"Whereas Historic West Adams is a close-in suburb dating from the 1880s, the bulk of the "new" West Adams neighborhood was developed in the 1920s, on a wide swath of land between two major east-west streetcar routes: the Los Angeles Railway West Adams Boulevard line and the Pacific Electric Santa Monica Air Line."
"The dream of homeownership for Angelenos of more modest means was born here in West Adams and the other neighborhoods built across the city in the 1920s. The old model of homeownership - one that depended on enormous wealth, as typified by Historic West Adams and its baroque palaces - was swept away."
"Affordable land and the cheaper, more easily replicated design of tract homes made it possible for almost anyone to buy a home and still have enough left over to purchase a car to go in its driveway. The boom of the 1920s became the template for all succeeding booms, save the current explosion in high-rise residential developments."
West Adams comprises two distinct areas: Historic West Adams, a close-in suburb from the 1880s featuring mansions, and the newer West Adams neighborhood developed in the 1920s between two major streetcar lines. Originally agricultural land with farms and marshes, the area was developed as the city expanded westward. Affordable land and tract home designs enabled middle-class residents to purchase homes and automobiles, fundamentally changing Los Angeles's housing model. This 1920s development pattern became the template for subsequent urban expansion, eventually leading to streetcar removal and neighborhood demolition for freeway construction as the city pursued endless suburban growth.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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