Locals identify Crenshaw Boulevard as the main artery of Black culture in Los Angeles, while the man it’s named for was white. But past efforts to rename the street after a Black hero have foundered on difficult questions.
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On February 22, 1929, hundreds of Angelenos crowded on the corner of 10th and Hope streets in downtown Los Angeles. They had come to celebrate the opening of a fantastical, four-story structure designed by esteemed architect
Bernard R. Maybeck. Broadcast over radio station KFI, the event was hosted by L.A. Mayor George Cryer and movie star Dolores del Rio. An orchestra played standards and Paul Taylor s Metropolitan Chorus sang popular tunes of the day.
May 21, 1928: A customer get service at a Muller Bros. Service Station in Southern California.
(Security Pacific National Bank Collection