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Identifying and conserving Pacoima: a heritage conservation study of a minority enclave in the San Fernando Valley

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Identifying and conserving Pacoima: a heritage conservation study of a minority enclave in the San Fernando Valley

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IDENTIFYING
AND
CONSERVING
PACOIMA:

A
HERITAGE
CONSERVATION
STUDY
OF
A
MINORITY
ENCLAVE

IN
THE
SAN
FERNANDO
VALLEY

by

Sara
Delgadillo

A
Thesis
Presented
to
the

FACULTY
OF
THE
USC
SCHOOL
OF
ARCHITECTURE

UNIVERSITY
OF
SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA

In
Partial
Fulfillment
of
the

Requirements
for
the
Degree

MASTER
OF
HERITAGE
CONSERVATION

December
2015

Copyright
2015

Sara
Delgadillo

ii

DEDICATION

For
my
parents,
David
&
Teresa
Delgadillo,

who
taught
me
to
value
and
celebrate
my
heritage.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This
study
would
not
have
been
possible
without
the
support
and
inspiration

offered
to
me
by
a
number
of
individuals
and
organizations.
First,
I
would
like
to
thank
my

committee
chair,
Trudi
Sandmeier,
for
encouraging
me
to
write
a
thesis
on
a
topic
so
near

and
dear
to
my
heart.
I
am
further
grateful
to
my
committee
members
Jay
Platt
and
Yvette

Lopez-‐Ledesma
who
challenged
my
critical
thinking
and
provided
me
with
great
guidance

and
constructive
feedback
during
the
writing
of
this
study.

In
addition
to
thanking
my
committee,
I
would
like
to
give
thanks
to
the
team
at

Pacoima
Beautiful
for
reviewing
my
thesis
and
providing
valuable
notes;
the
business

owners
and
shopkeepers
that
took
the
time
to
share
their
stories,
photographs,
and

allowed
me
to
wander
through
their
spaces;
to
the
ever
so
helpful
individuals
of
the
San

Fernando
Valley
Historical
Society,
the
Special
Collections
and
Archives
at
California
State

University
Northridge,
and
the
Los
Angeles
Public
Library.

I
am
also
grateful
for
the
support
I
received
from
community
advocates
and

practicing
preservationists.
Thank
you
to
my
peers
Vanessa
Serrano
and
Miguel
Duran
for

enthusiastically
taking
the
time
to
discuss
my
thesis,
provide
me
with
research

possibilities,
and
for
inspiring
me
through
their
ongoing
work
with
the
Pacoima
and
San

Fernando
communities;
to
Laura
Dominguez,
Manuel
Huerta,
and
Desiree
Smith
for

providing
me
with
leads,
case
studies,
and
inviting
me
to
be
part
of
Latinos
in
Heritage

Conservation.
I
am
lucky
to
commence
a
career
in
the
field
of
preservation
alongside
such

dedicated
preservationists.

Lastly,
I
would
like
to
thank
my
family
and
close
friends
whose
love
and

encouragement
to
pursue
my
passion
kept
me
from
academic
burnout
and
my
husband
for

eagerly
and
lovingly
accompanying
me
through
my
graduate
school
journey.

iv

TABLE
OF
CONTENTS

DEDICATION

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

iii

LIST
OF
FIGURES

v

ABSTRACT

viii

INTRODUCTION

1

CHAPTER
1:
Early
History
and
Development

Pacoima
Settlement,
Gentleman-Farming
and
Infrastructure
1887-1940
3

CHAPTER
2:
Mid-20
th

Century
Development
and
Present
Day

Pacoima
WWII,
Industry
and
Residential
Development
1940-1970

19

Pacoima
a
Community
in
Transition
1970-Present

37

CHAPTER
3:
Study
of
Pacoima’s
Business
District
and
Main
Street

Revitalization
in
Pacoima

46

Study
of
Pacoima’s
Business
District

53

Heritage
Conservation
in
Pacoima

56

Examples
of
Significant
Historic
Establishments
Eligible
for
Designation
58

Tresierras
Market

59

Lenchita’s
Restaurant

61

Romero’s
TV
&
Video
Service

63

Styles
Ville
Barbershop
&
Beauty
Salon

64

CHAPTER
4:
Significance,
Challenges,
and
Recommendations

What
is
the
Purpose
of
Identifying
Pacoima’s
Historic
Establishments?
67

What
are
the
Challenges?

72

Recommendations

76

CONCLUSION

81

BIBLIOGRAPHY

83

APPENDICES

Appendix
A:
Survey
of
Businesses
and
Establishments
along

89

Van
Nuys
Boulevard’s
Commercial
Strip

v

LIST
OF
FIGURES

Figure
1.1:
Pacoima
highlighted
in
illustration
of
Greater
Los
Angeles,

3

circa
1930.

Figure
1.2:

The
San
Fernando
Valley
as
seen
in
1873.

5

Figure
1.3:

Topographic
Map
of
the
Northeast
San
Fernando
Valley
in
7

1925.

Figure
1.4:

San
Fernando
Valley
Land
Company
advertisement
for

9

Pacoima
lot
sales,
1905.

Figure
1.5:

Pacoima
Dam
aerial
circa
1932.

11

Figure
1.6:

Recreation
at
Hansen
Dam
beach
in
1962.

11

Figure
1.7:

Group
portrait
of
the
Aztecas.

15

Figure
1.8:

Map
of
redlined
districts
in
Los
Angeles,
North.

18

Figure
2.1:

Whiteman
Airport
in
Pacoima,
2010.

20

Figure
2.2:

Basilone
Homes,
1947.

21

Figure
2.3:

Historic
photograph
of
Pacoima’s
African
American
residential

23

neighborhood,
1958.

Figure
2.4:

Map
of
the
forty-‐four
acre
lot
reserved
for
City
Housing

25

Authority,
1952.

Figure
2.5:

Substandard
housing
in
Pacoima,
circa
1950.

27

Figure
2.6:

Rita
Duarte
in
her
kitchen,
slum
homes,
1948.

28

Figure
2.7:

Duarte
family
slum
home
in
Pacoima,
1948.

28

Figure
2.8:

Aerial
view
of
San
Fernando
Gardens.

30

Figure
2.9:

Courtyard
and
apartment
buildings
of
San
Fernando

30

Gardens
housing
project
in
Pacoima,
circa
1955.

vi

Figure
2.10:

Widening
a
stretch
of
Van
Nuys
Boulevard.

32

Figure
2.11:

Pacoima
Branch
of
the
Los
Angeles
Public
Library,

32

circa
1965.

Figure
2.12:

New
Plant
for
Virgil
Walker’s
AAA
Drappery
Service

33

and
Walker
Travel
Agency,
1965.

Figure
2.13:

Map
of
Pacoima
and
freeway
system
that
cuts
and

34

surrounds
the
community.

Figure
2.14:

Generalized
Land
Use
Map
of
Arleta-‐Pacoima

36

Community
Plan
Area
as
of
2009.

Figure
2.15:
Historic
photograph
of
an
African
American
family
at

38

home
in
Pacoima,
circa
1964.

Figure
2.16:

Crisp’s
Billiard
Parlor,
circa
1980.

41

Figure
2.17:

Mural
funded
by
Pacoima
Revitalization
Inc.,
on

41

San
Fernando
Garden’s
Van
Nuys
Blvd
facing
Façade,

circa
1980.

Figure
2.18:

Mural
funded
by
Pacoima
Revitalization
Inc.,
on
the

42

side
of
a
San
Fernando
Garden’s
residential
building,

circa
1980.

Figure
2.19:

“The
Day
the
Music
Died”
by
Levi
Ponce
and
assistants,

44

a
Mural
Mile
project.

Figure
2.20:

“Freedom
Fighter”
by
Kristy
Sandoval,
a
Mural
Mile

45

project.

Figure
3.1:

Photo
of
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
looking
north
towards

47

Foothill
Boulevard.

Figure
3.2:

Overlay
diagram
of
revitalization
efforts
in
Pacoima.

48

Figure
3.3:

Bradley
Plaza,
July
2015.

52

Figure
3.4:

Bradley
Plaza
unveiling
event,
July
2015.

52

Figure
3.5:

Diagram
illustrating
study
boundary
alongside
the

55

boundaries
of
previous
Van
Nuys
Blvd
revitalization

efforts.

vii

Figure
3.6:

Photo
of
Tresierras
Supermarket.

61

Figure
3.7:

Photo
of
Lenchita’s
Restaurant.

62

Figure
3.8:
Photo
of
Romero’s
TV
&
Video
Service.

64

Figure
3.9:

Photo
of
Styles
Ville
Barbershop
and
Beauty
Salon.

66

Figure
4.1:

California
Register
of
Historical
Resources

74

Criteria
for
Designation.

viii

ABSTRACT

In
the
wake
of
revitalization
efforts,
the
tangible
and
intangible
heritage
of
many

communities
can
be
compromised.
One
of
the
greatest
challenges
facing
historic
minority

enclave
communities
is
the
lack
of
identification
and
designation
of
historic
community

resources.
As
this
thesis
will
demonstrate,
the
unique
history
of
Pacoima,
a
minority

enclave
within
the
San
Fernando
Valley,
is
worthy
of
further
study
and
conservation
efforts

in
order
to
help
prevent
the
loss
of
valuable
historic
community
resources
while
the
area

undergoes
multiple
revitalization
projects.

The
tracing
of
Pacoima’s
history
from
its
early
days
to
its
present
condition
as
an

urban
community
highlights
pivotal
points
of
development
and
population
shifts
that
have

had
lasting
impacts
in
the
culture
and
built
environment,
otherwise
known
as
the
heritage,

of
the
area.
Part
of
Pacoima’s
history
includes
previous
revitalization
efforts
some
of
which

were
centered
on
a
stretch
of
Van
Nuys
Boulevard,
recognized
as
Pacoima’s
commercial

corridor
and
hub
of
the
community.
A
detailed
study
of
a
section
of
the
commercial

corridor
provides
examples
of
historic
establishments
found
on
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
that

are
eligible
for
local
designation.

This
study
identifies
Pacoima’s
historic
establishments,
illustrates
challenges
of

heritage
conservation
within
a
community
like
Pacoima,
and
provides
recommendations

that
inform
current
and
future
revitalization
and
conservation
efforts
in
this
community.

1

INTRODUCTION

In
2014,
Mayor
Eric
Garcetti,
announced
his
“Great
Streets”
project
through
which

he
designated
fifteen
roadways
within
the
City
of
Los
Angeles.
The
corridors
selected

represent
the
diversity
of
modern
Los
Angeles.
One
of
the
designated
stretches
is
Van
Nuys

Boulevard
in
Pacoima,
between
Laurel
Canyon
Boulevard
and
San
Fernando
Road.
It
is
a

section
of
Pacoima’s
vibrant
and
historic
commercial
corridor
that
has
suffered
from

disinvestment
for
decades.
Councilman
Felipe
Fuentes,
who
has
been
working
in
the
area

for
over
fifteen
years,
is
optimistic
that
the
Great
Streets
designation
and
investment
of
city

funds
will
attract
commercial
growth
and
development.
"I
think
we
are
just
a
couple
of

years
away
from
actually
seeing
the
transformation
of
this
area."
1

While
plans
to

reinvigorate
Pacoima’s
commercial
corridor
through
new
investment
and
development
is
a

valid
effort,
it
leaves
much
of
the
corridor’s
valuable
tangible
and
intangible
heritage

susceptible
to
being
lost
to
demolition
and
redevelopment.

Prior
to
1964,
Pacoima
was
one
of
the
few
neighborhoods
within
the
sprawling
San

Fernando
Valley
where
minorities
were
allowed
to
purchase
land.
In
the
years
leading
up

to
World
War
II,
it
was
already
home
to
minority
populations,
including
Japanese,
Mexican,

and
African
American
families.
2

In
the
years
after
the
World
War
II
period,
many
African

1

Rick
Orlov,
"Los
Angeles
Mayor
Eric
Garcetti
Paves
the
Path
for
'Great
Streets,'"
Whittier
Daily
News,
June
3,

2014,
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1532696053.

2

Laura
R.
Barraclough,
Making
the
San
Fernando
Valley:
Rural
Landscapes,
Urban
Development,
and
White

Privilege,
(Athens:
University
of
Georgia
Press,
2010)
55-‐56.;
“Special
Edition
1940
Census
Records

Release,”
Profile
America
Facts
for
Features,
February
12,
2012,
accessed
August
12,
2015,

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb12-‐
ffse01.html.
The
1940
Census
collected
race
data
according
to
white
and
black-‐
data
on
other
ethnic
groups,

including
the
Hispanic
population,
was
not
collected.
For
this
reason,
data
regarding
the
various
ethnic

groups
that
inhabited
Pacoima
during
the
1940
Census
is
unavailable.

2

American
veterans
purchased
homes
and
settled
in
Pacoima
with
their
families.
The

booming
employment
opportunities
in
nearby
industry
and
aircraft
plants
continued
to

attract
settlers
to
Pacoima.
By
the
1970s,
after
the
civil
rights
movement,
the
community

was
in
transition.
During
this
period,
people
of
color
in
Pacoima
were
no
longer
restrained

by
the
restrictive
selling
practices
reinforced
by
the
Home
Owners
Loan
Corporation
and

the
Federal
Housing
Agency,
commonly
known
as
redlining.
Many
African
American

families
in
Pacoima
began
to
sell
their
homes
and
moved
to
other
Los
Angeles
suburbs.
As
a

result,
an
influx
of
Latino
immigrants
new
to
Los
Angeles
settled
in
Pacoima.

Despite
its
ongoing
ethnic
evolution,
Pacoima
remains
a
vibrant
and
dynamic

community.
As
the
density
of
the
San
Fernando
Valley
continues
to
shift
and
climb,
the

historic
building
fabric
becomes
more
and
more
vulnerable
to
demolition
and
insensitive

development.
Original
Pacoima
buildings,
residential
and
commercial,
have
been
subjected

to
over
sixty
years
of
additions
and
alterations,
leaving
very
few
buildings
unaltered
and

eligible
for
formal
historic
preservation
designation.
The
one
of
a
kind
valley
community
of

Pacoima
presents
a
challenge
for
historic
preservation
professionals
who
are
trained
to

survey
for
tangible
traces
of
heritage
and
history.

Through
historical
analysis,
this
thesis

traces
the
development
of
Pacoima
and
aims
to
identify
both
tangible
and
intangible

historic
community
resources
located
along
the
Van
Nuys
commercial
corridor
in
Pacoima.

3

CHAPTER
1:
Early
History
and
Development

Pacoima
Settlement,
Gentleman-Farming,
and
Infrastructure
1887-1940

Located
in
the
Northeast
part
of
the
San
Fernando
Valley,
Pacoima
sits

approximately
twenty
miles
northwest
of
downtown
Los
Angeles
and
approximately
three

miles
east
of
the
Mission
San
Fernando
Rey
de
España.
3

(Figure
1.1)

Figure
1.1:
Pacoima
highlighted
in
illustration
of
Greater
Los
Angeles,
circa
1930.
Source:

Adapted
by
Sara
Delgadillo
from
“Illustration
-‐
San
Fernando
Valley,
early
1930s,”
accessed
April

29,
2015,
http://www.godickson.com/sfvmap1.htm.

3

Laura
R.
Barraclough,
Making
the
San
Fernando
Valley:
Rural
Landscapes,
Urban
Development,
and
White

Privilege,
(Athens:
University
of
Georgia
Press,
2010).

4

Before
the
arrival
of
the
Spaniards
in
California,
the
region
was
home
to
native

peoples
of
the
Tongva-‐Gabrielino
and
Chumash
tribes.
4

By
the
time
the
Mexican-‐American

War
broke
out
in
1846,
the
mission
had
been
secularized
and
the
northern
portion
of
the

San
Fernando
Mission
lands
were
owned
by
Pio
Pico,
the
last
Governor
of
Alta
California

under
Mexican
rule.
By
1869,
the
lands
surrounding
the
San
Fernando
Mission
were
sold

by
Pico
to
Eulogio
De
Celis
to
become
the
Ex
Mission
San
Fernando
land
grant.
5

The
second
half
of
the
nineteenth
century
brought
much
change
to
the
San

Fernando
Valley
and
the
area
that
was
later
to
become
the
community
of
Pacoima.

Westward
expansion
and
the
building
of
the
railroad
through
Southern
California
made
the

lands
in
the
San
Fernando
Valley
a
much-‐desired
commodity.
Upon
hearing
that
the

Southern
Pacific
railroad
was
to
reach
Los
Angeles
from
San
Francisco
through
the
San

Fernando
Valley,
former
California
State
Senator
Charles
Maclay
from
Santa
Clara
became

interested
in
purchasing
land
adjacent
to
the
rail.
6

After
purchasing
the
lands
from
De

Celis,
Maclay
filed
a
tract
map
for
the
City
of
San
Fernando
with
plans
to
sell
several

thousand
lots.
7

The
Ex
Mission
lands
were
subdivided
and
sold
by
the
San
Fernando
Land

and
Water
Company,
formed
by
C.
Maclay
and
other
prominent
figures
of
the
time

including
R.M.
Widney,
H.L.
Macneil,
and
Geo
C.
Hager.
8

As
the
century
came
to
a
close,

4

Kevin
Roderick,
The
San
Fernando
Valley:
America's
Suburb,
(Los
Angeles:
Los
Angeles
Times
Books,
2001).

5

Ira
Gribin,
“San
Fernando's
History
Traced
Back
to
1846,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
April
26,
1981,
ProQuest

Historical
Newspapers,
V_B1.;
Plat
of
the
Ex
Mission
de
San
Fernando
[Calif.]
[map/manuscript],
1869,
Scale

not
given,
"Maps
of
private
land
grant
cases
of
California,”
UC
Berkeley
Bancroft
Library,

http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/

13030/hb5t1nb2xh/?order=2&brand=calisphere
(December
12,
2014).

6

Ira
Gribin,
“San
Fernando's
History
Traced
Back
to
1846,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
April
26,
1981,
ProQuest

Historical
Newspapers,
V_B1.

7

Ibid.

8

Display
Ad
16
-‐
No
Title,
Los
Angeles
Times,
Jan
1,
1887,
ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
pg.
23.

5

most
land
in
the
valley
was
owned
by
a
small
group
of
elite
Anglo-‐American
capitalists
who

speculated
in
land
subdivision
or
made
use
of
it
for
sheep
grazing
or
by
planting
crops
such

as
wine
grapes,
wheat,
or
barley.
9

(Figure
1.2)

Figure
1.2:
The
San
Fernando
Valley
as
seen
in
1873,
view
south
towards
the
San
Fernando

Rey
de
España
Mission
in
the
distance.
Source:
Security
Pacific
National
Bank
Collection,
Los

Angeles
Public
Library.

9

Kevin
Roderick,
The
San
Fernando
Valley:
America's
Suburb,
(Los
Angeles:
Los
Angeles
Times
Books,
2001)
v.

6

In
April
of
1875,
work
began
on
the
tunnel
that
extended
the
Southern
Pacific
rail

southeast
through
the
San
Fernando
Valley
towards
Los
Angeles.
The
work
crew,
made
up

of
Chinese,
Mexican,
and
Indian
workers,
lived
in
camps
in
the
foothills
during
the

construction
phase.
More
than
1,500
non-‐Anglo
men
performed
the
most
hazardous
labor

and
made
it
possible
for
the
tunnel
connecting
the
Santa
Clarita
and
San
Fernando
Valleys

to
be
completed
by
September
of
1876.
10

The
area
that
was
to
become
the
town
of
Pacoima
was
located
just
south
of
the
City

of
San
Fernando.
The
land
had
been
purchased
from
the
de
Celis
family
and
owned
by

Charles
Maclay
east
of
the
Southern
Pacific
Railroad
and
by
George
Porter
west
of
the

railroad.
Jouett
Allen,
a
lawyer
from
Chattanooga
Tennessee,
purchased
the
land
in
1887
to

become
the
town
he
called
Pacoima,
which
is
said
to
be
an
Indian
word
for
“rushing

waters.”
11

A
year
prior
to
Allen’s
purchase,
R.M.
Widney
had
begun
the
construction
of
a

dam
in
the
nearby
Pacoima
Canyon.
It
was
planned
that
the
water
from
this
dam
would

allow
for
below
ground
water
mains
to
provide
the
town
of
Pacoima
water
for
irrigation

and
domestic
use.
12

With
reference
to
the
subdivision
of
Pacoima,
the
Daughters
of
the

American
Revolution
wrote,
“in
laying
out
the
new
town,
Chinamen
were
hired
with
mule

teams
to
grade
the
streets,
etc.,
and
white
men
did
all
the
carpenter
and
cement
work.”
13

10

Kevin
Roderick,
The
San
Fernando
Valley:
America's
Suburb,
(Los
Angeles:
Los
Angeles
Times
Books,
2001),

40.;
Laura
R.
Barraclough,
Making
the
San
Fernando
Valley:
Rural
Landscapes,
Urban
Development,
and

White
Privilege,
(Athens:
University
of
Georgia
Press,
2010),
156.

11

Kevin
Roderick,
The
San
Fernando
Valley:
America's
Suburb,
(Los
Angeles:
Los
Angeles
Times
Books,
2001),

43.

12

San
Fernando
Items,
Los
Angeles
Herald,
Volume
25,
No.
170,
September
21,
1886,
California
Digital

Newspaper
Collection,
http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-‐bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH18860921.2.41#,
accessed
Jan
10,

2015.;
Herbert
M.
Wilson,
Irrigation
Engineering,
(New
York:
John
Wiley
&
Sons,
1905),
332.

13

Laura
R.
Barraclough,
Making
the
San
Fernando
Valley:
Rural
Landscapes,
Urban
Development,
and
White

Privilege,
(Athens:
University
of
Georgia
Press,
2010),
83.

7

Before
the
turn
of
the
century,
very
few
buildings
were
built
in
Pacoima.
The
newly

subdivided
townsite
only
had
a
rail
depot,
a
schoolhouse,
a
hotel,
and
a
number
of
single-‐
family
homes
that
rested
on
open
acres
of
land.
(Figure
1.3)
By
1888,
it
had
been

discovered
that
the
engineering
of
the
initial
dam
built
in
the
Pacoima
Canyon
was
not

successful;
it
did
not
lead
to
the
volume
or
flow
of
water
needed
for
the
town.
14

Furthermore,
in
1891
severe
flooding
destroyed
most
of
the
few
original
buildings
in

Pacoima.
15

Figure
1.3:
Topographic
Map
of
the
Northeast
San
Fernando
Valley
in
1925,
including
railroads,
the

San
Fernando
Mission,
and
the
towns
of
San
Fernando
and
Pacoima.
Source:
Adapted
by
Sara

Delgadillo
from
original
file,
Chenoweth,
W.
R.,
Topographical
map
of
the
Pacoima
Quadrangle,
1924-‐
1925,
San
Fernando
Valley
History
Collection,
Special
Collections
and
Archives,
Oviatt
Library,

California
State
University,
Northridge.

14

William
H.
Hall,
Report
of
the
State
Engineer
of
California:
On
Irrigation
and
the
Irrigation
Question,
Vol.
2,

(Office
of
State
Engineer,
1886).

15

Carl
A.
Maida,
Pathways
Through
Crisis:
Urban
Risk
and
Public
Culture,
(Lanham:
Altamira
Press,
2008),
189.

8

In
1905,
the
San
Fernando
Valley
Land
Company,
presumably
formed
by
Jouett

Allen,
sold
undeveloped
lots
in
Pacoima.
Large
newspaper
advertisements
promoted
the

sale
of
lots
in
Pacoima
offering
excursions
to
visit
the
area
while
anticipating
quick
sales.
16

(Figure
1.4)
According
to
Frank
Keffer,
by
1910
there
were
“millions
of
dollars
budgeted
to

transfer
the
valley
from
a
great
grain
field
to
the
most
desirable
place
in
the
world
for
the

establishment
of
suburban
farm
homes,
where
settlers
might
enjoy
country
life
and
at
the

same
time
have
all
the
conveniences
that
a
city
could
offer.”
17

Despite
previous
efforts,
it

was
not
until
the
completion
of
the
Los
Angeles
Aqueduct
in
1913
that
small-‐scale

suburban
agriculture,
also
known
as
gentleman-‐farming,
took
off
in
Pacoima
and
the
once

parched
lands
of
the
San
Fernando
Valley.
18

During
Pacoima’s
agricultural
days
the

community
produced
crops
like
oranges,
lemons,
peaches,
apricots,
olives,
and
alfalfa.
19

16

Display
Ad
27
–
No
Title,
Los
Angeles
Times,
November
10,
1905,
ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
16.

17

Frank
M.
Keffer,
History
of
the
San
Fernando
Valley,
mgr.
ed.
Harold
McLean
Meier,
Arthur
Hamilton

Cawston,
(Glendale:
Stillman
Printing
Company,
1934).

18

Laura
R.
Barraclough,
Making
the
San
Fernando
Valley:
Rural
Landscapes,
Urban
Development,
and
White

Privilege,
(Athens:
University
of
Georgia
Press,
2010),
25.

Barraclough
describes
gentleman
farming
as
the

practice
of
small-‐scale
suburban
agriculture
and
combination
of
rural
and
urban
lifestyles.
The
“little
farms

near
the
city”
were
“inhabited
by
economically
prosperous,
culturally
sophisticated,
white
gentleman

farmers.”

19

“Our
History,”
Pacoima
Chamber
of
Commerce,
accessed
January
15,
2015,

http://www.pacoimachamber.com/pacoimas-‐history/.

9

Figure
1.4:
San
Fernando
Valley
Land
Company
advertisement
for
Pacoima
lot
sales,
1905.

Source:
Los
Angeles
Herald
[microform],
(Los
Angeles
[Calif.]),
Dec.
18,
1905,
Chronicling

America:
Historic
American
Newspapers,
Lib.
of
Congress.

In
1915,
nearly
one
hundred
seventy
square
miles
of
the
San
Fernando
Valley,

including
Pacoima,
became
part
of
the
City
of
Los
Angeles.
20

Winter
rains
often
caused
the

Pacoima
Wash,
a
mostly
dry
creek
bed,
to
overflow
and
flood;
this
flooding
caused
damage

to
Pacoima
and
its
neighboring
communities.
To
answer
the
community’s
flooding

concerns,
a
series
of
civic
flood
control
projects
over
the
following
decades
made
the

northeast
San
Fernando
Valley
a
much
safer
place
to
live.
The
first
of
the
projects
was
a

second
dam
built
in
Pacoima
Canyon,
roughly
four
miles
north
of
Pacoima
and
365
feet

20

Annexation
and
Detachment
Map[map],
City
of
Los
Angeles,
Accessed
May
1,
2015,

http://navigatela.lacity.org/common/mapgallery/pdf/annex34x44.pdf.

10

above
the
streambed.
Construction
for
the
dam
took
approximately
five
years
and
the

Pacoima
Dam
was
dedicated
in
1929.
At
the
time
it
was
built,
it
was
the
highest
concrete

constant
angle
arch
dam
in
the
world.
21

(Figure
1.5)
In
1930,
shortly
after
the
Pacoima
Dam

was
completed,
the
plan
for
Hansen
Dam
was
announced.
The
large
dam,
dedicated
in

1940,
sits
on
the
western
edge
of
Pacoima.
When
it
was
built,
Hansen
Dam
was
the
largest

earth-‐filled
reservoir
in
the
world,
its
height
is
122
feet
above
the
streambed
and
is
nearly

two
miles
long.
22

In
the
late
1940s,
1,550
acres
surrounding
Hansen
Dam
were
turned
into

recreation
areas
by
the
City
of
Los
Angeles.
The
reservoir
area
above
the
dam
was
to

include
such
amenities
like
a
bathhouse,
swimming
pool,
natural
museum,
bandstand,

boathouse,
stable
buildings,
a
parking
lot
and
a
gasoline
station
while
the
area
below
the

dam
was
to
become
a
golf
course.
23

In
the
1950s
the
lake
recreation
area
of
Hansen
Dam

was
divided
into
three
uses:
swimming,
water
skiing,
and
motor
boating.
24

Families
from

throughout
Los
Angeles
would
frequent
the
recreation
areas
of
Hansen
Dam.
(Figure
1.6)

21

“For
Loftiest
Dam
in
the
World:
Pacoima
Flood-‐Control
Project,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
December
19,
1920,

ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
II1.;
“Work
on
Pacoima
Canyon
Dam,
$1,720,000
Flood-‐Control
Project,”

Los
Angeles
Times,
January
3,
1926,
ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
E10.

22

“Hansen
Dam
Work
Begun:
Crowd
Sees
Turning
of
First
Dirt,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
February
26,
1930,

ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
A2.;
“Hansen
Dam
Dedicated:
Largest
Earth-‐Fill
Reservoir
in
World,”
Los

Angeles
Times,
August
18,
1940,
ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
A1.

23

“Hansen
Dam
Park
Plans
Disclosed,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
October
10,
1948,
ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,

A1.

24

“Areas
Set
Aside
for
Use
at
Hansen
Dam
Lake,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
July
13,
1952,
ProQuest
Historical

Newspapers,
B15.

11

Figure
1.5:
Pacoima
Dam
aerial
circa
1932.
Source:
Herald-‐Examiner
Collection,
Los

Angeles
Public
Library.

Figure
1.6:
Recreation
at
Hansen
Dam
beach
in
1962.
Source:
Valley
Times
Collection,

Los
Angeles
Public
Library.

12

The
rapid
growth
of
the
San
Fernando
Valley,
from
the
implementation
of

infrastructure
to
the
development
of
agricultural
lands,
at
the
turn
of
the
century
would
not

have
been
possible
without
the
dispossession
of
indigenous
and
Mexican
land,
and
the
use

of
Asians,
Mexicans,
and
Native
Americans
as
laborers
to
build
the
infrastructure
and
farm

the
lands
of
the
valley.
Yet,
the
claim
to
the
valley’s
progress
remained
solely
in
the
hands

of
Anglo-‐Americans
as
nonwhites
were
not
allowed
to
own
land
or
compete
with
white

farmers.
25

The
construction
of
railroads
in
the
San
Fernando
Valley,
California,
and
the
West

during
the
late
nineteenth
century
was
carried
out
mostly
by
Chinese
labor.
The
use
of

Chinese
immigrant
labor
was
essential
for
the
growth
of
the
state.
The
fears
and
anxieties

that
resulted
from
the
reliance
on
Chinese
immigrant
labor
led
to
several
anti-‐Chinese
laws

and
ordinances,
most
importantly
the
Chinese
Exclusion
Act
of
1882.
The
act
banned
all

Chinese
laborers
from
entering
the
United
States
for
ten
years
and
forbid
Chinese

immigrants
from
becoming
naturalized.
Only
certain
Chinese
immigrants
were
allowed
to

immigrate
into
the
country;
merchants,
teachers,
students,
diplomats,
and
travelers
were

exempt
from
the
exclusion
act.
26

25

Matt
Garcia,
A
World
of
Its
Own:
Race,
Labor,
and
Citrus
in
the
Making
of
Greater
Los
Angeles,
1900-‐1970,

(Chapel
Hill:
University
of
North
Carolina
Press,
2001),
29-‐46.

26

Erika
Lee,
At
America's
Gates:
Chinese
Immigration
During
the
Exclusion
Era,
1882-1943,
(Chapel
Hill:

University
of
North
Carolina
Press,
2003),
2-‐4.
Although
the
Exclusion
Act
greatly
reduced
the
amount
of

Chinese
immigrants
to
the
US,
later
court
cases
allowed
the
admission
or
readmission
for
the
families
of

merchants
and
native
born
citizens.
Through
this
clause
some
immigrants
would
pay
for
an
exempt

immigrant
to
claim
them
as
sons,
referred
to
by
Lee
as
the
“paper
son”
strategy.
The
Exclusion
Act
marks

the
first
time
in
American
US
history
that
barred
a
group
of
immigrants
because
of
its
race
and
class.
“The

act
also
set
the
terms
for
the
first
large-‐scale
deportation
of
an
immigrant
group.
Later
legislation
renewed

and
strengthened
the
original
act,
and
the
exclusion
of
Chinese
was
made
a
permanent
part
of
US

immigration
policy
until
its
repeal
in
1943.”

13

As
Chinese
immigrants
were
barred
to
continue
in
the
United
States
as
laborers,

Japanese
workers
took
their
place
and
fulfilled
the
need
for
low-‐cost
immigrant
labor
in
the

San
Fernando
Valley
and
throughout
the
west.
“The
Japanese,
many
of
whom
came
from

agricultural
backgrounds,
were
more
likely
than
the
Chinese
to
establish
themselves
as

independent
farmers,
and
they
soon
dominated
the
berry,
flower,
and
vegetable

industries.”
27

Starr
and
Barraclough
argue
that
the
success
Japanese
immigrants
had
in

landownership
and
agriculture
became
an
economic
and
cultural
threat
that
incited
envy
in

white
Midwestern
migrants
who
relocated
to
the
San
Fernando
Valley
aiming
to
settle
in

one
acre
and
achieve
independence.
28

Barraclough
states
that
the
perceived
threat
the

Japanese
farmers
posed
on
the
white
settlers
not
only
exposed
structural
issues
of
land

monopoly,
but
also
encouraged
the
passage
of
land
ownership
restrictions
in
the
form
of

California’s
Alien
Land
Laws
in
1913
and
1920
and
later
immigration
restrictions
in
the

1920s.
These
exclusionary
regulations
which
included
alien
land
laws,
immigration

restrictions,
restrictive
covenants,
and
residential
segregation,
worked
together
as
an

intended
mechanism
to
“elevate
the
production
and
livelihoods
of
white
gentleman

farmers
by
restricting
competition
from
nonwhites
and
immigrants.”
29

27

Laura
R.
Barraclough,
Making
the
San
Fernando
Valley:
Rural
Landscapes,
Urban
Development,
and
White

Privilege,
(Athens:
University
of
Georgia
Press,
2010),
51.

28

Kevin
Starr,
Inventing
the
Dream:
California
Through
the
Progressive
Era,
(New
York:
Oxford
University

Press,
1985),
172-‐173.;
Laura
R.
Barraclough,
Making
the
San
Fernando
Valley:
Rural
Landscapes,
Urban

Development,
and
White
Privilege,
(Athens:
University
of
Georgia
Press,
2010),
52.
The
success
of
Japanese

immigrants
in
agriculture
and
other
labor
sectors
was
mostly
due
to
their
organization
into
associations

with
a
central
‘boss’
that
negotiated
labor
terms,
these
organizations
refused
to
compete
with
one
another

or
break
strikes
ultimately
leading
to
monopolization
of
sectors
through
interethnic
cooperation.

29

Laura
R.
Barraclough,
Making
the
San
Fernando
Valley:
Rural
Landscapes,
Urban
Development,
and
White

Privilege,
(Athens:
University
of
Georgia
Press,
2010),
52-‐53.

14

Many
Mexicans
lived
and
worked
in
the
San
Fernando
Valley
at
the
end
of
the

nineteenth
century.
The
population
of
Mexican
laborers
in
the
San
Fernando
Valley
grew

drastically
in
1910,
at
the
outbreak
of
the
Mexican
Revolution.
At
this
point
in
time,
ten

percent
of
the
entire
Mexican
population
moved
north
where
Los
Angeles
became
the
most

important
gateway
for
this
immigration
tide.
30

Laura
Barraclough
points
out
that
large

agricultural
interests
and
gentleman
farmers
preferred
Mexican
laborers
to
Asian
ethnic

groups
because
they
were
thought
to
show
little
inclination
toward
organizing
or

unionizing.
By
the
1920s,
the
picking
and
packing
for
all
crops
was
dominated
by
Mexican

workers
throughout
Southern
California
and
in
the
1930s,
the
population
of
Mexicans

living
in
the
San
Fernando
Valley
reached
fifteen
hundred.
31

By
the
1930’s,
Latinos
made
up
most
of
the
state’s
workforce
and
permanent

Mexican
neighborhoods
began
to
form.
The
development
of
Latino
neighborhoods,
barrios

or
colonias,
fostered
the
formation
of
community
activities,
churches,
mutual
aid
societies,

sports
teams,
and
small
businesses.
32

(Figure
1.7)
In
Pacoima,
Japanese
vegetable
farmers

and
flower
growers
settled
in
the
area
alongside
the
Mexican
population
that
already

inhabited
the
region.
By
1924,
the
Japanese
population
established
the
San
Fernando
Valley

Japanese
Language
Institute
in
Pacoima
for
Nisei
children.
At
the
language
institute,

children
born
in
the
United
States
to
Japanese
parents
were
able
to
learn
the
Japanese

language
and
customs.

30

Blackwell
Companions
to
American
History:
Companion
to
Los
Angeles,
eds.
William
Deverell
and
Greg
Hise,

(Hoboken:
Wiley-‐Blackwell,
2010),
193.

31

Laura
R.
Barraclough,
Making
the
San
Fernando
Valley:
Rural
Landscapes,
Urban
Development,
and
White

Privilege,
(Athens:
University
of
Georgia
Press,
2010),
54.

32

Latinos
in
the
Twentieth
Century
California:
National
Register
of
Historic
Places
Context
Statement,
California

Office
of
Historic
Preservation
(California
State
Parks,
2015)
1.

15

Figure
1.7:
Group
portrait
of
the
Aztecas,
a
girl's
baseball
team
based
in
Pacoima,
with
their

manager,
1936.
Source:
Shades
of
L.A.
Archive:
Mexican
American
Community,
Los
Angeles

Public
Library.

Societal
hierarchies
during
the
gentleman-‐farming
days
that
brought
diversity
and

settlement
to
the
San
Fernando
Valley
were
distinctly
racialized.
Barraclough
provides
an

example
where
white
absentee
owners
leased
farmlands
to
Japanese
immigrant
tenant

farmers
who
in
turn
would
employ
Mexicans
for
the
manual
labor
needed.
The
land-‐use

policies,
immigration
and
naturalization
laws,
and
residential
segregation
were
utilized
to

maintain
the
hierarchies
that
would
allow
Anglo
Americans
to
remain
in
control
of
the
San

Fernando
Valley.
“The
result
was
a
patchwork
quilt
of
sorts
that
suggests
not
residential

integration,
but
carefully
monitored
separation
to
achieve
the
twin
goals
of
economic

16

productivity
and
white
exclusion”
33

The
years
of
small
scale
farming
brought
diversity
and

able
laborers
to
Los
Angeles
and
the
San
Fernando
Valley.
“By
1930
about
100,000
Mexican

immigrants,
30,000
Japanese,
Chinese,
and
Korean
immigrants,
and
40,000
African

Americans
had
settled
in
Los
Angeles...the
majority
of
the
much
larger
Anglo
population
of

about
one
million
persons
were
working-‐
and
lower-‐middle-‐class
migrants”
34

Although

minority
groups
were
present
in
the
population
of
Los
Angeles
and
the
San
Fernando

Valley,
they
were
still
outnumbered
by
the
population
of
Anglo-‐Americans.
In
Pacoima,
the

concentration
of
immigrant
and
minority
residents,
mostly
Mexican,
turned
it
into
the

unofficial
minority
district.
35

As
Pacoima
was
becoming
a
more
populated
town,
it
further
cemented
itself
as
the

minority
district
within
the
San
Fernando
Valley
during
the
1930s.
It
was
one
of
the
few

town
sites
that
allowed
racial
and
ethnic
minorities
to
own
land.
Land-‐use
policies,

including
restrictive
covenants,
and
alien
land
laws,
excluded
immigrant
groups
and
non-‐
whites
from
owning
land
in
parts
of
the
San
Fernando
Valley.
In
order
for
a
minority
or

person
of
color
to
be
allowed
to
purchase,
the
property
had
to
be
deemed
of
least
value
by

the
Home
Ownership
Land
Corporation
(HOLC),
which
was
established
in
1933
and
rated

property
that
indicated
where
racial
and
ethnic
minorities
were
allowed
to
purchase
land.

This
practice,
better
known
as
redlining,
was
supported
by
security
maps
from
the
HOLC
to

serve
as
guides
for
real
estate
transactions.
Communities
considered
of
least
value,
like
the

33

Laura
R.
Barraclough,
Making
the
San
Fernando
Valley:
Rural
Landscapes,
Urban
Development,
and
White

Privilege,
(Athens:
University
of
Georgia
Press,
2010),
54.

34

Blackwell
Companions
to
American
History:
Companion
to
Los
Angeles,
eds.
William
Deverell
and
Greg
Hise,

(Hoboken:
Wiley-‐Blackwell,
2010),
193.

35

Kevin
Roderick,
The
San
Fernando
Valley:
America's
Suburb,
(Los
Angeles:
Los
Angeles
Times
Books,
2001),

140-‐141.

17

lands
in
Pacoima,
were
highlighted
in
a
red
tone.
(Figure
1.8)
Redlining
geared
the
growth

of
already
existing
minority
districts
like
Pacoima
and
other
distinctive
Mexican

communities,
also
known
as
Mexican
colonias.
Before
redlining
was
practiced,
minority

districts
within
suburban
gentleman-‐farming
districts
existed
haphazardly
due
to
“civic

neglect
and
abandonment
rather
than
deliberate
planning”
and
were
“characterized
by

intra-‐ethnic
leasing
and
labor.”
36

The
area
that
was
developed
as
the
town
of
Pacoima,
adequately
named
“rushing

waters,”
is
located
on
land
susceptible
to
flooding.
Though
infrastructure
projects
like
the

aqueduct,
dams,
and
other
flood
control
works
made
Pacoima
and
the
northeast
San

Fernando
Valley
a
safer
place
to
live,
the
area
had
been
deemed
less
desirable
in

comparison
to
other
available
real
estate
within
the
San
Fernando
Valley.
The
redlining
of

Pacoima
by
the
Home
Ownership
Land
Corporation
officially
declared
the
land
as
having

least
value,
ultimately
encapsulating
minorities
within
such
redlined
districts.

36

Laura
R.
Barraclough,
Making
the
San
Fernando
Valley:
Rural
Landscapes,
Urban
Development,
and
White

Privilege,
(Athens:
University
of
Georgia
Press,
2010),
29,
54-‐55.

18

Figure
1.8:
Map
of
redlined
districts
in
Los
Angeles
North
(2).
Source:
NARA
II
RG
195
Entry
39
Folder

“Metropolitan
Los
Angeles,
California
Security
Map”
Box
101,
accessed
April
29,
2015,

http://www.urbanoasis.org/projects/holc-‐fha/digital-‐holc-‐maps/.

19

Chapter
2:
Mid-20
th

Century
Development
and
Present
Day

Pacoima
WWII,
Industry,
and
Residential
Development
–
1940-1970

Leading
up
to
the
US
involvement
in
World
War
II,
the
population
in
Los
Angeles

and
the
San
Fernando
Valley
was
increasing.
By
1940,
the
population
in
the
San
Fernando

Valley
exceeded
112,000.
37

Although
economic
and
physical
changes
were
already

happening
in
the
mostly
undeveloped
small
ranches
and
farmlands
of
Pacoima,
the
high

rate
of
defense
production
in
Los
Angeles
and
its
environs
accelerated
change
and
steered

the
development
of
whole
communities.

During
the
war
“airplanes
groaned
overhead
on
incessant
training
flights,
and
the

occasional
crashes
into
the
fields
and
mountain
ridges
made
the
war
seem
real.”
38

Aircraft

plants
in
the
San
Fernando
Valley
employed
many
Pacoima
residents.
One
of
the
major

employers
of
this
time
was
Lockheed
Aircraft
in
nearby
Burbank.
39

The
boom
in
the
aircraft

industry
led
to
the
establishment
of
Whiteman
Air
Park,
which
also
became
known
as

Pacoima
Air
Park,
in
1946.
The
small
airport,
with
hangers
and
commercial
spaces
was

developed
in
Pacoima
adjacent
to
the
Southern
Pacific
Railroad
tracks.
40

In
its
heyday,
the

small
airport
served
local
pilots
including
the
Falcon
Air
Club,
whose
members
included

bartenders,
mechanics,
and
the
Hollywood
elite.
Pacoima
Air
Park
served
a
select
clientele

37

Kevin
Roderick,
The
San
Fernando
Valley:
America's
Suburb,
(Los
Angeles:
Los
Angeles
Times
Books,
2001),

108.

38

Ibid.,
109.

39

Helen
Ponce,
Hoyt
Street:
An
Autobiography,
(Albuquerque:
University
of
New
Mexico
Press,
1993),
22.

40

“Whiteman
Airport,”
Los
Angeles
County
Airports,
accessed
February
1,
2015,

http://dpw.lacounty.gov/avi/airports/Whiteman.aspx.

20

that
often
used
the
small
airport
as
a
taking-‐off
place
for
flights
to
ranches
and
beaches.
41

(Figure
2.1)

Figure
2.1:
Whiteman
Airport
in
Pacoima
north
of
the
railroad
alongside
San
Fernando
Road,
2010.

Source:
Shane
Torgerson.

The
arrival
of
non-‐agricultural
industry
and
production
work
to
the
San
Fernando

Valley
and
other
parts
of
Los
Angeles
soared
in
the
years
leading
up
to
United
States’

involvement
in
World
War
II.
The
San
Fernando
Valley
experienced
a
rapid
increase
of

blue-‐collar
workers
moving
to
the
area.
Upon
arrival,
willing
workers
were
faced
with
a

lack
of
sufficient
middle-‐class
housing.
The
housing
dilemma
would
only
worsen
as
many

41

“Fashion:
The
California
Air,”
Vogue
108
no.
5,
September
15,
1946,
220-‐225,
312,

http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/879242272.

21

soldiers
returned
to
the
Unites
States
after
the
war
looking
for
a
home.
Short-‐term

solutions
for
the
housing
problem
included
Quonset
hut
barrack
housing.
In
the
1940s,
city

officials
relocated
a
series
of
Quonset
huts
that
African
Americans
had
been
renting
at
the

Roger
Young
Village
in
Griffith
Park
to
Pacoima.
Meanwhile,
the
first
and
only
integrated

subsidized
housing
project
for
veterans,
the
Basilone
Homes,
was
erected
out
of
surplus

barracks
near
the
southwestern
edge
of
Hansen
Dam
in
Pacoima
(Figure
2.2).
42

Since
the

homes
were
only
meant
as
a
temporary
solution,
the
1,500
housing
units
that
made
up
the

Basilone
Homes
project
were
demolished
in
the
late
1950s.
43

Figure
2.2:
Basilone
Homes
on
the
southwestern
edge
of
Hansen
Dam,
1947.
Source:
Los
Angeles

Times
photographic
archive,
UCLA
Library,
“Basilone
Homes
Veteran’s
Housing
project
in
San

Fernando
Valley,
Calif.,
1947,”
Record
ID:
uclalat_1429_b11_44842-‐1.

42

Laura
R.
Barraclough,
Making
the
San
Fernando
Valley:
Rural
Landscapes,
Urban
Development,
and
White

Privilege,
(Athens:
University
of
Georgia
Press,
2010),
131.

43

Ruth
Wallach,
Dace
Taube,
Claude
Zachary,
Linda
McCann,
and
Curtis
C.
Roseman,
Images
of
America:
Los

Angeles
in
World
War
II
(Charleston:
Arcadia
Publishing,
2011),
48.

22

Developers
looking
to
make
a
profit
provided
the
long-‐term
answer
for
the
housing

shortage,
they
purchased
agricultural
lots
and
ranches
then
subdivided
them
for
tracts
of

single-‐family
housing.
44

One
such
housing
development
in
Pacoima
was
the
grouping
of
Joe

Louis
Homes
that
opened
in
1950.
45

The
development
was
named
after
the
esteemed

African
American
heavyweight-‐boxing
champion,
although
the
development
had
no
real

connection
to
the
boxer.
It
is
believed
the
tract
was
named
after
Louis
by
developers
as
a

way
to
steer
the
African
American
community
to
purchase
homes
in
the
tract.
46

Many

returning
African
American
veterans,
along
with
sons
and
daughters
of
the
segregated

south
moving
to
California
for
work,
chose
to
settle
down
in
Pacoima
after
having
difficulty

finding
housing
in
the
overcrowded
and
segregated
districts
of
South
Los
Angeles.
47

(Figure

2.3)

44

Kevin
Roderick,
The
San
Fernando
Valley:
America's
Suburb,
(Los
Angeles:
Los
Angeles
Times
Books,
2001),

120-‐121.

45
“Joe
Louis
Home
Development
Opens
in
San
Fernando
Valley,”
Los
Angeles
Sentinel,
March
16,
1950,

ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
pg.
B6.

46

Geoffrey
Mohan,
"Black
History
Month
/
Valley
Retrospective
Perspectives
on
the
Past-‐and
the
Future,"
Los

Angeles
Times,
February
22,
1994,
ProQuest.

47

Kevin
Roderick,
The
San
Fernando
Valley:
America's
Suburb,
(Los
Angeles:
Los
Angeles
Times
Books,
2001),

140,
146-‐47.

23

Figure
2.3:
Historic
photograph
of
Pacoima’s
African
American
residential
neighborhood
in

1958.

Source:
Zenobia,
“Uncle
Junior
once
upon
a
time
in
Pacoima,”
Flickr.

With
the
outbreak
of
World
War
II,
there
was
an
increase
of
Mexican
and
African

American
residents
in
Pacoima.
The
valley’s
Japanese
population
was
detained
at
the
Santa

Anita
Race
Track
and
at
a
California
Conservation
Corps
camp
in
La
Tuna
Canyon
before

being
interned
at
permanent
camps
throughout
the
American
West.
Meanwhile,
other

minority
groups
moved
in
to
dominate
the
low-‐wage
hired
labor
force
in
the
San
Fernando

Valley.
At
the
time
of
internment,
3,177
people
of
Japanese
descent
lived
in
the
San

Fernando
Valley
and
half
were
citizens.
48

48

Laura
R.
Barraclough,
Making
the
San
Fernando
Valley:
Rural
Landscapes,
Urban
Development,
and
White

Privilege,
(Athens:
University
of
Georgia
Press,
2010),
54-‐55.

24

In
the
late
1940s,
the
Housing
Authority
of
the
City
of
Los
Angeles
surveyed

Pacoima’s
substandard
housing
areas
and
began
plans
to
build
an
integrated
public

housing
project
in
Pacoima
in
the
name
of
slum
clearance
and
urban
renewal,
despite

community
efforts
to
rehabilitate
the
area
via
“private
enterprise
and
individual
initiative.”

In
trying
to
avoid
a
public
housing
development
in
the
neighborhood,
a
group
of

community
members
came
together
to
form
the
Latin-‐American
Chamber
of
Commerce
of

Pacoima
circa
1950.
The
group
visited
homes
of
key
community
figures
to
promote
the

beautification
of
the
“Spanish-‐speaking
section”
of
Pacoima
that
“left
much
to
be
desired
as

a
residential
community.”
Community
members
agreed
to
enhance
their
properties

through
the
use
of
loans
and
the
group
sought
help
from
local
banks
to
start
a
loan
program

for
which
they
were
denied
because
the
streets
in
the
neighborhood
were
not
paved.
The

group
then
collected
signatures
for
a
proposal
to
be
submitted
to
the
city
through
which

the
streets
would
be
paved
and
homeowners
would
obtain
loan
funds
for
property

beautification.
Meanwhile,
the
City
Housing
Authority
continued
with
its
plans
to
build
a

public
housing
project
in
Pacoima.
“When
we
were
able
to
present
them
with
a
clear
choice

between
our
program
and
the
possible
program
of
the
City
Housing
Authority,
the
people

signed
our
street
paving
petitions.”
After
months
of
not
getting
an
answer
from
the
City
of

Los
Angeles,
the
chamber’s
proposal
was
partially
approved,
excluding
forty-‐four
acres
that

were
reserved
for
the
City
Housing
Authority.
The
chamber
group
tried
to
get
the
forty-‐four

25

acres
of
land
restored
to
the
agreement
but
was
unsuccessful.
49

(Figure
2.4)
The
following

is
a
statement
made
by
the
group
in
a
1952
Los
Angeles
Times
article:

We
recognize
that
we
have
a
problem
of
substandard
housing
in
our

community,
but
we
feel
that
that
is
a
local
problem
which
we
can
solve

through
the
energies
and
means
of
a
local
private
industry.

We
feel
that
we
were
well
on
the
way
to
solving
that
problem
in
a

manner
which
would
have
produced
proud
homeowners
rather
than

substandard
tenants.
We
hope
that
we
will
be
able
to
continue
with
our

program.
50

Figure
2.4:
Map
of
the
forty-‐four
acre
lot
reserved
for
City
Housing
Authority,
1952.

Source:
Los
Angeles
Times
(1923-Current
File),
October
29,
1952,
ProQuest
Historical

Newspapers:
Los
Angeles
Times,
pg
A5.

49

“How
Pacoima's
Plans
to
Improve
Were
Hexed
by
Housing
Authority,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
October
29,
1952,

ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
A5.;
Ed
Meagher,
“Pacoima
Area
Revamped
by
Awakened
Citizenry:
Los

Angeles
Program
for…”
Los
Angeles
Times,
May
18,
1955,
ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
A1.

50

Ibid.

26

Author
Mary
Helen
Ponce,
who
was
born
to
Mexican
immigrant
parents,
wrote

about
growing
up
in
the
Pacoima
barrio
before
and
during
World
War
II.
Ponce’s
parents

were
homeowners
on
Hoyt
Street,
just
south
of
the
forty-‐four
acre
area
to
become
public

housing,
along
with
many
other
Mexican
families.
(Figure
2.4)
Her
memoir
speaks
fondly

about
her
upbringing
in
Pacoima,
even
though
her
family
and
other
community
members

faced
segregation
and
poverty.
“The
majority
of
Mejicanos
who
lived
in
Pacoima
during
the

1920s
to
the
1950s
(when
some
homes
were
torn
down
to
build
the
‘projects’)
were
hard-‐
working,
decent,
and
honorable.”
51

Ultimately,
the
community
was
unsuccessful
in
its

efforts
to
halt
the
building
of
public
housing
in
Pacoima.
Many
homeowners
lost
their

homes
and
land
to
the
building
of
San
Fernando
Gardens,
the
public
housing
project.

For
city
officials,
building
public
housing
in
Pacoima
was
the
answer
to
a
city-‐wide

housing
crisis.
The
creation
of
the
Community
Redevelopment
Agency
in
Los
Angeles
in

1948
was
intended
to
help
clear
the
slums
and
in
turn
offer
those
displaced
safe
and

sanitary
housing
within
their
economic
means.
The
subsequent
passage
of
the
American

Housing
Act
of
1949
pushed
for
the
increase
in
public
housing
by
810,000
units
by
1955
to

help
alleviate
the
shortage
in
housing.
52

Meanwhile,
city
officials
garnered
support
for

demolition
by
exposing
slum
conditions
through
photographs,
tours,
and
disseminating

disease
and
crime
rates.
(Figures
2.5-‐2.7)
It
was
not
until
later
that
planners,
sociologists,

51

Helen
Ponce,
Hoyt
Street:
An
Autobiography,
(Albuquerque:
University
of
New
Mexico
Press,
1993)
x.

52

Garden
Apartments
of
Los
Angeles:
Historic
Context
Statement,
Architectural
Resources
Group
(Los
Angeles

Conservancy,
October
2012)
20.

27

and
developers
admitted
that
“slum
clearance
was
not
only
racially
discriminatory
but

ineffective
in
removing
blight
and
in
creating
more
vital
cities.”
53

Figure
2.5:
Substandard
housing
in
Pacoima,
circa
1950.
Source:
Housing
Authority
Collection,
Los

Angeles
Public
Library.

53

Dana
Cuff,
The
Provisional
City:
Los
Angeles
Stories
of
Architecture
and
Urbanism
(Cambridge:
MIT
Pres,

2000)
26.

28

Figure
2.6:
Rita
Duarte
in
her
kitchen,
slum
homes,
1948.
Source:
Housing

Authority
Collection,
Los
Angeles
Public
Library.

Figure
2.7:
Duarte
family
slum
home
in
Pacoima,
1948.
Source:
Housing

Authority
Collection,
Los
Angeles
Public
Library.

29

Completed
in
1955,
San
Fernando
Gardens
is
the
only
public
housing
project
in
the

San
Fernando
Valley.
Notable
modernist
architects
Arthur
B.
Gallion
and
Victor
D.
Gruen

designed
the
buildings
while
Francis
Dean
designed
the
landscaping
for
the
superblock

plan
complex
in
the
garden
apartment
style.
The
site
has
slightly
curvilinear
streets
with

strips
of
green
space
and
includes
approximately
ninety
buildings
with
448
two-‐story

multifamily
residential
units,
a
main
office,
a
community
center
and
a
gym.
More

condensed
than
other
public
housing
projects
of
this
time,
the
alternating
placement
of

buildings
show
the
amount
of
space
planning
that
went
into
the
maximization
of
space
all

the
while
attempting
to
provide
as
much
privacy
for
residents
as
possible.
Within
the

boundaries
of
the
site
is
Guardian
Angel
Church,
a
Catholic
Church
and
school
established

in
the
1920s
that
has
longstanding
ties
to
the
Latino
community
in
Pacoima.
54

(Figures
2.8-‐2.9)

54

Garden
Apartments
of
Los
Angeles:
Historic
Context
Statement,
Architectural
Resources
Group
(Los
Angeles

Conservancy,
October
2012).;
“How
Pacoima's
Plans
to
Improve
Were
Hexed
by
Housing
Authority,”
Los

Angeles
Times,
October
29,
1952,
ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
A5.;
Arleta-Pacoima
Report,
Historic

Districts,
Planning
Districts
and
Multi-Property
Resources,
(Survey
LA:
Los
Angeles
Historic
Resources

Survey,
March
2015).

30

Figure
2.8:
Aerial
view
of
San
Fernando
Gardens.
Source:
Google
Maps
by
Author.

Figure
2.9:
Courtyard
and
apartment
buildings
of
San
Fernando
Gardens
housing
project
in

Pacoima,
circa
1955.
Source:
Security
Pacific
National
Bank
Collection,
Los
Angeles
Public

Library.

31

Pacoima’s
rapid
development
during
the
1950s
and
1960s
was
both
residential
and

commercial.
During
this
time
a
series
of
approved
petitions
to
widen
and
rezone
parts
of

Van
Nuys
Boulevard
in
Pacoima
from
residential
to
commercial
led
to
it
becoming

Pacoima’s
unofficial
commercial
district.
The
widening
and
rezoning
of
Pacoima’s
main

road
prompted
the
building
of
commercial
properties
and
the
implementation
of
concrete

curbs,
gutters,
sidewalks
and
all
electric
lighting.
55

(Figure
2.10)
The
highest
concentration

of
commercial
properties
along
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
is
found
between
Laurel
Canyon

Boulevard
and
San
Fernando
Road
and
it
included
a
new
modern
library
and
buildings
that

housed
commerce
and
industry
that
served
and
employed
the
booming
population.
56

(Figures
2.11-‐2.12)

55

“Van
Nuys
Rezoning,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
October
13,
1968,
ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
N5.;
“Van
Nuys

Blvd.
to
Become
Major
Highway,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
July
20,
1958,
ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
SF2.;

“Nursery
Petition,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
April
8,
1956,
ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
I14.

56

Ed
Meagher,
“Pacoima
Area
Revamped
by
Awakened
Citizenry:
Los
Angeles
Program
for...”
Los
Angeles

Times,
May
18,
1955,
ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
A1.

32

Figure
2.10:
Widening
a
stretch
of
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
in
newly-‐rezoned
business
area
of

Pacoima
is
inspected
by
Ben
L.
O'Brien,
Pacoima
Chamber
of
Commerce
president,
left;

William
E.
McCann,
Los
Angeles
Board
of
Public
Works;
and,
D.P.
Loomis,
banker.

Source:
Valley
Times
Collection,
Los
Angeles
Public
Library.

Figure
2.11:
Exterior
of
the
Pacoima
Branch
of
the
Los
Angeles
Public
Library,
circa
1965.

Source:
Security
Pacific
National
Bank
Collection,
Los
Angeles
Public
Library.

33

Figure
2.12:
1965
New
Plant
for
Virgil
Walker’s
AAA
Drappery
Service
and
Walker
Travel
Agency,

13460
Van
Nuys
Blvd.
The
building
would
later
become
the
home
of
the
MEND,
a
community

organization
providing
aid
and
services
to
underprivileged
community
members.
Source:
Valley

Times
Collection,
Los
Angeles
Public
Library.

As
Pacoima
continued
to
grow,
a
socioeconomic
separation
occurred
amongst
its

residents
in
the
western
and
eastern
parts
of
the
community.
The
western
part
of
Pacoima

counted
with
a
larger
population
of
middle-‐class
and
Caucasian
residents
while
the
eastern

part
of
Pacoima
was
home
to
a
poorer
and
more
racially
diverse
population.
57

The
building

of
Interstates
5
and
210
in
the
middle
of
the
century
and
the
building
118
Freeway
in
the

1970s
within
Pacoima
displaced
families
and
further
separated
the
community
from
other

57

George
Garrigues,
Pacoima
Striving
to
End
Racial
Feeling,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
February
13
1966.

34

parts
of
the
Northeast
Valley.
58

The
interstate
5,
in
particular,
reinforced
the
division

between
the
east
and
west
Pacoima.
In
the
1960s,
the
affluent
residents
of
the
western
half

successfully
led
a
petition
to
disaffiliate
from
Pacoima
to
become
a
separate
neighborhood

named
Arleta,
the
secession
became
official
in
1968.
Though
the
City
of
Los
Angeles

Planning
Department
at
times
combines
the
areas,
the
communities
remain
separate
to
this

day.
59

(Figure
2.13)

Figure
2.13:
Map
of
Pacoima
and
Arleta
along
with
the
freeway
system
that
cuts
and
surrounds
the

community.
Source:
Adapted
by
Sara
Delgadillo
from
map
images
of
Pacoima
and
Arleta,
Los
Angeles,
CA,

USA,
Mapping
L.A.,
Los
Angeles
Times,
Accessed
Sep
1,
2015,

http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/pacoima/?q=Pacoima%2C+Los+Angeles%2C+C
A%2C+USA&lat=34.2767691&lng=-‐118.4104684&g=Geocodify.

58

Karen
Glasgow,
“This
is/was
My
Community:
A
Narrative
Inquiry
of
a
Black/Latino
Neighborhood
in

Transition”
(PhD
diss.
Claremont
Graduate
University,
2001).

59

Geoffrey
Mohan,
“Arleta:
Boycott
of
‘Pacoima’
Addressers
is
Urged,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
Dec
30
1993.

35

Pacoima,
north
of
the
interstate
5,
continued
to
foster
a
booming
multi-‐ethnic

community
well
after
the
war
while
land-‐use
policies
continued
to
marginalize
the

population
residing
there
through
the
continuous
building
of
industry
alongside
residential

neighborhoods.
(Figure
2.14)
Barraclough
explains,
“on
the
basis
of
existing
racial,

economic,
and
political
relationships,
resources
are
channeled
to
some
neighborhoods,

enabling
the
accumulation
of
wealth
and
power,
while
environmental
hazards
and

unwanted
land
uses
are
channeled
to
others
propelling
the
concentration
of
poverty,
poor

health,
and
other
dangers.”
60

60

Laura
R.
Barraclough,
Making
the
San
Fernando
Valley:
Rural
Landscapes,
Urban
Development,
and
White

Privilege,
(Athens:
University
of
Georgia
Press,
2010),
16.

36

Figure
2.14:
Generalized
Land
Use
Map
of
Arleta-‐Pacoima
Community
Plan
Area
as
of
2009.
Source:

Adapted
by
Sara
Delgadillo
from
Los
Angeles
Department
of
City
Planning
map,
Accessed
Sep
1,
2015,

http://planning.lacity.org/complan/valley/arlpage.htm.

37

Pacoima
a
Community
in
Transition
–
1970-Present

In
the
years
after
the
freeway
expansion,
Pacoima
became
better
connected
to
other

employment
centers
within
the
city
and
it
also
became
a
center
for
employment
and

industry.
By
the
1970s
Pacoima
housed
large
companies
and
industrial
plants
like
Price

Pfister
the
manufacturer
of
water
faucets
and
Carlow
Co.
the
manufacturer
and
distributor

of
wooden
doors.
Industrial
parks
also
built
during
this
time
were
divided
into
smaller

commercial
spaces
that
housed
smaller
companies.
Industrial
building
types
continued
to

be
built
in
Pacoima
into
the
1980s
along
the
community’s
main
roadways,
railroad,
and

freeway
corridors.
61

During
this
time,
Pacoima’s
physical
appearance
and
its
population
was
changing

too.
By
1960,
ninety
percent
of
all
African
Americans
living
in
the
San
Fernando
Valley
lived

in
the
Pacoima/Arleta
area,
reaching
a
population
figure
of
roughly
9,000.
By
1990,
“just

fifteen
percent
of
the
valley's
total
population
of
73,851
African
Americans
resided
in

Pacoima-‐Arleta.”
62

(Figure
2.15)
As
the
population
of
African
Americans
in
Pacoima

declined,
the
population
of
Mexican
immigrants
was
increasing.
As
in
decades
before,

economic
opportunity
was
the
force
behind
Mexican
immigration
during
the
second
half
of

the
century.
Industries
within
the
San
Fernando
Valley
and
in
Greater
Los
Angeles
saw
a

spike
in
low-‐wage,
low-‐benefit,
non-‐union
jobs
in
informal
employment
areas
while
there

61

“Second
Plant
Completed
in
Center,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
June
2,
1963,
ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
P10.;

“Price
Pfister
Moves
Into
Pacoima
Plant,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
October
3,
1965,
ProQuest
Historical

Newspapers,
N2.;
“Industrial
Park
Completed,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
October
29,
1967,
ProQuest
Historical

Newspapers,
N16.;
“Ground
Broken
for
Paper
Plant,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
March
23,
1980,
ProQuest

Historical
Newspapers,
J26.

62

Geoffrey
Mohan,
“Black
History
Month
/
Valley
Retrospective:
Perspectives
on
the
Past
and
the
Future,”
Los

Angeles
Times,
February
22,
1994,
http://articles.latimes.com/1994-‐02-‐22/local/me-‐25833_1_african-‐
american.

38

was
a
decrease
in
high-‐wage
and
benefit
union
jobs
in
manufacturing.
“Mexicans,
both

sanctioned
and
unsanctioned,
filled
many
of
these
new
positions
in
California
and
continue

to
do
so,
as
expanded
globalization
has
contributed
significantly
to
continued
outsourcing

of
high-‐wage
U.S.
jobs
and
insourcing
of
low-‐wage
workers.”
63

Figure
2.15:
Historic
photograph
of
an
African
American
family
at
home
in

Pacoima
circa
1964.

Source:
Zenobia,
“having
fun
outside,”
Flickr.

The
passing
of
the
1968
Federal
Fair
Housing
Act
allowed
upward
social
mobility

for
African
American
homeowners
in
Pacoima.
Many
African
American
homeowners
were

motivated
to
sell
their
already
paid
off
properties
in
order
to
move
to
other
suburban

63

Latinos
in
the
Twentieth
Century
California:
National
Register
of
Historic
Places
Context
Statement,
California

Office
of
Historic
Preservation
(California
State
Parks,
2015)
11.

39

communities
within
Greater
Los
Angeles.
64

The
influx
of
Latino
immigrants
into
Pacoima

during
this
time
also
influenced
the
population
shift
that
occurred
in
Pacoima.
In
her
thesis,

This
is/was
My
Community:
A
Narrative
Inquiry
of
a
Black/Latino
Neighborhood
In

Transition,
author
Karen
Glasgow
examined
the
phenomenon
that
impacted
Pacoima
as

African
Americans
moved
out
and
Latinos
moved
in.
“The
pattern
of
urban
space
‘flooding’

has
become
common
in
California
where
Hispanic/Latino
barrios
have
expanded
to

encroach
on
the
inner
cities
that
were
once
populated
by
Blacks.”
Glasgow
points
out
that

this
was
the
case
with
Pacoima.
The
change
in
the
racial
makeup
of
the
neighborhood

encouraged
African
Americans
to
move,
especially
those
with
means,
and
considered

middle-‐class.

Their
decision
to
leave
Pacoima
was
“intended
to
avoid
problems
associated

with
poverty
such
as
high
rates
of
crime,
the
lack
of
physical
upkeep
of
neighborhood

housing,
and
inadequately
funded
government
services.”
65

Glasgow
suggests
that
a
non-‐
poor
African
American
neighborhood,
like
Pacoima,
often
does
not
stay
non-‐poor;
instead
it

loses
its
non-‐poor
population
and
gains
poor
residents
during
such
transition.
The
moving

patterns
of
middle-‐class
African
Americans
lead
them
to
avoid
neighborhoods
with

moderate
to
high
rates
of
poverty.
For
this
reason,
middle-‐class
African
Americans
left

Pacoima
and
moved
to
Los
Angeles’
other
suburbs
in
the
San
Fernando
Valley
and
others

more
distant
like
the
Antelope
Valley.
66

By
the
late
1970s,
much
of
Pacoima
had
fallen
into
disrepair.
Many
of
the

commercial
storefronts
on
its
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
commercial
strip
were
vacant,
boarded

64

Steve
Carney,
"Pacoima
Struggles
with
Changes,”
Daily
News,
February
14,
1999,

http://search.proquest.com/docview/281844641?accountid=14749.

65

Karen
Glasgow,
“This
is/was
My
Community:
A
Narrative
Inquiry
of
a
Black/Latino
Neighborhood
In

Transition”
(PhD
diss.
Claremont
Graduate
University,
2001),
30-‐31.

66

Ibid.

40

up,
and
covered
in
graffiti.
As
with
many
poor
neighborhoods
in
large
metropolitan
cities

during
the
1980s,
crime,
gangs,
and
drugs
became
the
face
of
the
community.
To
answer
a

need,
Councilman
Bob
Ronka
formed
Pacoima
Revitalization
Inc.,
a
short-‐lived
nonprofit

redevelopment
organization,
which
aimed
to
rehabilitate
the
image
of
Pacoima.
The
focus

of
the
organization
was
a
low
interest
loan
program
that
would
provide
residents
and

business
owners
access
to
property
rehabilitation
funds.
67

(Figure
2.16)
Though
the

organization
was
successful
in
leading
a
community
farmer’s
market
and
mural
program,

accounting
issues
and
disagreements
between
the
directors,
board,
and
community

plagued
it
survival.
(Figures
2.17-‐2.18)
Ultimately
very
few
loans
were
processed
and

much
of
the
rehabilitation
the
organization
had
set
out
to
complete
did
not
take
place

before
the
organization
was
disbanded
in
1981.
68

67

Mark
Stein,
“5-‐Year
Plan
Aimed
at
Reviving
Pacoima,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
June
28,
1979,
ProQuest
Historical

Newspapers,
SF1.

68

Sandy
Banks,
“Pacoima
Renewal
Unit
Hit,
May
Close,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
June
25,
1981,
ProQuest
Historical

Newspapers,
V1.

41

Figure
2.16:
Crisp’s
Billiard
Parlor,
13226
Van
Nuys
Blvd,
one
of
the
few
buildings
(that

was)
to
receive
a
face-‐lift
through
Pacoima
Revitalization
Inc.,
circa
1980.
Source:
The

Papers
of
Pacoima
Revitalization,
Inc.
Collection,
Oviatt
Library
Urban
Archives
Center,

California
State
University,
Northridge.

Figure
2.17:
Mural
funded
by
Pacoima
Revitalization
Inc.,
on
San
Fernando
Garden’s
Van
Nuys
Blvd

facing
Façade,
circa
1980.
Source:
The
Papers
of
Pacoima
Revitalization,
Inc.
Collection,
Oviatt

Library
Urban
Archives
Center,
California
State
University,
Northridge.

42

Figure
2.18:
Mural
funded
by
Pacoima
Revitalization
Inc.,
on
the
side
of
a
San
Fernando
Garden’s

residential
building,
circa
1980.
Source:
The
Papers
of
Pacoima
Revitalization,
Inc.
Collection,
Oviatt

Library
Urban
Archives
Center,
California
State
University,
Northridge.

In
the
1990s,
as
awareness
of
environmental
hazards
grew,
Pacoima
began
to
fight

against
pollution
and
hazardous
chemicals
that
had
been
actively
hurting
its
residents
due

to
the
concentration
of
industrial
plants
alongside
its
residential
neighborhoods.
Pacoima

Beautiful,
a
grassroots
environmental
justice
organization,
began
voicing
the

environmental
concerns
of
the
community
through
localized
efforts
that
geared
member-‐
led
community
beautification
initiatives.
Among
Pacoima
Beautiful’s
first
victories
was

helping
residents
identify
sources
of
pollution
within
the
community,
including
the
triggers

of
asthma
and
the
dangers
of
lead
within
the
home.
69

Pacoima
Beautiful
was
also
successful

69

“History,”
Pacoima
Beautiful,
accessed
February
2,
2015,
http://www.pacoimabeautiful.org/about-‐
us/history.

43

in
stopping
unsafe
cleanup
and
helped
contribute
a
community
voice
for
soil
remediation

at
the
former
site
of
Price-‐Pfister’s
manufacturing
plant.
70

Leading
up
to
the
2000s,
Pacoima
continued
to
endure
disinvestment,
though
active

community
members,
community
organizations,
and
establishments
helped
foster
a
strong

sense
of
community
and
community
identity.
By
the
year
2000,
eighty-‐three
percent
of

Pacoima’s
population
was
Latino
and
five
percent
was
African
American.
71

The
subsequent

housing
crisis
of
2008
left
one
in
every
ten
houses
in
Pacoima
in
foreclosure
and
the

economic
downturn
that
accompanied
it
further
depressed
the
impoverished
community.
72

As
the
economy
improved,
so
did
activism
within
the
community.
As
of
2012,
mural

projects
along
the
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
commercial
corridor
once
again
had
a
place
in
the

community.
Local
young
muralist,
Levi
Ponce,
took
matters
to
beautify
Pacoima
into
his

own
hands;
he
created
unofficial
agreements
with
business
owners,
neighbors
and
graffiti

crews
that
would
allow
him
to
paint
murals
on
the
exterior
walls
of
commercial
buildings

along
Van
Nuys
Boulevard.
73

That
same
year,
Ponce
and
other
like-‐minded
artists

established
Mural
Mile
in
Pacoima,
which
now
boasts
more
than
twenty
murals
focused
on

the
arts,
culture
and
history
of
the
Northeast
San
Fernando
Valley.
In
the
years
since
its

creation,
Mural
Mile
received
international
acclaim
and
brought
the
arts
to
a
community
in

need
of
revitalization.
74

Tours
of
Mural
Mile
are
offered
to
the
public
through
a
partnership

70

“Stop:
Pacoima,”
Invisible-5,
accessed
August
12,
2015,

http://www.invisible5.org/index.php?page=Pacoima.

71

U.S.
Census
Bureau,
Census
2000,
Report
prepared
by
Social
Explorer,
accessed
July
27,
2015.

72

Frank
Shyong,
“Art
of
Paint
and
Persuasion;
Muralist
Levi
Ponce
is
helping
to
Reclaim
Pacoima’s
Image,”

Los
Angeles
Times,
August
23,
2013,
A.1.

73

Ibid.

74

“About
Us,”
Mural
Mile
of
the
San
Fernando
Valley,
accessed
July
27,
2015,

http://www.muralmile.org/#!about_us/csgz.

44

with
the
Museum
of
the
San
Fernando
Valley
and
The
Public
Art
Initiative.
75

(Figures
2.19-‐
2.20)

Figure
2.19:
“The
Day
the
Music
Died”
by
Levi
Ponce
and
assistants,
a
Mural
Mile
project
and
tribute
to

Pacoima’s
Ritchie
Valens
and
the
musicians
who
died
alongside
Valens
in
1959.
Painted
at
13433
Van
Nuys

Blvd.
Source:
Ian
Robertson-‐Salt,
Mural
Conservancy
of
Los
Angeles,

http://muralconservancy.org/murals/day-‐music-‐died.
Permission
pending.

75

“Tours,”
Mural
Mile
of
the
San
Fernando
Valley,
accessed
July
27,
2015,

http://www.muralmile.org/#!about_us/csgz.

45

Figure
2.20:
“Freedom
Fighter”
by
Kristy
Sandoval,
a
Mural
Mile
project
and
tribute
to
Assata
Shakur.

Painted
in
2013
on
the
exterior
wall
of
Pacoima’s
historic
African-‐American
family-‐owned
and

operated
barbershop.
Source:
Tapatio
Flores,
Mural
Conservancy
of
Los
Angeles,

http://www.muralconservancy.org/murals/freedom-‐fighter.
Permission
pending.

46

Chapter
3:
Study
of
Pacoima’s
Business
District
and
Main
Street

Revitalization
in
Pacoima

Pacoima
has
been
the
focus
of
multiple
revitalization
efforts
geared
towards

economic
and
community
development.
In
1986,
Pacoima
was
named
one
of
thirteen

“Enterprise
Zones”
in
the
state,
and
one
of
three
in
greater
Los
Angeles,
alongside
Watts

and
the
area
east
of
USC.
The
designation
provided
businesses
tax
breaks
and
incentives
to

hire
the
unemployed.
Over
the
course
of
fifteen
years
the
program
was
to
create
five
to

eight
thousand
new
jobs
in
the
Los
Angeles
area.
76

In
the
1990s,
a
section
of
Pacoima
that

included
San
Fernando
Gardens,
two
schools,
and
commercial
strips
along
Van
Nuys,

Glenoaks,
and
Foothill
Boulevards,
was
named
the
Northeast
Valley
Empowerment
Zone.

The
empowerment
zone
designation
was
part
of
a
federal
program
that
sought
to
promote

reinvestment
and
job
creation
within
the
nation’s
poor
communities
through
tax
credits,

low-‐interest
financing
and
other
incentives.
The
1.9-‐square
mile
section
in
the
Northeast

Valley
was
to
share
$100
million
in
social
service
grants
and
give
businesses
within
the

zone’s
boundaries
tax
incentives
for
hiring
people
living
there.
77

The
revitalization
efforts

in
Pacoima,
including
those
of
the
Pacoima
Revitalization
Inc.
mentioned
in
the
previous

chapter,
underscore
the
importance
and
history
of
industry,
commerce,
and
employment
in

the
community.
Furthermore,
they
recognize
Van
Nuys
Boulevard’s
commercial
corridor
as

76

Mark
Gladstone,
“They're
Among
13
'Enterprise
Zones'
Chosen:
State
Moves
to
Assist
3
L.A.-‐Area

Communities,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
February
19,
1986;
ProQuest
Historical
Newspapers,
pg.
B1.

77

"Zone
of
Hope
Section
of
Pacoima
Pushing
for
Empowerment
Zone,"
Los
Angeles
Times,
April
10,
1994,

http://search.proquest.com/docview/282244107.

Darrell
Satzman,
"Valley
Focus;
Pacoima;
Chamber
to
Discuss
Empowerment
Zone,"
Los
Angeles
Times,
Mar

26,
1998,
http://search.proquest.com/docview/421226368.

47

the
community
hub
for
commerce
and
as
the
face
for
the
community
of
Pacoima.
(Figure

3.1)

Figure
3.1:
Photo
of
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
looking
north
towards
Foothill
Boulevard.
Source:
San

Fernando
Valley
Historical
Society.

The
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
commercial
strip
was
the
focus
of
a
noteworthy
main

street
revitalization
effort
too.
The
business
strip
in
Pacoima
was
named
a
Main
Street

through
Mayor
Richard
Riordan’s
Targeted
Neighborhood
Initiative
(TNI)
in
1997.
This

designation
targeted
the
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
business
district
to
receive
a
share
of
$3

million
in
federal
funds
for
the
makeover
of
a
1.5-‐mile
stretch.
78

As
a
commitment
to

transforming
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
into
an
economically
healthy
commercial
district,
a

group
of
Pacoima
merchants,
community
organizations,
and
public
officials
formed

78

"Community
Profile
/
Pacoima,"
Los
Angeles
Times,
Feb
1,
1998,

http://search.proquest.com/docview/421240671.

48

Pacoima
Partners,
which
organized
the
revitalization
project
that
came
to
be
known
as
the

Pacoima
Town
Center.
The
project
utilized
the
funds
allocated
by
the
Targeted

Neighborhood
Initiative
“to
develop,
implement,
and
maintain
public
improvements
such

as
planted
medians,
stamped
asphalt
crosswalks,
and
street
trees
on
Van
Nuys
Boulevard

between
Glenoaks
Boulevard
and
the
Golden
State
(I-‐5)
freeway
and
between
Pierce
and

Filmore
Streets.”
79

(Figure
3.2)

Figure
3.2:
Overlay
diagram
of
revitalization
efforts
in
Pacoima.
Diagram
by
Sara
Delgadillo,
2015.

During
its
existence,
Pacoima
Partners
managed
Pacoima’s
state-‐recognized
Main

Street
program.
California’s
Main
Street
Programs
focus
on
“enhancing
the
economic,

79

Pacoima
Street
Plan,
A
Part
of
the
General
Plan
–
City
of
Los
Angeles,
Los
Angeles
City
Planning,
2004.

49

social,
cultural,
and
environmental
well-‐being
of
historic
and
traditional
commercial

districts
located
in
California's
diverse
cities,
towns,
and
neighborhoods”
through

grassroots
efforts
led
by
committees
made
up
of
community
members.
80

Pacoima
Town

Center
Partners
aimed
to
use
the
Main
Street
approach
in
the
creation
of
a
management

strategy
for
the
Pacoima
Town
Center.
The
committee,
which
was
made
up
of
public
office

representatives,
administered
the
TNI
funds
with
the
help
of
a
community
manager

through
their
fiscal
agent,
which
was
San
Fernando
Valley
Neighborhood
Legal
Services.

The
completion
of
the
Pacoima
Town
Center
project,
which
included
the
planting
of
trees,

installation
of
street
furniture,
painted
crosswalks,
and
street
post
markers,
marked
the

end
of
Pacoima’s
Main
Street
program.
Pacoima
Town
Center
Partners
became
inactive

when
the
program
was
defunded
in
the
early
2000s.
81

Soon
after
it
was
defunded,

Pacoima’s
Main
Street
status,
which
provided
business
and
marketing
assistance,
was

revoked
by
the
California
Main
Street
Alliance.
82

With
Pacoima
Partners
inactive
and

Pacoima’s
Main
Street
status
revoked
shortly
after
the
completion
of
its
inaugural
project,

Pacoima’s
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
never
reached
its
full
potential
as
a
California
Main
Street.

Most
recently,
in
2014,
Mayor
Eric
Garcetti
designated
the
commercial
district
on

Pacoima’s
Van
Nuys
Boulevard’s
commercial
corridor,
between
Laurel
Canyon
and
San

Fernando
Road,
as
one
of
Los
Angeles’
Great
Streets.
The
Great
Streets
initiative
is
“a

concept
developed
in
smaller
cities
in
which
local
government
pitches
in
to
attract

80

“California
Main
Street
Program,”
California
Office
of
Historic
Preservation,
accessed
May
16,
2015,

http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23484.

81

Yvette
Lopez-‐Ledesma
(Pacoima
Beautiful)
in
discussion
with
author,
Sep
1,
2015.

82

Laura
Cole-‐Rowe
(California
Main
Street
Alliance)
in
discussion
with
the
author,
May
5,
2015.;
“Community

Revitalization
Project:
Neighborhood
Legal
Services
of
Los
Angeles
County,”
LSC
Resource
Information,

September
11,
2002,
accessed
May
5,
2015,
http://lri.lsc.gov/about/archives-‐0/lri-‐archive/community-‐
revitalization-‐project-‐0.

50

businesses
that
reflect
the
unique
character
of
a
neighborhood
and
help
define
it
as
a

destination.”
83

The
fifteen
corridors,
one
within
each
council
district,
selected
by
Garcetti

are
to
receive
the
resources
and
facilities
that
would
help
reposition
them
as
resourceful

parts
of
their
communities.

In
a
2014
Daily
News
article,
Pacoima’s
Councilman,
Felipe
Fuentes
is
quoted
as

working
towards
creating
more
sustainable
economic
development
and
walkability
for
his

district
as
a
way
to
provide
the
“opportunity
for
stores
to
be
successful.”
84

Also
mentioned

in
the
article
is
the
need
of
mixed-‐use
developments
within
Pacoima,
ones
“where
residents

benefit
by
living
above
or
next
to
stores
and
restaurants,
while
the
area
serves
as
a
draw
to

neighboring
communities
as
well.”
85

Fuentes
is
not
aiming
for
large
ambitious
mixed-‐use

developments
like
those
found
in
upscale
neighborhoods
such
as
Old
Town
in
Pasadena,
3
rd

Street
Promenade
in
Santa
Monica,
or
The
Grove
near
West
Hollywood.
He
is
looking
to

turn
his
district
into
a
destination
and
draw
people
from
neighboring
communities
by

utilizing
Pacoima’s
unique
qualities.
86

Though
the
article
suggests
that
the
existing
building

stock
on
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
is
challenged
for
not
having
the
appeal
of
high
style

architecture,
the
lack
of
high
style
architecture
could
be
seen
as
an
opportunity.

Pacoima
Beautiful
sees
the
Great
Streets
designation
as
an
opportunity
to
recognize

the
rich
cultural
legacy
along
found
along
the
Van
Nuys
corridor.
Even
though
the
Great

Streets
program
is
open-‐ended,
Pacoima
Beautiful
aims
to
utilize
the
Great
Streets

83

Rick
Orlov,
"Los
Angeles
Mayor
Eric
Garcetti
Paves
the
Path
for
'Great
Streets,'"
Whittier
Daily
News,
Jun
3,

2014,
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1532696053.

84

Rick
Orlov,
"'Lifestyle
Centers'
Proposed
to
Boost
Pacoima's
Livability,"
Daily
News,
Oct
26,
2014,

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1616620895?accountid=14749.

85

Ibid.

86

Ibid.

51

challenge
grant
funds
it
was
awarded
to
help
achieve
one
of
its
goals,
which
is
the

preservation
of
the
rich
sense
of
place
along
Pacoima’s
Great
Street
by
working
with
local

businesses.
87

In
2015,
Pacoima
Beautiful
and
Councilman
Felipe
Fuentes
unveiled
Pacoima’s

“People
Street
Plaza,”
now
known
as
Bradley
Plaza.
The
public
square
sits
adjacent
to
the

San
Fernando
Gardens
housing
complex
and
was
designed
with
the
help
of
community

members
as
part
of
a
citywide
movement
to
create
public
spaces
out
of
seldom
used
streets

by
turning
them
into
car-‐less
plazas.
The
intent
is
to
create
a
space
for
neighbors
to
gather

and
participate
in
organized
physical
activities
or
simply
“hang
out
among
chaise
lounges,

tables
and
planters
–
free
of
cars.”
88

(Figure
3.2-‐3.3)

Just
a
year
before
the
unveiling,
Pacoima
Beautiful
hosted
a
workshop
in
the
public

square
to
inform
its
Urban
Greening
plan,
which
includes
water
infiltration
and
efforts
to

improve
the
bicyclist
and
pedestrian
experience
in
Pacoima.
89

James
Rojas,
the
East
L.A.

native
and
city
planning
consultant
who
coined
the
term
and
concept
of
“Latino
Urbanism,”

was
invited
to
lead
the
workshop
in
the
plaza
to
activate
the
site
and
create
an
avenue
for

community
feedback.
Through
Rojas’
interactive
exercise,
adults
and
children
envisioned

enhancements
to
their
community
with
the
use
of
toys
and
large-‐scale
models
of
their

neighborhood.

87

Yvette
Lopez-‐Ledesma
(Pacoima
Beautiful)
in
discussion
with
the
author,
Sep
1,
2015.

88

Dana
Bartholomew,
“Pacoima
celebrates
new
People
Street
Plaza,”
Daily
News,
July
30,
2015.

89

Kris
Fortin,
“Pacoima2050:
Party
at
the
Plaza,
Envisioning
the
Community’s
Future,”
StreetsBlog
LA
(blog),

May
1,
2014,
accessed
July
27,
2015,
http://la.streetsblog.org/2014/05/01/pacoima2050-‐party-‐at-‐the-‐
plaza-‐envisioning-‐the-‐communitys-‐future/#more-‐94467.

52

Figure
3.3:
Bradley
Plaza,
July
2015.
Source:
Pacoima
Beautiful.

Figure
3.4:
Bradley
Plaza
unveiling
event,
July
2015.
Source:
Pacoima
Beautiful.

53

Current
and
pending
efforts
to
revitalize
Pacoima
work
off
of
the
Great
Street

designation
and
include
Pacoima
Beautiful’s
Complete
Streets
Initiative
and
Pacoima
Wash

Vision
Plan.
The
Complete
Street
initiative
aims
to
educate
the
community
with
regard
to

street
safety
while
promoting
walkability
and
advocating
for
street-‐level
improvements

that
will
improve
the
pedestrian,
bicyclist,
and
public
transit
experience
along
Van
Nuys

Boulevard
and
Pacoima’s
roadways.
Through
the
Pacoima
Wash
Vision
Plan
proposes
the

creation
of
a
“greenway”
along
the
existing
Pacoima
Wash
that
includes
a
bike
path
that

would
connect
Pacoima
to
other
communities
in
Los
Angeles.
90

Study
of
Pacoima’s
Business
District

In
order
to
study
the
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
business
corridor
to
identify
historic
and

culturally
significant
resources
and
businesses,
an
investigation
was
conducted.
The

investigation
included
a
sidewalk
survey
of
current
businesses,
a
review
of
existing

surveys,
building
permits,
and
interviews
with
local
business
owners
and
community

members.

The
most
recent
revitalization
effort,
started
in
2014
by
Mayor
Garcetti,
is
focused

on
a
smaller
portion
of
the
business
corridor,
which
is
the
Pacoima
Great
Street
portion
of

Van
Nuys
Boulevard
from
San
Fernando
Road
to
Laurel
Canyon
Boulevard.
The
boundary

used
for
the
investigation
is
larger
than
that
suggested
by
the
Pacoima
Great
Street
and
is

slightly
smaller
in
length
than
that
of
the
Targeted
Neighborhood
Initiative
revitalization

90

“History,”
Pacoima
Beautiful,
accessed
February
2,
2015,
http://www.pacoimabeautiful.org/about-‐
us/history.

54

effort
led
by
the
Pacoima
Town
Center
Partners.
The
boundary
for
this
study’s
survey
is

along
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
from
Norris
Avenue
on
the
north
and
Laurel
Canyon
Boulevard

on
the
south.
(Figure
3.5)
The
study
survey
area
was
reduced
from
that
suggested
by
the

TNI
initiative
due
to
the
presence
of
single
family
residences
and
non-‐commercial
buildings

north
of
Norris
Avenue;
Pacoima
Elementary
School
and
residential
buildings
visibly
mark

the
end
of
the
commercial
corridor
along
Van
Nuys
Blvd.
Additionally,
the
area
investigated

is
greater
than
the
Pacoima
Great
Street
boundary
to
the
north
in
order
to
capture
the

commercial
buildings
adjacent
to
the
San
Fernando
Gardens
public
housing
project.

55

Figure
3.5:
Diagram
illustrating
study
boundary
alongside
the
boundaries
of
previous
Van
Nuys
Blvd

revitalization
efforts.
Diagram
by
Sara
Delgadillo,
2015.

A
survey
of
the
buildings
and
establishments
found
within
the
study
boundary

further
revealed
the
significance
of
the
businesses
and
services
found
along
the
corridor.

Among
these
establishments
were
a
number
of
nonprofit
organizations,
municipal
offices,

religious
institutions,
and
small
businesses
that
provide
services
and
goods
to
the

community.
Among
the
establishments
found
within
the
study
boundary
there
are:

eighteen
barber/beauty
salons;
thirteen
faith-‐based
organizations;
over
ten
institutions

56

offering
financial
services
including
loans,
check
cashing,
and
money
transfers;
six

establishments
offering
immigration
and
law
services;
and
over
ten
businesses
offering

insurance
and
income
tax
services.
A
full
diagram
of
the
establishments
inventoried

through
this
study,
with
building
construction
dates
per
the
Los
Angeles
County
Office
of

the
Assessor’s
Property
Assessment
Information
System,
can
be
found
in
Appendix
A.

Heritage
Conservation
in
Pacoima

In
2014,
the
City
of
Los
Angeles
surveyed
the
Arleta-‐Pacoima
Community
Plan
Area

through
the
citywide
survey
project,
SurveyLA.
The
survey
found
that
there
are
no
formally

designated
historic
resources
within
the
Arleta-‐Pacoima
planning
area
listed
in
the

National
Register
of
Historic
Places,
the
California
Register
of
Historical
Resources,
or

designated
as
Los
Angeles
Historic-‐Cultural
Monuments.
Although
not
designated,
the

survey
found
the
following
properties
to
be
eligible
for
formal
designation
and

consideration
in
the
planning
process:
eight
intact
single-‐family
residences
that
date
to
the

1910s
and
1920s
with
character-‐defining
features
of
the
Craftsman
style;
one
residential

historic
district
(San
Fernando
Gardens);
one
residential
planning
district
(the
Joe
Louis

tract);
three
intact
commercial
properties
built
between
1950s
and
1960s
in
Arleta;
four

institutional
properties
(two
fire
stations,
one
police
station
and
one
church);
eight

institutional
districts
(two
school
campuses,
three
religious
campuses,
one
dam,
one

municipal
airport
and
one
groundwater
retention
facility);
one
industrial
property

(grouping
of
Quonset
huts);
one
Department
of
Water
and
Power
facility;
and
four
non-‐

57

parcel
resources
(two
air
raid
sirens,
one
mature
oak
tree
and
one
1920s
bridge).
91

Of
the

significant
individual
resources
listed
in
SuveyLA’s
final
report
as
eligible
for
designation,

only
the
following
can
be
found
within
Pacoima’s
commercial
corridor:
the
Department
of

Water
and
Power
facility;
one
fire
station;
and
San
Fernando
Gardens.
Although
not
listed

in
the
final
report,
the
following
two
properties
are
listed
in
Appendix
A:
Tresierras
Market

and
Lenchita’s
Restaurant.
Both
Tresierras
and
Lenchitas
are
commercial
buildings
named

eligible
for
local
designation
through
criteria
A/1
based
on
their
association
with
events

that
have
made
a
significant
contribution
to
the
local
and
regional
history
and
heritage
of

the
area.
Both
are
significant
for
their
association
with
Commercial
Development
from

years
1850
to
1980
(context)
and
the
area’s
Commercial
Identity,
1850-‐1980
(theme).
The

survey
appropriately
describes
each
as
“a
long-‐term
location
of
a
business
important
to
the

commercial
identity
of
Pacoima,
with
longstanding
ties
to
the
area’s
Latino
community.”
92

While
the
description
within
the
survey
is
correct,
it
merely
touches
the
surface
of
the

cultural
significance
of
the
many
businesses
found
within
this
commercial
corridor.
To
a

local,
the
fact
that
very
few
commercial
resources
along
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
were
found
to

be
significant
to
the
development
and
history
of
the
area
can
be
difficult
to
believe,

especially
as
SurveyLA
reports
that
“Pacoima
and
Arleta
are
awash
in
businesses
and

cultural
institutions
that
serve
the
area’s
sizable
Latino
population,
interspersed
among

91

City
of
Los
Angeles,
Department
of
City
Planning
Office
of
Historic
Resources,
Historic
Resources
Survey

Report:
Arleta-Pacoima
Community
Plan
Area,
Prepared
by
Architectural
Resources
Group,
accessed
April

2014,
http://www.preservation.lacity.org/files/Arleta-‐Pacoima%20Report_Final.pdf.

92

City
of
Los
Angeles,
Department
of
City
Planning
Office
of
Historic
Resources,
Historic
Resources
Survey

Report:
Arleta-Pacoima
Community
Plan
Area,
Appendix
A,
Prepared
by
Architectural
Resources
Group,

accessed
April
2014,
http://www.preservation.lacity.org/files/Arleta-‐
Pacoima%20Individual%20Resources.pdf.

58

these
are
those
that
offer
tangible
links
to
the
area's
long
history
as
the
center
of

multiculturalism
and
racial
diversity
in
the
valley.”
93

Examples
of
Significant
Historic
Establishments
Eligible
for
Designation

The
SurveyLA
results
for
the
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
commercial
corridor
in
Pacoima

are
a
good
starting
point
in
identifying
other
businesses
that
have
served
the
area
and

ultimately
helped
shape
the
history
of
the
community.
Through
further
research
and
in-‐
depth
surveying,
which
included
conversations
with
local
residents
and
business
owners,

additional
businesses
have
been
found
to
be
eligible
for
local
designation
as
Los
Angeles

Historic-‐Cultural
Monuments
for
their
direct
association
with
Pacoima’s
history
and

development
in
addition
to
the
resources
identified
by
SurveyLA.
These
resources
are

considered
to
have
high
significance
and
integrity
as
they
have
been
in
continuous

operation
by
Pacoima
residents,
and
families
since
the
commercial
development
of

Pacoima’s
business
district.
The
businesses
profiled
here
are
also
considered
legacy

businesses
whose
intangible
heritage
is
just
as
significant,
if
not
more,
than
the
buildings

they
occupy.
Although
the
individual
resources
differ
from
one
another,
they
reflect
the

character,
service
and
commercial
needs
of
the
community.
The
following
study
documents

a
number
of
historic
establishments
found
within
the
boundaries
of
the
survey
conducted

for
the
purpose
of
this
study,
along
with
information
regarding
the
business
owners
and

those
that
now
operate
these
Pacoima
landmarks
that
tell
the
history
of
the
area.

93

City
of
Los
Angeles,
Department
of
City
Planning
Office
of
Historic
Resources.
Historic
Resources
Survey

Report:
Arleta-Pacoima
Community
Plan
Area.

Prepared
by
Architectural
Resources
Group,
accessed
April

2014,
http://www.preservation.lacity.org/files/Arleta-‐Pacoima%20Report_Final.pdf.

59

The
trends
in
business
and
commerce
trailed
the
population
growth
and
settlement

patterns
during
the
twentieth
century.
As
the
population
of
minority
and
underrepresented

groups
grew
in
specific
geographic
areas,
like
the
Northeast
San
Fernando
Valley,
so
did
the

demand
for
goods
and
services.
Entrepreneurial
community
members
who
established

their
own
businesses
often
met
the
community’s
needs.

Most
of
the
businesses
established

during
that
time
“were
small,
neighborhood,
family-‐owned
operations
serving
basic

community
needs.
Often
they
remained
with
the
same
family
for
multiple
generations
and

became
important
community
institutions.”
94

Tresierras
Market
-‐
13158
Van
Nuys
Boulevard

Tresierras
Market
is
an
example
of
a
longstanding
Latino
family-‐owned
business
in

Pacoima.
Entrepreneurs
Pilar
Canchola
Tresierras
and
her
husband
Frank
Tresierras

opened
Tresierras
Market
at
its
first
location
on
Kalisher
Street
in
the
City
of
San
Fernando

in
1944.
The
market
was
later
moved
to
its
current
location
Pacoima
in
the
late
1950s.

(Figure
3.6)
Pilar
and
Frank’s
sons
Dan,
Richard,
and
James
worked
at
the
market
as

teenagers
and
adopted
their
parents’
entrepreneurial
spirit,
growing
the
family
enterprise

by
1994
to
include
four
markets
greatly
valued
by
their
surrounding
communities.
95

Tresierras
markets
serve
as
cultural
resource
for
Latino
immigrants
and
families.
In

markets
like
Tresierras
the
services
and
goods
are
specialized
to
better
serve
their

94

California
Office
of
Historic
Preservation,
Latinos
in
Twentieth
Century
California:
National
Register
of

Historic
Places
Context
Statement,
(California
State
Parks,
2015)
135.

95

Jeff
Schnaufer,
“Pacoima
Family
Market
Celebrates
50th
Year
of
Success,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
October
12,

1994.;
City
of
Los
Angeles
Department
of
Building
and
Safety,
Document
number
1957VN02464,
Recorded

February
3,
1959.

60

customer
base,
even
the
meat
counter
is
modeled
to
be
like
grocery
stores
in
Mexico
and

Central
America,
they
offer
cheeses,
chorizo,
marinated
meats,
and
specialized
cuts
like
flap

steak
and
pork
butt.
96

Immigrant
Latino
families
would
travel
to
family-‐run
stores
each
week

for
their
grocery
shopping
but
also
found
them
to
be
cultural
havens.

“They
would
cash
their
checks
there,
get
to
know
the
butcher,
make

friends,”
said
Steve
Soto
of
the
Mexican
American
Grocers
Assn.
Soon

immigrant
families
started
opening
more
carnicerias,
and
the
stores

became
neighborhood
staples
with
their
helpful
carniceros.
Also
known

as
mini-‐markets
or
convenience
stores
that
specialize
in
cortes
latinos,
or

Latin
cuts,
the
meat
shops
have
flourished
in
heavily
Latino

neighborhoods.
97

As
other
supermarket
chains
like
Kroger,
Vons,
and
Albertson’s
began
offering

Latino
products
and
specialized
butcher
services
at
lower
prices,
smaller
community

market
chains
like
Tresierras
were
unable
to
compete
and
ultimately
closed
their
doors.

Though
they
have
had
to
close
the
doors
to
their
other
locations
in
the
San
Fernando

Valley,
Tresierras’
location
on
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
is
one
of
the
few
remaining
businesses

on
the
corridor
that
has
served
the
Pacoima
community
for
over
fifty
years.
Presently,
the

family-‐owned
chain
has
markets
in
Oxnard,
Santa
Paula
and
Pacoima
with
corporate

headquarters
in
San
Fernando.
98

96

Jeff
Schnaufer,
“Pacoima
Family
Market
Celebrates
50th
Year
of
Success,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
October
12,

1994.
Elena
Gaona,
"Grabbing
a
Slice
of
Latino
Sales;
Food:
Butcher
Shops
are
Part
of
a
Tradition
for

Millions
in
the
Southland.
Market
Chains
are
Moving
in
and
Want
a
Prime
Cut,"
Los
Angeles
Times,
July
08,

2002.

97

Elena
Gaona,
"Grabbing
a
Slice
of
Latino
Sales;
Food:
Butcher
Shops
are
Part
of
a
Tradition
for
Millions
in

the
Southland.
Market
Chains
are
Moving
in
and
Want
a
Prime
Cut,"
Los
Angeles
Times,
July
08,
2002.

98

“Locations,”
Tresierras
Supermarkets,
accessed
August
19,
2015,
http://tresierras.com/locations.aspx.;

Elena
Gaona,
"Grabbing
a
Slice
of
Latino
Sales;
Food:
Butcher
Shops
are
Part
of
a
Tradition
for
Millions
in

the
Southland.
Market
Chains
are
Moving
in
and
Want
a
Prime
Cut,"
Los
Angeles
Times,
July
08,
2002.

61

Figure
3.6:
Photo
of
Tresierras
Supermarket
on
the
southern
corner
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
and
Pala
Avenue.

Photo
by
Author.

Lenchita’s
Restaurant
–
13612
Van
Nuys
Boulevard

Angelita
Alvarez
Renteria
was
like
many
Mexican
immigrant
women
living
and

working
in
Pacoima
in
the
1970s.
She
walked
to
and
from
work
and
often
worked
long

laborious
shifts
at
one
of
Pacoima’s
Mexican
eateries.
Her
goal
was
to
own
a
restaurant

which
she
was
able
to
accomplish
with
the
help
of
her
father
Candido
Alvarez.
On
March

25,
1977,
Lenchita’s
Restaurant
opened
its
doors
with
just
two
tables
and
three
employees.

Named
after
Angelita’s
daughter,
Lenchita’s
Restaurant
has
grown
to
be
more
than
a

restaurant
since
it
was
established
thirty-‐eight
years
ago.
Lenchita’s
Restaurant
has

become
a
valued
community
resource
and
a
Pacoima
landmark.
99

(Figure
3.7)

Latinos
within
the
community
and
from
elsewhere
in
Los
Angeles
frequent

Lenchita’s
to
eat
authentic
Mexican
dishes
that
remind
them
of
home
and
to
purchase

99

Javier
Romero
in
discussion
with
the
author,
May
26,
2015.;
Patricia
Garcia
and
Jorge
Morales,
“The
Woman

Who
Strove
for
Success,”
El
Popo
News
Online,
March
18,
2014,
accessed
Sep
1,
2015,

http://elpopo.org/?p=324.

62

freshly
made
corn
tortillas
and
masa,
dough,
made
especially
for
tamales,
an
item
that

makes
Lenchita’s
especially
popular
during
the
holiday
season.
It
is
not
uncommon
to

experience
a
long
wait
and
line
at
the
restaurant
during
peak
meal
hours
and
on
dates
that

coincide
with
traditional
Latino
holidays.

In
2014,
Angelita
was
named
Woman
of
the
Year
by
Pacoima’s
Chamber
of

Commerce
for
her
continued
service
and
for
her
entrepreneurial
spirit.
Angelita
thanked

God,
her
husband,
children
and
loyal
customers,
she
said,
“muchos
han
puesto
su
granito
de

arena
en
la
historia
de
Lenchita’s
Restaurant,”
meaning
many
have
contributed
to
the

history
of
Lenchita’s
Restaurant.
100

Figure
3.7:
Lenchita’s
Restaurant.
Source:
Historic
Places
LA,

http://www.historicplacesla.org/reports/2a8b7a5f-‐c965-‐4961-‐ada1-‐cb2bd89ed70f.

100

Patricia
Garcia
and
Jorge
Morales,
“The
Woman
Who
Strove
for
Success,”
El
Popo
News
Online,
March
18,

2014,
accessed
Sep
1,
2015,
http://elpopo.org/?p=324.

63

Romero’s
TV
&
Video
Service
-‐
13687
Van
Nuys
Boulevard

Javier
Romero
was
born
in
Mexico
City
and
was
working
as
a
silversmith
when
he

immigrated
to
the
United
States
at
the
age
of
thirteen
along
with
his
eight
brothers
and

sisters.
Romero,
and
his
family,
were
brought
to
the
United
States
by
his
uncle,
who
owned

a
mechanic
shop
and
gasoline
station
in
Hollywood.
Romero’s
extended
family
lived
in

Pacoima
where
he
went
to
school.

Romero
remembers
walking
lunch
over
to
his
dad
when

he
was
working
on
the
construction
of
the
freeways
that
transect
Pacoima.

As
a
young
adult,
Javier
Romero
would
work
after
school
at
a
home-‐based
TV
repair

shop
on
Haddon
Avenue
where
he
learned
how
to
repair
electronics,
especially
television

sets.
After
an
approximately
four
year
period
of
working
for
the
home-‐based
shop,
Romero

decided
to
open
his
own
business
selling
and
repairing
television
sets.
Javier
Romero’s

business,
Romero’s
TV
&
Video
Service,
opened
in
May
of
1957
in
a
1940s
single-‐family

dwelling-‐turned
storefront
on
13687
Van
Nuys
Boulevard.
101

(Figure
3.8)
For
many
years

he
has
been
a
member
of
the
Pacoima
Chamber
of
Commerce
and
has
served
as
the
Vice

President
of
the
Chamber
as
well.
Javier
Romero
has
been
involved
in
the
community
as
a

little
league
coach,
he
recalls
having
coached
young
Alex
Padilla,
the
Pacoima
native

politician
currently
serving
as
California
Secretary
of
State.
102

Since
its
establishment
at
this
location,
Javier
Romero
has
operated
the
repair
shop,

becoming
owner
of
the
building
by
1973.
103

Romero
has
repaired
and
sold
television
sets,

101

Parcel
Details
for
13687
Van
Nuys
Blvd,
Property
Assessment
Information
System,
Los
Angeles
County

Office
of
the
Assessor,
accessed
May
28,
2015,
http://maps.assessor.lacounty.gov.

102

Javier
Romero
in
discussion
with
the
author,
May
26,
2015.

103

City
of
Los
Angeles
Department
of
Building
and
Safety,
Permit
VN
85447/72,
Recorded
January
4,
1973.

64

radios,
and
video
players
for
a
multitude
of
households
in
Pacoima
and
its
neighboring

communities.
Romero’s
business
reflects
the
entertainment
interests
of
the
community
he

served,
it
also
reflects
the
trust
his
repeat
clients
have
in
his
bilingual
service
and
technical

expertise.
Having
been
in
business
over
fifty-‐five
years
in
Pacoima,
Romero’s
TV
&
Video

Service
is
both
a
local
landmark
and
a
legacy
business
representative
of
the
culture
and

heritage
of
the
community.

Figure
3.8:
Photo
of
Romero’s
TV
&
Video
Service.

Photo
by
author.

Styles
Ville
Barbershop
&
Beauty
Salon
-‐
13161-‐13163
Van
Nuys
Boulevard

Styles
Ville
is
the
oldest
black-‐owned
barbershop
in
the
San
Fernando
Valley.

Freddy
Carter,
along
with
his
wife
Ollie,
opened
the
long-‐time
Pacoima
establishment
in

1958
across
the
street
from
its
current
location.
The
two
had
moved
to
Pacoima
from
South

65

Central
Los
Angeles
upon
purchasing
a
home.
In
1977,
after
over
a
decade
of
business,

Carter
bought
the
building
where
the
barbershop
is
now
located.
(Figure
3.9)
It
is
the

former
location
of
The
Dew
Drop
Inn,
a
bar
known
to
have
played
music
by
Chuck
Berry

and
Little
Richard,
among
others,
on
a
jukebox.
Upon
moving
in,
the
Carters
renovated
the

interiors
and
had
a
partition
built
into
the
space
in
order
to
have
two
hair
parlors,
one
for

women
and
one
for
men,
because
state
regulations
did
not
allow
for
men
and
women
to
get

their
hair
done
in
the
same
place.
Although
regulations
now
allow
for
mixed-‐sex
salons,

Styles
Ville
remains
partitioned
and
open
for
business.
For
decades,
it
has
served
people

from
the
community,
including
those
that
have
moved
away,
but
return
to
the
area
to
get

their
hair
cut
and
styled
at
the
barbershop.
The
Carters’
notable
clientele
include
former

USC
football
player
Anthony
Davis
and
jazz
musician
Billy
Eckstine,
who
would
travel
to

the
Pacoima
barbershop
from
Encino
to
get
his
hair
cut.
In
the
late
1900s,
when
both

Freddy
and
Ollie
Carter
retired,
Nella
and
Gregory,
their
daughter
and
grandson
began
to

manage
the
barbershop.
104

Over
the
course
of
more
than
55
years,
Styles
Ville
and
the
Carters
have
served
the

community
of
Pacoima,
becoming
a
legacy
business
reflective
of
the
community’s
heritage

and
a
local
landmark
visited
by
clients
from
other
communities
throughout
Greater
Los

Angeles.
Like
many
African
American
barbershops
throughout
the
nation,
it
is
an
integral

part
of
the
community
it
serves.
Fred
Carruthers,
a
longtime
barber
at
Styles
Ville
said,

104

Kurt
Streeter,
“Keeping
in
Touch
With
Roots
at
Styles
Ville,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
May
1,
1999.;

Gregory
Faucett
in
discussion
with
the
author,
May
5,
2015.

66

“black
folks
do
some
of
their
best
communicating
while
getting
their
hair
cut,
we’re
just

comfortable
here.
We
talk
about
anything
and
everything.”
105

Figure
3.9:
Photo
of
Styles
Ville
Barbershop
and
Beauty
Salon.
Source:
Photo
by
author.

The
establishments
profiled
in
this
section
are
examples
of
valued
historic-‐cultural

resources
within
Pacoima’s
commercial
district
and
Main
Street
as
discovered
by
the

author
of
this
paper.
The
above
listed
resources
are
not
to
be
considered
a
definitive
list
of

significant
historic-‐cultural
resources
in
Pacoima,
instead
the
list
of
profiled
establishments

is
meant
to
facilitate
the
starting
of
a
conversation
regarding
heritage
conservation
by
the

community
for
the
community,
a
topic
that
will
be
further
explored
in
the
next
chapter.

105

Kurt
Streeter,
“Keeping
in
Touch
With
Roots
at
Styles
Ville,”
Los
Angeles
Times,
May
1,
1999.

67

Chapter
4:
Significance,
Challenges,
and
Recommendations

In
Place,
Race,
and
Story,
Ned
Kaufman
proposes
the
use
of
the
term
“story
site”
to

broadly
and
inclusively
describe
a
“place
that
supports
the
perpetuation
of
socially
useful

or
meaningful
narratives.”

The
historic
businesses
identified
through
this
study
are
“story

sites”
that
have
contributed
to
the
development
and
history
of
Pacoima.
Their
longstanding

ties
and
contributions
to
Pacoima’s
sense
of
place
add
to
the
areas
sense
of
community

pride.
This
chapter
will
address
the
purpose
of
identifying
and
preserving
Pacoima’s

historic
commercial
buildings
and
legacy
businesses
beyond
the
examples
profiled
through

this
study.
It
will
also
address
the
challenges
of
preserving
Pacoima’s
“story
sites.”
Finally

this
chapter
will
provide
recommendations
to
preserve
the
Pacoima
sites
identified

through
this
study
and
others
not
yet
identified.

What
is
the
purpose
of
identifying
and
conserving
Pacoima’s
historic
resources?

The
identification
of
historic
community
resources
is
necessary
to
inform
pending

development
and
re-‐investment
in
all
of
Pacoima.
In
many
communities
throughout
the

nation,
the
lack
of
identified
historic
community
resources
has
led
to
insensitive

urban/community
planning,
development,
and
in
some
cases
unwarranted
demolition
of

meaningful
community
“story
sites.”
Pacoima
is
no
stranger
to
this
scenario,
the
building
of

the
freeways
in
the
late
1960s
split
the
community
and
claimed
many
homes
through

eminent
domain.

In
February
of
2015,
Pacoima
was
once
again
presented
with
a
large-‐scale
threat
by

the
California
High-‐Speed
Rail
Authority
(CHSRA).
The
CHSRA
proposed
three
routes
for

68

the
voter
approved
high
speed
train
that
is
to
connect
Los
Angeles
with
San
Francisco.
One

of
the
proposed
routes
runs
above
ground
alongside
existing
railroad
tracks
located
along

San
Fernando
Road.
Considered
the
worst
route
proposed
by
the
Northeast
San
Fernando

Valley
community,
it
would
include
a
massive
twenty-‐foot
sound
wall,
dubbed
a
“death

wall,”
that
would
permanently
divide
and
affect
Pacoima
and
all
other
railroad
adjacent

communities
in
the
San
Fernando
Valley.
106

Identifying
and
designating
historic
community

resources
can
help
defend
“story
sites”
from
large-‐scale
developments
that
would

negatively
impact
the
community,
but
it
can
also
guard
the
historic
small-‐scale
built

environment
from
more
common
threats
like
that
of
oversized
commercial
or
residential

buildings
that
disregard
the
history
and
built
character
of
the
community.

In
the
state
of
California,
the
California
Environmental
Quality
Act
(CEQA)
passed
in

1970
makes
it
a
policy
to
“develop
and
maintain
a
high-‐quality
environment
now
and
in
the

future,
and
to
take
all
action
necessary
to
protect,
rehabilitate,
and
enhance
the

environmental
quality
of
the
state.”
107

As
a
legal
tool,
CEQA
helps
in
the
protection
of
the

natural
and
historic
built
environment,
including
places
deemed
as
historic
by
the

community.
“Historical
resources
are
considered
part
of
the
environment
and
a
project
that

may
cause
a
substantial
adverse
effect
on
the
significance
of
a
historical
resource
is
a

project
that
may
have
a
significant
effect
on
the
environment.”
108

Before
projects
are

granted
approval,
CEQA
requires
those
proposing
the
projects
to
provide
approvers
with

information
regarding
the
environmental
impacts
the
project
will
have.
Additionally,
CEQA

106

Michael
Gonzales,
“High-‐Speed
Rail
Proposes
A
‘Death
Wall,’”
The
San
Fernando
Sun,
Feb
5,
2015.

107

Los
Angeles
Conservancy,
Using
CEQA
to
Protect
Your
Community:
A
Brief
Guide
to
the
California

Environmental
Quality
Act,
2010.

108

“CEQA
Basics,”
California
Environmental
Quality
Act,
California
Office
of
Historic
Preservation,
Accessed

July
20,
2015,
http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21721.

69

allows
the
public
to
comment
on
the
impacts
the
proposed
project
will
have
in
the

community.
Though
CEQA
will
not
automatically
prevent
projects
that
cause
a
significant

environmental
impact
from
happening,
it
greatly
informs
decision
makers
and
provides
a

platform
for
community
members
to
define
the
environmental
impacts
they
consider

tolerable
versus
intolerable.
CEQA,
however,
does
require
that
state
and
local
public

agencies
identify
the
environmental
impacts
of
the
proposed
projects,
“determine
if
the

impacts
will
be
significant,
and
identify
alternatives
and
mitigation
measures
that
will

substantially
reduce
or
eliminate
significant
impacts
to
the
environment.”
109

If
the
significant
historic
built
environment
in
Pacoima
is
identified
and
designated

as
historically
significant,
any
future
projects
that
may
impact
historic
resources
will
be

required
to
go
through
the
CEQA
process
which
will
determine
their
impact,
identify

alternatives,
and
provide
methods
to
mitigate
adverse
impacts.
Overall,
historic

designation
provides
the
community
the
protection
that
permits
Pacoima’s
built
heritage

and
community
stakeholders
to
be
at
the
forefront
of
future
development.

The
modest
historic
commercial
buildings
and
legacy
businesses
along
Van
Nuys

Boulevard
have
the
ability
to
express
the
history
and
culture
of
the
community
and
the

people
that
make
Pacoima
the
San
Fernando
Valley’s
historic
minority
enclave.
During
its

development
as
one
of
Los
Angeles’
suburbs,
Pacoima
was
the
center
of
diversity
in
the
San

Fernando
Valley;
it
was
surrounded
by
a
large
Anglo
population
living
in
what
is
often

referred
to
as
America’s
most
beloved
suburb.
Pacoima’s
history
is
unique,
it
is
special,
and

109

“CEQA
Basics,”
California
Environmental
Quality
Act,
California
Office
of
Historic
Preservation,
Accessed

July
20,
2015,
http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21721.

70

it
is
worth
conserving.
The
establishments
profiled
in
Chapter
3
reflect
the
spirit
of

determination
and
success
of
African
American
and
Latino
business
owners
on
a

commercial
strip
that
predates
the
civil
rights
movement
that
allowed
more
accessibility

and
opportunities
for
people
of
color.

Growing
up
in
Pacoima,
I
learned
about
the
history
of
the
San
Fernando
Mission
and

the
historic
adobe
homes
in
San
Fernando.
These
were
the
nearest
culture
and
architecture

treasures
to
my
hometown.
I
was
not
aware
that
my
community
had
also
made
history

through
its
unique
development
and
population
growth,
though
I
was
aware
that
the
sense

of
place
in
Pacoima
could
not
be
found
anywhere
else,
not
in
other
valley
communities
or

elsewhere
in
Los
Angeles.

The
designation
of
Pacoima
resources
not
only
helps
in
the
protection
of
the
built

environment
but
also
provides
an
avenue
for
education
and
community
pride.
Programs

centered
on
the
importance
of
culturally
significant
resources
already
have
a
place
in
Los

Angeles.
Historian
and
professor
of
architecture,
urbanism
and
American
studies,
Dolores

Hayden,
was
inspired
to
do
something
about
the
lack
of
“local
background”
and

representation
of
“working
women
and
men
of
diverse
ethnic
groups”
in
books
on
history

and
design
of
American
cities.
In
1984
Hayden
started
a
nonprofit
organization
called
“The

Power
of
Place,”
to
“situate
women’s
history
and
ethnic
history
in
downtown,
in
public

places,
through
experimental,
collaborative
projects
by
historians,
designers,
and

artists.”
110

Throughout
the
1980s
and
early
1990s
the
organization
worked
on
several

projects
in
Los
Angeles
that
focused
on
urban
conservation
and
public
installations
of
art
to

110

Dolores
Hayden,
The
Power
of
Place:
Urban
Landscapes
as
Public
History
(Cambridge:
MIT
Press,
1995)
xi.

71

create
a
more
equitable
urban
environment.
One
of
the
projects
was
the
public
art
park

that
neighbors
the
Bradbury
Building
commemorating
Biddy
Mason
who
was
a
pioneering

African-‐American
business
woman
and
founder
of
the
First
AME
Church
of
Los
Angeles
in

the
nineteenth
century.

Because
of
the
work
of
historians
and
conservationists,
present-‐day
Angelenos
are

being
exposed
to
the
multi-‐layered
history
of
Los
Angeles
and
are
encouraged
to
explore
it.

University
courses
like
“L.A.
Stories”
at
Woodbury
University
in
Burbank,
California

encourages
students
to
observe,
research,
and
engage
with
neighborhoods
like
Boyle

Heights,
Koreatown
and
Leimert
Park.
“The
interdisciplinary
nature
of
the
course
provided

the
perfect
platform
to
equally
examine
the
physical,
historical
and
literary
landscapes
of

Los
Angeles,”
in
a
way
that
simplifies
the
complexity
of
Los
Angeles.
The
course
has

exposed
students,
most
of
whom
grew
up
in
Greater
Los
Angeles,
to
“narratives
of
the
city

that
have
either
been
unheard
or
are
out
of
plain
view.”
111

Pacoima
is
equally
deserving
of
investigation
and
discovery
by
Angelenos
as
other

ethnic
enclaves
in
Los
Angeles.
Pacoima
also
has
a
history
that
is
worthy
of
celebration.

Conserving
legacy
businesses
and
protecting
the
historic
built
environment
within
Pacoima

in
conjunction
with
re-‐investment
and
development
will
help
sustain
a
strong
sense
of

community
and
connection
to
its
history.
Pacoima’s
Latino
market,
television
repair
shop,

and
barbershop
are
places
where
community
members
have
established
strong
emotional

ties.
These
places
tell
stories
of
culture
and
tradition
while
they
depict
what
Pacoima
was

111

Mike
Sonksen,
“L.A.
Stories
from
Woodbury
University,”
D
Columns:
LA
Letters,
KCET,
Accessed
July
23,

2015,
http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/columns/la-‐letters/la-‐stories-‐from-‐woodbury-‐
university.html.

72

like
decades
ago.
Through
identifying
significant
historic
resources
and
bringing
to
light
the

unheard
narrative
of
this
minority
enclave,
Pacoima
can
celebrate
its
history
and
the

establishments
that
have
survived
the
economic
hardship
the
Van
Nuys
Boulevard

commercial
strip
has
endured
for
decades.

What
are
the
challenges?

Attaining
heritage
conservation
in
an
ethnic
enclave,
such
as
Pacoima,
can
prove
to

be
challenging
due
to
various
factors.
This
section
will
discuss
historic
preservation
of

culturally
significant
resources,
traditional
historic
preservation
surveying
practices,
and

the
professionalization
of
historic
preservation,
all
of
which
affect
the
possibility
of
putting

heritage
conservation
in
practice
within
Pacoima.

The
historic
resources
identified
through
this
study
are
significant
mostly
as

cultural
and
community
resources.
Although
the
businesses
are
housed
within
Pacoima’s

historic
commercial
building
stock,
they
are
most
important
to
the
community
for
their

history
and
culture
rather
than
the
aesthetics
of
the
buildings
they
inhabit.
In
the
case
of

the
identified
establishments
the
architecture,
style,
and
design
of
their
respective

buildings
is
secondary
to
their
cultural
and
otherwise
intangible
heritage.

Community-‐based
histories
that
focus
on
everyday
social
and
cultural
practices
of

local
residents
have
begun
to
gain
consideration
in
the
field
of
preservation.
It
has
been

preservationists
and
historians
who
have
taken
the
lead
in
redefining
the
practices
in
place

used
to
interpret
a
wide
and
diverse
range
of
themes
that
include
tangible
and
intangible

historic
resources.
Thus
far,
existing
national
preservation
laws
have
successfully
protected

the
architectural
heritage
of
the
United
States.
However,
the
laws
have
not
yet
been

73

adapted
to
address
the
preservation
needs
of
community-‐based
histories
that
are
often

overlooked.

Currently,
the
California
Register
of
Historical
Resources
utilizes
the
same
four

criteria
for
historic
designation
as
the
National
Register
of
Historic
Places.

(Figure
4.1)
Though
emphasizing
that
the
most
effective
tools
for
managing
historic

resources
are
at
the
local
level,
in
her
thesis
“Este
Lugar
Si
Importa:
Heritage
Conservation

in
Unincorporated
East
Los
Angeles,”
Laura
Dominguez
suggests
that
the
use
of
national

and
state
criteria
for
designation
that
“emphasizes
monuments
over
community
history”

can
be
a
disservice
to
California,
a
state
that
has
a
“multicultural
identity
in
the
popular

knowledge
and
imagination
of
the
nation.”
She
also
points
at
traditional
research
and

documentation
methodologies
as
not
always
being
able
to
capture
the
true
essence
of
a

community
or
place
partly
because
of
their
reliance
on
the
observations
of
preservation

professionals
who
are
often
not
part
of
the
community
they
are
surveying
and
“who
may
be

influenced
by
certain
preconceptions
due
to
experience
and
the
traditions
of
the
field”

which
are
deeply
rooted
in
architecture.
112

Yet,
historic
resource
surveys
prepared
by

professional
historic
preservationists
are
the
basis
of
preservation
in
all
levels
of

government,
local,
state,
and
national.

112

Laura
Dominguez,
“Este
Lugar
Si
Importa:
Heritage
Conservation
in
Unincorporated
East
Los
Angeles”

(Master
thesis
University
of
Southern
California,
2012),
1-‐16.

74

Figure
4.1:
California
Register
of
Historical
Resources
Criteria
for
Designation.
Screenshot
by
author.

The
Los
Angeles
Historic
Resource
Survey,
also
known
as
SurveyLA,
started
in
2010

as
the
largest
and
most
ambitious
historic
resources
survey
in
the
nation.
While
it
was

developed
to
meet
state
and
federal
professional
standards
for
survey
work,
it
also

includes
the
development
of
a
custom-‐designed
GIS
database
and
a
community
outreach

and
participation
program.
“The
program
considers
multi-‐lingual
needs,
inclusion
of

traditionally
underrepresented
groups,
and
focuses
on
resources
of
social
and
cultural

significance.”
113

The
outreach
program
was
designed
to
incorporate
community
input
for

the
project
via
an
online
form
and
downloadable
PDF
form.
Workshops
were
scheduled

throughout
the
city
and
community
members
were
encouraged
to
complete
the

MyHistoricLA
Historic
Resources
ID
Form
to
provide
surveyors
suggestions
for
places
that

may
be
architecturally
significant.
The
participation
from
community
members
ranged

throughout
the
survey
areas.
There
was
no
participation
from
community
members
in

Pacoima
identifying
important
Latino
resources
in
the
community
through
SurveyLA’s

113

“SurveyLA:
Project
Description,”
Los
Angeles
Office
of
Historic
Resources,
accessed
July
22,
2015,

http://preservation.lacity.org/survey/description.

75

established
methods.
The
majority
of
the
community
members,
including
the
leadership
at

Pacoima
Beautiful,
were
not
aware
of
the
historic
survey
conducted
in
Pacoima.
114

The
survey
team
for
the
Arleta-‐Pacoima
Community
Plan
Area
and
leadership
at
the

Los
Angeles
Conservancy
were
shocked
at
the
underwhelming
number
of
resources

identified
in
connection
to
the
African
American
and
Latino
community
in
Pacoima.
The

team
reached
out
to
me,
a
student
in
the
Heritage
Conservation
program
at
the
University

of
Southern
California’s
School
of
Architecture
and
a
Pacoima
native,
for
potential
leads
to

identify
resources
that
could
be
easily
missed
through
traditional
survey
practices.
With

limited
time
for
further
research,
I
mentioned
Tresierras
Market,
and
Lenchita’s

Restaurant,
and
Guardian
Angel
Church.
Having
grown
up
a
Latina
in
Pacoima
I
knew
these

were
longstanding
community
resources
valued
by
community
members,
and
my
family.

While
I
was
not
shocked
at
the
lack
of
identified
resources,
the
experience
emphasized
the

necessity
and
challenge
of
community
input,
as
well
as
the
necessity
of
educating

community
members
about
the
history
of
Pacoima,
community
historic
resources,
and
the

field
of
historic
preservation.

The
challenges
are:
to
successfully
designate
resources
via
a
historic
preservation

movement
that
is
just
starting
to
embrace
the
preservation
of
culturally
significant

resources;
to
educate
the
community
and
generate
interest
in
historic
preservation,
which

has
become
more
and
more
limited
to
historic
preservation
professionals;
and
to
establish

a
survey
process
that
is
more
flexible
and
thorough
in
its
examination
and
identification
of

114

Yvette
Lopez-‐Ledesma
(Pacoima
Beautiful)
in
discussion
with
the
author,
Sep
1,
2015.

76

a
community’s
historic
cultural
resources
than
the
processes
used
by
SurveyLA.
Surveyors

must
begin
reaching
out
to
active
local
organizations
and
engage
community
members.

Recommendations

Historic
preservation
can
be
problematic
in
minority
enclaves.
This
statement
is

especially
true
when
the
preservation
of
community
resources
is
seen
as
an
intervention

by
outside
professionals
and
planners,
rather
than
an
internal
effort
initiated
by
the

community
in
question.
This
section
provides
recommendations
that
could
be
put
in
place

in
Pacoima
in
order
to
foster
sense
of
place,
neighborhood
pride,
and
ultimately
a

community
that
embraces
historic
preservation.

As
argued
by
scholars
Clarke,
Rodriguez,
and
Alamillo,
traditional
approaches
aimed

at
increasing
Latino
participation
in
unknown
programs
and
practices
lack
“authentic

efforts
that
invite,
involve,
and
include
in
ways
that
develop
genuine
confianza
(trust)
and

respeto
(respect).”
115

Creating
an
outreach
program
that
included
workshops
and
an
online

form
to
engage
all
Angelenos
in
SurveyLA
was
not
enough
to
attract
Pacoima
community

members
to
participate
in
identifying
historic
community
resources.
In
order
to
develop

the
trust
and
respect
needed
to
create
interest
by
community
members,
the
community

members
need
“access
to
information,
education,
and
assistance
to
actively
participate
in

decision-‐making;
standing
or
civic
legitimacy,
which
builds
trust
and
translates
into

115

Tracylee
Clarke,
Donald
Rodriguez,
and
Jose
Alamillo,
“Engaging
Latino/a
Communities
in
National
Park

Programs:
Building
Trust
and
Providing
Opportunities
for
Voice,”
Environmental
Management
and

Sustainable
Development
Vol.
4,
No.
1
(April
2015):
136-‐148,
doi:

http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/emsd.v4i1.7109.

77

respect;
and
influence,
the
authentic
ability
to
influence
decisions.”
116

Historic
preservation

and
related
programs
need
to
provide
community
members
the
opportunity
to
learn,
they

need
to
be
accessible,
be
facilitated,
and
should
allow
community
members
to
participate

alongside
trained
professionals.
This
in
turn
can
create
the
trust
and
respect
that
will
lead

to
engagement
and
involvement.

Educating
the
local
community
about
the
unique
history
and
development
of

Pacoima
is
an
important
component
to
achieve
engagement,
community
pride
and
interest

in
historic
preservation.
Tours
of
Pacoima’s
Mural
Mile
provide
locals
and
mural

enthusiasts
a
window
to
Pacoima’s
history,
inspirational
figures,
and
culture.
117

Historically,
murals
like
those
found
along
Pacoima’s
Mural
Mile
function
as
vehicle
for

reclaiming
history
and
tell
the
stories
that
perhaps
have
not
been
covered
in
the

mainstream
media;
they
assert
community
consciousness
and
identity.
118

The
collection
of
murals
and
the
tour
could
be
used
as
a
jumping
off
point
and
an

educational
program
could
be
established
that
introduces
community
members
to

Pacoima’s
history
while
linking
heritage
conservation
and
community
identity
to
the
large

works
of
art
and
the
built
environment,
businesses
and
establishments
that
make
up
Mural

Mile,
which
runs
along
the
Van
Nuys
Boulevard
commercial
corridor.

For
nearly
twenty
years,
Pacoima
Beautiful
has
fostered
civic
engagement
through

grassroots
community
organizing
with
the
goal
of
improving
the
quality
of
life
of
Pacoima

116

Tracylee
Clarke,
Donald
Rodriguez,
and
Jose
Alamillo,
“Engaging
Latino/a
Communities
in
National
Park

Programs:
Building
Trust
and
Providing
Opportunities
for
Voice,”
Environmental
Management
and

Sustainable
Development
Vol.
4,
No.
1
(April
2015):
138,
doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/emsd.v4i1.7109.

117

“Tours,”
Mural
Mile
of
the
San
Fernando
Valley,
accessed
August
7,
2015,

http://www.muralmile.org/#!tours/c8k2.

118

California
Office
of
Historic
Preservation,
Latinos
in
Twentieth
Century
California:
National
Register
of

Historic
Places
Context
Statement,
(California
State
Parks,
2015)
59.

78

residents,
reaching
over
100,000
community
members
in
the
Northeast
San
Fernando

Valley.
119

An
organization
like
Pacoima
Beautiful,
with
an
established
reputation
in
fighting

for
social
justice,
has
the
potential
to
lead
efforts
in
historic
preservation
and
community

pride
within
Pacoima.
Its
current
initiatives
to
improve
environmental
conditions
in

Pacoima
alongside
its
goal
of
creating
“Complete
Streets”
that
are
attractive
and
pedestrian

friendly
run
parallel
to
the
goals
of
fostering
community
pride
that
historic
preservation

often
encourages
in
communities.
Organizations
like
Pacoima
Beautiful
must
be
leading

partners
in
the
surveying
of
historic
community
resources.

In
2010,
an
East
Los
Angeles
group,
the
Eastside
Heritage
Consortium,
created
a

simple
survey
geared
towards
engaging
the
community
in
a
discussion
about
the
places

that
matter
most
in
the
history
and
culture
of
East
Los
Angeles.
In
her
thesis,
Laura

Dominguez
explains
that
the
initial
objective
of
the
survey
was
to
establish
a
list
of

significant
sites
yet
it
“evolved
into
a
more
comprehensive
preservation
plan
as
the

members
explored
the
possibilities
of
a
place-‐based
approach
to
heritage
conservation,

including
the
creation
of
a
heritage
trail
and
localized
history
curriculum
for
local
high

school
students.”
120

Though
the
conservation
of
local
heritage
has
the
potential
to
affect

specific
groups
within
the
community
like
educators,
small
businesses,
and
civic
leaders,

“the
fundamental
goal
of
this
project
[was]
to
achieve
recognition
for
the
vibrant
cultural

heritage
of
the
community
as
a
whole
for
the
primary
sake
of
that
community.”
121

119

“History,”
Pacoima
Beautiful,
accessed
August
7,
2015,
http://www.pacoimabeautiful.org/about-‐
us/history.

120

Laura
Dominguez,
“Este
Lugar
Si
Importa:
Heritage
Conservation
in
Unincorporated
East
Los
Angeles”

(Master
thesis
University
of
Southern
California,
2012),
6.

121

Ibid.,
7.

79

Conducting
a
community
survey
about
places
that
matter
to
the
history
and

development
of
Pacoima
through
organizations
and
groups
that
have
established
trust
and

respect
in
the
community
can
greatly
aid
in
the
preservation
of
significant
historic

resources
in
the
community.
Through
this
method,
historic
preservation
professionals
and

active
community
members
willing
to
participate
in
the
preservation
efforts
could
reach

higher
levels
of
participation
through
which
significant
sites
could
be
identified
and

possibly
designated
as
Los
Angeles
Historic-‐Cultural
Monuments.
The
lack
of
such

partnership
through
SurveyLA’s
methods
missed
the
identification
of
the
last
black-‐owned

barbershop
in
the
San
Fernando
Valley
and
Romero’s
TV
&
Video
Service
which
remains

owner
owned
and
operated
since
the
late
50’s.
A
well
organized
survey
and
an
established

list
of
resources
identified
by
the
community
for
the
community’s
sake
can
guide
future

development
and
preservation
efforts
in
the
unique
community
of
Pacoima.
Community-‐
guided
preservation
efforts
would
also
allow
the
community
to
consider
the
revival
of

Pacoima’s
Main
Street
program.

Upon
building
a
historic
preservation
movement
in
Pacoima
that
is
built
on
trust

and
respect,
the
community
can
also
consider
and
propose
a
legacy
business
program

similar
to
San
Francisco’s
Legacy
Business
Registry
and
Preservation
Fund.
The
program

stabilizes
and
protects
longstanding
businesses
through
listing
them
in
the
Legacy
Business

Registry
and
by
making
grant
monies
available
to
building
owners
and
business
owners

through
the
Legacy
Business
Historic
Preservation
Fund.
Since
“historic
preservation
is
not

always
feasible
or
appropriate,
nor
does
it
protect
against
rent
increases,
evictions,

challenges
with
leadership
succession,
and
other
factors
that
threaten
longtime

institutions,”
considering
a
program
that
helps
protect
local
resources
beyond
the
limits
of

80

landmarking
can
arm
a
community
like
Pacoima
with
the
proper
tools
that
guard
vital

community
businesses
from
known
threats
including
gentrification.
122

122

San
Francisco
Heritage,
Sustaining
San
Francisco’s
Living
History:
Strategies
for
Conserving
Cultural

Heritage
Assets,
(September
2014).

81

Conclusion

Through
tracing
Pacoima’s
unique
history
and
development
as
one
of
the
few

neighborhoods
within
San
Fernando
Valley
where
minorities
were
allowed
to
purchase

land,
the
community’s
valuable
history
is
highlighted.
Now
surrounded
by
communities

that
boast
a
minority
majority,
the
significant
history
of
diversity
in
Pacoima
can
be
easily

dismissed
and
overlooked.
The
continuous
change
within
the
community
due
to
population

shifts,
disinvestment
and
revitalization
efforts
provides
perspective
and
further

underscores
the
vulnerability
of
the
historic
resources
that
can
still
be
found
within
the

community’s
most
important
thoroughfare
and
commercial
center
on
Van
Nuys
Boulevard.

This
one-‐of-‐a-‐kind
valley
community
presents
a
challenge
for
historic
preservation.

The
professionals
in
charge
of
assessing
significant
resources
are
not
armed
with
the
tools,

nor
legislation,
to
identify
and
secure
the
fate
of
significant
historic
resources
in

communities
like
Pacoima.
Furthermore,
community
members,
in
similar
communities,
are

not
entirely
aware
of
the
ways
through
which
vital
establishments
and
businesses
can
be

protected
for
the
sake
of
celebrating
these
communities’
heritage.

It
is
paramount
that
current
organizations
and
community
planning
efforts
take
into

consideration
and
lead
the
discussion
of
heritage
conservation
within
Pacoima.
Established

grassroots
organizations
working
toward
bringing
social
justice
and
sustainability
to
the

community
are
best
positioned
to
lead
such
preservation
efforts.
Heritage
conservation
is

yet
another
avenue
to
achieve
sustainability
and
social
justice.

Organizations
that
have
built
trust
and
respect
within
the
communities
they
serve

are
more
likely
to
successfully
engage
their
constituents
in
efforts
and
programs
that

protect
cultural
resources
like
those
detailed
through
the
examples
of
historic

82

establishments
eligible
for
designation.
It
is
suggested
that
active
grassroots
organizations

lead
historic
preservation
education
programs,
community
historic
resource
surveys
and

formal
designation
efforts.
Ultimately,
establishing
a
heritage
conservation
movement

within
Pacoima
will
be
the
most
beneficial
if
it
is
community
led,
answering
an
essential

consideration
in
preservation
which
is:
preservation
by
whom
and
for
whom?

During
the
research
process
undertaken
for
this
thesis,
the
following
topics
related

to
historic
preservation
in
Pacoima
and
the
San
Fernando
Valley
were
identified
and
merit

further
study:
the
other
historic
resources
identified
through
SurveyLA
in
the
Arleta-‐
Pacoima
Community
Plan
Area;
vital
religious
organizations
and
churches,
particularly

those
that
served
early
African
American
and
immigrant
residents;
sites
associated
with

Pacoima’s
early
Chinese,
Japanese,
and
African
American
population;
sites
associated
with

the
car
and
cruising
culture;
sites
associated
with
the
community’s
struggle
for
social
rights

and
social
justice,
including
the
site
of
the
Rodney
King
beating.
Additionally,
there
is
a

great
need
for
oral
histories
of
early
Pacoima
and
San
Fernando
Valley
non-‐white
residents.

The
development
of
the
San
Fernando
Valley,
from
infrastructure
to
its
ever-‐growing

industry,
would
not
have
been
possible
without
this
working-‐class
population,
yet
there
is

an
underwhelming
amount
of
scholarly
contributions
regarding
this
pioneering
population.

The
study
and
scholarly
contributions
pertaining
to
minority
and
underrepresented
groups

is
crucial
to
the
documentation
and
telling
of
the
inclusive
history
of
not
only
the
San

Fernando
Valley,
but
the
United
States.

83

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Appendix
A:

Survey
of
Businesses
and
Establishments
along
Van
Nuys
Boulevard’s
Commercial
Strip

The
following
pages
make
up
a
diagram
of
the
establishments
inventoried
within

the
boundary
area
set
up
for
the
purpose
of
studying
Pacoima’s
commercial
corridor,
from

Norris
Ave
to
the
north
and
Laurel
Canyon
Boulevard
to
the
south.
The
diagram
is
split
into

five
sections
and
is
presented
in
order
from
north
to
south.
The
text
that
stems
from
the

mapped
areas
lists
the
name
of
the
business
or
the
type
of
service/goods
available
at
the

establishment
along
with
the
first
construction
date,
and
other
major
construction
dates
if

available,
as
listed
within
the
Los
Angeles
County
Office
of
the
Assessor’s
Property

Assessment
Information
System.
In
cases
where
a
commercial
building
counts
with
more

than
one
storefront,
the
establishments
are
listed
in
order
as
found
from
north
to
south.

The
survey
of
the
buildings
and
establishments
found
within
the
study
boundary

underscore
the
importance
of
the
businesses
and
services
found
within
the
corridor.

Among
the
restaurants,
Laundromats,
discount
stores,
medical
offices,
car
washes,
and
auto

repair
businesses
there
are
a
number
of
nonprofit
organizations,
municipal
offices,

religious
institutions,
and
other
small
businesses
that
provide
services
and
goods
that
are

equally
telling
of
the
community’s
heritage.
There
are
three
botanicas
(herb
and
healing

specialty
shops),
eighteen
barber/beauty
salons,
thirteen
faith-‐based
organizations,
more

than
ten
businesses
offering
financial
services
like
loans,
check
cashing,
and
money

transfers,
six
establishments
offering
immigration
and
law
services,
and
over
ten

businesses
offering
insurance
and/or
income
tax
services.
The
inclusion
of
the
construction

date
is
telling
of
the
date
that
the
site
was
developed
and
provides
initial
information

90

regarding
the
amount
of
time
the
property
has
been
either
neglected
or
subjected
to

additions
and
alterations.

Map
of
Study
Boundary
and
Diagram
Sections

91

Section
1

92

Section
2

93

Section
3

94

Section
4

95

Section
5

Abstract (if available)

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