INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA

'Inglewood' is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, southwest of downtown Los Angeles, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 112,580. It was incorporated on February 8, 1908.

Contents

History

Pre-American era

American era

Geography

Demographics

Education

Born in Inglewood

Other notables

Fictional references or appearances

External links

History

Pre-American era

The earliest residents of what is now Inglewood may have been indigenous people who used the natural springs in today's Edward Vincent Jr. Park (known for most of its history as Centinela Park). Local historian Gladys Waddingham wrote in her 1994 book ''The History of Inglewood,'' that these springs took the name ''Centinela'' from the hills that rose gradually around them and which allowed ranchers to watch over their herds "(thus the name centinelas or sentinels)."
Waddingham traced the written history of Inglewood back to the original settlers of Los Angeles in 1781, one of whom was the Spanish soldier Jose Manuel Orchado Machado, "a 23-year-old muleteer from Los Alamos in Sinaloa." These settlers, she wrote, were ordered by the officials of the San Gabriel Mission "to graze their animals on the ocean side of Los Angeles in order not to infringe on Mission lands." As a result, the settlers, or ''pobladores,'' drove some of their cattle to the "lush pasture lands near Centinela Springs," and the first construction there was done by one Ignacio Avila, who received a permit in 1822 to build a "corral and hut for his herders."

Later Avila constructed a three-room adobe on a slight rise overlooking the creek that ran from Centinela Springs all the way to the ocean. The LAOkay Web site http://www.laokay.com/AdobeSites.htm#Inglewood says this adobe was built where the present baseball field is in the park. It no longer exists.
In 1834 Ignacio Machado, one of the sons of Jose Machado, built the Centinela Adobe, which sits on a rise above the present 405 San Diego Freeway and is used as the headquarters of the Centinela Valley Historical Society. Two years later, Waddingham writes, Ignacio was granted of the Centinela Springs rancho even though this land had already been claimed by Avila.

American era

★ The arrival of the railroad to the area brought about the establishment of Inglewood in 1888; it was carved out of the 25,000 acre (100 km²) Centinela Ranch. By 1908, it had a population of 1,200. Between 1920 and 1925, it was the fastest-growing city in the United States and was known for its chinchilla farms.

★ Inglewood Park Cemetery , a widely used cemetery for the entire region, was founded in 1905..

★ Inglewood has been home to the Hollywood Park Racetrack since 1938.

★ Fosters Freeze, the first Soft Serve ice cream chain in California, was founded by George Foster in 1946 in Inglewood.

★ The Forum was built in Inglewood in 1967 and was the home of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Sparks and the Los Angeles Kings until they moved to Los Angeles' Staples Center in 1999.

★ Inglewood was the fictional setting for the 1994 motion picture ''Pulp Fiction.''

★ According to an article by Dennis Romero in ''Los Angeles CityBeat'' magazine of November 6, 2003, Hispanic gangsters moved from Culver City and the Los Angeles Westside, including Sawtelle, Del Rey, and the Oakwood area of Venice, to Inglewood as a result of higher rents, or "gentrification," and increased police presence in those areas[1].

★ Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is situated one mile (1.6 km) from Inglewood.

Geography

Inglewood is situated at (33.957513, -118.346082).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.7 km² (9.1 mi²), none of which is covered by water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 112,580 people, 36,805 households, and 25,837 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,755.7/km² (12,323.6/mi²). There were 38,648 housing units at an average density of 1,632.6/km² (4,230.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 47% Black or African American, 4.1% White, 1.14% Asian, 0.69% Native American, 0.36% Pacific Islander, 27.38% from other races, and 4.20% from two or more races. 46% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 36,805 households, of which 42.7% include children under the age of 18, 38.5% were married couples living together, 24.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.8% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02, and the average family size was 3.63.
In the city the population was spread out with 32.4% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,269, and the median income for a family was $36,541. Males had a median income of $28,515 versus $30,096 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,776. About 19.4% of families and 22.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.1% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Most of Inglewood is served by the Inglewood Unified School District.
Small portions are zoned to the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Born in Inglewood

★ Flo Hyman, American volleyball player and Olympic silver medalist, was born in Inglewood and graduated from Morningside High School.

★ Comedian Vicki Lawrence was born in Inglewood.

★ Mack 10, a rapper, was born and raised in Inglewood.

★ Philip "Bishop Lamont" Martin, a rapper who signed with Aftermath Entertainment, was born in Inglewood.

★ Scott McGregor, baseball player with Baltimore Orioles during the 1970s and 80s, was born in Inglewood on January 18, 1954.

★ Jazz saxophonist Zoot Sims was born in Inglewood,

★ Esther Williams, swimmer and movie star, was born in Inglewood

★ Three-1-Zero, or Charles Kidd Jr., a Grammy Award-winning rapper and producer, was born and raised in Inglewood.

★ Carmen Hayes, a porn actress, was born and raised in Inglewood.

★ 211, CTE West Rapper

Other notables

★ Anthony "Looney Loco" Escobedo, an actor, music producer and fashion designer, was in the film One Eight Seven.

★ Tyra Banks is an American supermodel raised in Inglewood.

★ Erica and Tina Campbell compirse the award-winning gospel duo, Mary Mary

★ Defari, a rapper and music producer, taught history at Inglewood High School from 1994 to 1998.

★ Alan Haskvitz, National Teachers Hall of Fame educator, attended school in the city. [2]

★ Adrian Klemm, football player with the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers, was raised in Inglewood.

★ Basketballer Lisa Leslie graduated from Morningside High School in Inglewood.

★ Cesar Millan, dog behaviorist and author of ''The Dog Whisperer,'' lives with his family in Inglewood.

★ Omarion, a R&B singer, is from Inglewood.

★ Paul Pierce, NBA swingman for the Boston Celtics, graduated from Inglewood High School.

★ Lawrence Ross is the author of ''The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities.''

★ Horacio Ramirez, baseball player currently with the Seattle Mariners and formerly with the Atlanta Braves, graduated from Inglewood High School in 1997.

★ Byron Scott, former NBA player and current head coach, graduated from Morningside High School in Inglewood.

★ Power Violence and Grindcore bands, primarily from Theologian and Pessimiser Records, have strong connections to Inglewood.

Fictional references or appearances

★ The city itself was the setting of several movies including ''The Wood'', a 1999 movie about four African-American men recalling their childhood in 1980s Inglewood.

★ Scenes from Boyz n the Hood and Training Day were filmed in Inglewood.

★ Inglewood was the home of Jules Winnfield, a lead-role gangster played by Samuel Jackson in Quentin Tarantino's cult film Pulp Fiction.

★ As Idlewood in

★ In the movie Soul Plane, Inglewood is where the main character is from.

★ In the song ''California Love'' by 2Pac and Dr Dre, the last strains of song have the latter rapper say, "Inglewood, Inglewood, always up to no good".

★ Inglewood has also been featured in Common's music video "The People" and Mike Jones' music video "My 64".

External links

★ City of Inglewood official website