Watts, Los Angeles: Difference between revisions

{{Use American English|date=December 2020}}{{Use mdy dates|date=DecemberApril 20202024}}

| area_footnotes = <ref name=MappingLAWatts>{{cite news |url=http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/watts/ |title=Mapping L.A.: "'Watts"' |access-date=March 30, 2010 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

The area now known as Watts is situated on the 1843 [[Rancho La Tajauta]] Mexican land grant. As on all [[Ranchos of California|ranchos]], the principal vocation at that time was grazing and beef production.<ref name=MaryEllen>{{cite book |first=MaryEllenMary Ellen Bell |last=Ray |title=The City of Watts, California: 1907 to 1926 |location=Los Angeles |publisher=Rising Publications |year=1985}}</ref>

There were household settlers in the area as early as 1882,<ref>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/159123316 "Watts Pioneer Dies," ''Los Angeles Times,'' June 16, 1907, pagep. 18]</ref> and in 1904, the population was counted as 65 people; a year later it was 1,651.<ref name=TheMarvel>[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042462/1905-10-08/ed-1/seq-26/#date1=1836&index=14&date2=1922&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn85042460&lccn=sn84038806&lccn=sn84025968&lccn=sn85042462&words=Watts&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=Watts&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 "&nbsp;'The Marvel of Suburbs,'&nbsp;": Rapid Growth and Development of Town of Watts Set Forth in a Folder," ''Los Angeles Herald,'' October 8, 1905, pagep. 8]</ref> C.V. Bartow of [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]] was noted as one of the founders of Watts.<ref name=SaloonTaxes/><ref name=TheWatts>[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042462/1910-01-02/ed-1/seq-50/#date1=1836&index=2&date2=1922&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn85042460&lccn=sn84038806&lccn=sn84025968&lccn=sn85042462 "The Watts Lumber Company," ''Los Angeles Herald,'' January 2, 1910, pagep. 6]</ref>

In 1904, it was reported that Watts was named after Pasadena businessman Charles H. Watts, who was found dead by suicide in the [[Victorian Downtown Los Angeles#St. Elmo Hotel|St. Elmo Hotel, Los Angeles]], on August 23 of that year. The ''Los Angeles Times'' said: "Watts at one time conducted a [[livery stable]] on [[Main Street (Los Angeles)|North Main Street]] and another at [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]] and was a man of considerable means. . . . Watts station on the Salt Lake road is named after the deceased, and is located on property which he once owned."<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/380066901/?terms=Charles%20H.%20Watts&match=1 "Took His Own Life," ''Los Angeles Times,'' August 24, 1904, image 17]</ref> The ''Los Angeles Evening Express'' said: "Among other property he owned a ranch south of the city through which the [[Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad|Salt Lake railroad]] passes, and the station of Watts is named for him."<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/607766105/ "Took Deadly Potion," ''Los Angeles Express,'' August 23, 1904, image 5]</ref>

In 1919, Watts Mayor Z. A. Towne said that the settlement was named after a widow who lived on ten acres which was later occupied by a [[Pacific Electric]] [[power station|power house]]. She later moved to [[Arlington, California]], Towne said.<ref name=NameOf>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/160555096 "Name of Widow Wearies Watts," ''Los Angeles Times,'' January 25, 1919, pagep. II-1]</ref><ref name=NameOf2>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/380600542/?terms=Name%20of%20Widow%20Wearies%20Watts&match=1 "Name of Widow Wearies Watts," ''Los Angeles Times,'' January 25, 1919, image 13]</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/608056418/?terms=watts%20mayor%20towne&match=1 "Watts," ''Sunday Express Tribune,'' July 7, 1918, image 36 (source for initials of Mayor Towne)]</ref>

In 1912 and 1913, a movement was afoot to change the name of Watts because, as one headline writer put it, the residents were tired of the "quips and jests" at the town's expense. One real-estate agent said that prospective clients backed out of a property inspection tour when they found out their streetcar ride would end up in Watts. The name "South Angeles" was proposed.<ref>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/159832930 "Shall It Remain Watts?" ''Los Angeles Times,'' August 10, 1912, pagep. I-14]</ref><ref>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/159738216 "South Angeles Is New Name: Citizens of Watts Tire of Quips and Jests at Expense of City and Will Rechristen Town," ''Los Angeles Times,'' January 17, 1913, pagep. II-9]</ref> Another plan for a city name change surfaced in 1919, when the city trustees asked for suggestions. Mayor Towne said: "Watts has got a bad reputation in Southern California, somehow or other . . . a good many of us felt that the liquor element left a [[Badge of shame|black mark]] upon the community's name. . . . Towns are something like people. They can live up to a good name easier than they can live down a bad name."<ref name=NameOf/><ref name=NameOf2/>

A [[Subdivision (land)|subdivision]] with the name ''Watts'' was platted, possibly by the Golden State Realty Company, between 1903 and 1905, when the settlement had a population of about 150 people.<ref name=EnterprisingCityette>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/159122678 "Enterprising Cityette," ''Los Angeles Times,'' June 7, 1907, pagep. I-15]</ref><ref name=TheresOnly>[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042462/1905-11-12/ed-1/seq-26/#date1=1836&index=9&date2=1922&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn85042460&lccn=sn84038806&lccn=sn84025968&lccn=sn85042462&words=Watts+WATTS&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=Watts&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 "There's Only One Town of Watts," advertisement, ''Los Angeles Herald,'' November 12, 1905, pagep. 2]</ref> In 1905 lots were being sold by that firm for prices ranging from $100 to $200: The terms were advertised at a dollar as [[down payment]] and a dollar a month thereafter, with the company claiming there would be "no interest and no taxes."<ref name=TheMarvel/><ref name=TheresOnly/><ref name=SundayThe>[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042462/1905-12-17/ed-1/seq-27/#date1=1836&index=13&date2=1922&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn85042460&lccn=sn84038806&lccn=sn84025968&lccn=sn85042462&words=WATTS+Watts&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=Watts&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 "Sunday the Best Day of All: Watts," ''Los Angeles Herald,'' advertisement, December 17, 1905, pagep. 3]</ref> The Watts Lumber Company had a plan of "easy payments" which "enabled those desiring houses in the little settlement to secure their material and to build and occupy their houses at once."<ref name=TheWatts/>

After 1903, Watts saw the establishment of a newspaper, a general merchandise store, a lumber yard, a [[grocery store]], a [[millinery]], [[dry goods]] and [[confectionery]] stores, a [[blacksmithery]] and [[bakeries]].<ref name=EnterprisingCityette/> The Pacific Coast Laundry Company opened in August 1907, with a payroll promised to be between $750 and $1,000 a month. Laundry deliveries were to be made via the [[electric railway]].<ref name=SaloonTaxes/>

Watts became a city in 1907, after three petitions objecting to the proposed borders were presented to the [[Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors]]. Seven ranchers said that they had no intention of [[Subdivision (land)|subdividing]] and that all unimproved land should be omitted from the proposed city. Another petition declared that most of the property owners in Watts did not pay taxes inasmuch as they were buying the 25-foot lots for speculation, that the residents were "migratory" and that most of them were transitory "[[Traquero|Mexican railroad laborers]]." A third petition for exemption was submitted by residents of the [[Santa Ana Line|Palomar stop]], who dressed up their plea with quotations ranging from [[Greek philosophy|Greek philosophers]] to ''[[Hamlet]].'' Those petitioners announced that they had recently changed the name of their settlement from "Watts Park" because they did not want any affiliation with Watts.<ref>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/159165218 "Would Remain Outside: Many Protests Made Against Lines of Proposed City of Watts," ''Los Angeles Times,'' February 6, 1907, pagep. II-8]</ref>

The City of Watts was approved by voters of the district, and it became a [[municipality]] in May 1907, with J. F. Donahue, who was a driver for the [[Pabst Blue Ribbon|Blue Ribbon]] beer company, as [[mayor]] and Frederick J. Rorke as [[city clerk]]. There was, however, no money to run the city because it had become incorporated too late to levy and collect any taxes. A proposed [[business license]] fee raised so much objection that the Board of Trustees, or the city council, submitted to the people a [[straw vote]] (nonbinding) question about allowing liquor to be sold in the city. A majority of the 250 votes did agree that Watts should allow saloons, or [[Bar (establishment)|bar]]s, and that the municipality should raise money by taxing them.<ref name=SaloonTaxes>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/159132297 "Saloon Taxes Run the City," ''Los Angeles Times,'' August 11, 1907, pagep. II-8, August 21, 1907]</ref><ref>[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042462/1907-07-12/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1836&sort=relevance&date2=1922&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn85042460&lccn=sn84038806&lccn=sn84025968&lccn=sn85042462&index=19&words=WATTS+Watts&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=Watts&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=5 "Mayor of Watts Is Exonerated," ''Los Angeles Herald,'' July 12, 1907, pagep. 3]</ref> Rorke said:

Watts was brought to nationwide attention in 1908 with the [[Broadway theatre|New York production]] of a [[musical comedy]] called "Lonesome Town," which was set in an imaginary place called Watts, California, in the year 1902. The endeavor, with music by J.A. Rayne and book by Judson D. Brusie, ran for 88 performances at the Circle Theatre, 1825 Broadway, from January 20 through April 24, 1908. It was produced by the vaudeville team of [[Kolb and Dill]] —– [[Clarence Kolb]] and [[Max Dill]].{{cn|date=October 2023}}

In response to the raillery occasioned by the play, a "big advertising excursion" took place on Thursday, May 30, 1912, via a special train of three chartered electric railway cars. The route was scheduled over the [[Balloon Route]] by way of [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], the [[Sawtelle Veterans Home|Soldiers' Home]], [[Ocean Park, California|Ocean Park]], [[Venice, Los Angeles|Venice]], [[Redondo Beach, California|Redondo]], [[Gardena, California|Gardena]] and back to Watts. The object of the excursion was to call attention "to the fact that Watts has been 'born again,' and the name 'Lucky Watts' will be used as much as possible, the idea being to get new ideas into people's heads, so they will get away from the notion that there is any joke about what the people here believe is the most promising suburban community in the county." Some 25,000 pieces of advertising material were distributed.<ref>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/159668079 "Watts Will Proclaim Itself," ''Los Angeles Times,'' May 17, 1912, pagep. II-6]</ref><ref>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/159788195 "Watts Boosters Ride," ''Los Angeles Times,'' June 2, 2012, pagep. IV-14]</ref> The excursion was repeated in 1913.<ref>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/159692275 "Watts Boosters Busy," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 24, 1913, pagep. II-10]</ref>

By 1910, Watts had a population of about 2,500, "well improved streets, a fire department, a weekly newspaper" (the ''Watts Advertiser''), and it was completing a $12,000 [[city hall]]. It had "the best of public schools, churches of the leading denominations, the principal [[fraternal orders]], a [[chamber of commerce]] and a [[Good Government Organizations (United States)|good government league]]." That year, business enterprises included the California Gold Recovery Company, which manufactured a machine used in mining districts to capture "[[flour gold]],"<ref name=WattsA/> which is fine gold floating on a liquid surface. In 1925, Watts had a pump-manufacturing plant, a [[machine shop]], two sash-and-door plants, and a pickle works.<ref name=LosAngelesCounty/> There was a steel plant, McClintic Marshal Company, which covered fifteen acres and employed 180 men. A new California Thorn [[Rope|Cordage]] factory was set to hire five hundred men. A new 34-room hotel was going up on West Main Street.<ref name=TownsEnjoying>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/161732680 "Towns Enjoying Rapid Progress," ''Los Angeles Times,''; July 19, 1925, pagep. F-8]</ref>

In a special election on April 2, 1926, Watts residents decided to enter Los Angeles by a vote of 1,338 to 535. It was the heaviest vote ever in Watts, with 1,933 voters at the polls of the 2,513 registered. Thus 23,000 more people were added to Los Angeles when the decision was put into effect on June 1 of that year. Mayor L.A. Edwards of Watts led the fight for consolidation with Los Angeles. Opposed were the Watts Chamber of Commerce, the Farmers and Merchants Bank, the Taxpayers League, the [[Ku Klux Klan]] and the Watts Welfare League.<ref name=WattsVotes>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/161782587 "Watts Votes to Enter City," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 3, 1926, pagep. A-1]</ref> Edwards was re-elected to the outgoing Watts Board of Trustees, the other winners being William Booth, Robert Rhoads and James West.<ref>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/161906429 "Annexing Body Wins at Watts," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 13, 1926, pagep. A-1]</ref>

Watts did not become predominantly black until the 1940s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-rothstein-segregated-housing-20170820-story.html|title=Why Los Angeles is still a segregated city after all these years|date= August 20, 2017|access-date=20 August 20, 2017|newspaper=[[LA Times]]|first=Richard |last=Rothstein}}</ref> Before then, there were some [[African Americans|African American]] residents, many of whom were Pullman car porters and cooks. Schoolroom photos from 1909 and 1911 show only two or three black faces among the 30 or so children pictured. By 1914, a black realtor, Charles C. Leake, was doing business in the area.<ref name=MaryEllen/> [[Restrictive covenant|Racially restrictive covenants]] prevented blacks from living in any other neighborhoods outside of [[Central Avenue (Los Angeles)|Central Avenue District]] and Watts.<ref>{{Cite book

The damage from the riots was particularly severe along the stretch of 103rd Street between Compton and Wilmington Avenues. 103rd Street was the neighborhood's historic commercial center, consisting of a traditional main street lined with storefronts, easily accessible by foot from Watts Station. After suffering extensive arson in the riots, the ruined, burnt-out area was nicknamed "Charcoal Alley".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Scott |date=April 2, 2017-04-02 |title=From the Archives: Darkness falls in Watts during riots |url=https://www.latimes.com/visuals/photography/la-me-fw-archives-darkness-falls-watts-riots-20170228-story.html |access-date=2023-06-June 10, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

An urban renewal plan was drawn up by the redevelopment agency in 1966, with the aim of demolishing all structures between Century Boulevard and 104th Street and redeveloping the area into a modern shopping district.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Los Angeles Times 27 Feb 1966, pagep. 40 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/382264110/ |access-date=2023-06-June 10, 2023 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> By 1972, the entire area had been acquired and demolished. Century Boulevard, 103rd Street, Compton Avenue, and Wilmington Avenue were all widened into large arterial roads, and the surrounding plots were gradually redeveloped with suburban-style garden apartments and single family subdivisions of much lower density than the previous and surrounding development.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Renewal Trickles Through Watts |work=Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1990/0810/awatt.html |access-date=2023-06-June 10, 2023 |issn=0882-7729}}</ref> The modern shopping center, a main promise of the redevelopment program, was not completed until the early 1980's.

This project dramatically altered the urban fabric of Watts, replacing the densely-populated, walkable main street with large surface parking lots and wide roads carrying hazardous high speed traffic. Community activism in response these problems would eventually lead to a "green streets" project to improve pedestrian safety and environmental quality in the area, beginning in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2016-12-December 13, 2016 |title=$4-million settlement will fund stormwater projects and a 'green street' for Watts |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-stormwater-settlement-20161209-story.html |access-date=2023-06-June 10, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

Watts suffered further in the 1970s, as [[gang]]s gained strength and raised the level of violence in the neighborhood. Between 1989 and 2005, police reported more than 500 homicides in Watts, most of them gang-related and tied to wars over control of the lucrative illicit market created by illegal drugs. Four of Watts's influential gangs— gangs{{snd}}Watts Cirkle City [[Pirus|Piru]], [[Grape Street Watts Crips (gang)|Grape Street Watts Crips]], [[Bounty Hunter Bloods|Bounty Hunter Watts Bloods]], and [[P Jay Crips|PJ Watts Crips]]—formed{{snd}}formed a Peace Treaty agreement, known as the [[Watts truce]] on April 26, 1992.<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|last=Chang |first=Jeff |title=Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LwaXZpD11ukC&q=masjid+al+rasul+truce&pg=PA365 |access-date=November 6, 2015 |date=April 1, 2007 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-1-4299-0269-4 |page=365 }}</ref> Key hallmarks of the pact continue to influence life in Watts to date, with colors and territory having little to do with gang-related crime.

Beginning in the 1980s, those African Americans who could leave Watts moved to other suburban locations in the [[Antelope Valley]], the [[Inland Empire (California)|Inland Empire]], [[the San Gabriel Valley]], [[Orange County, California|Orange County]] and the [[San Joaquin Valley]]. African Americans in Watts have also moved to Southern cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Birmingham, Memphis, San Antonio and Jackson. <ref>William&nbsp;H. Frey (May 2004). "[https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-new-great-migration-black-americans-return-to-the-south-1965-2000/ The New Great Migration: Black Americans' Return to the South, 1965- – to the present]". [[Brookings Institution]]. brookings.edu. Retrieved July&nbsp;10, 2017.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=August 13, 2021|title=Latinos, Blacks Show Strong Growth in San Antonio as White Population Declines|url=https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Latinos-Black-communities-grow-in-San-Antonio-16385595.php}}</ref> The black population in Watts has been increasingly replaced by other demographic groups, primarily Hispanic immigrants of Mexican and Central American ancestry, as well as by a median proportion of Ethiopian and Indian ancestry. This demographic change accelerated after the 1992 riots.{{citation needed|date=July 2013}}

Neighborhood leaders have begun a strategy to overcome Watts's reputation as a violence-prone and impoverished area. Special promotion has been given to the museums and art galleries in the area surrounding [[Watts Towers]]. This sculptural and architectural landmark has attracted many artists and professionals to the area. ''[[I Build the Tower]]'', a feature-length documentary film about the Watts Towers and their creator, [[Simon Rodia]], provides a history of Watts from the 1920s to the present and a record of the activities of the Watts Towers Arts Center. Watts is one of several Los Angeles neighborhoods with a high concentration of convicted felons.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-76959815/ | archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20121006015957/http://touch.latimes.com/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 6, 2012-10-06 |title=Library of Congress Web Archives |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> In 2000, singer and actor [[Tyrese Gibson]] chartered a foundation to build a community center in Watts.

In 2019, the Watts Towers were a gathering place along the {{convert|25.5|mile|km|adj=mid}} funeral procession from the memorial for [[Nipsey Hussle]] at the [[Staples Center]] that wound through the streets of South L.A.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-watts-towers-nipsey-hussle-20190411-story.html|title=An altar of love blooms for Nipsey Hussle in the shadow of the Watts Towers|last=Wick|first=Julia|date=April 11, 2019|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 12, 2019-04-12|df=mdy-all}}</ref> At times, the crowd flooded the street creating [[gridlock]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-nipsey-hussle-funeral-memorial-staples-crenshaw-20190411-story.html|title=Tens of thousands mourn Nipsey Hussle. But his memorial service was all about South L.A.|last=Jennings|first=Angel|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 12, 2019-04-12|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

A total of 36,815 people lived in Watts's 2.12 square miles, according to the 2000 U.S. census—averagingcensus{{snd}}averaging 17,346 people per square mile, among the highest [[population density|population densities]] in Los Angeles. Population was estimated at 41,028 in 2008. The median age was 21, making Watts the Los Angeles neighborhood with the youngest population. The percentages of residents aged birth to 18 were among the county's highest.<ref name=MappingLAWatts/><ref>{{cite web |url= http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/age/median/neighborhood/list/ |title=Mapping L.A.: Median Age Ranking |work=Los Angeles Times |year=2015 |access-date=6 November 6, 2015}}</ref>

[[Los Angeles Fire Department]] Station 65<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lafd.org/fire-stations/station-65|title=Station 65 -– Los Angeles Fire Department|website=www.lafd.org}}</ref> (Watts) serves the community.

The [[United States Postal Service]] Augustus F. Hawkins Post Office is located at 10301 Compton Avenue.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://tools.usps.com/go/POLocatorDetailsAction!input.action?locationTypeQ=all&address=90002&radius=20&locationType=po&locationID=1386656&locationName=AUGUSTUS+F+HAWKINS&address2=&address1=10301+COMPTON+AVE&city=LOS+ANGELES&state=CA&zip5=90002&zip4=9998&tollFree=800-ASK-USPS%26reg%3B%26nbsp%3B%28800-275-8777%29&fax=213-586-1482&tAddress=&tAddress1Ams=&tAddress2Ams=&tCityAms=&tStateAms=&tZipAms=&tCarrierRouteAms=&latitude=33.9431793&longitude=-118.24628&sWithin=20&&&&&&&&& |title=Post Office Location -– AUGUSTUSAugustus F. HAWKINSHawkins |work=[[United States Postal Service]] |access-date=November 6, 2015}}</ref> On January 24, 2000, the [[United States House of Representatives]] and the [[United States Senate]] presented a bill to rename the Watts Finance Office as the Hawkins Post Office.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:HR00643: |title=H.R. 643: To redesignate the Federal building located at 10301 South Compton Avenue, in Los Angeles, California |work=[[THOMAS]] |publisher=Library of Congress |year=2015 |access-date=6 November 6, 2015 |archive-date=January 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106121245/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:HR00643: |url-status=dead }}</ref>

There was a school in Watts from an early date. In 1905 it was reported that "steps have already been taken to enlarge the present school building",<ref name=AtThe>[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042462/1905-04-23/ed-1/seq-17/ "At the Town of Watts," ''Los Angeles Herald,'' April 23, 1905, pagep. 7]</ref> and a new building was erected in 1911 at a cost of $30,000. By 1914, however, that structure had become overcrowded, and additional desks were "installed everywhere, in the library, in the halls and in the auditorium." There were 630 pupils and 18 teachers.<ref>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/160057331 "Watts Election Case Dismissed," ''Los Angeles Times,'' October 1, 1914, pagep. B-10]</ref> While work was under way on a new school, the contractor absconded with some of the money and his bondsman was compelled to finish the job.<ref>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/160222474 "Fever of War Stirs Watts", ''Los Angeles Times,'' November 3, 1915, pagep. II-7]</ref> Older students attended [[Redondo Union High School]].<ref name=NeighborsIn>"Neighbors in a Controversy", ''Los Angeles Times,'' August 31, 1912, pagep. II-4]</ref> Later, Watts was a part of the [[Compton Unified School District|Compton School District]], but in January 1914, a mass meeting was held in Watts to make plans to secede from Compton and build a new high school in Watts, at a cost of about $100,000.<ref name=WattsWould/> Later the same month, Watts boosters made the same statement at a meeting with Compton backers in that city.<ref>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/160054474 "Watts Wars on Compton," ''Los Angeles Times,'' January 30, 1914, pagep. II-2]</ref> By 1925 Watts voters had approved $170,000 in bonds for a new high school, and the town was served by four public grammar schools and one Catholic school.<ref name=LosAngelesCounty>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/161605589 "Los Angeles County, First in America," ''Los Angeles Times,'' January 1, 1925, pagep. G-2]</ref> There were seven grade schools.<ref name=TownsEnjoying/>

* Resolute112th AcademyStreet CharterElementary School, E 112th St, Los Angeles, CA 90059

[[King Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science]] opened in bungalows of Jordan in 1982.<ref name=LandsbergSuccessp1>{{cite news |last=Landsberg |first=Mitchell |title=This King/Drew, a Magnet School, Is a Robust Success |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 27, 2005 |page=1 |url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/2005archives/la-xpm-2005-apr/-27/local/-me-magnet27-story.html |access-date=April 16, 2014}}</ref> In 1999 it moved to a standalone campus in [[Willowbrook, California|Willowbrook]].<ref name=LandsbergSuccessp2>{{cite news |last=Landsberg |first=Mitchell |title=This King/Drew, a Magnet School, Is a Robust Success |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 27, 2005 |page=2 |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2005/apr/27/local/me-magnet27/2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416184042/http://articles.latimes.com/2005/apr/27/local/me-magnet27/2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 16, 2014 |access-date=April 16, 2014}}</ref>

In May 2013, Wiegand Avenue Elementary School became the first school in California from which a [[school principal|principal]] was ordered to be removed in response to the state's 2010 "trigger law," which compels the dismissal of a school administrator on petition of a majority of parents. As a result of the pending loss of principal Irma Cobian, 21 of 22 teachers asked for transfer to other schools.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-weigand-20130525,0,2379800.story |first=Teresa |last=Watanabe |title=Popular Principal's Dismissal Leaves a South L.A. School Divided |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=May 24, 2013}}</ref>

A Watts public library was established in 1913, with Maud Walton as the first librarian and Bessie Hunt as the second.<ref name=WattsBriefsNovember3>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/159975915 "Watts Briefs," ''Los Angeles Times,'' October 13, 1913, pagep. II-6]</ref> In the same year the city received word that its application for construction of a new [[Carnegie Library]] had been approved.<ref>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/160050534 "Watts Briefs", ''Los Angeles Times'', November 4, 1913, pagep. II-8]</ref> The cornerstone of the library was laid in January 1914.<ref name=WattsWould>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/160105788 "Watts Would Secede", ''Los Angeles Times'', January 22, 1914, pagep. II-8]</ref> In 1914 the library moved into a newly built [[Carnegie library]]. Los Angeles annexed Watts in 1926, so the library became the Watts Branch of the Los Angeles library system. In 1957 voters approved a library branch bond, and a {{convert|3600|sqft|sqm}} Watts Branch opened in 1960. In 1991 the [[Los Angeles City Council]] approved a measure, backed by the Friends of the Watts Branch Library, the 15th District Council Office, and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) of the City of Los Angeles, to build a new library as a part of the {{convert|1.3|acre|ha}} Watts Civic Center. $1.3 million from Proposition 1, the branch library facility bond issue of 1989, funded the construction of the new Watts library. On June 25, 1996, the city council voted to name the library after Alma Reaves Woods, a woman in the community who encouraged reading and library usage.<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-06-26/news/-mn-18685_1_library18685-commissionstory.html|title=Council Lifts Policy, Names Watts Library for Volunteer|date=June 26, 1996|first=JODI |last=WILGOREN|access-date=2 April 2, 2018|newspaper=[[LA Times]]}}</ref> James C. Moore, AIA & Associates designed the current Watts Library, which opened on June 29, 1996.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lapl.org/branches/hist/43-h.html |title=A Brief Watts Branch Library History |work=[[Los Angeles Public Library]] |access-date=March 28, 2010}}</ref> [[Los Angeles Public Library]] operates the Alma Reaves Woods–Watts Branch.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lapl.org/branches/Branch.php?bID=43 |title=Alma Reaves Woods - Watts Branch Library |work=[[Los Angeles Public Library]] |access-date=March 28, 2010}}</ref>

On January 22, 2012, the popular cycling event called CicLAvia took place in south L.A.'s Central-AlamedaCentral–Alameda neighborhood to the Watts Towers. Volunteers were excited to hold an event close to the CicLAvia events in downtown L.A. The event was meant to encourage civic engagement. Throughout the group of volunteers the diversity was large. Cyclists took photos for a "crowd-source" map made up of photos and recordings by the cyclists.<ref>{{cite news| url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/2012local/la-xpm-2012-jan/-22/local/-la-me-bicycle-map-20120123-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | first=Jason | last=Song | title=Bicyclists tour Watts on a CicLAvia ride | date=January 22, 2012}}</ref>

Watts Re:Imagined<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wattsreimagined.org|title=Watts Re:Imagined -– People -– Place -– Possibility|website=wattsreimagined.org}}</ref> is a local urban planning initiative led by Grant Housing Economic Development Corps (Grant EDC, a non-profit division of the community-based Grant AME church) and the [[Natural Resources Defense Council]] (NRDC<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nrdc.org|title=NRDC|website=NRDC}}</ref>) Urban Solutions program. Its mission is to help the community of Watts realize their full potential by promoting economic opportunity, social equity, public health, and an improved quality of life, all while working with community leaders to preserve the identity of the area. It is trying to achieve this goal by implementing different existing plans proposed for the area. The Watts Re:Imagined initiative was formed in response to the dissolution of the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://ourweekly.com/news/2015/may/21/watts-reimagined-50-years-after-riots/ |work=Our Weekly Los Angeles |author=staff writer |title=Watts ReImagined 50 Years After the Riots | date=May 21, 2015}}</ref>

* 109th Street Recreation Center, 1464 East 109th Street. The center, which acts as a [[Los Angeles Police Department]] stop-in center, has an [[auditorium]], a lighted baseball diamond, lighted indoor and outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, a lighted football field, an indoor gymnasium with weights, an outdoor gymnasium without weights, a lighted soccer field, and lighted tennis courts.<ref name=ThomasGuide/><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.laparks.org/dos/reccenter/facility/109thStreetRC.htm |title=109th Street Recreation Center |work=City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks |year=2014 |access-date=November 6, 2015}}</ref> The 109th Street Pool is a seasonal outdoor unheated pool.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laparks.org/DOS/aquatic/facility/109thStreetPool.htm |title=109th Street Pool |work=City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks |year=2015 |access-date=November 6, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019035117/http://www.laparks.org/DOS/aquatic/facility/109thStreetPool.htm |archive-date=October 19, 2015 }}</ref> In June 2008, a group of young men attacked a manager there, forcing the city to close the pool for a short period of time. When it re-opened, police were stationed there.<ref>{{cite web |url= httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/2008archives/la-xpm-2008-jun/-26/local/-me-pool26-story.html |title=Watts pool reopens with tighter security |first=John L. |last=Mitchell |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 26, 2008 |access-date=November 6, 2015}}</ref> The pool, located between the [[Nickerson Gardens]] and [[Jordan Downs]] public housing complexes, also lay between two competing [[Gangs in the United States|gangs]] in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url= httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/2008archives/la-xpm-2008-jun/-24/local/-me-pool24-story.html |title=Watts pool drowned in violence |first=John L. |last=Mitchell |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 24, 2008 |access-date=November 6, 2015}}</ref>

The Watts station was a train station built in 1904. It is a National Historic Landmark.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/travel/go-metro-and-go-everywhere-in-la |title=Watts Metro Adventure |work=DiscoverLosAngeles.com |access-date=January 9, 2023}}</ref> It has been known as one of the few structures that were untouched by a huge fire along 103rd Street stores during the 1965 Watts riots. When it was found intact, it was a symbol of hope and faith for the Watts community. Being one of the most original buildings that was first constructed in Watts, it was a popular stop for the Pacific Electric Railway's "Red Car" that ran through Los Angeles, CA, to Long Beach, CA, for 50 years. It was also admitted to the NRHP (National Register of Historic Places) four months after the riots.

The Watts Christmas parade was created in 1964 by Edna Aliewine before the Watts riots. She put together a group of local volunteers to fundraise and create the parade. Ms. Aliewine started a drill team with neighborhood girls which marched in homemade Santa hats. She died at the age of 90 in her home in Watts on July 5, 2011.<ref>{{cite news |url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/2010archives/la-xpm-2010-dec/-05/local/-la-me-watts-parade-20101205-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |first=Mitchell |last=Landsberg |title=Thousands turn out for Watts/Willowbrook Christmas Parade |date=December 5, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lasentinel.net/Edna-Aliewine-a-giant-has-fallen.html |title=Edna Aliewine, a giant has fallen |publisher=LA Sentinel |date=July 7, 2011 |access-date=October 14, 2012}}</ref>

:In the summer of 2010 the Bakewell family was in negotiation to purchase the ''LA Watts Times''.<ref name="newamericamedia.org">{{cite web |first=Brandon I. |last=Brooks |url=http://newamericamedia.org/2010/06/bakewell-family-to-purchase-la-watts-times.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613020703/http://newamericamedia.org/2010/06/bakewell-family-to-purchase-la-watts-times.php |url-status=usurped |archive-date=June 13, 2010 |title=Bakewell Family to Purchase LA Watts Times |publisher=New America Media |date=June 10, 2010 |access-date=October 14, 2012}}</ref> Danny Bakewell said, "I am proud and honored that Melanie chose me and my family to continue the great legacy of the ''Watts Times,'' its founders and her parents,".<ref name="newamericamedia.org"/>

Watts, along with several other California areas, is referenced in the [[hip-hop]] songs "[[California Love]]" by [[Tupac Shakur|2Pac]] featuring [[Dr. Dre]] & [[Roger Troutman]], and "Creep N Crawl" by [[Eazy E]].

For five years, the record label [[Top Dawg Entertainment]] has hosted a Christmas benefit concert in the Nickerson Gardens Housing Projects. The free concert draws tens of thousands of attendees and includes performances from [[Top Dawg Entertainment|TDE]] artists [[SZA (singer)|SZA]], [[Kendrick Lamar]], and [[Jay Rock]], who was raised in the Nickerson Gardens Housing Projects.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jay-rock-mn0000934172/biography|title=Jay Rock {{!}} Biography & History|website=AllMusic|language=en-us|access-date=2019-09-September 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-tde-toy-drive-20181220-story.html|title=Top Dawg Entertainment's Christmas party in Watts was equally reflective and celebratory|date=2018-12-December 20, 2018|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-September 17, 2019}}</ref>

* The television series ''[[Two and a Half Men]]'' had an episode called "Weekend in Bangkok with Two Olympic Gymnasts",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0735190/ |title="Two and a Half Men" Weekend in Bangkok with Two Olympic Gymnasts - September 19, 2005 (TV Episode 2005) |date=19 September 19, 2005 |work=IMDb |access-date=February 14, 2017}}</ref> which makes reference to Watts in a brief scene. The show also features a restaurant called “Clucky's” located in Watts in the same episode.

* [[03 Greedo]], rapper<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/43q5zg/the-impossible-tale-of-03-greedo-the-future-of-west-coast-rap|title=The Impossible Tale of 03 Greedo, the Future of West Coast Rap|date=January 16, 2018-01-16|work=Noisey|access-date=April 23, 2018-04-23|language=en-us}}</ref>

* [[P. P. Arnold]], singer<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/pp-arnold-2019-interview-2639691979.html?rebelltitem=7#rebelltitem7|author= John Wikane, Christian|title=SuvivalSurvival and Serendipitry: An Interview With NortherNorthern Soul Legend P.P. Arnold|website=PopMatters|date=August 8, 2019}}</ref>

* [[Florence Griffith-Joyner]], Olympic track and field gold medalist; raised in the Jordan Downs projects<ref>{{cite news|title=A Community Remembers FloJo|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=September 23, 1998-09-23|page=B-8|url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/1998archives/la-xpm-1998-sep/-23/local/-me-25579-story.html|access-date=December 8, 2008-12-08}}</ref>

* [["Sweet Alice" Harris]], community organizer; founder and executive director of local youth outreach group Parents of Watts<ref>{{cite web|last=Armstrong|first=Robin|title=Alice Harris|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/alice-harris|work=Contemporary Black Biography|publisher=[[Gale (Cengage)|Gale]]|year=2006|access-date=2 December 2, 2008}}</ref>

* [[Barry White]], R&B singer, actor, and voice artist<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hunt|first=Dennis|date=July 7, 1990-07-07|title=Barry White's Sound Has Made a Comeback, but Can He? : Music: The man who loves women has married his silky vocals to a hip-hop beat. He'll : be at the Universal Amphitheatre Sunday.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-07-ca-298-story.html|access-date=2021-09-September 29, 2021|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref>

Watts was situated at a point on a rail line that ran south from Los Angeles (eight miles to the north) to Long Beach and, according to real estate advertisements and publicity releases, was about {{frac|6|1|2}} minutes from the [[Pacific Electric Building|terminal at Sixth and Main Streets]]. In 1910 it was a transfer point for the Santa Ana, Long Beach and San Pedro lines of the [[Pacific Electric]] system. The [[Watts Station]], which is now a [[National Historic Landmark]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/travel/go-metro-and-go-everywhere-in-la |title=Watts Metro Adventure |work=DiscoverLosAngeles.com |accessdate=January 10, 2023}}</ref> included [[Wells Fargo|Wells Fargo Express]] and [[Western Union]] telegraph facilities.<ref name=WattsA>[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042462/1910-01-02/ed-1/seq-48/C. H. Dodd, "Watts: A Growing Suburb With a Future," ''Los Angeles Herald,'' January 2, 1910]</ref> Pioneer settler A. E. Ruoff recalled that the electric line was installed about 1902.<ref name=WhatPublicity>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/159589908 "What Publicity Did for Watts," ''Los Angeles Times,'' September 11, 1910, pagep. V-19]</ref> The point known as Latin Station, just a mile north of Watts station, was called North Watts, and Abila station, 1.5 miles south of Watts, was South Watts<ref name=AtThe/> (later "Palomar").

Around 1905, a junction was installed for a line that ran to [[Santa Ana, California|Santa Ana]].<ref name=YouPay>[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042462/1905-08-20/ed-1/seq-5/ "You Pay the Landlord's Taxes," advertisement, ''Los Angeles Herald,'' August 20, 1905, pagep. 5]</ref>

In February 1909 the railroad changed its schedule so that Watts travelers would have to take local trains rather than expresses, thereby increasing the length of the ride to Los Angeles from 15 minutes to one hour.<ref>[https://searchwww.proquest.com/docview/159280348 "Watts," ''Los Angeles Times'', February 12, 1909, age II-3]</ref> In 1912 Watts passengers could get a car into Los Angeles about every three minutes, and those returning from the city "have the choice of riding five different lines of cars, not to mention the Watts locals, namely the Long Beach, Santa Ana, San Pedro, Redondo and Newport lines."<ref name=WantTen>"Want Ten Thousand: Watts Business Men Organize to Advertise the Town and Increase Its Population," ''Los Angeles Times,'' July 31, 1912, pagep. II-10]</ref>

<ref name="AP 2020-08-10">{{Cite news|last=Melley|first=Brian|date=2020-08-August 10, 2020|title=55 years after riots, Watts section of LA still bears scars|url=https://apnews.com/7dd2c7b36db389b6fedce8e0e1bb70ce|access-date=2020-08-August 12, 2020|work=AP NEWS}}</ref>