[Baldwin Village, CA] Baldwin Village is a small community in South Los Angeles (south of the Santa Monica Freeway). It is known by many Angelenos as the “Jungle,” which was the name given as it was made up of intricate apartment complexes featuring tropical landscapes. Like many parts of Los Angeles the area has changed, some good some not so good. It is currently a working-class community that is surrounded in all directions by some of the area’s most iconic neighborhoods such as: Baldwin Hills, Leimert-Park, Baldwin Vista, View Park and West Adams.
Feb. 2007 to May 2019
A little over twelve years ago, then Senator Barack Obama made a pit-stop to the community pleading for support and cash to support and fuel what turned into a historic campaign.
President’s row
Today thousands of Angelenos got a chance to pull out their Obama gear and once again show their support for the 44th president of the United States. The occasion was Rodeo Road (Ro-D-Oh), which has the same spelling as Rodeo Drive which is in Beverly Hills, was transformed and is now President Barack Obama Boulevard. The street stretches from just east of Arlington Avenue and goes west where it ends in Culver City. The significance of the street is because it is now part of Los Angeles’ president’s row.
Many Angelenos, even natives do not know about this factoid. Quite simply, president’s row starts from Washington (George Washington) Blvd. which is immediately north of the Santa Monica freeway so now the next four intersections going south are part of the row. Washington Blvd., Adams Blvd. (John Adams), Jefferson Blvd. (Thomas Jefferson) and now Obama Blvd. You can find this iconic part of the city by going south on any of the following thoroughfares; Arlington, Crenshaw and La Brea.
13 min. event highlight clip
23,000+ in attendance
The naming ceremony was one of those occasions where you just knew something special was going to happen. The city of Los Angeles estimated the enthusiastic crowd to be around 23,000. The bottom-line strategy of city officials was to recognize the community’s pride in Barack Obama with hope that it stimulates the community and triggers much-needed rebuilding.
To read more of why this celebration is important read HERE.
A huge thank you to the more than 23,000 people who came out and made our #ObamaBlvd dedication such a special event today.
Here are some photos from the event.
Thomas Reports 