be used with some caution. There is evidence to suggest that housing values in Los Angeles were generally lower than in other cities because of cheaper construction materials and methods and lower wage rates for carpenters. This would push down all values of housing in Los Angeles. See Mike Davis, "Sunshine and the Open Shop: Ford and Darwin in 1920s Los Angeles," Antipode, 29 (1997), 373.
41. Robert Whitten and Thomas Adams, Neighborhoods of Small Homes: Economic Density of Low-Cost Housing in America and England (Cambridge, Mass., 1931). This housing analysis should be used with some caution. There is evidence to suggest that housing values in Los Angeles were generally lower than in other cities because of cheaper construction materials and methods and lower wage rates for carpenters. This would push down all values of housing in Los Angeles. See Mike Davis, "Sunshine and the Open Shop: Ford and Darwin in 1920s Los Angeles," Antipode, 29 (1997), 373.
42. Harris, "Self-building and social geography," 395; Richard Harris, "Self-Building in the Urban Housing Market," Economic Geography, 67 (1991), 1-21. Harris utilized property assessment records in his analysis.
43. Harris, "Self-building and social geography," 395; Richard Harris, "Self-Building in the Urban Housing Market," Economic Geography, 67 (1991), 1-21. Harris utilized property assessment records in his analysis.
44. While median home values were available for South Gate as a whole in 1930, the census did not offer data by tract (which could have distinguished Home Gardens). Census tract data were collected for 1940. By applying the ratio of median home values in Home Gardens to greater South Gate in 1940 to the 1930 figure, the estimated median value in Home Gardens for 1930 was calculated to be $3,800. I rounded it down to $3,000, to make this a more conservative estimate.
45. The correlation of class to occupation is not always clean and simple. While we might safely count blue-collar, service, and farm laborers as working class, the status of low-level white-collar workers is more murky. The class identity of a clerk or salesperson might go either way - working or middle class - depending on variables like age and prospects for upward mobility. In his study of corporate cultures in prewar Los Angeles, Clark Davis found that this variability ultimately had an impact on residential patterns. It was not unusual for low-level white-collar employees to live in mixed-class neighborhoods. This was especially true for "men on the make," those young, lower-wage white-collar employees who frequently jumped from job to job. As Davis's analysis of Los Angeles city in 1917 found, these men tended to reside in communities with substantial working-class populations. Thus, occupational categories per se do not capture class distinctions among low-level corporate employees. A better indicator would be income levels, unfortunately not available for the suburbs in question. At the least, however, we can concede that low-level white-collar workers held the potential for tipping the balance even further toward the working class in many of these suburbs. See Clark Davis, Company Men: White-Collar Life and Corporate Cultures in Los Angeles, 1892-1941 (Baltimore, forthcoming), chapter 3.
46. Earl Hanson and Paul Beckett, Los Angeles: Its People and Its Homes (Los Angeles, 1944), 23, and "The District System" map; Earl Hanson, Los Angeles County Population and HousingData (Los Angeles, 1944), 28.
47. Earl Hanson and Paul Beckett, Los Angeles: Its People and Its Homes (Los Angeles, 1944), 23, and "The District System" map; Earl Hanson, Los Angeles County Population and HousingData (Los Angeles, 1944), 28.
48. South Gate Press, May 7, 1935; Elisabeth R. Frank, "The Development of 65 Study Areas as a Basis for Social Planning in Los Angeles Chest Territory" (unpub-lished Special Report Series No. 5, Welfare Council of Metropolitan Los Angeles, May 1946), 4.
49. South Gate Press, May 7, 1935; Elisabeth R. Frank, "The Development of 65 Study Areas as a Basis for Social Planning in Los Angeles Chest Territory" (unpub-lished Special Report Series No. 5, Welfare Council of Metropolitan Los Angeles, May 1946), 4.
50. There is some disagreement among scholars about the levels of racial segregation in interwar Los Angeles. For example, see Mike Davis, City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles (New York, 1992), 160-165; George Sanchez, Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945 (New York, 1993), 77; Josh Sides, "Losing Ground: African Americans, Work and Neighborhoods in Postwar Los Angeles" (unpublished conference paper, Stanford University, 1999), 1-2.
51. There is some disagreement among scholars about the levels of racial segregation in interwar Los Angeles. For example, see Mike Davis, City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles (New York, 1992), 160-165; George Sanchez, Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945 (New York, 1993), 77; Josh Sides, "Losing Ground: African Americans, Work and Neighborhoods in Postwar Los Angeles" (unpublished conference paper, Stanford University, 1999), 1-2.
52. There is some disagreement among scholars about the levels of racial segregation in interwar Los Angeles. For example, see Mike Davis, City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles (New York, 1992), 160-165; George Sanchez, Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945 (New York, 1993), 77; Josh Sides, "Losing Ground: African Americans, Work and Neighborhoods in Postwar Los Angeles" (unpublished conference paper, Stanford University, 1999), 1-2.
53. Davis, "Sunshine and the Open Shop," 358-361; Greg Hise, "'Nature's Workshop': industry and urban expansion in Southern California, 1900-1950," Journal of Historical Geography (forthcoming); Myrna Cherkoss Donahoe, "Workers' Response to Plant Closures: The Cases of Steel and Auto in Southwest Los Angeles, 1935-1986"(Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Irvine, 1987), 95.
54. Davis, "Sunshine and the Open Shop," 358-361; Greg Hise, "'Nature's Workshop': industry and urban expansion in Southern California, 1900-1950," Journal of Historical Geography (forthcoming); Myrna Cherkoss Donahoe, "Workers' Response to Plant Closures: The Cases of Steel and Auto in Southwest Los Angeles, 1935-1986"(Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Irvine, 1987), 95.
55. Davis, "Sunshine and the Open Shop," 358-361; Greg Hise, "'Nature's Workshop': industry and urban expansion in Southern California, 1900-1950," Journal of Historical Geography (forthcoming); Myrna Cherkoss Donahoe, "Workers' Response to Plant Closures: The Cases of Steel and Auto in Southwest Los Angeles, 1935-1986"(Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Irvine, 1987), 95.
56. Davis, "Sunshine and the Open Shop," 366, 372-373.
57. Fogelson, Fragmented Metropolis, 127; South Gate Tribune, Dec. 25, 1924; Home Gardens Press, July 22, 1927, Jan. 30, 1925, from Weber field notes, June 20, 1941 [160/1018], Federal Writers Project Collection, Special Collections, University Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles (hereafter cited as FWP Collection).
58. Fogelson, Fragmented Metropolis, 127; South Gate Tribune, Dec. 25, 1924; Home Gardens Press, July 22, 1927, Jan. 30, 1925, from Weber field notes, June 20, 1941 [160/1018], Federal Writers Project Collection, Special Collections, University Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles (hereafter cited as FWP Collection).
59. Fogelson, Fragmented Metropolis, 127; South Gate Tribune, Dec. 25, 1924; Home Gardens Press, July 22, 1927, Jan. 30, 1925, from Weber field notes, June 20, 1941 [160/1018], Federal Writers Project Collection, Special Collections, University Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles (hereafter cited as FWP Collection).
60. Charles Hopper, Through My Window at Southgate (Southgate Gardens, 1918); Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1918; U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Washington, D.C., 1975), 166; Glenn T. Seaborg, "Journal of Glenn T. Seaborg, January 1, 1927 to August 10, 1934," unpublished typewritten manuscript in author's possession, ii-iii; Home Gardens Booster, Feb. 15, March 7, 1924; Home Gardens Press, Dec. 12, 1924, Dec. 18, 1925; Hazal Liggett, "The Relation of Wages to the Cost of Living in Los Angeles 1915 to 1920," Studies in Sociology, 5 (1921), 5-6; John Sheehy, oral history interviews with author, May 1, June 19, 21, 26, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; Juanita (Smith) Hammon, oral history interview with author, July 5, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; South Gate Bicentennial Heritage Committee, South Gate 1776-1976 (South Gate, Calif., 1976), 31.
61. Charles Hopper, Through My Window at Southgate (Southgate Gardens, 1918); Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1918; U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Washington, D.C., 1975), 166; Glenn T. Seaborg, "Journal of Glenn T. Seaborg, January 1, 1927 to August 10, 1934," unpublished typewritten manuscript in author's possession, ii-iii; Home Gardens Booster, Feb. 15, March 7, 1924; Home Gardens Press, Dec. 12, 1924, Dec. 18, 1925; Hazal Liggett, "The Relation of Wages to the Cost of Living in Los Angeles 1915 to 1920," Studies in Sociology, 5 (1921), 5-6; John Sheehy, oral history interviews with author, May 1, June 19, 21, 26, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; Juanita (Smith) Hammon, oral history interview with author, July 5, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; South Gate Bicentennial Heritage Committee, South Gate 1776-1976 (South Gate, Calif., 1976), 31.
62. Charles Hopper, Through My Window at Southgate (Southgate Gardens, 1918); Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1918; U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Washington, D.C., 1975), 166; Glenn T. Seaborg, "Journal of Glenn T. Seaborg, January 1, 1927 to August 10, 1934," unpublished typewritten manuscript in author's possession, ii-iii; Home Gardens Booster, Feb. 15, March 7, 1924; Home Gardens Press, Dec. 12, 1924, Dec. 18, 1925; Hazal Liggett, "The Relation of Wages to the Cost of Living in Los Angeles 1915 to 1920," Studies in Sociology, 5 (1921), 5-6; John Sheehy, oral history interviews with author, May 1, June 19, 21, 26, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; Juanita (Smith) Hammon, oral history interview with author, July 5, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; South Gate Bicentennial Heritage Committee, South Gate 1776-1976 (South Gate, Calif., 1976), 31.
63. Charles Hopper, Through My Window at Southgate (Southgate Gardens, 1918); Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1918; U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Washington, D.C., 1975), 166; Glenn T. Seaborg, "Journal of Glenn T. Seaborg, January 1, 1927 to August 10, 1934," unpublished typewritten manuscript in author's possession, ii-iii; Home Gardens Booster, Feb. 15, March 7, 1924; Home Gardens Press, Dec. 12, 1924, Dec. 18, 1925; Hazal Liggett, "The Relation of Wages to the Cost of Living in Los Angeles 1915 to 1920," Studies in Sociology, 5 (1921), 5-6; John Sheehy, oral history interviews with author, May 1, June 19, 21, 26, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; Juanita (Smith) Hammon, oral history interview with author, July 5, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; South Gate Bicentennial Heritage Committee, South Gate 1776-1976 (South Gate, Calif., 1976), 31.
64. Charles Hopper, Through My Window at Southgate (Southgate Gardens, 1918); Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1918; U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Washington, D.C., 1975), 166; Glenn T. Seaborg, "Journal of Glenn T. Seaborg, January 1, 1927 to August 10, 1934," unpublished typewritten manuscript in author's possession, ii-iii; Home Gardens Booster, Feb. 15, March 7, 1924; Home Gardens Press, Dec. 12, 1924, Dec. 18, 1925; Hazal Liggett, "The Relation of Wages to the Cost of Living in Los Angeles 1915 to 1920," Studies in Sociology, 5 (1921), 5-6; John Sheehy, oral history interviews with author, May 1, June 19, 21, 26, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; Juanita (Smith) Hammon, oral history interview with author, July 5, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; South Gate Bicentennial Heritage Committee, South Gate 1776-1976 (South Gate, Calif., 1976), 31.
65. Charles Hopper, Through My Window at Southgate (Southgate Gardens, 1918); Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1918; U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Washington, D.C., 1975), 166; Glenn T. Seaborg, "Journal of Glenn T. Seaborg, January 1, 1927 to August 10, 1934," unpublished typewritten manuscript in author's possession, ii-iii; Home Gardens Booster, Feb. 15, March 7, 1924; Home Gardens Press, Dec. 12, 1924, Dec. 18, 1925; Hazal Liggett, "The Relation of Wages to the Cost of Living in Los Angeles 1915 to 1920," Studies in Sociology, 5 (1921), 5-6; John Sheehy, oral history interviews with author, May 1, June 19, 21, 26, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; Juanita (Smith) Hammon, oral history interview with author, July 5, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; South Gate Bicentennial Heritage Committee, South Gate 1776-1976 (South Gate, Calif., 1976), 31.
66. Charles Hopper, Through My Window at Southgate (Southgate Gardens, 1918); Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1918; U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Washington, D.C., 1975), 166; Glenn T. Seaborg, "Journal of Glenn T. Seaborg, January 1, 1927 to August 10, 1934," unpublished typewritten manuscript in author's possession, ii-iii; Home Gardens Booster, Feb. 15, March 7, 1924; Home Gardens Press, Dec. 12, 1924, Dec. 18, 1925; Hazal Liggett, "The Relation of Wages to the Cost of Living in Los Angeles 1915 to 1920," Studies in Sociology, 5 (1921), 5-6; John Sheehy, oral history interviews with author, May 1, June 19, 21, 26, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; Juanita (Smith) Hammon, oral history interview with author, July 5, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; South Gate Bicentennial Heritage Committee, South Gate 1776-1976 (South Gate, Calif., 1976), 31.
67. Charles Hopper, Through My Window at Southgate (Southgate Gardens, 1918); Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1918; U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Washington, D.C., 1975), 166; Glenn T. Seaborg, "Journal of Glenn T. Seaborg, January 1, 1927 to August 10, 1934," unpublished typewritten manuscript in author's possession, ii-iii; Home Gardens Booster, Feb. 15, March 7, 1924; Home Gardens Press, Dec. 12, 1924, Dec. 18, 1925; Hazal Liggett, "The Relation of Wages to the Cost of Living in Los Angeles 1915 to 1920," Studies in Sociology, 5 (1921), 5-6; John Sheehy, oral history interviews with author, May 1, June 19, 21, 26, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; Juanita (Smith) Hammon, oral history interview with author, July 5, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; South Gate Bicentennial Heritage Committee, South Gate 1776-1976 (South Gate, Calif., 1976), 31.
68. Charles Hopper, Through My Window at Southgate (Southgate Gardens, 1918); Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1918; U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Washington, D.C., 1975), 166; Glenn T. Seaborg, "Journal of Glenn T. Seaborg, January 1, 1927 to August 10, 1934," unpublished typewritten manuscript in author's possession, ii-iii; Home Gardens Booster, Feb. 15, March 7, 1924; Home Gardens Press, Dec. 12, 1924, Dec. 18, 1925; Hazal Liggett, "The Relation of Wages to the Cost of Living in Los Angeles 1915 to 1920," Studies in Sociology, 5 (1921), 5-6; John Sheehy, oral history interviews with author, May 1, June 19, 21, 26, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; Juanita (Smith) Hammon, oral history interview with author, July 5, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; South Gate Bicentennial Heritage Committee, South Gate 1776-1976 (South Gate, Calif., 1976), 31.
69. Charles Hopper, Through My Window at Southgate (Southgate Gardens, 1918); Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1918; U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Washington, D.C., 1975), 166; Glenn T. Seaborg, "Journal of Glenn T. Seaborg, January 1, 1927 to August 10, 1934," unpublished typewritten manuscript in author's possession, ii-iii; Home Gardens Booster, Feb. 15, March 7, 1924; Home Gardens Press, Dec. 12, 1924, Dec. 18, 1925; Hazal Liggett, "The Relation of Wages to the Cost of Living in Los Angeles 1915 to 1920," Studies in Sociology, 5 (1921), 5-6; John Sheehy, oral history interviews with author, May 1, June 19, 21, 26, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; Juanita (Smith) Hammon, oral history interview with author, July 5, 1990, South Gate, Calif., transcript of tape-recorded interview, in author's possession; South Gate Bicentennial Heritage Committee, South Gate 1776-1976 (South Gate, Calif., 1976), 31.
70. Hammon oral history interview.
71. Richard Harris, "Reading Sanborns for the Spoor of the Owner-Builder, 1890s-1950s," in Annmarie Adams and Sally McMurry, eds., Exploring Everyday Landscapes: Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture VII (Knoxville, Tenn., 1997), 251-267; Sanborn Map Company, "Insurance Maps of Los Angeles, California," vols. 28, 30-31 (New York, 1927-1929).
72. Richard Harris, "Reading Sanborns for the Spoor of the Owner-Builder, 1890s-1950s," in Annmarie Adams and Sally McMurry, eds., Exploring Everyday Landscapes: Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture VII (Knoxville, Tenn., 1997), 251-267; Sanborn Map Company, "Insurance Maps of Los Angeles, California," vols. 28, 30-31 (New York, 1927-1929).
73. Some suburbanites straddled between home buying and owner building by purchasing ready-made home kits. One supplier of such kits was Pacific Ready Cut Homes, a company that mass-produced prefabricated housing kits for individual buyers. In 1924 the basic bungalow sold for $2,750 and took about two days for a small crew to assemble. Pacific Ready Cut, whose factory lay on the border of Vernon and Huntington Park, targeted buyers especially in the new working-class suburbs south of the CMD. See Davis, "Sunshine and the Open Shop," 373-374; Hise, "'Nature's Workshop,'" 15. Greg Hise also noted that the Leimert Company sold empty lots to buyers seeking to build their own homes (correspondence with Greg Hise, March 1, 1999).
74. Some suburbanites straddled between home buying and owner building by purchasing ready-made home kits. One supplier of such kits was Pacific Ready Cut Homes, a company that mass-produced prefabricated housing kits for individual buyers. In 1924 the basic bungalow sold for $2,750 and took about two days for a small crew to assemble. Pacific Ready Cut, whose factory lay on the border of Vernon and Huntington Park, targeted buyers especially in the new working-class suburbs south of the CMD. See Davis, "Sunshine and the Open Shop," 373-374; Hise, "'Nature's Workshop,'" 15. Greg Hise also noted that the Leimert Company sold empty lots to buyers seeking to build their own homes (correspondence with Greg Hise, March 1, 1999).
75. Home Gardens Booster, April 18, 1924; Home Gardens Press, March 27, Aug. 7, 21, Oct. 9, 1925, March 11, June 10, 1927; South Gate Tribune, Sept. 12, 1924; South Gate Press, Dec. 14, 1928; Hammon oral history interview; Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, "South Gate edition," from Weber field notes, May 11, June 6, 13, 20, 1941, FWP Collection. And see Nicolaides, "In Search of the Good Life," chapter 2.
76. Home Gardens Booster, April 18, 1924; Home Gardens Press, March 27, Aug. 7, 21, Oct. 9, 1925, March 11, June 10, 1927; South Gate Tribune, Sept. 12, 1924; South Gate Press, Dec. 14, 1928; Hammon oral history interview; Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, "South Gate edition," from Weber field notes, May 11, June 6, 13, 20, 1941, FWP Collection. And see Nicolaides, "In Search of the Good Life," chapter 2.
77. Home Gardens Booster, April 18, 1924; Home Gardens Press, March 27, Aug. 7, 21, Oct. 9, 1925, March 11, June 10, 1927; South Gate Tribune, Sept. 12, 1924; South Gate Press, Dec. 14, 1928; Hammon oral history interview; Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, "South Gate edition," from Weber field notes, May 11, June 6, 13, 20, 1941, FWP Collection. And see Nicolaides, "In Search of the Good Life," chapter 2.
78. Home Gardens Booster, April 18, 1924; Home Gardens Press, March 27, Aug. 7, 21, Oct. 9, 1925, March 11, June 10, 1927; South Gate Tribune, Sept. 12, 1924; South Gate Press, Dec. 14, 1928; Hammon oral history interview; Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, "South Gate edition," from Weber field notes, May 11, June 6, 13, 20, 1941, FWP Collection. And see Nicolaides, "In Search of the Good Life," chapter 2.
79. Home Gardens Booster, April 18, 1924; Home Gardens Press, March 27, Aug. 7, 21, Oct. 9, 1925, March 11, June 10, 1927; South Gate Tribune, Sept. 12, 1924; South Gate Press, Dec. 14, 1928; Hammon oral history interview; Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, "South Gate edition," from Weber field notes, May 11, June 6, 13, 20, 1941, FWP Collection. And see Nicolaides, "In Search of the Good Life," chapter 2.
80. Home Gardens Booster, April 18, 1924; Home Gardens Press, March 27, Aug. 7, 21, Oct. 9, 1925, March 11, June 10, 1927; South Gate Tribune, Sept. 12, 1924; South Gate Press, Dec. 14, 1928; Hammon oral history interview; Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, "South Gate edition," from Weber field notes, May 11, June 6, 13, 20, 1941, FWP Collection. And see Nicolaides, "In Search of the Good Life," chapter 2.
81. Home Gardens Booster, April 18, 1924; Home Gardens Press, March 27, Aug. 7, 21, Oct. 9, 1925, March 11, June 10, 1927; South Gate Tribune, Sept. 12, 1924; South Gate Press, Dec. 14, 1928; Hammon oral history interview; Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, "South Gate edition," from Weber field notes, May 11, June 6, 13, 20, 1941, FWP Collection. And see Nicolaides, "In Search of the Good Life," chapter 2.
82. Charles Spaulding, "The Development of Organization and Disorganization in the Social Life of a Rapidly Growing Working-Class Suburb within a Metropolitan District" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Southern California, 1939), 47-48.
83. Ibid., 47-48, 83, 126-128, 131-132, 104. In 1930 home ownership rates were 42 percent for Los Angeles County and 46 percent for the United States (nonfarm areas). U.S. Bureau of Census, Fifteenth Census of the U.S. Population. Vol. 6: Families (Washington, D.C., 1932), 174, 183.
84. Ibid., 47-48, 83, 126-128, 131-132, 104. In 1930 home ownership rates were 42 percent for Los Angeles County and 46 percent for the United States (nonfarm areas). U.S. Bureau of Census, Fifteenth Census of the U.S. Population. Vol. 6: Families (Washington, D.C., 1932), 174, 183.
85. County of Los Angeles Regional Planning Commission, "Land Use Survey - County of Los Angeles," prepared with the assistance of Works Progress Administration, project # 65-3-3734 (Jan. 21, 1936, to Nov. 14, 1936) and project #165-03-6999 (Nov. 15, 1936, to 1937), Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif. (hereafter cited as LARPC, "Land Use Survey"). Many thanks to Philip J. Ethington for pointing out these maps to me.
86. Sanchez, Becoming Mexican American, 198-201, 204. In his excellent study of Mexican Americans in Los Angeles before World War II, George Sanchez discusses home ownership in East Los Angeles but never culls the evidence for signs of owner building. When he claims that "virtually all housing in the City of the Angels was tightly controlled by a small group of realtors" and that "Mexican Americans could not influence the circumstances of the [housing] market," he is ignoring the informal sector of the housing market, which was real and vibrant in working-class suburbia. One poignant bit of evidence on owner building comes from historian David Gutiérrez's own family. His great-grandmother lived in a one-room house in East Los Angeles, near the corner of Brooklyn and Evergreen. Parts of this modest structure were built using scrap lumber, including a plank taken from a wooden crate of the White King Soap Company of Los Angeles. That plank, which Gutiérrez has kept, served as part of the interior wall of the home. E-mail correspondence with David Gutiérrez, Feb. 15, 1998.
87. Harris, Unplanned Suburbs, 51-55; Allan R. Pred, "The Intrametropolitan Location of American Manufacturing" Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 54 (1964), 178-179; David Gordon, "Capitalist Development and the History of American Cities," in William K. Tabb and Larry Sawers, eds., Marxism and the Metropolis (New York, 1978), 25-63. On the efforts of Los Angeles capital to disperse an increasingly militant labor movement, see Edward Soja, Rebecca Morales, and Goetz Wolff, "Urban Restructuring: An Analysis of Social and Spatial Change in Los Angeles," Economic Geography, 59 (1983), 197-198, 207; William B. Friedricks, "Capital and Labor in Los Angeles: Henry E. Huntington vs. Organized Labor, 1900-1920," Pacific Historical Review, 59 (1990), 375-395; Davis, "Sunshine and the Open Shop," 364-368, and passim.
88. Harris, Unplanned Suburbs, 51-55; Allan R. Pred, "The Intrametropolitan Location of American Manufacturing" Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 54 (1964), 178-179; David Gordon, "Capitalist Development and the History of American Cities," in William K. Tabb and Larry Sawers, eds., Marxism and the Metropolis (New York, 1978), 25-63. On the efforts of Los Angeles capital to disperse an increasingly militant labor movement, see Edward Soja, Rebecca Morales, and Goetz Wolff, "Urban Restructuring: An Analysis of Social and Spatial Change in Los Angeles," Economic Geography, 59 (1983), 197-198, 207; William B. Friedricks, "Capital and Labor in Los Angeles: Henry E. Huntington vs. Organized Labor, 1900-1920," Pacific Historical Review, 59 (1990), 375-395; Davis, "Sunshine and the Open Shop," 364-368, and passim.
89. Harris, Unplanned Suburbs, 51-55; Allan R. Pred, "The Intrametropolitan Location of American Manufacturing" Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 54 (1964), 178-179; David Gordon, "Capitalist Development and the History of American Cities," in William K. Tabb and Larry Sawers, eds., Marxism and the Metropolis (New York, 1978), 25-63. On the efforts of Los Angeles capital to disperse an increasingly militant labor movement, see Edward Soja, Rebecca Morales, and Goetz Wolff, "Urban Restructuring: An Analysis of Social and Spatial Change in Los Angeles," Economic Geography, 59 (1983), 197-198, 207; William B. Friedricks, "Capital and Labor in Los Angeles: Henry E. Huntington vs. Organized Labor, 1900-1920," Pacific Historical Review, 59 (1990), 375-395; Davis, "Sunshine and the Open Shop," 364-368, and passim.
90. Harris, Unplanned Suburbs, 51-55; Allan R. Pred, "The Intrametropolitan Location of American Manufacturing" Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 54 (1964), 178-179; David Gordon, "Capitalist Development and the History of American Cities," in William K. Tabb and Larry Sawers, eds., Marxism and the Metropolis (New York, 1978), 25-63. On the efforts of Los Angeles capital to disperse an increasingly militant labor movement, see Edward Soja, Rebecca Morales, and Goetz Wolff, "Urban Restructuring: An Analysis of Social and Spatial Change in Los Angeles," Economic Geography, 59 (1983), 197-198, 207; William B. Friedricks, "Capital and Labor in Los Angeles: Henry E. Huntington vs. Organized Labor, 1900-1920," Pacific Historical Review, 59 (1990), 375-395; Davis, "Sunshine and the Open Shop," 364-368, and passim.
91. Harris, Unplanned Suburbs, 51-55; Allan R. Pred, "The Intrametropolitan Location of American Manufacturing" Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 54 (1964), 178-179; David Gordon, "Capitalist Development and the History of American Cities," in William K. Tabb and Larry Sawers, eds., Marxism and the Metropolis (New York, 1978), 25-63. On the efforts of Los Angeles capital to disperse an increasingly militant labor movement, see Edward Soja, Rebecca Morales, and Goetz Wolff, "Urban Restructuring: An Analysis of Social and Spatial Change in Los Angeles," Economic Geography, 59 (1983), 197-198, 207; William B. Friedricks, "Capital and Labor in Los Angeles: Henry E. Huntington vs. Organized Labor, 1900-1920," Pacific Historical Review, 59 (1990), 375-395; Davis, "Sunshine and the Open Shop," 364-368, and passim.
92. Harris, Unplanned Suburbs, 51-55; Allan R. Pred, "The Intrametropolitan Location of American Manufacturing" Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 54 (1964), 178-179; David Gordon, "Capitalist Development and the History of American Cities," in William K. Tabb and Larry Sawers, eds., Marxism and the Metropolis (New York,
93. Kevin Starr, Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1917 (New York, 1973), chapter 12; Weiss, Rise of the Community Builders, 79-106; G. Gordon Whitnail, "Industrial Analysis of Los Angeles," Los Angeles Realtor (Feb. 1922), 4-5; Fogelson, Fragmented Metropolis, 144-154; Hise, "'Nature's Workshop,'" 9-10; Viehe, "Black Gold Suburbs"; Greg Hise, "Home Building and Industrial Decentralization in Los Angeles: The Roots of the Postwar Urban Region," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 95-125; Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles.
94. Kevin Starr, Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1917 (New York, 1973), chapter 12; Weiss, Rise of the Community Builders, 79-106; G. Gordon Whitnail, "Industrial Analysis of Los Angeles," Los Angeles Realtor (Feb. 1922), 4-5; Fogelson, Fragmented Metropolis, 144-154; Hise, "'Nature's Workshop,'" 9-10; Viehe, "Black Gold Suburbs"; Greg Hise, "Home Building and Industrial Decentralization in Los Angeles: The Roots of the Postwar Urban Region," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 95-125; Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles.
95. Kevin Starr, Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1917 (New York, 1973), chapter 12; Weiss, Rise of the Community Builders, 79-106; G. Gordon Whitnail, "Industrial Analysis of Los Angeles," Los Angeles Realtor (Feb. 1922), 4-5; Fogelson, Fragmented Metropolis, 144-154; Hise, "'Nature's Workshop,'" 9-10; Viehe, "Black Gold Suburbs"; Greg Hise, "Home Building and Industrial Decentralization in Los Angeles: The Roots of the Postwar Urban Region," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 95-125; Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles.
96. Kevin Starr, Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1917 (New York, 1973), chapter 12; Weiss, Rise of the Community Builders, 79-106; G. Gordon Whitnail, "Industrial Analysis of Los Angeles," Los Angeles Realtor (Feb. 1922), 4-5; Fogelson, Fragmented Metropolis, 144-154; Hise, "'Nature's Workshop,'" 9-10; Viehe, "Black Gold Suburbs"; Greg Hise, "Home Building and Industrial Decentralization in Los Angeles: The Roots of the Postwar Urban Region," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 95-125; Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles.
97. Kevin Starr, Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1917 (New York, 1973), chapter 12; Weiss, Rise of the Community Builders, 79-106; G. Gordon Whitnail, "Industrial Analysis of Los Angeles," Los Angeles Realtor (Feb. 1922), 4-5; Fogelson, Fragmented Metropolis, 144-154; Hise, "'Nature's Workshop,'" 9-10; Viehe, "Black Gold Suburbs"; Greg Hise, "Home Building and Industrial Decentralization in Los Angeles: The Roots of the Postwar Urban Region," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 95-125; Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles.
98. Kevin Starr, Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1917 (New York, 1973), chapter 12; Weiss, Rise of the Community Builders, 79-106; G. Gordon Whitnail, "Industrial Analysis of Los Angeles," Los Angeles Realtor (Feb. 1922), 4-5; Fogelson, Fragmented Metropolis, 144-154; Hise, "'Nature's Workshop,'" 9-10; Viehe, "Black Gold Suburbs"; Greg Hise, "Home Building and Industrial Decentralization in Los Angeles: The Roots of the Postwar Urban Region," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 95-125; Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles.
99. Kevin Starr, Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1917 (New York, 1973), chapter 12; Weiss, Rise of the Community Builders, 79-106; G. Gordon Whitnail, "Industrial Analysis of Los Angeles," Los Angeles Realtor (Feb. 1922), 4-5; Fogelson, Fragmented Metropolis, 144-154; Hise, "'Nature's Workshop,'" 9-10; Viehe, "Black Gold Suburbs"; Greg Hise, "Home Building and Industrial Decentralization in Los Angeles: The Roots of the Postwar Urban Region," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 95-125; Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles.
100. Kevin Starr, Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1917 (New York, 1973), chapter 12; Weiss, Rise of the Community Builders, 79-106; G. Gordon Whitnail, "Industrial Analysis of Los Angeles," Los Angeles Realtor (Feb. 1922), 4-5; Fogelson, Fragmented Metropolis, 144-154; Hise, "'Nature's Workshop,'" 9-10; Viehe, "Black Gold Suburbs"; Greg Hise, "Home Building and Industrial Decentralization in Los Angeles: The Roots of the Postwar Urban Region," Journal of Urban History, 19 (1993), 95-125; Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles.
101. Viehe, "Black Gold Suburbs"; Nancy Quam-Wickham, "Petroleocrats and Proletarians: Work, Class, and Politics in the California Oil Industry, 1917-1925" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 1994), 80-83, quote at 83.
102. Viehe, "Black Gold Suburbs"; Nancy Quam-Wickham, "Petroleocrats and Proletarians: Work, Class, and Politics in the California Oil Industry, 1917-1925" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 1994), 80-83, quote at 83.
103. Christine Lofstedt, "The Mexican Population of Pasadena, California," Journal of Applied Sociology, 7 (1923), 261-265; Residential Security Maps of Metropolitan Los Angeles, California, 1939, and City Survey Files, U.S. Home Owners Loan Corporation, Record Group 195, National Archives, Washington, D.C. (hereafter cited as HOLC ).
104. Christine Lofstedt, "The Mexican Population of Pasadena, California," Journal of Applied Sociology, 7 (1923), 261-265; Residential Security Maps of Metropolitan Los Angeles, California, 1939, and City Survey Files, U.S. Home Owners Loan Corporation, Record Group 195, National Archives, Washington, D.C. (hereafter cited as HOLC ).
105. Robert Phelps, "The Search for a Modern Industrial City: Urban Planning, the Open Shop, and the Founding of Torrance, California," Pacific Historical Review, 64 (1995), 528-529. Also see Margaret Crawford, Building the Workingman's Paradist: The Design of American Company Towns (London, 1995).
106. Robert Phelps, "The Search for a Modern Industrial City: Urban Planning, the Open Shop, and the Founding of Torrance, California," Pacific Historical Review, 64 (1995), 528-529. Also see Margaret Crawford, Building the Workingman's Paradist: The Design of American Company Towns (London, 1995).
107. Hise, "Home Building."
108. Ricardo Romo, East Los Angeles: History of a Barrio (Austin, Texas, 1983), 69; Lofstedt, "Mexican Population," 260-268; Ann Scheid, Pasadena: Crown of the Valley (Northridge, Calif., 1986), 99. West Hollywood was identified from Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC.
109. Ricardo Romo, East Los Angeles: History of a Barrio (Austin, Texas, 1983), 69; Lofstedt, "Mexican Population," 260-268; Ann Scheid, Pasadena: Crown of the Valley (Northridge, Calif., 1986), 99. West Hollywood was identified from Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC.
110. Ricardo Romo, East Los Angeles: History of a Barrio (Austin, Texas, 1983), 69; Lofstedt, "Mexican Population," 260-268; Ann Scheid, Pasadena: Crown of the Valley (Northridge, Calif., 1986), 99. West Hollywood was identified from Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC.
111. Patricia Rae Adler, "Watts: From Suburb to Black Ghetto" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Southern California, 1977), 68; MaryEllen Bell Ray, The City of Watts, California, 1907 to 1926 (Los Angeles, 1985); Romo, East Los Angeles, 70; Clara G. Smith, "The Development of the Mexican People in the Community of Watts, California" (M.A. thesis, University of Southern California, 1933), 41-42; Octavia B. Vivian, The Story of the Negro in Los Angeles (San Francisco, 1970), 29.
112. Patricia Rae Adler, "Watts: From Suburb to Black Ghetto" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Southern California, 1977), 68; MaryEllen Bell Ray, The City of Watts, California, 1907 to 1926 (Los Angeles, 1985); Romo, East Los Angeles, 70; Clara G. Smith, "The Development of the Mexican People in the Community of Watts, California" (M.A. thesis, University of Southern California, 1933), 41-42; Octavia B. Vivian, The Story of the Negro in Los Angeles (San Francisco, 1970), 29.
113. Patricia Rae Adler, "Watts: From Suburb to Black Ghetto" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Southern California, 1977), 68; MaryEllen Bell Ray, The City of Watts, California, 1907 to 1926 (Los Angeles, 1985); Romo, East Los Angeles, 70; Clara G. Smith, "The Development of the Mexican People in the Community of Watts, California" (M.A. thesis, University of Southern California, 1933), 41-42; Octavia B. Vivian, The Story of the Negro in Los Angeles (San Francisco, 1970), 29.
114. Patricia Rae Adler, "Watts: From Suburb to Black Ghetto" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Southern California, 1977), 68; MaryEllen Bell Ray, The City of Watts, California, 1907 to 1926 (Los Angeles, 1985); Romo, East Los Angeles, 70; Clara G. Smith, "The Development of the Mexican People in the Community of Watts, California" (M.A. thesis, University of Southern California, 1933), 41-42; Octavia B. Vivian, The Story of the Negro in Los Angeles (San Francisco, 1970), 29.
115. Patricia Rae Adler, "Watts: From Suburb to Black Ghetto" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Southern California, 1977), 68; MaryEllen Bell Ray, The City of Watts, California, 1907 to 1926 (Los Angeles, 1985); Romo, East Los Angeles, 70; Clara G. Smith, "The Development of the Mexican People in the Community of Watts, California" (M.A. thesis, University of Southern California, 1933), 41-42; Octavia B. Vivian, The Story of the Negro in Los Angeles (San Francisco, 1970), 29.
116. Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC. It is worth noting that the elite enclave, Sunset Plaza, just two blocks north of this working-class pocket, erected a "high 'cyclone stack' fence" to separate the communities.
117. The term "domestic service suburb" is drawn from Andrew Wiese, "Struggle for the Suburban Dream: African American Suburbanization since 1916" (Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1993), which in turn drew on Reynolds Farley, "The Changing Distribution of Negroes within Metropolitan Areas: The Emergence of Black Suburbs," American Journal of Sociology, 75 (1970), 333-351.
118. The term "domestic service suburb" is drawn from Andrew Wiese, "Struggle for the Suburban Dream: African American Suburbanization since 1916" (Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1993), which in turn drew on Reynolds Farley, "The Changing Distribution of Negroes within Metropolitan Areas: The Emergence of Black Suburbs," American Journal of Sociology, 75 (1970), 333-351.
119. Kevin Starr, Inventing the Dream: California Through the Progressive Era (New York, 1985), chapter 4.
120. Data from telephone conversation with Andrew Wiese, Feb. 13, 1998. Wiese analyzed a sample of the 1920 manuscript census and census tract data for 1940 to determine these home ownership rates.
121. Wiese, "Struggle for the Suburban Dream," 101; Scheid, Pasadena, 96-98; Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC.
122. Wiese, "Struggle for the Suburban Dream," 101; Scheid, Pasadena, 96-98; Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC.
123. Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC.
124. Ibid.
125. Leonard Pitt and Dale Pitt, Los Angeles A-Z (Berkeley, 1997), 448; Fogelson, Fragmented Metropolis, 155.
126. Leonard Pitt and Dale Pitt, Los Angeles A-Z (Berkeley, 1997), 448; Fogelson, Fragmented Metropolis, 155.
127. M. S. Siegel to Elmer Lore, Dec. 9, 1937, "Housing" file, Haynes Collection, Special Collections, University Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
128. "D" rated areas, Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC; LARPC, "Land Use Survey."
129. "D" rated areas, Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC; LARPC, "Land Use Survey."
130. "C" and "D" rated areas, Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC. Curiously, the "Land Use Survey" maps show little evidence of small farm homes in these areas, which contradicts the reports of the HOLC appraisers.
131. Ibid., Book 6, LARPC, "Land Use Survey"; Ronald Lopez, "The El Monte Berry Strike of 1933," Aztlan, 1 (1970), 103.
132. Ibid., Book 6, LARPC, "Land Use Survey"; Ronald Lopez, "The El Monte Berry Strike of 1933," Aztlan, 1 (1970), 103.
133. The phrase "Los Angeles Mesopotamia" was coined by D. J. Waldie who refers to the area between two major rivers in Los Angeles, I am indebted to him for informing me that Bellflower was an area of small farm homes. He claims they persisted to the 1960s. Personal conversation with D. J. Waldie, Feb. 25, 1999.
134. Bellflower: People, and Places (Bellflower, Calif., 1987), 38-42, 48, 104; Bellflower: A Pictorial Essay (Bellflower, Calif., 1982), 2, back inside cover; LARPC, "Land Use Survey"; Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC. One notable pattern in the location of small farm homes was their proximity to waterways in the county. It was common for the back end of a long, narrow small farm lot to abut a river, a wash, or some other water channel. In Pomona, for example, a small cluster of properties backed up against the San Antonio Wash. The El Monte/San Gabriel area contained many lots abutting waterways, including the Big Dalton Wash, the San Gabriel River, and the Rio Hondo. While the evidence consulted here does not indicate how the inevitable flooding of these rivers impacted these small properties, it seems reasonable to assume that the consequences could be devastating.
135. Bellflower: People, and Places (Bellflower, Calif., 1987), 38-42, 48, 104; Bellflower: A Pictorial Essay (Bellflower, Calif., 1982), 2, back inside cover; LARPC, "Land Use Survey"; Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC. One notable pattern in the location of small farm homes was their proximity to waterways in the county. It was common for the back end of a long, narrow small farm lot to abut a river, a wash, or some other water channel. In Pomona, for example, a small cluster of properties backed up against the San Antonio Wash. The El Monte/San Gabriel area contained many lots abutting waterways, including the Big Dalton Wash, the San Gabriel River, and the Rio Hondo. While the evidence consulted here does not indicate how the inevitable flooding of these rivers impacted these small properties, it seems reasonable to assume that the consequences could be devastating.
136. Bellflower: People, and Places (Bellflower, Calif., 1987), 38-42, 48, 104; Bellflower: A Pictorial Essay (Bellflower, Calif., 1982), 2, back inside cover; LARPC, "Land Use Survey"; Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC. One notable pattern in the location of small farm homes was their proximity to waterways in the county. It was common for the back end of a long, narrow small farm lot to abut a river, a wash, or some other water channel. In Pomona, for example, a small cluster of properties backed up against the San Antonio Wash. The El Monte/San Gabriel area contained many lots abutting waterways, including the Big Dalton Wash, the San Gabriel River, and the Rio Hondo. While the evidence consulted here does not indicate how the inevitable flooding of these rivers impacted these small properties, it seems reasonable to assume that the consequences could be devastating.
137. Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier, 196-203; Residential Security Maps and Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC. While the HOLC and later the Federal Housing Administration, which continued using this system, have been roundly criticized for these discriminatory standards, the maps and documentation produced by these agencies represent an invaluable source of data on neighborhoods in cities across the country - as well as federal assumptions about those neighborhoods and their inhabitants.
138. Los Angeles Residential Security Maps, HOLC.
139. "D" rated areas, Los Angeles City Survey Files, HOLC.
140. "C" rated areas, ibid.
141. "A" and "B" rated areas, ibid.
142. The theme of racial segregation in southern Los Angeles is explored in Nicolaides, My Blue Heaven.
143. Fogelson, Fragmented Metropolis, 144-145.
144. This broad pattern roughly mirrors the social geography of pre-1940 Mexican Los Angeles. As Sanchez observes, "Rather than 'a group tightly clustered residentially and socially,' the Mexican community would remain a settlement of scattered communities until the demographic changes of the post-World War II era created one cohesive eastside Barrio." Sanchez, Becoming Mexican American, 77.
145. These ideas are also developed in Wiese, "Places of Our Own"; Wiese, "The Other Suburbanites"; Harris, "Self-building and the social geography."
146. These ideas are also developed in Wiese, "Places of Our Own"; Wiese, "The Other Suburbanites"; Harris, "Self-building and the social geography."
147. These ideas are also developed in Wiese, "Places of Our Own"; Wiese, "The Other Suburbanites"; Harris, "Self-building and the social geography."