Pacoima, Los Angeles
Pacoima (Tataviam language: Pacoinga, meaning "the entrance")[1][2][3] is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. Pacoima is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley region of LA.[4]
Pacoima
Geography[edit]
Location[edit]
Pacoima is bordered by the Los Angeles districts of Mission Hills on the west, Arleta on the south, Sun Valley on the southeast, Lake View Terrace on the northeast, and by the city of San Fernando on the north.
It covers an area of 7.14 sq mi (18.5 km2).[5]
Landscape[edit]
Ed Meagher of the Los Angeles Times wrote in 1955 that the 110-block area on the north side of San Fernando Road in Pacoima consisted of what he described as a "smear of sagging, leaning shacks and backhouses framed by disintegrating fences and clutter of tin cans, old lumber, stripped automobiles, bottles, rusted water heaters and other bric-a-brac of the back alleys."[6] In 1955 Pacoima lacked curbs, paved sidewalks, and paved streets. Pacoima had what Meagher described as "dusty footpaths and rutted dirt roads that in hard rains become beds for angry streams."[6] Meagher added that the 450 houses in the area, with 2,000 inhabitants, "squatted" "within this clutch of residential blight."[6] He described most of the houses as "substandard." Around 1955, the price of residential property increased in value, as lots that sold years prior for $100 sold for $800 in 1955. Between 1950 and 1955, property values on Van Nuys Boulevard increased six times. In late 1952, the Los Angeles City Council allowed the Building and Safety Department to begin a slum clearance project to try to force homeowners who had houses deemed substandard to repair, demolish, or vacate those houses. In early 1955, the city began a $500,000 project to add 9 mi (14 km) of curbs, sidewalks, and streets. Meagher said that the "neatness and cleanness" [sic] of the new infrastructure were "a challenge to homeowners grown apathetic to thoroughfares ankle deep in mud or dust."[6] Some area businessmen established the San Fernando Valley Commercial & Savings Bank in November 1953 to finance area rehabilitation projects after other banks persistently refused to give loans to those projects.[6]
In late 1966, a city planning report described the central business district of Pacoima along Van Nuys Boulevard as "a rambling, shallow strip pattern of commercial uses... varying from banks to hamburger stands, including an unusual number of small business and service shops."[7] A Los Angeles Times article stated that the physical image of the area was "somewhat depressing." The council recommended the establishment of smaller community shopping centers. The article stated that the Pacoima Chamber of Commerce was expected to oppose the recommendation, and that the chamber favored deepening of the existing commercial zones along Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Van Nuys Boulevard. The council noted the lack of parking spaces and storefronts that appeared in disrepair or vacant. The report recommended establishing shopping centers in areas outside of the Laurel Canyon-Van Nuys commercial axis. The article stated that some sections of Laurel Canyon were "in a poor state of repair" and that there were "conspicuously minimal" curbs and sidewalks. The report recommended continued efforts to improve sidewalks and trees. The report advocated the establishment of a community center to "give Pacoima a degree of unity." Most of the residences in Pacoima were "of an older vintage." The article said most of the houses and yards, especially in the R-2 duplex zones, exhibited "sign[s] of neglect." The report said that the range of types of houses was "unusually narrow for a community of this size." The report also said that the fact had a negative effect on the community that was reflected by a lack of purchasing power. The report added "Substandard home maintenance is widespread and borders on total neglect in some sectors." The report recommended establishing additional apartments in central Pacoima; the Los Angeles Times report said that the recommendation was "clouded" by the presence of "enough apartment-zoned land to last 28 years" in the San Fernando Valley.[7]
In 1994, according to Timothy Williams of the Los Angeles Times, there were few boarded-up storefronts along Pacoima's main commercial strip along Van Nuys Boulevard,[8] and no vacancies existed in Pacoima's main shopping center.[8] Williams added that many of the retail outlets in Pacoima consisted of check-cashing outlets, storefront churches, pawn shops, and automobile repair shops. Williams added that the nearest bank to the commercial strip was "several blocks away." In 1994 almost one third of Pacoima's residents lived in public housing complexes. Williams said that the complexes had relatively little graffiti. Many families who were on waiting lists to enter public housing complexes lived in garages and converted tool sheds, which often lacked electricity, heat, and/or running water. Williams said that they lived "out of sight."[8]
History[edit]
Until 1848[edit]
The area was first inhabited by the Fernandeño-Tongva and Tataviam people, California Indian Tribes, now known as Tataviam Band of Mission Indians.[10][11] The original name for the Native American village in this area was actually Pakoinga or Pakɨynga in Fernandeño, but since the "ng" sound (a voiced velar nasal) did not exist in Spanish, the Spaniards mistook the sound as an "m" and recorded the name as Pacoima, as is seen today.[12]
Pacoima's written history dates to 1769 when Spaniards entered the San Fernando Valley.[13] In 1771, nearby Mission San Fernando Rey was founded, with Native Americans creating gardens for the mission in the area.[14] They lived at the mission working on the gardens which, in a few years, had stretched out over most of the valley.[15]
The Mexican government secularized the mission lands in 1834 by taking them away from the church. The first governor of California, Pio Pico, leased the lands to Andrés Pico, his brother. In 1845, Pio Pico sold the whole San Fernando Valley to Don Eulogio de Celis for $14,000 to raise money for the war between Mexico and the United States, settled by a treaty signed at Campo de Cahuenga in 1845, and by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. The Pacoima area became sheep ranches and wheat fields.[15]
Municipality[edit]
In 1873, Senator Charles Maclay of Santa Clara purchased 56,000 acres (230 km2) in the northern part of the San Fernando Valley adjacent to the San Fernando Mission and in 1887, Jouett Allen bought 1,000 acres (400 ha) of land between the Pacoima Wash and the Tujunga Wash. The land he purchased was from the Maclay Rancho Water Company, which had taken over Senator Charles Maclay’s holdings in the Valley. Allen retained 500 acres (200 ha) for himself and subdivided the remainder in 1-acre (4,000 m2) tracts. It was from this that the town of Pacoima was born.[15] The subdivision’s original boundaries were Paxton Street on the north, Herrick Avenue on the east, Pierce Street on the south, & San Fernando Road on the west.[16]
The town was built in keeping with the new Southern Pacific railroad station. Shortly after the rail line had been established, the Southern Pacific Railroad chose the site for a large brick passenger station, which was considered to be one of the finest on their line. Soon large spacious and expensive two-story homes made their appearance, as the early planners had established building restrictions against anything of a lesser nature. The first concrete sidewalks and curbs were laid and were to remain the only ones in the San Fernando Valley for many years.[15]
In 1888, the town's main street, 100 ft (30 m) wide and 8 mi (13 km) long, was laid through the center of the subdivision. The street was first named Taylor Avenue after President Taylor; later it was re-named Pershing Street. Today it is known it by its present name—Van Nuys Boulevard. Building codes were established: requiring that homes built cost at least USD$2,000. The land deed contained a clause that if liquor was sold on this property, it would revert to Jouett Allen or his heirs.[15]
Economy[edit]
In the early 1950s to early 1960s, which was the time of the greatest single-family housing construction and population expansion in Pacoima, most residents worked in construction, factory and other blue-collar fields.[8] By 1994 this had changed and many Pacoima residents were then employed at area factories.
From 1990 to 1994, Lockheed cut over 8,000 jobs at its Burbank, California plant. General Motors closed its Van Nuys plant in 1992, causing the loss of 2,600 jobs. Timothy Williams of the Los Angeles Times wrote in 1994, "For years, those relatively high-paying jobs had provided families with a springboard out of the San Fernando Gardens and Van Nuys Pierce Park Apartments public housing complexes." After the jobs were lost, many longtime Pacoima residents left the area.[8] In the 1990 U.S. Census the unemployment rate in Pacoima was almost 14%, while the City of Los Angeles had an overall 8.4% overall unemployment rate. Many Pacoima residents who worked made less than $14,000 annually: the U.S. government's poverty line for a family of four. Most residents owned their houses.[8]
Juicy Couture, an apparel company, was founded here in 1996.[24]
In 1955, Ed Meagher of the Los Angeles Times said the "hard-working" low income families of Pacoima were not "indignents [sic] or transients", but they "belong to the community and have a stake in it." In 1955 P.M. Gomez, the owner of a grocery store in Pacoima, said in a Los Angeles Times article that most of the homeowners in Pacoima were not interested in moving to the San Fernando Gardens complex that was then under development, since most of the residents wanted to remain homeowners.[8] A 1966 city planning report criticized Pacoima for lacking civic pride, and that the community had no "vital community image, with no apparent nucleus or focal point."[7]
In 1994, Timothy Williams of the Los Angeles Times noted how Pacoima was "free of the overt blight found in other low-income neighborhoods is no accident." Cecila Costas, who was the principal of Maclay Middle School during that year, said that Pacoima was "a very poor community, but there's a tremendous amount of pride here. You can be poor, but that doesn't mean you have to grovel or look like you are poor."[8] Williams said that the African-American and Hispanic populations of Pacoima did not always have cordial relations. He added that by 1994 "the mood has shifted from conflict to conciliation as the town has become increasingly Latino."[8]
Government and infrastructure[edit]
Local[edit]
The Los Angeles Police Department operates the Foothill Community Police Station in Pacoima.[29] The Los Angeles Fire Department operates Fire Station 98 in Pacoima.[30][31] The Los Angeles County Fire Department operates a department facility in Pacoima that houses, among others the Forestry Division, Air and Heavy Equipment and Transportation operations.[32]
County and federal[edit]
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Pacoima Health Center which is located along Van Nuys Boulevard in Pacoima.[33]
The United States Postal Service Pacoima Post Office is located on Van Nuys Boulevard.[34]
Politically, Pacoima is represented by Tony Cárdenas in Congress, Bob Hertzberg in the State Senate, and Raul Bocanegra in the Assembly.
Transportation[edit]
The major transportation routes across and through the area are San Fernando Road, Van Nuys Boulevard, and Laurel Canyon Boulevard. California State Route 118 (Ronald Reagan) runs through it, and the community is bordered by the I-5 (Golden State).[35]
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) operates bus services in Pacoima.[36] Metro operates Metro Rapid line 761 along Van Nuys Boulevard from Sylmar/San Fernando Station to the Expo/Sepulveda Station. Metro Local Lines 92, 166, 224, 230, 233, 294 and 690 operate in Pacoima. In 2031, Metro will open the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project light rail project with three stations at Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Van Nuys Boulevard, San Fernando Road and Van Nuys Boulevard, and San Fernando Road & Paxton Street. Whiteman Airport, a general aviation airport owned by the County of Los Angeles, is located in Pacoima.
Crime[edit]
Crime increased in Pacoima in the 1970s. Timothy Williams of the Los Angeles Times said that an "unprecedented wave of activism" countered the crime surge. Residents led by social institutions such as churches, schools, and social service agencies held marches and rallies. Schools remained open on weekends and in evenings to offer recreational and tutoring programs. Residents circulated petitions to try to stop the establishment of liquor stores. Residents began holding weekly meetings with a gang that, according to Williams, "had long been a neighborhood scourge." Area police officers said, in Williams's words, "although crime in Pacoima remains a major problem", particularly in the area within the empowerment zone proposed by area politicians in the 1990s, "the situation is far improved from the 1980s."[8]
Officer Minor Jimenez, who was the senior lead police officer in the Pacoima area in 1994 and had been for a 3½ year period leading up to 1994, said that the community involvement was the main reason for the decrease in crime because the residents cooperated with the police and "the bad guys know it." After the activism in the area occurred, major crime was reduced by 6%. Residents reached an agreement with liquor store owners; the owners decided to erase graffiti on their properties within 24 hours of reaching the agreement. The owners also stopped the sale of individual cold containers of beer to discourage public consumption of alcohol. Williams said "The activism appears to have paid off." The resident meetings with Latino gang members resulted in a 143-day consecutive period of no drive by shootings.[8]