Vermont-Slauson Shopping Center was once a key economic artery for South Los Angeles. It thrived with business, as it was home to high retail shops that served many middle class whites. And yet, it is a neighborhood that has long suffered from social problems, including a declining number of jobs and an increase in crime and poverty rates.
The Vermont-Slauson Neighborhood opened its doors to a Sears in 1927. This retail store attracted many people since it was the only shopping center in the Southwest Los Angeles area, as it was called in the first half of the twentieth century. In mid 1940’s, a racial shift began when California’s population exploded with post-World War II migration, including many African-Americans fleeing the harsh discrimination of the U.S. South. With the wave of African-Americans came housing discrimination. Racism led to an increase in racial tensions. Slowly, middle-class African-Americans began populating the neighborhoods of Southwest Los Angeles. By the 1960’s, Vermont-Slauson was a predominantly African-American neighborhood.
Circa 1980
With the increase of African Americans came a decrease in white residents, as many fled to the suburbs. White flight led to this once prosperous area to experience a decline in sales, a decrease in property values, and the racial shift in schools. In 1965, the Watt’s riots hit South Central Los Angeles and scared off the last remaining white residents of the area. Bankers and insurers dealt the area another crushing blow by redlining the area and investing elsewhere. There was no surprise when Sears, the neighborhood’s biggest two story retail shop, closed after eight years of declining sales in 1976. With the absence of Sears, all the surrounding mom and pop shops, who were rebounding from the 1965 Watts Riots, suffered a decline in sales. “It is not profitable to stay,” Sears told Rep. Yvonne Burke’s office.
With the increase of African Americans came a decrease in white residents, as many fled to the suburbs. White flight led to this once prosperous area to experience a decline in sales, a decrease in property values, and the racial shift in schools. In 1965, the Watt’s riots hit South Central Los Angeles and scared off the last remaining white residents of the area. Bankers and insurers dealt the area another crushing blow by redlining the area and investing elsewhere. There was no surprise when Sears, the neighborhood’s biggest two story retail shop, closed after eight years of declining sales in 1976. With the absence of Sears, all the surrounding mom and pop shops, who were rebounding from the 1965 Watts Riots, suffered a decline in sales. “It is not profitable to stay,” Sears told Rep. Yvonne Burke’s office.
The community tried to get back on its feet, holding several meetings in hopes of coming up with a plan to revamp the neighborhood. After several attempts to try and get big retail stores to invest, according to The Daily Trojan USC considered taking over the lot in hopes of revitalizing the residential area. However, the mayor and the local officials decided to give the money and support to the neighborhood and to non-profits. With much effort, a new shopping center began construction in 1981. It would behave like a money machine, generating profits, which had to be put back into developing the neighborhood.
Parking lot of remodeled Vermont-Slauson Shopping Center circa 2013.
The current population is predominantly Latino. There is no evidence of the old shopping center; all that is left is a flee-market, crime, many people, and homelessness in the neighborhood. Vermont-Slauson illustrates the reluctance of private enterprise to invest in the Black ghetto, the inherent economic limitations of segregated and poor parts of the city, and the difficulty that bureaucracy has in bringing help to the neighborhood. To this day, many of the residents do not see how the new shopping center has brought economic or social power to the struggling neighborhood.
For More Information
Boyarsky, Bill. "Neighborhood Renewal a Complex Puzzle: Slauson-Vermont Typifies Program's Problems." Los Angeles Times 27 November 1978: C1. Print.
Schoch, Deborah. "Teens Walk the Talk into History; Students Lead Tours of South Vermont Avenue, Telling of its Past as Part of Studying its Economy." Los Angeles Times Jun 10 2007: 0. ProQuest. PROQUESTMS. 12 May 2013 <http://ezproxy.lapl.org/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/422141618?accountid=6749>
"Store Will Open Saturday: Ceremonies Being Arranged for Formal Debut of Sears, Roebuck Vermont-Slauson House." Los Angeles Times 23 June 1927: 22. Print
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