Fairfax District, Los Angeles

The Fairfax District is a neighborhood in the Central region of Los Angeles, California.

Fairfax District
Neighborhood of Los Angeles
Shops on Melrose Avenue, 2006
Map of the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, as delineated by the Los Angeles Times
Fairfax District
Location within Western Los Angeles
Fairfax District
Location within Los Angeles County
Coordinates: 34.07884°N 118.361487°W / 34.07884; -118.361487

Historically the Fairfax District has been a center of the Jewish community in Los Angeles. It is known for the Farmer's Market, The Grove, CBS Television City broadcasting center, the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust in Pan Pacific Park, and Fairfax Avenue restaurants and shops.

Geography

Beverly–Fairfax (sometimes simply called Fairfax)[1] is a 3.2-square-mile neighborhood bordered by Willoughby Avenue on the north, Wilshire Boulevard on the south, La Brea Avenue on the east, and La Cienega Boulevard on the west.[2][3]

ArcGIS, Here Maps, and Bing Maps do not mark boundaries, but center the words "Fairfax" or "Fairfax District" near the intersection of Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue.[4][5][6]

The Mapping L.A. project of the Los Angeles Times, in a departure from its first draft, reduces the Fairfax District to the 1.23 square miles of the neighborhood that lie east of Fairfax Avenue. Using the Mapping L.A. boundaries, the Fairfax District is flanked on the north and northeast by the city of West Hollywood, on the northeast by Hollywood, on the east by Hancock Park, on the south by Mid-Wilshire, and on the west by Beverly Grove.[7] Street boundaries are Willoughby Avenue or Romaine Street on the north, La Brea Avenue on the east, West Third Street on the south, and Fairfax Avenue on the west.[8] The Beverly–Fairfax (or Fairfax) neighborhood, as it has historically been called, includes both Fairfax and Beverly Grove.[2][9][10][11] In the first draft of Mapping L.A., "Beverly Grove" was not included as a distinct neighborhood; rather, the area was shown as part of Fairfax.[12] An even earlier L.A. Times profile of the Fairfax District described the boundaries as "Santa Monica Boulevard on the north and Sixth Street on the south; La Brea Avenue forms its eastern edge with Sweetzer Avenue as its western border."[13]

Demographics

The following data applies to the boundaries of Fairfax set by Mapping L.A.:

The 2000 U.S. census counted 12,490 residents in the 1.23-square-mile neighborhood—an average of 10,122 people per square mile, about the same population density as all of Los Angeles. In 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 13,360.

The median age for residents was 33, a general average within Los Angeles. The percentage of residents aged 65 and older was among the county's highest.[8]

Fifty-four percent of Fairfax residents aged 25 and older had earned a four-year degree by 2000, a high figure for both the city and the county.[8]

The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $65,938, average in comparison to the rest of Los Angeles. The average household size of two people was low for the city of Los Angeles. Renters occupied 71.5% of the housing stock, and house- or apartment owners 28.5%.[8]

The percentages of never-married men (54.9%) and never-married women (45.5%) were among the county's highest.[8]

Ethnic composition

The neighborhood was "not especially diverse" ethnically, with a high percentage of white people. The breakdown was whites, 84.7%; Latinos, 5.9%; Asians, 4.5%; blacks, 2.2%, and others, 2,8%. Ukraine (8.9%) and Mexico (7.8%) were the most common places of birth for the 23.2% of the residents who were born abroad, a low ratio compared to the rest of Los Angeles.[8]

History
Canter's deli, a notable Fairfax restaurant, 2005

Historically, the Fairfax District has been a center of the Jewish community in Los Angeles, after the earlier Boyle Heights period, which was home to largest Jewish community west of Chicago in the 1920s and 1930s.[14]

In 1935, there were four synagogues in the Fairfax District; by 1945, there were twelve. After World War II, more Jews began to populate the area. As more families moved in, religious schools and a Jewish Community Center sprang up. In 1974, Bet Tzedek Legal Services - The House of Justice, a legal aid charity, opened its doors across from the Farmers Market.

The Farmers Market at Fairfax Avenue and 3rd Street still retains a 1930s atmosphere, with open-air vegetable stalls and cafes, and many Jewish residents of the area still frequent the market as part of their shopping or kibbitzing routine. The Grove, a commercial retail and entertainment center, opened in 2002 next to the Farmer's Market.

The neighborhood east of Fairfax Avenue and north of Beverly Boulevard, consisting primarily of still-standing 1920s apartment buildings, was named the Beverly Fairfax Historic District by the City of Los Angeles in 2019. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, buildings in the neighborhood must have any exterior alterations approved by the Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources.[15]

The intersection of Fairfax Avenue and Beverly Boulevard is officially recognized as Raoul Wallenberg Square, in honor of the Swedish diplomat who saved thousand of Hungarian Jews from deportation to Nazi death camps.[16] The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust is located nearby, within Pan Pacific Park.

CBS Television City, 2007

CBS Television City was built in 1952 on the former site of Gilmore Stadium at Fairfax Avenue and Beverly Boulevard. The facility has been used to tape several shows both for CBS and other entities, the most notable being The Price is Right, which has shot in Studio 33 (later renamed for the game show's longtime host, Bob Barker) continuously since 1972.

Services

Government
Federal
State
City

The Los Angeles Fire Department operates Fire Station 61, serving the Fairfax community. [17]

Education

The schools within Fairfax include:[18]

  • Fairfax High School, LAUSD, 7850 Melrose Avenue. The school was founded in 1924. Most of the original campus facilities were demolished in 1966 because the original Spanish Colonial Revival main building did not meet earthquake safety standards. The historic Dewitt Swann Auditorium and iconic Rotunda, however, were spared, retrofitted and are in daily use. Greenway Court, built in 1939 as a social hall by the students at Fairfax as a class project, was also spared and was moved to Fairfax Avenue, where it was converted into a theater in 1999 by the Greenway Arts Alliance and renamed the Greenway Court Theater.
  • The Otman Center, private secondary, 812 North Fairfax Avenue
  • Yeshiva Ohr Eichonon Chabad, private secondary, 7215 Waring Avenue
  • Westside Community Adult School, LAUSD, 7850 Melrose Avenue
  • Whitman Continuation School, LAUSD, 7795 Rosewood Avenue
  • Bais Yaakov School for Girls, private secondary, 7353 Beverly Boulevard
  • Cheder of Los Angeles, private elementary, 801 North La Brea Avenue
  • Melrose Avenue Elementary School, LAUSD, 731 North Detroit Street

Notable places
  • Canter's restaurant. Los Angeles magazine named Canter's waffles the Best Waffle in Los Angeles.[19] Esquire magazine called Canter's Monte Cristo sandwich one of the best sandwiches in America.[20]
  • CBS Television City, which was built on the site of a former football field and race track and which opened on November 16, 1952.
  • Farmers Market, consisting of food stalls, sit-down eateries, prepared food vendors and produce markets.
  • The Grove, a shopping center that features a large center park with an animated fountain.
  • Pan-Pacific Park on Third Avenue, built on the site of the former Pan-Pacific Auditorium. Location of the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust.
  • Since 1997, the Melrose Trading Post outdoor flea market has created opportunities for Fairfax High School and the surrounding neighborhood. [21] Every Sunday 250+ local vendors, collectors, artisans, and artists gather in the parking lot on the corner of Melrose and Fairfax Avenues to celebrate the thriving community culture. Food vendors and live music round out this weekly local event hosted by the Greenway Arts Alliance. [22] Money raised by this nonprofit organization from the low-cost patron admission and vendor booth fees support the Institute for the Arts at Greenway education program on the FHS campus. [23]

Notable residents

Nearby communities

The relation of the Fairfax District to other communities, not necessarily contiguous:[7][26][27]

See also

References
  1. Briefing Book: For Planning & Land Use Management Committee: Beverly Grove RFA Ordinance
  2. "LOS ANGELES TIMES MAGAZINE MAP No. 7 : BEVERLY-FAIRFAX". Los Angeles Times Magazine. 13 April 1986.
  3. Wilshire: Historic Districts, Planning Districts and Multi-Property Resources – 01/26/15, SurveyLA
  4. Fairfax, Los Angeles, CA, Here Maps.
  5. Fairfax District, Bing Maps.
  6. ArcGIS (search result for Fairfax, Los Angeles, CA, USA).
  7. "Central L.A.", Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
  8. "Fairfax", Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
  9. Architectural Resources Group, Inc. (23 January 2015). "Historic Resources Survey Report: Wilshire Community Plan Area" (PDF). SurveyLA.
  10. Wilshire: Historic Districts, Planning Districts and Multi-Property Resources – 01/26/15, SurveyLA
  11. HEARING BEFORE THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGING: UNITED STATES SENATE NINETY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION, LOS ANGELES, CALIF., JULY 6, 1983
  12. Version One
  13. Mothner, Linda Beth (1992-02-02). "Ethnic Diversity Gives District Distinction : Fairfax: A sense of shared community exists amid international restaurants and 36 languages in high school". Los Angeles Times.
  14. Romo, Ricardo. East Los Angeles: History of a Barrio. University of Texas Press, July 5, 2010. ISBN 0292787715, 9780292787711. p. 95.
  15. Lombard, Patricia (2019-08-13). "Neighbors Celebrate Beverly Fairfax Historic District". Larchmont Buzz. Los Angeles, CA. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  16. Saved Thousands in Holocaust : Statue Will Honor Raoul Wallenberg
  17. Los Angeles Fire Department: Fire Station 61
  18. "Fairfax Schools," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
  19. Review of Canter's Deli, giving award for Best Waffle Archived January 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Los Angeles, April 2005.
  20. The Best Sandwiches in America, Esquire Magazine, February 2008.
  21. Melrose Trading Post
  22. Greenway Arts Alliance
  23. Institute for the Arts at Greenway
  24. Bronson, Fred (December 2002). Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits. Watson-Guptill Publications. ISBN 0-8230-7646-6.
  25. David Ferrell, "Zev Yaroslavsky: He's Spruced Up and Slimmed Down—but Retains Old Intensity and Driving Ambition," Los Angeles Times, August 18, 1985
  26. The Thomas Guide: Los Angeles County, 2004, pages 593 and 633
  27. Google maps
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