Watts is a neighborhood in southern Los Angeles, California. It is located within the South Los Angeles region, bordering the cities of Lynwood, Huntington Park and South Gate to the east and southeast, respectively, and the unincorporated community of Willowbrook to the south.
Founded in the late nineteenth century as a ranching community, the arrival of the railroads and the construction of Watts Station saw the rapid development of Watts as an independent city, but in 1926 it was consolidated with Los Angeles. By the 1940s, Watts transformed into a primarily working class African-American neighborhood, but from the 1960s developed a reputation as a low-income, high-crime area, following the Watts riots and the increasing influence of street gangs. Watts has become a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood with a significant African American minority, and remains one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in Los Angeles despite falling crime rates since the 1990s. Notable civic activities by residents of Watts include the "Toys for Watts" toy drive, the Watts Christmas parade, and the "Watts Summer Games" athletic tournament, as well as a local theatre and a dance company, in an effort to improve the neighborhood.
Watts is noted internationally for the landmark Watts Towers by Simon Rodia, which are a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument and also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The neighborhood has also been featured or referenced in numerous forms of media, particularly West Coast hip-hop music, and movies and television shows set in Los Angeles.
History Founding
The area now known as Watts is situated on the 1843 Rancho La Tajauta Mexican land grant. As on all ranchos, the principal vocation at that time was grazing and beef production. There were household settlers in the area as early as 1882,"Watts Pioneer Dies," Los Angeles Times, June 16, 1907, p. 18 and in 1904, the population was counted as 65 people; a year later it was 1,651." 'The Marvel of Suburbs,' ": Rapid Growth and Development of Town of Watts Set Forth in a Folder," Los Angeles Herald, October 8, 1905, p. 8 C.V. Bartow of Long Beach was noted as one of the founders of Watts."The Watts Lumber Company," Los Angeles Herald, January 2, 1910, p. 6
Naming
In 1904, it was reported that Watts was named after Pasadena businessman Charles H. Watts, who was found dead by suicide in the 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 North Main Street and another at 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.""Took His Own Life," Los Angeles Times, August 24, 1904, image 17 The Los Angeles Evening Express said: "Among other property he owned a ranch south of the city through which the Salt Lake railroad passes, and the station of Watts is named for him.""Took Deadly Potion," Los Angeles Express, August 23, 1904, image 5
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 house. She later moved to Arlington, California, Towne said."Name of Widow Wearies Watts," Los Angeles Times, January 25, 1919, p. II-1"Name of Widow Wearies Watts," Los Angeles Times, January 25, 1919, image 13"Watts," Sunday Express Tribune, July 7, 1918, image 36 (source for initials of Mayor Towne)
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."Shall It Remain Watts?" Los Angeles Times, August 10, 1912, p. I-14"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, p. II-9 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 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."
Subdivision
A 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."Enterprising Cityette," Los Angeles Times, June 7, 1907, p. I-15"There's Only One Town of Watts," advertisement, Los Angeles Herald, November 12, 1905, p. 2 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.""Sunday the Best Day of All: Watts," Los Angeles Herald, advertisement, December 17, 1905, p. 3 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."
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. 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.
Cityhood
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 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 "Mexican railroad laborers." A third petition for exemption was submitted by residents of the Palomar stop, who dressed up their plea with quotations ranging from 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."Would Remain Outside: Many Protests Made Against Lines of Proposed City of Watts," Los Angeles Times, February 6, 1907, p. II-8
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 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 bars, and that the municipality should raise money by taxing them."Saloon Taxes Run the City," Los Angeles Times, August 11, 1907, p. II-8, August 21, 1907"Mayor of Watts Is Exonerated," Los Angeles Herald, July 12, 1907, p. 3 Rorke said:
We have two retail saloons and one wholesale as a result, and an income that more than pays our running expenses. In fact, we have several hundred in the treasury. The voters, who admitted the saloons, looked upon it as a business proposition. While many of them are not really in favor of having them in our midst, the experience was adopted for giving us a working fund. Some of the surplus funds are being used to employ engineers to establish street grades, looking forward to improvements in our thoroughfares in the near future. As an instance of prosperity, there is not a vacant house in Watts, and it is impossible to find one to rent.
Watts was brought to nationwide attention in 1908 with the 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.
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, Hollywood, the Soldiers' Home, Ocean Park, Venice, Redondo, 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."Watts Will Proclaim Itself," Los Angeles Times, May 17, 1912, p. II-6"Watts Boosters Ride," Los Angeles Times, June 2, 2012, p. IV-14 The excursion was repeated in 1913."Watts Boosters Busy," Los Angeles Times, April 24, 1913, p. II-10
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 league." That year, business enterprises included the California Gold Recovery Company, which manufactured a machine used in mining districts to capture "flour gold," 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. There was a steel plant, McClintic Marshal Company, which covered fifteen acres and employed 180 men. A new California Thorn Cordage factory was set to hire five hundred men. A new 34-room hotel was going up on West Main Street."Towns Enjoying Rapid Progress," Los Angeles Times,; July 19, 1925, p. F-8
Joining Los Angeles
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."Watts Votes to Enter City," Los Angeles Times, April 3, 1926, p. I-1 Edwards was re-elected to the outgoing Watts Board of Trustees, the other winners being William Booth, Robert Rhoads and James West."Annexing Body Wins at Watts," Los Angeles Times, April 13, 1926, p. A-1