Балдуин-Хиллз: История и современность района Лос-Анджелеса

Baldwin Hills is a neighborhood within the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. Often referred to as the "Black Beverly Hills", Baldwin Hills is home to Kenneth Hahn State Regional Park and to Village Green, a National Historic Landmark.

Baldwin Hills and other surrounding geography are named for the 19th century horse racing and land developer, Lucky Baldwin. Ran historic early 19th century eastern hills Rancho land grant. Sanchez Adobe de Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera. The adobe was once the center of the rancho. In the 1920s, an addition was built linking the structures and the building was converted into a larger clubhouse for the Sunset Golf Course. It was the site of the very first Olympic Village ever built, for the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games.

In 1950, new homes in Baldwin Hills were designed by Paul W. Trousdale & Associates (of Trousdale Estates fame) and advertised as being near the "$30 million Crenshaw Santa Barbara Shopping Center.

On December 14, 1963, a crack appeared in the Baldwin Hills Dam impounding the Baldwin Hills Reservoir. Within a few hours, water rushing through the crack eroded the earthen dam, gradually widening the crack until the dam failed catastrophically at 3:38 p. m. When the crack was discovered, police with bullhorns urged the evacuation of the area, but six people were killed. Two hundred homes were completely wiped out, and an additional 1500 to 2000 houses and apartment buildings were damaged, the arsonist was never caught. In 1985, the Los Angeles Times noted that Baldwin Hills is "now often called the Black Beverly Hills".

Baldwin Hills is bounded by La Cienega Boulevard to the west, Crenshaw Boulevard to the east, Stocker Street to the south and Obama Boulevard to the north with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard forming the northeast dividing line between Baldwin Hills and Crenshaw Manor. It is bordered on the west by Culver City and it shares the eastern border of Crenshaw Boulevard with Leimert Park. The namesake mountain range is part of the neighborhood.

Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook is located at 6300 Hetzler Road in Culver City, CA. The park is open daily from 8 a. m. to sunset. The Visitor Center is not currently open. The park includes an amphitheater, drinking water, the Evan Frankel Discovery Center, gardening boxes, picnic tables, a permeable parking lot ($6), toilets, and walking paths with a central feature known as the Culver City Stairs. The Visitor Center has a comprehensive guide to the native plants of the area and history of Culver City. On a clear day the Overlook's platform offers exceptional views spanning the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Hollywood Sign to the north, and downtown Los Angeles to the east. Kenneth Hahn State Regional Park is located at 4100 South La Cienega Boulevard. It is a 401 acre recreation and sports area. Norman O Houston Park: is located at 4800 South La Brea Avenue. Jim Gilliam Park & Recreation Center is located at 4000 South La Brea Avenue. It is home to the Jim Gilliam Senior Citizen Center.

The Los Angeles Public Library operates the Baldwin Hills Branch Library. It is located at 2900 La Brea Avenue.

From 2007 to 2009, BET aired Baldwin Hills, a program featuring several African American teenagers and their lives in the upper class Los Angeles community. The show is very similar in nature to such MTV programs as Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, The Hills, and the online series The Suburbs, as it features African Americans of upper middle class families who divide their time between attending school, playing sports, shopping at high end stores, and driving expensive cars. The series lasted for three seasons.