Time zone PST (UTC−8) Area code 323 | ZIP Code 90008 | |
 | ||
Baldwin Hills is a residential community and affluent neighborhood in the South region of Los Angeles, California. It is located in the namesake Baldwin Hills range overlooking the Los Angeles Basin and the lower plain immediately to the north.
Contents
Geography
Baldwin Hills is bounded by La Cienega Boulevard to the west, Crenshaw Boulevard to the east, Stocker Avenue to the south and Rodeo Road to the north with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard forming the northeast dividing line between Baldwin Hills and Crenshaw Manor. It is bordered on the west by Culver City and it shares the eastern border of Crenshaw Boulevard with Leimert Park.
The Baldwin Hills ZIP Code is 90008 and the telephone area code is 323. Baldwin Hills starts at Martin Luther King Boulevard going up to the base of the hills of Baldwin Hills Estates (an area nicknamed "The Dons" for the twenty nine streets beginning with the Spanish honorific). Baldwin Hills from Martin Luther King Blvd on the North, Marlton Avenue on the East, La Brea Avenue of the West and Baldwin Hills Estates on the South.
The landform Baldwin Hills have long been drilled for petroleum with active oil wells in the mid-hills along La Cienega Boulevard. As the oil fields close, some of the otherwise undeveloped land is being acquired by agencies for the public's benefit. The Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area is a major jewel enhancing the community with park activities and recreation. The headwaters of Ballona Creek are in the hills and park which then flows west into the Santa Monica Bay.
20th century
View Park, close to Baldwin Hills, was the site of the very first Olympic Village ever built, for the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games. Built for male athletes only, the village consisted of several hundred buildings, including post and telegraph offices, an amphitheater, a hospital, a fire department, and a bank. Female athletes were housed at the Chapman Park Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard. The Olympic Village was demolished after the Summer Olympic Games.
Communities
Communities and sub-divisions in Baldwin Hills include:
Parks and recreation
Services
Library
The Los Angeles Public Library operates the Baldwin Hills Branch Library.
Education
Baldwin Hills is served by Los Angeles Unified School District. Baldwin Hills also has a charter school. The schools operating within Baldwin Hills borders are:
Demographics
The Baldwin Hills population was 78.5% African American in the 2000 U.S Census population.
Zip Code
Baldwin Hills's ZIP Code is 90008.
Baldwin Hills is among the wealthiest majority-black communities in the United States. Prior to 1965 and restrictive covenants being eliminated, it was known as "Pill Hill" because a large number of doctors and psychologist seemed to live in the neighborhood.
Celebrity residents
Baldwin Hills has been home to many celebrities such as: Michael J. Fox, Ray Charles, Jimmy Pardo, Cal Worthington, Tina Turner, "Bubba" Smith, renowned famous architect Paul Williams, Nancy Wilson, Oscar-nominated film director John Singleton, and the late Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.
Disasters
On December 14, 1963, a crack appeared in the Baldwin Hills Dam impounding the Baldwin Hills Reservoir. Within a few hours, water rushing through the crack eroded the earthen dam, gradually widening the crack until the dam failed catastrophically at 3:38 pm. Although the area had been evacuated after the crack had been discovered, several homes were destroyed, and most of Baldwin Vista and the historic Village Green community were flooded. The dam's failure was ultimately determined to be the result of subsidence, caused by overexploitation of the Inglewood Oil Field. The dam's failure prompted the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to close and drain other small local reservoirs with similar designs, such as the Silver Lake Reservoir. The Baldwin Hills Dam was not rebuilt—instead, the empty reservoir was demolished, filled with earth, landscaped, and converted to Kenneth Hahn Regional Park.
During the summer of 1985, an arsonist started a brush fire along La Brea Avenue. The fire spread up the canyon towards the expensive homes along Don Carlos Drive in the Baldwin Hills Estates tract. Many homes were destroyed despite the efforts of the Los Angeles Fire Department to suppress the flames. The fire killed three people and destroyed 69 homes; the arsonist was never caught.
Media
From 2007 to 2009, Black Entertainment Television (BET) aired Baldwin Hills, a program featuring several African-American teenagers and their lives in the upper-middle class Los Angeles community.
The show is very similar in nature to such MTV programs as Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, The Hills, and the online series The Suburbs, as it features African-Americans of upper-middle-class families who divide their time between attending school, playing sports, shopping at high-end stores, and driving expensive cars. The series lasted for three seasons.
Orson Scott Card's urban fantasy novel Magic Street is set in Baldwin Hills.