Hyde Park, Los Angeles


Hyde Park is a neighborhood in the South region of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it was consolidated with Los Angeles in 1923.
The commercial corridor along Crenshaw Boulevard is known as "the heart of African American commerce in Los Angeles". Destination Crenshaw is a 1.3-mile-long open-air museum along Crenshaw Boulevard that celebrates African American history and culture.

History

Hyde Park is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Los Angeles. It was "laid out as a town" in 1887 as a stop on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's Harbor Subdivision, which ran from Downtown Los Angeles to the port at Wilmington in a westward loop.
It was incorporated as a city in 1922 and had its own government. However, on May 17, 1923, its was consolidated with the larger city of Los Angeles after a favorable vote by Hyde Park residents. The city of Hyde Park was bordered by 60th Street on the north, Van Ness on the east, Florence Avenue on the south, and West Boulevard on the west.

Geography

Hyde Park's street and other boundaries are: West Vernon Avenue on the north, South Van Ness Avenue on the east and the Los Angeles city boundary on the south and west.
According to the Mapping L.A. project of the Los Angeles Times, Hyde Park touches Leimert Park on the north, Vermont Square on the northeast, Chesterfield Square on the east, Manchester Square on the southeast; Inglewood on the south and southwest, and View Park-Windsor Hills on the west and northwest.

Demographics

A total of 36,635 people lived in the neighborhood's 2.88 square miles, according to the 2000 U.S. census—averaging 12,700 people per square mile, about the same as the population density in the city as a whole. The median age was 31, also about the same as the rest of the city.
Within the neighborhood, African Americans comprise 66% of the population, with Latinos at 27.2%, White 3%; Asian 1.2% and other 3.6%. Mexico and El Salvador were the most common places of birth for the 19.5% of the residents who were born abroad, considered a low percentage of foreign-born when compared with the city or county as a whole.
The median household income in 2008 dollars was $39,460, considered average for both the city and county. The percentage of households earning $20,000 or less was high, compared to the county at large. The average household size of 2.8 people was also average. Renters occupied 53.3% of the housing units, and homeowners occupied the rest.
In 2000, there were 2,474 families headed by single parents, or 28.5%, a rate that was high for the county and the city. There were 2,237 veterans, or 8% of the population, considered high when compared with the city overall.

Parks and recreation

The Van Ness Recreation Center is the only park in the Hyde Park neighborhood. It has an indoor gymnasium, auditorium, barbecue pits, outdoor basketball courts and a baseball diamond.

Education

Hyde Park residents aged 25 and older holding a four-year degree amounted to 12.2% of the population in 2000, considered low when compared with the city and the county as a whole, but the percentages of residents aged 25 and older with a high school diploma and college bachelor's degree was considered high for the county.

Schools

Schools within the Hyde Park boundaries are: