Redevelopment of Skid Row

Skid Row is an area of low-income social services in downtown Los Angeles. The area has a history of theft, vandalism, and other similar petty crimes because of the lack of resources available in the area for the residents. In 1950, Skid Row was home to as many as 9,000 residents; however, in the following 20 years, the population shrank to about 3,000 residents (Rand 1984). Because of the decrease in population, efforts to protect the homeless and secure their lifestyles diminished and residents of Skid Row began to lack basic necessities such as food, water, and shelter. Any police still focusing on the area were completely consumed in the survival of the residents since the city had lost interest in providing their basic life needs.

Because of the lack of attention from police, crime became very apparent in the area. In a 1984 interview with Rand, one resident of Skid Row stated he “noticed a knife fight and the police didn’t do anything.” The man claimed that police “don’t care about his area” (Rand 1984). Another man interviewed stated that “sleeping outside is dangerous” because there is “too much thievery” (Rand 1984). This shows the necessity for government intervention in this time period due to the dangerous environment.

There was government-funded monetary help for the indigents; they received $400 a month; however, this barely covered costs for lodging and meals (Rand 1984). The payment was enough for them to survive, but not to improve their lives. In time, this money ended up being received by commercial hotels, restaurants, clothing stores, and pawnshops. (Rand 1984). All the profit was taken out of the community as these facilities are owned and operated by people who do not reside in skid row. Therefore, a cycle of poverty in Skid Row developed. Residents were cycled through- deloused, lectured to, fed, allowed to sleep, then evicted.

Missions and other social service providers were overburdened by the large indigent populations that appealed to them endlessly for food, healthcare, and lodging. The causes of these issues revealed that action needed to be taken in order to help the area succeed. Recommendations were then made to the citizens advisory committee on the central business district plan for the city of Los Angeles (Blumberg 1973).

In 1976, Katz was the chairman of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee (CAC) of the Central Business District (Katz 1987). This committee was in charge of finding ways to to improve the district. Skid Row fell under this committee’s jurisdiction so Katz and 19 other members conducted a study on the area (Katz 1987). Once it was completed, the CAC concluded that Skid Row was one of the most impoverished areas in the district, and the problem needed to be addressed as soon as possible. During this time, the city of Los Angeles was interested in creating new structures so more businesses could move into the area. In order to make room for these commercial buildings, the city had to demolish multiple apartments that provided the residents of Skid Row with low cost housing . As head of the CAC, Katz strongly opposed this plan. In a letter written by Katz, he stated that the area could approach economic prosperity by helping out its own residents not by destroying their homes (Katz 1987). He also said that not only should the city keep the current low cost apartments that the area already had, but also that there should be more resources to help out the homeless. In response to the poverty issue, Katz and a group of the CAC members created the Skid Row Task Force, a non-profit organization that sought out to rejuvenate Skid Row (Katz 1987). This movement sought to improve the look of Skid Row and the living conditions of its residents. A couple of years later, with the help of Harold Katz, a group of people of the Skid Row Task Force got together and formed the Skid Row Development Corporation (Katz 1987).

Executive Director Martha Brown Hicks, the founding president of the Skid Row Development Corporation, had a passion for helping out the less fortunate. One of her biggest accomplishments was setting up the Skid Row Transition House in 1978 (Oliver 2002). The house was a 130-bed structure that provided the homeless a place to sleep and the resources necessary to get back on their feet. It allowed the homeless to receive mail and make phone calls which they could use to receive information from jobs they applied to (Oliver 2002). Hicks also opened up various businesses and hired Skid Row residents to help them get back to their old lives. She later became the Executive Director of the Skid Row Development Company in the early 1980s and supervised a lot of the other projects the organization started (Oliver 2002).

Mayor Tom Bradley worked along with the President of the Skid Row Development Corporation Board of Directors to plan projects and ideas that can be carried out in the future to address the issue of homelessness in Skid Row. Bradley was especially motivated by the tension and restlessness among the people. He worked with the guards from the Salvation Army to establish a settlement that contained only cots and portable toilets within tent like structures. Increased pressure was placed on Bradley to offer an alternative to the homeless after he ordered police to clear them from the sidewalks (American 1). Everyone knew that the solution was only temporary. It was up to Bradley with the help of others to put this issue to an end.

The Skid Row Development Corporation (SRDC) has grown rapidly since its creation in the fall of 1978. As mentioned earlier, many groups and organizations have played an important role in the growth of this corporation. Our special collections piece is the Skid Row Development Corporation Report from 1980-1982. With the creation of this report, a huge step has been taken in the right direction and things finally seem to be going the right way. The report pamphlet outlines community economics, housing plans, and community services. The report offers plans and projects that if carried out can help solve the homelessness problem. The emphasis now is to put the plans outlined in the report into operation. The promising ideas reflected in the project make people very hopeful, and it is important that problems of Skid Row, economic development, and housing. As highlighted in the report, the pace has accelerated from planning to project development. Therefore, this special collections piece provides a ray of sunshine for those in need of help.

Enclosed within the pamphlet was a program for a ribbon cutting grand opening ceremony dated March 10,1983. It is likely that this was included to celebrate the implementation of the projects presented in the report. The program stated that the guests were invited for lunch and a tour of the facility. This implies that in the year following the report, a facility was built and opened to the public. The ceremony is an indication of the success that has come along the SRDC report.

Although much has been throughout the years of the Skid Row crisis, it is important to realize that the issue of poverty and homelessness still exist in all areas including the Los Angeles Skid Row area; however, attention must be given to all of the hard work that has been put in by political figures to help bring relief. When the situation is compared to that of earlier years, it is apparent that the situation has been bettered.

Skid Row Development Report. Los Angeles (Calif). Office of the Mayor, 1920-1993. Image courtesy of UCLA Library Special Collections.

Skid Row Development Reportd. Los Angeles (Calif). Office of the Mayor, 1920-1993. Image courtesy of UCLA Library Special Collections.

Skid Row Development Report. Los Angeles (Calif). Office of the Mayor, 1920-1993. Image courtesy of UCLA Library Special Collections.

Skid Row Development Report. Los Angeles (Calif). Office of the Mayor, 1920-1993. Image courtesy of UCLA Library Special Collections.

Skid Row Development Report. Los Angeles (Calif). Office of the Mayor, 1920-1993. Image courtesy of UCLA Library Special Collections.

Works cited

1. Skid Row 1983, Mayor Tom Bradley Administration papers (Collection 293). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Cite this article

Jenny Formusa, Anonymous. "Redevelopment of Skid Row." Los Angeles: The City and the Library. Colleen Jauretche, Editor. Spring 2014. /article/2014-04-01-s14-03