Neighborhood Spotlight: Watts awaits those who are looking for opportunity

"Around that station a settlement grew, and the area to the north and south of Main Street (now 103rd Street) was subdivided into small residential parcels that, at an average of 25 feet across and 130 feet deep, were sized and priced to fit the budgets of the working people who staffed the interurban railway."

"That absence of restrictive zoning would be crucial in the development of Watts. Unlike the larger, more established cities to its north and south, Watts had no racial restrictions on the ownership of land, even after its incorporation in 1907."

Watts originated in the 1880s when Charles Watts, a Midwestern immigrant, established a ranch on 220 acres between Los Angeles and Long Beach. The Pacific Electric Railway's interurban line, crossing Watts family land, led to the naming of Watts Station and subsequent settlement growth. Small residential parcels averaging 25 by 130 feet were subdivided and priced for working-class railway employees. The absence of zoning laws allowed flexible home construction, including cottages spanning multiple lots with gardens or yards. Crucially, Watts lacked racial restrictions on land ownership, even after incorporation in 1907, distinguishing it from larger neighboring cities and enabling diverse community development.

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