This story is part of a special Neon Tommy series revisiting the upheaval 20 years ago surrounding the Rodney King trial. See more of our anniversary coverage here.

Visitors at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza say they hope the refurbished mall can provide people outside South L.A. a more positive image of an area that served as a backdrop for riot activity 20 years ago.

While neighboring upscale Baldwin Hills has served as home for the likes of Ray Charles and Tina Turner, Crenshaw became known as one of the hotspots for the riot after the acquittal of three white police officers and one Latino officer stemming from the videotaped beating of a black man named Rodney King.

But a string of new businesses now line the streets of Crenshaw Boulevard where empty stores once stood. Shoppers hope this revitalized stretch can help contradict depictions of the area featured in Dr. Dre and Eazy-E songs during the heyday of gangsta rap in the 1990s.

“People think of rap videos and things of that nature,” said Trent Clark, the owner of clothing company Upper Echelon, who came to the mall to do business. “The funny part is you’ve got a lot of affluent African Americans who aspire to live in Baldwin Hills.” 

Bobbee Zeno, a community activist and host of syndicated radio show, “Experience Talks,” remembered how the chaos that erupted after the verdict brought a period of uncertainty over the mall’s survival. Crenshaw’s association with the riots was too much a stigma for investors to take a chance on revitalizing the area. 

“I think that’s all media-contrived,” Zeno said. “True enough, we do have problems, but they’re not as much as people think.”

But after Hall of Fame basketball player turned businessman Magic Johnson poured money into a variety of theater, restaurant and retail stores into the plaza during the mid 1990s, that inspired other black business leaders to follow suit.

“There is finally some black leadership that now owns this mall,” Zeno said. “When you have black people own businesses in their community, they take much more pride in what they’re doing. There’s new leadership that’s changing the face of Crenshaw District.”

The Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza was purchased in 2006 by black investor Quintin E. Primo, who is the CEO of investment firm, Capri Capital Partners. The 850,000-square foot mall located on Crenshaw and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard has undergone a mass renovation since then.

An infusion of cash from other black investors led to the birth of businesses such as the Maverick’s Flat jazz club, Debbie Allen Dance Academy and the Post & Beam restaurant. A three-story Wal-Mart occupies the building where a Broadway store looted during the riot once stood.

Zeno also mentioned how the mall has a heavier presence of armed guards than in years past because the new investors spend more money on security.

Restauranteur Brad Johnson, who opened Post & Beam in January, is a native New Yorker who witnessed the revival of Manhattan’s Harlem neighborhood. He said he opened Post & Beam adjacent to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza because of its central location between L.A.’s Westside and downtown regions.

Johnson, who opened the famed Roxbury dance club in Hollywood, said he sees potential in Crenshaw to become L.A.’s answer to Harlem.

“You drive up and down Crenshaw, and you see many vacant storefronts and it’s a very busy street,” Johnson said. 

Johnson has lived in Southern California since 1989 and recalled the tension of the day when the jury read the verdict.

“People had a look of ‘Oh s--- something was going to happen,’” Johnson said. “I lived in the Hollywood Hills and I could see the fires all around L.A. from my apartment. You felt like whatever veneer was over the Hollywood-ness of L.A. was just ripped right off.”

But instead of giving up on the downtrodden part of the city, he wanted to help transform it into a landmark that would allow L.A. blacks to showcase a positive image of their neighborhood to the nation.

Baldwin Hills and Crenshaw are among the handful of African American-majority neighborhoods remaining in L.A., which has seen its black population dwindle over the last few decades. African Americans make up 70 percent of residents in the 90008 zip code that includes those two neighborhoods, according to 2010 Census statistics. That is down from the 78.5 percent share reported in 2000.

“You’ve got people who have been in this community for many generations who have remained dedicated to living here and they deserve better than gangs, liquor stores and fast-food restaurants,” Johnson said. “[This area] shows the economic viability of the community.”

His statement is illustrated by some of the wealthy clientele who visit his restaurant.

“That looks like a young version of Reggie Theus,” Johnson quipped as the two-time NBA All-Star and former Lakers television analyst greeted him at the entrance.

But amid this cheery economic picture, one mall visitor provided a reminder that remnants of the racial tension created by the unrest of 20 years ago are still present.

Bill Mays, a Vietnam War veteran said he came to the mall on this day to get his “creative juices flowing” for a book he plans to write. The retired equal opportunity officer, who worked at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, recalled instances when police pulled him over, while he was driving an expensive vehicle.

Mays said the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza’s rebirth is a source of pride for the area’s black community, but still suffers from the misconceptions that come with its location.

“Something [negative] can happen here, and immediately, the news might say ‘South Central L.A.,’ which really gives it a bad connotation,” he said, referring to the former name often associated with the riot and gang violence. “But it’s okay. Things are getting better.”

 

Reach Staff Reporter Danny Lee here.

 

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