The Evolving Faces of the Pico Neighborhood

Santa Monica City is a relatively small city located along the western border of Los Angeles County. It is famous for its yellow sandy beaches and beautiful weather. When people envision Santa Monica, it is usually through the lens of Old Hollywood. The city was made famous by some of its former rich, white residents so the area was believed to be built in luxury. And that is not entirely untrue. However, Santa Monica today is extremely ethnically, and economically diverse. Santa Monica is interesting because it has streets with multimillion dollar homes as well as section 8, low income housing, on the same street. Tourist will spend over $500 a night to sleep along the beach at one of Santa Monica's luxury hotels, only to be greeted by a person sleeping on a cardboard mat in the morning. This city is filled with irony, but none of it makes me laugh.

The story I will tell today focuses on the Pico Neighborhood, where I call home. A lot of the neighborhood's history has been told through word of mouth, and many stories have been forgotten in the process. I grew up around a large Hispanic community and learned to speak Spanish through some of my childhood friends (although I regret to say I've forgotten most of it). My neighborhood is filled with Japanese inspired "California Craftsmen" homes which landscaping that matches that aesthetic. Our neighborhood is considered both the most culturally diverse, and most affordable (I wonder if those two facts are correlated). In my project I will try to explain the complicated history of demographic shift which birthed the illustrious Pico Neighborhood.

Santa Monica, like many other cities in California were first settled by Mexican immigrants (of course, the Chumash and Tongva were the first ones to make Santa Monica their home), and these communities continued to thrive in MexiCali until 1846 which saw the realignment of the Southern border after the Mexican-American War. But before this time, Mexico had handed out land grants to attract Mexican rancheros to the Santa Monica area. “Most of the original titles granted by the kings of Spain and governors of Mexico were confirmed by patents granted by the US after 1848,” (Banham, 1971). But even after the land was annexed to the United States, many Mexican families remained in Santa Monica, with the majority congregating in what would later be known as the Pico neighborhood. The Mexican community within the Pico neighborhood flourished, and multicultural schools and churches were built as places of congregation. At the same time, economic migrants known as braceros, continued to flow into Santa Monica at a steady pace which allowed the community to grow rapidly. 

Pico Blvd, and the Pico Neighborhood was named after the last Governor of Alta California under Mexican rule. He, and many other Mexican entrepreneurs are commemorated through the naming of many other streets, parks and schools throughout the city. Their legacies will forever be apparent in the name Santa Monica.

The Pico Neighborhood is bordered by Lincoln Blvd to the west, Centinela Ave. to the east, Olympic Blvd. to the north and Pico Blvd. to the south. It stretches across about one and half miles, and its most eastern section touches the border of West Los Angeles. The population is currently around 16,000 people (Census.gov) with a white majority (38%), closely followed by Hispanic or Latino (33%) population, followed by those identifying as Asians (14%), and with a smaller Black population (8%). The mural shows shows this culturally diverse nature of the neighborhood. The mural also depicts the struggle of attempting to unite the Pico Neighborhood despite the fact that the 10 freeway bisects it.

For some reason, the shapefile data from Santa Monica's official GIS portal has the border of the Pico Neighborhood extending past Lincoln Blvd. But generally anything past Lincoln Blvd. is considered part of Mid-City, which is apparent through the mural. Pico Neighborhood neighborhood has a rich history of demographic change and industry. It is arguably the best neighborhood in Santa Monica (totally not biased assessment), but it also the most ignored. And it's been ignored and tossed aside for its entire history. But the broken buildings that are featured in the mural just prove how strong Pico Neighborhood is. We will always come back, and built again towards a new future.

Through interactions with my neighbors, I knew that the Pico Neighborhood was “historically Japanese," but always had a large community of Mexicans/ Latinos. I was surprised to learn that African Americans escaping Jim Crow south also had a large impact on growth of my neighborhood.

While the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 stopped the growing influx of Chinese immigrants, it opened the door for Japanese migrants who came to America in droves. At a time, Japanese migrants were the dominant demographic group when it came to agricultural labor in California. Some of these migrants also found refuge along the sandy shores of Santa Monica bay, where they worked mostly as gardeners and fisherman. The 1930’s also saw an increase in Japanese-run businesses which were mostly patronaged by white customers. Japanese immigrants seemed, for the most part, to have an easier time at avoiding the discrimination that other racial minorities faced at the time.

In the early 1900’s, Santa Monica saw an influx of Black, Latino, and Asian immigrants. The newly built railroads, and following interstate highways encouraged a westward flow of people seeking a better life. A small but significant black community started to develop the area along Pico Blvd. African American entrepreneurs saw a way to escape the social and economic depression of their community in the South, which can be blamed on Jim Crow laws. The affordability of the Pico neighborhood allowed black homeowners to settle within the rest of Santa Monica’s working class. The Pico neighborhood became home to many black owned businesses and cultural centers were established in the area to keep up with the growing African American population. Although Santa Monica proved to be more hospitable than the Jim Crow south, there was still significant prejudice against people of color. Land ordinances and discriminatory laws made owning businesses and homes difficult for the Black community.

Urban renewal was no friend to the ethnic communities that called the Pico Neighborhood their home, unfortunately. The black community, which congregated in the Belmar district was demolished, houses were burned and families were displaced. Currently, Santa Monica City Hall lies in the historic Belmar district. To commemorate the importance of Black history in Santa Monica, a park was named "Historic Belmar Park" and an art instillation of the story (which I featured in the images above), was put in place.

World War II changed everything in Santa Monica. War proved to be costly and resources were scarce, including labor. President Franklin D Roosevelt signed executive order 8802 in 1941 which “forbade discrimination in wartime defense industries.” This order allowed for over 2,000 African American workers to be hired at the Douglas Aircraft plant in Santa Monica. The increase in job opportunities drew more African Americans seeking economic freedom to Santa Monica, which caused the black population to explode from 500 to 4,000 by the 1960’s. Although racial descrimination continued to have a negative effect on the economic expansion of African Americans, their input into wartime efforts was undeniable.

As the Mexican population continued to grow with the Braceros, and undocumented workers, the community faced both labor and housing shortages leading up the war. But as previously stated, the United States was desperate to pump out war related industries and technologies. So by 1944, the Douglas Aircraft plant hired around 12,000 Mexicans to help in the wartime effort. Although this number seems to dwarf the number of Black Douglas Aircraft employees, it was proportionate to the number of Mexican-Americans who called Santa Monica their home. 

The symbiotic economic niche that the Japanese had seemed to fill dissolved quickly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and subsequent signing of Executive Order 9066. The blossoming, Japanese-owned businesses and communities were put to stop before ever reaching fruition as many Japanese-Americans (Nikkei) were shipped off to internment camps. Most of the Japanese residents from Santa Monica were sent to the infamous Manzanar Camp out in Owens Valley. Homes, businesses, and land were frantically sold off or transferred to trusted friends who would wait more than three years for the original owners to come home. Sadly, many Nikkei never returned back to Santa Monica. But the few who did, the majority resettled into the more affordable Pico Neighborhood. The Japanese community never recovered their sense of belonging in Santa Monica after returning back from the internment camps.

Taking advantage of the low-income and voiceless working class population of the Pico Neighborhood, developers decided to use this location as the grounds for the highway. The highway destroyed the Pico Neighborhood and displaced many families. The hardest hit areas were those that were occupied by African Americans who were forced to relocate. Being that the Pico Neighborhood was generally the most affordable area in Santa Monica, the majority of these Black families could not stay within Santa Monica and had to move outside of the city. According to a study by the Fair Housing Council, approximately 6,000- 8,000 black residents were in need of housing because of the freeway construction (Los Angeles Times, 1966). Additionally, Black homeowners faced racial discrimination in the real estate market so it made it even harder for them to find suitable housing within Santa Monica. Although there were some supposed efforts to relocate these families, the black population in Santa Monica saw a huge decrease. “While the census reported that the African American population of Santa Monica totaled just over 4,000 in 1970, the black population of the Pico neighborhood, specifically, decreased by almost 30% between 1970 and 1980,” (Santa Monica, Appendix A). 

After the internment of Japanese Americans, returning back to life proved difficult for many disenfranchised families. “By April 1945, fewer than 1,300 Japanese Americans had returned to California; by 1946, approximately 161 Japanese Americans had returned to Santa Monica,” (Santa Monica Appendix A). Not only had most Nikkei lost their homes and businesses, the population of Santa Monica had increased in their absence making it difficult for many to find new homes. Although Santa Monica was one of the few cities that provided federal housing for displaced Japanese, the project was abandoned only one year after the internment had ended, leaving many once again scrambling to find a home. The lucky few found refuge in the affordable, working class Pico Neighborhood, but the majority of Nikkei relocated to the Sawtelle area of West Los Angeles. Sadly, those who had been lucky enough to find housing within the Pico Neighborhood were once again thrown into disarray as the construction of the Interstate-10 forced many to relocate. 

Like the Japanese, the Mexican and Latino community were victims of the post-war housing shortage. The number of Mexican immigrants seeking economic prosperity in the United States steadily increased after the war which put an even greater strain on the lack of resources. However, this issue only grew worse once the interstate-10 began development. “Construction of the freeway displaced between 600 and 1,500 mostly black and Latino residents, many of whom had lived in their homes for nearly two decades,” (Pfeiffer, 2007). Despite the construction of the freeway, the population of Mexicans continued to grow in Santa Monica. At the time, there was an increasing disconnection between Santa Monica’s Mexican population and their cultural heritage. Civil rights movements around Southern California seemed to have avoided Santa Monica as the Latino community desperately tried to assimilate into a white Santa Monica. Those who felt disenfranchised by the rest of the community found refuge within the ethnically diverse Pico Neighborhood. 

We did not go down without a fight, but ultimately the construction began for the maintenance yard. However, we were gifted a park, as a consolidation for our compliance. Ishihara park was built as a buffer park as a consolation for building the Metro Expo Line Maintenance Yard in the area between Dorchester Ave. and 28th Street (Pico Neighborhood East End). Ishihara park was built only because the residents of the area protested so strongly against the maintenance yard being placed in our neighborhood. It was named after a Japanese war-veteran, George Ishihara, which commemorated the Japanese heritage of the community. The actual park consists of several sections that were constructed based on the suggestions from members of the neighborhood. Every member of the community was heard, and their ideas were put built into the plans. Ishihara Park, the pride and joy of the Pico Neighborhood. Built through the hearts and mind of the community. Ishihara Park is home to the only publicly accessible community garden in the city. It also has a plethora of citrus trees, whose fruits are available to anyone who wants some. This park is the culmination of the history of the Pico neighborhood, and proves that through perseverance something good can come out of a sad story.

 “We feel we are one family. We have no borders.” (Leza, 2019). 

Works Cited:

City of Santa Monica,  “Historic Resources Inventory Update Historic Context Statement.” (March 2018)

Cruz-Manjarrez, Adriana. 2013. Zapotecs on the Move: Cultural, Social, and Political Processes in Transnational Perspective. Rutgers University Press. Chapter 2: “Building Community and Connections in Los Angeles.”

Dixson, Brennon, “Belmar History + Art Project Sculpture Designs Approved and Revealed,” Santa Monica Daily Press, July 18, 2020. 

Guzmán, Pablo Yoruba. 2010. “Before People Called Me a Spic, They Called Me a N----.” The Afro-Latin@ Reader, ps. 235-243.

György Kepes, Introduction to The Nature and Art of Motion (New York: George Braziller, 1965), i–vii.

Fusco, Coco. 2003. Racial Time, Racial Marks, Racial Metaphors. Only Skin Deep:

Changing Visions of the American Self. New York, NY: Harry Abrams, Inc. and

International Center of Photography, pp. 13-50.

Hernández, Roberto D. 2018. Coloniality of the US///Mexico Border: Power, Violence, and the Decolonial Imperative. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press. Chapter 2: “Territorial Violence and the Structural Location of the Border, ps. 67-93

Jefferson, Alison Rose, Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era, 2020.

Jenny Price, “Thirteen Ways of Seeing Nature in L.A.,” in Land of Sunshine, eds. William Deverell and Greg Hise (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005), 220–244.

Leza, Christina. 2019. Divided Peoples: Policy, Activism, and Indigenous Identities on the U.S.-Mexico Border. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.

Pfeiffer, Deirdre, “The Dynamics of Multiracial Integration: A Case Study of the Pico Neighborhood in Santa Monica, CA.” (2007)