Conflict & Controversy in Urban Development
The following is an independent student report, not directly produced by The Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles.
28 April 2003
Annie Rapaport
Dr. Mara Marks
Russian Jewish Settlement in the Fairfax District
LOS ANGELES IS one of the most diverse cities in the world, with residents from many races and religions. Although no one is confined to specific regions in Los Angeles, ethnic enclaves have arisen in order to allow residents to live in communities with those of similar backgrounds and beliefs. The Russian Jews have a long history in Los Angeles and one of their current enclaves in the Fairfax District. The enclave has been shaped by many elements and can be looked at in several different ways. The history of Russian/Jewish settlement in Los Angeles will be explored along with the current look of the Fairfax District, through a visual assessment and a census breakdown. The neighborhood has also been affected by land use changes and this paper will explore one such case while also incorporating reactions from residents of the district in regard to changes over the years for Russian Jews and for the district itself.
A Long History
The history of Jewish/Russian settlement in the Los Angeles is discussed at length in the Ethnic Quilt, which focuses on two distinct European groups — the English and the Russian. The book clearly distinguishes distribution differences, as those of English descent tended to cluster dispersed in the outlying suburbs, while those of Russian descent generally chose a single area that was highly concentrated. This difference can be attributed to differences in culture, relative cohesiveness and environmental and locational preferences. Because of these factors it is clear that the simplistic view that all white people are the same is untrue. The Ethnic Quilt authors James Allen and Eugene Turner use the Russian population as a surrogate for the Jewish population. The 1990 distribution of those with Russian ancestry was very similar to the Jewish population in a privately collected 1976 survey. Therefore the terms Russian and Jewish are used somewhat interchangeably throughout the book and this paper as well.
For Jewish settlers in Los Angeles, many regions have served as a home for some time, beginning with Boyle Heights. However, these settlers also chose to live in the Downtown Los Angeles area, Fairfax Avenue and West Hollywood. Now Jewish migration patterns seem to be an overall shift west, as they tend to settle in the San Fernando Valley and the Santa Monica Mountains.
Currently, the 639,000 Jews who live in the five county Southern California region make up 4.4 percent of the region’s population and 8.8 percent of its non-Hispanic white population. Israelis are also considered into these numbers as nearly every person who identifies their ancestry as Israeli is also Jewish — Christians and Muslims from Israel are more likely to mark Palestinian. The Jewish religion of these Israelis gives them shared characteristics with American Jews and Israeli’s and Russian ancestry Jews share some common niches around the region.
As early as 1850, when Southern California was shifting from a Spanish-speaking portion of Mexico’s northern frontier to an outpost for the United States, at least eight Jews were present in the region — most had been born in Germany or Poland and immigrated before getting married so they could open businesses in the West. For the next three decades, many Jews who settled in the region opened small shops, and many of the merchants in the city were Jewish. Other Jewish settlers became wholesalers, bankers, clerks or salesmen. Prior to 1890, Jews were highly integrated into social and cultural elements of Los Angeles. Many were active in civic affairs and members of leading clubs, some began to intermarry, but most retained their Jewish identity. During this time, most Jews lived near Downtown, and a few had summer homes at the shore in Santa Monica or Wilmington, but no section of town was considered distinctively Jewish. However, a massive influx of rural and small town settlers that came to Los Angeles after the completion of the railroad brought anti-Semitic attitudes with them and this increased local resentment at what appeared to be the growing political influence of Los Angeles Jews. The relationship between Jews and Gentiles was drastically altered and by the turn of the century, some Jews were being excluded from influence and membership in the leading organizations and, in turn, were becoming more involved in the affairs of the Jewish community.
In 1904 the Jewish population began to change and grow as the first wave of Eastern European Jews arrived in Los Angeles. Between 1900-1920, the typical Jewish migrant to Los Angeles was an immigrant who had been born in Russia, Poland or another part of Eastern Europe, but had been living in New York, Philadelphia or Chicago for a while. Most of these migrants were visibly Jewish, poor and conservative in regard to religious tradition. They spoke Yiddish, occasionally dressed in an exotic fashion and had a tendency to enter the second-hand junk business, all of which aggravated anti-Semitic tendencies of some Los Angeles Christians. The established Jewish community found the newcomers to be embarrassing and feared that they would become overly dependent on charity.
Between 1900 and 1920 the Jewish population grew astronomically from 2,500 to about 70,000 in Los Angeles. While Jews were only 3% of the city’s population in 1900, they comprised more than 17% in 1930. While the newcomers moved to many areas, Boyle Heights became the most important Jewish enclave during the 1920s. As this community grew, the Jewish population became more separated from the non-Jewish whites. As the number of Jews was being rapidly expanded by Eastern European immigrants acceptance in terms of politics and cultural aspects of life decreased for Jews all over Los Angeles. Into the late 40s it was almost impossible for Jews to gain acceptance to medical school or residency accept at the two Jewish sponsored hospitals in Los Angeles. They were also kept out of the Downtown based law firms controlled by the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant elite. Jews were also excluded in social matters such as the old-guard country clubs and private schools.
Along with different religions and perspective, locational differences reflected the social separation of Jews and Gentiles. Jews tended to remain in the more urban downtown area while other white settlers tended to be attracted to newly developed suburban areas. The number of white-collar workers, managers and professionals began to rapidly increase in the Jewish community in the 1920s and the majority of these jobs were in the Downtown area. There was some discrimination in housing, which factored into the distribution of Jews in Los Angeles, although it was short lived. In the 1920s and 30s, anti-Semitism was wide-spread and in Inglewood and Glendale, the Ku Klux Klan worked to keep Jews and African-Americans out of certain areas. Restrictive covenants that prevented the sale of a house to Jews and non-whites were common. The Boyle Heights area was an area dominated by Jews during the 1920s as the number of Eastern European immigrants began to increase dramatically.
By the mid-1930s, about 35,000 Jews lived in this region. They were mostly Orthodox in tradition and spoke Yiddish. These residents established a neighborhood presence with an active Jewish cultural and religious life. The area was filled with synagogues, Jewish food, candy and bookstores, theatres showing Yiddish films, kosher slaughterhouses and restaurants, Yiddish schools and a Jewish social club. City Terrace, an area northeast of Boyle Heights also became Jewish, however these houses were for more affluent buyers and the fact that many of the residents were secular and politically active resulted in conflicts with the more religious and traditional Jews in Boyle Heights.
In the 1920s Jews began to move out of Boyle Heights to more affluent homes west of Downtown, especially in Hollywood and the increasingly Jewish Fairfax Avenue neighborhood north of Beverly Boulevard. By the 1940s these areas had more Jews than Boyle Heights. The working-class Jews maintained an Orthodox lifestyle while remaining in Boyle Heights. The more acculturated Jews lived in separate areas. As time went on, the Jewish exodus of Boyle Heights continued and the area became more and more Mexican, causing most Jewish elements in the area to be lost.
During the 1940s and 50s many Jews settled near Fairfax Avenue, between Wilshire Blvd. and Melrose Ave. In this area, there were a large number of apartments, which appealed to elderly Jews or those who weren’t as affluent. This area soon emerged as the most important Jewish residential and shopping enclave — it was an updated, smaller-scale version of Boyle Heights. The Fairfax area became the symbolic focus for the Jewish community during the post-war years. Although this area was known for years as a prominent Jewish enclave, the neighborhood has declined and the affluent and assimilated Jews have visited the area less often.
Since the 1940s, Jewish families have been moving to what is considered the Westside of Los Angeles or north into the San Fernando Valley. The Westside area can be defined by the predominantly white and affluent population, which geographically extends westward from La Brea or Fairfax Avenue to the Pacific Ocean. Within this area are large, single family homes in neighborhoods like Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Cheviot Hills, Brentwood and the Pacific Palisades. These new areas have become attractive to Jews because they are not far from earlier settlements like Boyle Heights and have new housing and higher-status jobs available. In the San Fernando Valley, Jews began to move as the area became more urban than suburban, but avoid low-income areas. Much of the financial strength of Westside Jews has come from their involvement in the film industry, television, suburban real estate development and savings-and-loan operations. It is very likely that the majority of highly influential Jewish families reside within a two-mile radius of the Simon Rosenthal Center, Museum of Tolerance and the Federation Council.
Due to all of the closed doors Jews faced, they began to socialize with one another and founded the Hillcrest Country Club, which helped to mend ties between old elite Jewish families of mostly German descent and the Jewish Hollywood moguls who were mainly of Eastern European descent. This was the foundation of the Westside Jewish economic and political strength that developed during the 1950s and 1960s. Until the early 60s there was much rebellion from the Gentile community toward the development of the Miracle Mile commercial axis along Wilshire Blvd. by Jewish investors. However with the completion of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion the elite of the Jewish and Gentile communities came together again.
In terms of relating to other minority groups, the Jews have had much experience. As Jews started moving out of their old areas, between 1920s and 1940s they went west and north, farther from Downtown LA and the South Central area. In these places Jews were replaced by African-Americans and Mexicans. However, Jews that lived in South Central had important ties to these other minorities as they recognized their common bond in a struggle against discrimination and worked together to eliminate it. Jews often employed African-Americans as servants in their homes and in menial jobs at neighborhood Jewish stores where African-Americans often shopped. During the years of legalized segregation, Jews also garnered the reputation of being more willing than other whites to ignore restrictive covenants and sell their homes to African-Americans. In the 1950s and 60s, the two groups created an influential political coalition which ultimately led to the election of an African-American mayor in 1973. As Jews left these more disparate sections they tended to move to the area stretching between Hollywood and the coast, and although Jews still live in small numbers in most parts of Southern California, they are still concentrated in this relatively small part of Los Angeles County, as of 1990. Now, however, areas like Fairfax have a highly Caucasian population.
Now it seems that the Fairfax district has become more of a relic of the past than a vibrant enclave of contemporary Jewish life. During the same decades as the Fairfax district was growing, the Jewish population in West Hollywood declined as those leaving Boyle Heights looked for a new location. In the late 1970s, West Hollywood and adjacent neighborhoods became a major destination for Jews from the Soviet Union. This pattern continued during the 80s and in the 90s a great many Russian refugees who were elderly arrived in Los Angeles and they found it difficult to adapt to the American economic system and learn English. Because these Jews had been strongly discouraged about religion in the USSR, the Russian Jews that arrived in Los Angeles had little knowledge of Judaism. The West Hollywood enclave is mainly defined by these Russian Jewish refugees not US born Russian-ancestry population.
Although this group incorporates a multiple backgrounds: those of Russian ancestry, Eastern European immigrants and Israeli immigrants, they still share similar ideals in terms of living space, generally choosing middle and upper class neighborhoods in more urban areas then other white settlers do. There have been shifts in the settlement of the Jews as different groups have come to Los Angeles; however, they have stayed basically united in terms of location, although sometimes divided by religious devotion and a more acclimated "American" way of life.
The Look of the Fairfax District
Fairfax Avenue and the surrounding areas have a very distinct look from block to block. Along Fairfax, there are residential areas with a variety of single-family houses and small apartment complexes, only one of which was three stories high.
Many of these complexes are built around a center courtyard. However they are not new buildings and were not in the best condition. Many of the paint jobs were flaking, however there were very nice cars parked in the front of most of the complexes, so they are probably quite expensive. The majority of the "room for rent" signs advertised only one and two bedroom apartments.
The living and business areas were separated, although there were some areas where houses butted up to the businesses that lined Fairfax Avenue. However, businesses and housing were not side-by-side in any location.
There are signs of a Jewish community present even before one reaches the Fairfax District, such as the National Council of Jewish Women. A few blocks farther down Fairfax Ave, was the Shelavet School, a Jewish middle school. The area had many museums, including LACMA. Fairfax Ave. remained commercial from this point and had numerous Russian restaurants, bakeries, deli’s and Kosher butchers.
Off of Fairfax Ave, it seemed as though the ideal Los Angeles was hidden away. There were numerous one-family bungalow style houses. The area was similar to Westchester. Interspersed with these bungalows were small apartment complexes, similar to the ones early on Fairfax Ave. They were mostly two story places, however these were much nicer looking than the previous ones. The neighborhoods off of Fairfax were very green and had an abundance of grass, flowers and trees. These units also had expensive cars parked in front.
Statistical Make-up of the Area
In the area surrounding Fairfax Ave, the census findings are often different than the national and Los Angeles County findings. A big finding is that the percent of the population of the United States that is white is 69%. However, the average percent of the population that is white in the five census tracts that were used for this area is 85%. Although this seems high, the population of native-born citizens is higher in the US overall at 88.9% and is only 72% on average in the area studied. This suggests that the numbers of whites in the area are either immigrants or of Jewish descent. This is not a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant controlled area of Los Angeles, which is not normal in this country.
In terms of minorities, this area has very low percentage of non-white residents. It is high in Jewish population, but these residents are white. One of the census tracts around Fairfax Avenue had 100% white owned housing, however, 95% of the area is rented and the percentage of white renters is 87.5%. Only slightly over 10% of the population is Spanish, Black or Asian Pacific. There are very few linguistically isolated Spanish speakers, on average 1.28% of the population and the percentage is lower among linguistically isolated Asian-Pacific speakers .44%, but in following with the high percent of white immigrants, the non-English speakers average is higher at 1.58%. In particular, tract 1945, which is the Fairfax District, the percent of non-English speakers is 3.6% while West Hollywood’s non-English speaker percent is 7.6%. Both percents are much higher than the national .1% linguistically isolated non-English speakers.
In terms of education, each tract varies dramatically in regard to each of the four categories. However overall, women appear to be more educated than men in this area. This is different from the national average and is unheard of for most places in the country. For the number of men who completed high school, the percentages range from 5.2% to 11.8% with and average of 9%, while for women the range is 9.2% to 40.5% with and average of 33.54%. In terms of a bachelor’s degree, the same phenomenon is present. With men the range is 9.9% to 26.6% with and average of 16%, while women’s range is 13.3% to 45.9% with and average of 32%.
The percents are much different for the county and the nation, in Los Angeles County 17.9% of men have a high school diploma and 16.5% have a bachelor’s degree, while 19.7% of women have a high school diploma and 15.7% have a bachelor’s degree. Nationally an average of 27.6% of men having a high school diploma and 16% having a bachelor’s degree. For women, 29.6% have a high school diploma while only 15% have a bachelor’s degree.
In terms of housing in America, on a national level, there are far more owners (66%) than renters (33%). However, this is not true in the Fairfax District, where, on average, only 27% of housing is owned and the other 73% is rented. This is opposite of the national trend. In the five-tract area, over 80% of renters are white and over 85% of owners are white. In the Los Angeles region, 33% of owners are white and 39% of renters, while nationally about 82% of owners and 61% of renters are white. In the region and in LA County, a large portion of the owners and renters is made up of Latino’s.
The median household income for the area is about on par with the nation ($41,994), region ($45,903) and county ($42,189), but is a little higher at an average of $47,034. The median value of owner occupied housing is much higher. Nationally this is $111,800, regionally it is $193,400 and for the county the median value is $201,400. The average median value over the five census tracts is $412,120. Along these same lines, the median gross rent is much higher, while it is $602 nationally it jumps to $704 in LA County and the average for the area is $893, over $200 more than the national average.
Other data gathered determined the median year most buildings were constructed in each area as well as the percent of those who marked Russian ancestry as their first ethnic descent. In Metro LA, LA County, and West Hollywood most of the buildings were constructed in the 60s and early 70s, which is on par with the national average. However, the five tracts around the Fairfax District were constructed mainly in the 1940s and early 50s, during and after WWII. Perhaps this is a mark of expansion of the area after the war. This also explains the weathered look of many of the small apartment complexes in the area.
The Russian ancestry was much higher in the tracts than the national average (.68%) and the Metro LA (.99%). In West Hollywood, the average resident of Russian descent is 12.7% while the average for the five census tracts was 8.7%.
These statistic show that the enclave being studied is different in many ways, including ethnic make-up, percentage of owners vs. renters and average income and rent from, not only the nation, but even from the country and the metro Los Angeles area.
Land Use Problems Arise out of Change
After a massive revitalization project began in the area last year, smaller project are continuing to pop up in the area. These projects are usually not supported by residents and business owners in the area who worry about the affect newer corporate businesses will have on the older, ethnically driven ones.
Although some business owners, like David Lash who lives in the area and is the executive director of Bet Tzedek legal services, believe that "it is a wonderful neighborhood and nobody wants to see it lose its character, but there is a need for revitalization." Yet a recent case in the area spurred unhappy responses from adjoining businesses. Although the project wasn’t going to impede business, there was concern of a health risk and a general unappealing look for the area.
The request which created so much controversy was filed by Cingular Wireless for a conditional permit to use and maintain an unmanned wireless telecommunication center or place antenna’s on top of a business building to better service for their customers. The "players" in this event are Cingular Wireless, the company who owned to building that would be used to place their antennas on top of and the adjacent business owners who were opposed to Cingular Wireless’s plan.
Renee Schillaci, planning deputy for Jack Weiss, the city councilman for the Fairfax District, provided much background information regarding this situation. Although the project is not exclusively a relatable to the Jewish community, it is highly likely that the adjoining smaller businesses against Cingular were owned by and geared toward the Jewish community. All of the players had a particular issue at stake. Cingular wanted to place the antennas on top of a business building in order to better reception for their customers. The building on top of which Cingular wanted to place the antennas on top of was fine with working out such a deal for a couple of different reasons. This building, located at 145 Fairfax Avenue already had AT&T towers on top of it and would make money by leasing the additional space to Cingular. The adjacent businesses were opposed to Cingular’s plan because they didn’t want to clutter the area with more antennas. Their complaint was that they were concerned about the health issues that could be created by having multiple towers above them.
Each of the players stakes in this situation are pretty clear: Cingular Wireless wanted to make things better for their customers; the business wanted to make money off of the lease; the adjacent business’ wanted to protect their health and also the visual appeal of the neighborhood.
The steps taken during the planning involved Cingular Wireless making a deal with the business, then they went forward with the paper work necessary to obtain the conditional use permit. To do this, they filed an application with the city of Los Angeles. After filing the paper work, Cingular scheduled a hearing to be held before the zoning administration. At the hearing, Cingular had to make a case as to why their construction was necessary.
Such a hearing is open to the public and because of this, it allowed the opposing businesses to voice their concerns about the Cingular plan. However, as Schillaci explained, the city encourages co-location for projects like the Cingular one and since there were other towers already on top of the particular building Cingular wanted to use, the city approved the project.
Those opposed to the project had the chance to appeal it, which they did. However at the new trial, the opposing business owners didn’t have all of the paper work filled out and ready for and therefore, the zoning administration decision was unchanged.
After this lengthy process, which took over a year and a half, Cingular Wireless should be starting construction soon. The problem with the argument of the adjacent business owners is that they wouldn’t want these towers in residential neighborhoods. Although this is against the wishes of the community, it is a more useful method, to keep eyesore constructions in similar locations and away from residential neighborhoods.
As much as people in the Fairfax District were against this project, it seems as though they did not consider where else such a tower could be constructed. It seemed that most people in this district probably use a cellular telephone, so they need to be willing to make some concessions in order to maintain the quality of the products that they use.
Even though the adjacent companies were dissatisfied with the outcome of the appeal, from the information it seems clear that this was the best outcome for all three parties.
The People
The Fairfax District has been undergoing much change during the years, not only in terms of physical appearance but also in terms of the population. The older generation of European Jews has passed on and much of the younger generation has moved farther west in Los Angeles. The changes have been viewed positively by some residents and business owners, including Lash and Jacqueline Canter, who’s grandfather Ben founded Canter’s Deli on Fairfax Ave.
Another shop owner, Perry Doty, who’s shop is also on Fairfax worries about the changes and fears the erosion of the small commercial districts distinctly Jewish character. However, Canter who remembers when Yiddish was spoken almost as often as English along Fairfax has made a strong push for revitalizations, believing that they will improve economic life in the neighborhood. Although the area isn’t solely Jewish, there is still a sizable Orthodox Jewish population in Fairfax. "The street still has its Jewish character, but it’s a colorful mix of people," Canter added.
Although the historical heart of the city’s Jewish community has seen dramatic changes over the years, including a weakening of Jewish presence, there are remnants of Jewish heritage all around the area. Similar businesses are present as were in the past, including Canter’s. Jewish bakeries, delis, kosher butchers, temples and schools line the street for this upper middle class neighborhood. The Fairfax District has a distinct make-up, which is drastically different then most white neighborhoods in the nation. Yet it is differences in religion, education, income and expenses along with other things from the national and state statistics, which help to give the Fairfax District such a unique quality.