Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (Los Angeles)

Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (also known as MLK Blvd or simply King Blvd; originally Santa Barbara Avenue) is an east-west thoroughfare in Los Angeles, California.[1] It stretches 7.1 miles (11.4 km) from Obama Boulevard in Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw to South Alameda Street in Central-Alameda. Prior to 1983, the boulevard was known as Santa Barbara Avenue.

Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
Space Shuttle Endeavour, 2012
Length7.1 miles (11.4 km)
Nearest metro station K Line Martin Luther King Jr.
West endObama Boulevard in Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw
East endSouth Alameda Street in Central-Alameda

Background

Originally 40th Street, it was renamed Santa Barbara Avenue. The street was officially renamed to MLK Blvd on January 15, 1983. The name change to honor the civil rights leader reflected the large black community in that part of Los Angeles.[2] The name change effort was headed by Tuskegee Airman, and local businesswoman Celes King III.[3]

The original location of the Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel was at the corner of Santa Barbara Avenue and LaSalle Avenue in the West Adams neighborhood.[4][5]

In a stand-up routine on the television special Bring the Pain, comedian Chris Rock once said, "Martin Luther King stood for nonviolence ... Now what's Martin Luther King? A street ... if you on Martin Luther King Boulevard, there’s some violence going down."[2]

MLK Boulevard in Los Angeles is different than the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Lynwood, California, which is an extension of Century Boulevard.[6] The City of Los Angeles also honored King by establishing the "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Tree Grove" in the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area.[7]

Public transit

MLK Blvd is served by Metro Local line 40. The K Line has a station under at Crenshaw Boulevard.

See also

References
  1. Map showing MLK Blvd downtown
  2. Pierce, Tony (January 17, 2020). "Is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream still alive? Are we making progress? We asked people who live and work on the South L.A. street what they think". Los Angeleno.
  3. Duran, Leo (January 15, 2018). "LA's MLK Boulevard got its name because of another King". Take Two. KPCC.
  4. "Our History". Sephardic Temple. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  5. "About STTI". Sephardic Temple. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  6. "Lynwood Centennial Celebrates Black History Month Original Text". City of Lynwood. February 16, 2021 – via patch.com.
  7. Reed, Megan (April 18, 2018). "Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is Dedicated in Kenneth Hahn State Recreational Area".
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