The Militant's Epic Metro K Line Tour!

It's been an entire decade since a totally new Metro Rail line opened (The Metro Expo Line in April 2012). Since then, the game (and name) has changed - Metro is transitioning away from color names in favor of letters of the alphabet. This is the first Metro Rail line to open under the new letter-name format. So what was once known as the Crenshaw/LAX Light Rail Project and would have been known in some alternate universe as the Metro Pink Line is now the Metro K Line. K?

The new line opens on Friday, October 7, 2022 - just in time for the epic Taste of Soul food and music festival on Crenshaw next Saturday (Metro is a major sponsor). It's been a looooooong (rail) road to get to this point (the much-delayed line broke ground in 2014), and the line isn't even completed yet - only six miles will be usable starting Friday, with the line ending at the Westchester/Veterans station. The construction of the game-changing LAX Automated People Mover which crosses the K Line is the main reason for the hold-up of the last 25% of the route. So you'll have to wait until 2024 to get The Whole Shebang.

Interactive Map! Click here for larger version.

Fortunately, there's still lots of places to go, see and do on this 6.5-mile stretch of light rail, which will come in all flavors (subway, at-grade and aerial). And true to Militant fashion, The Militant Angeleno has composed another special Epic guide, this time featuring 19 points of interest along and near the Metro K Line route. Y'all get ready, K?

Expo/Crenshaw Station:



1. West Angeles Church
1999/1943
3600 Crenshaw Blvd, Crenshaw District

One of the largest and most influential African American faith communities in Los Angeles, West Angeles Church of God in Christ was founded in 1943 by Clarence E. Church, originally located in the West Adams neighborhood. Charles E. Blake, the current pastor, succeeded Church in 1969 and grew its congregation to over 24,000. West Angeles Church moved to 3045 Crenshaw Blvd in 1981, taking over a former furniture store. In 1994 the church created the nonprofit West Angeles Community Development Corporation as a community service outreach ministry, dedicated to serving at-risk youth, developing housing in the area and tending to the needs of the community's low-income and homeless residents. The current large church building, known as "the Cathedral" was built in 1999. Stevie Wonder is known to sing and play with their renowned gospel choir during Sunday services. During the week, the church also lends their parking structure to Metro for use to rail commuters.

2. Metro E Line/Santa Monica Air Line
2012
Exposition and Crenshaw boulevards, Los Angeles

The last new line to open, the Metro E Line (a.k.a. The Metro Light Rail Line Formerly Known As the Expo Line), opened to similar fanfare a decade ago (and The Militant thusly made a similar Epic Guide to that line). As you may or may not know, the line was a Pacific Electric line in its past life (1909-1953) as one of four Red Car lines between Downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Though of the four, it was the least-used (and had limited service due to it doubling as a freight line to serve various industries en route), it was the fastest one from Downtown to the ocean. A little bit of the Metro E Line's Pacific Electric history is reflected in the station art - look at the old Santa Monica Air Line map artwork on the floor of the station platforms.



3. Obama Boulevard
2019
Obama Boulevard between Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and Gramercy Pl

Originally named Rodeo Road in 1911, presumably to honor the history of cattle ranchers of the area, most specifically those of nearby Rancho La Brea. After living in the confusing shadow of the more opulent Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills since the 1920s, the street was officially re-named and re-dedicated "President Barack Obama Boulevard" in a public ceremony and festival on May 4, 2019, in honor of the 44th (and first African American) president of the United States, who made one of his first presidential campaign appearances at Rancho Cienega Park on February 20, 2007. The street is nestled south of Washington, Adams and Jefferson boulevards, and intersects with Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. It joins 16 other thoroughfares nationwide named after Obama.



4. Ken Clark Pontiac/Majestic Pontiac Sign
1952
3740 Crenshaw Blvd, Crenshaw District

Although Crenshaw supported a streetcar line south of Vernon, the thoroughfare north of it had always been auto-centric in nature and design. From the late 1930s to 2000, The 'Shaw was once home to an auto row, boasting car dealerships such as Crenshaw Ford, Harry Mann Chevrolet (once the largest Corvette dealer in the US), O'Connor Lincoln-Mercury and Peterson Oldsmobile. The last of the lot, so to speak, was Majestic Pontiac, at Crenshaw and Coliseum. Originally Ken Clark Pontiac from 1952 to 1960, the business was sold and became Majestic Pontiac. The dealership's telltale neon sign with the Pontiac Indian logo was an icon on the boulevard, much like how Felix Chevrolet's cartoon cat smiles over Figueroa today. The dealership closed for good in 2000 and the lot was converted into a shopping center soon afterward. But the original 1952 sign still remains, Pontiac Indian head intact, this time adapted to bear the signage of Big 5 Sporting Goods and Goodwill Industries.



5. Black Dahlia Body Site
1947
3825 S. Norton Ave, Crenshaw District

On the morning of January 15, 1947, the mutilated body of 22 year-old waitress Elizabeth Short, a.k.a. "The Black Dahlia" - the victim of arguably the most famous unsolved murder case in Los Angeles history - was discovered on this site (at the time an empty lot; the house was not built until 1956) by a local woman walking with her young daughter. Short, a transplant from Boston who was reportedly an aspiring actress, was missing the week prior to the discovery of her body, and the case garnered national headlines due to the gory details of her murder. The LAPD's investigation yielded over 150 suspects but no arrests. The cultural intrigue surrounding Short's death became a huge influence on the 1940s 'Los Angeles Noir' phenomenon.

Martin Luther King Jr. Station:

6. Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
1947
3650 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Crenshaw District

Originally known as the Broadway-Crenshaw Center, it opened on November 21, 1947 as one of the first auto-centric regional shopping centers in the US. The Streamline Moderne shopping center, designed by Albert B. Gardner, was home to a 5-story Broadway department store, a Vons supermarket and a Woolworth's discount store. In 1949, a Silverwoods clothing store opened, and the landmark bridge over MLK (then known as Santa Barbara Avenue) was built to connect with the existing 1947 May Company building on the north side of the street. Today's version of the shopping center came about during a late 1980s remodel.



7. Sanchez Adobe
1791
3725 Don Felipe Drive, Baldwin Hills

In the streets behind the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza stands what may or may be the oldest building in Los Angeles. The crown was long believed to belong to the 203 year-old 1818 Avila Adobe on Olvera Street, but further historical research in 2012 revealed that this structure, originally part of Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera, dates back some 50 years prior to when it was deeded to Don Vicente Sanchez in 1843, making it around 230 years old.  The building was later owned by Baldwin Hills' namesake Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin, who brought freed slaves to work in his homestead after the Civil War. The historic structure - 30 feet wide and two stories tall - has been integrated into a large single-story building built in 1927. It is currently home to Agape Church of Los Angeles.

Leimert Park Station:



8. African Marketplace & Drum Circle (Sundays)
c. 2010
Degnan Blvd between 43rd Street and 43rd Place, Leimert Park

What can The Militant say about Leimert Park? The heart and soul of Los Angeles' African American community can warrant an Epic Guide of its own. From iconic institutions like the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center to the jazz-centric World Stage to Eso Won Books, to the eponymous city park that has been the site of countless celebrations, rallies, demonstrations and memorials over the years,  where the annual Kingdom Day Parade on Martin Luther King Jr. Day ends up. It's what the late filmmaker and Los Angeles native John Singleton once described as "The Greenwich Village of  L.A.'s Black Community." The true flavor of Leimert Park happens every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. when Degnan Boulevard is transformed to an outdoor street market which had its origins in the annual Labor Day weekend African Art & Music Festival which lasted from the early 1990s to 2009, and then soon evolved into the weekly bazaar which features African and African American clothing and craft vendors and Southern, African and Jamaican food stalls. And there's a drum circle too.



9. Site of 1932 Olympic Village
1932
Mt. Vernon and Olympiad drives, View Park

The site of the first Olympic Village in the modern Olympic era was located right here in the Baldwin Hills. Some 1,836 male athletes representing 56 nations resided in this oval-shaped temporary community during the Games of the Xth Olympiad, living in 550 (24x10') O.G. Tiny Houses designed by H.O. Davis (the women stayed at the old Chapman Park Hotel in Mid-Wilshire). The $500,000 village also featured dining halls, a movie theater, a radio station, post office, medical and dental facilities and an administration office. After the games, the portable O.G. Tiny Houses were quickly sold for $140 each (that's $3,047 in 2022 dollars - not bad at all!) or $217 with furnishings (that's still $4,648 today - still a bargain) - a hot item during the Great Depression. One of the O.G. Tiny Houses can still be seen on Olvera Steeet.

10. Angeles Vista Boulevard
Angeles Vista Blvd, View Park

If there's ever a street in Los Angeles that truly lives up to its name, it's this one. From the Leimert Park Station, head up Olympiad Drive, follow the road fork left onto Angeles Vista Blvd, and walk up to the desired height. Then turn around 180 degrees and you'll see a sweet view of the Downtown Los Angeles skyline.

11. Destination Crenshaw
2023
Crenshaw Boulevard corridor between Leimert Park and Hyde Park

A unique 1.3-mile outdoor art gallery featuring permanent and temporary works, integrated with pocket parks, street furniture and landscaping makes up Destination Crenshaw. Designed by Zena Howard, the project, slated to open in 2023, will highlight the art, stories, creative energy and rich African American and African cultural heritage of the Crenshaw Corridor. The focal point of this linear art project is the triangular Sankofa Park, sandwiched between Vernon Avenue and the northern tunnel portal of the Metro K Line, where many of the structures of Destination Crenshaw are already visible.  



12. L.A. Railway 5 Line Right Of Way
1902-1955
Crenshaw Blvd between 48th and 67th streets

Like its older sibling the Metro E Line, the Metro K Line also has historic rail transit heritage through most of its route. From 1902 to 1955, the Los Angeles Railway (later Los Angeles Transit Lines) operated the 5 Line between Eagle Rock and Hawthorne (via Downton Los Angeles), the longest in its system. It is one of the main reasons for Crenshaw Boulevard's large width, which help allowed it to accommodate a modern light rail line today. Today's K Line runs along the same alignment as the 5 Line from Leimert Blvd's termination at Crenshaw Blvd down to Market Street in Inglewood, where it veered south down La Brea Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard. Pictured is a 5 Line car in 1954 at Crenshaw and 54th Street.

Hyde Park Station:

13. Nipsey Hussle Square
2019
Crenshaw Blvd & Slauson Avenue, Hyde Park

No single person is more representative of this Hyde Park neighborhood than the late rapper Ermias "Nipsey Hussle" Asghedom. A native of the area, he joined the local Crips-affiliated gang in his teens, but experienced a cultural awakening after his father took him on a trip to his native east African country of Eritrea. He left the gangsta life to become a rapper in the mid-2000s and the rest is history. He opened his own clothing store, The Marathon, on 3420 Slauson and had designs to not only own more businesses and property in the neighborhood, but to empower local youth to work and eventually become local entrepreneurs themselves. But that history ended on March 31, 2019 when Hussle was shot and killed at age 33 in his store's parking lot by an acquaintance with a personal beef. The store and the adjoining mini-mall remain closed but fans and friends have turned the sidewalk along Slauson into a mini-street bazaar selling Nipsey Hussle-based clothing and merchandise. The rapper has also been immortalized in several murals within a one-mile radius of the intersection, notably Auto Tech Collision Center (3475 Slauson - Pictured), Fatburger (5817 Crenshaw), U.S. Bank (5760 Crenshaw), a residential wall (5951 Brynhurst Avenue) and a large basketball court-sized mural on the parking lot of Crete Academy/St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church (Crenshaw & 60th Street). The Marathon Continues...

Fairview Heights Station:



14. Aguaje de Centinela (Centinela Springs)
1837
600 Park Ave, Inglewood (Next to Willie Agee Playhouse at Edward Vincent Jr. Park)

A natural artesian spring known to have been flowing since the Ice Age on this very site was the namesake of the Mexican-era rancho (Rancho Aguaje de la Centinela) that existed before Canadian-born land developer Daniel Freeman named it after his hometown in Ontario. The springs hydrated wooly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, the indigenous Tongva people, Mexican ranchers and American farmers and settlers. The stone monument to the spring, erected in 1939 stands today, adjacent to a monument signifying the springs' status as a California Registered Historical Landmark (#363). A working fountain with water basins was once incorporated as part of the monument but it was shut off in the 1970s. The spring still functions, albeit underground.



15. Inglewood Park Cemetery
1905
720 E. Florence Ave, Inglewood

This 200-acre memorial park was once the largest cemetery in California. And when the Los Angeles Railway's 5 Line ran just outside its gates, they even had their own funeral car for those who wished to take that one last trolley ride into eternity (the mission-style structure near the northwest corner of the cemetery was once an L.A. Railway power substation). Notable rest-idents here include Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, music legends Ray Charles and Ella Fitzgerald, boxing legend Sugar Ray Robinson, architect Paul R. Williams, actors Cesar Romero and William "Buckwheat" Thomas, actress Betty Grable and O.J. Simpson trial lawyers Johnnie Cochran and Robert Kardashian. The Militant featured Inglewood Park Cemetery on This Here Blog in November, 2011.

Downtown Inglewood Station:



16. Market Street Shopping District
1908
Market Street between Florence and La Brea avenues, Inglewood

Inglewood's "main street" since its incorporation in 1908, Market Street (which carried the L.A. Railway's 5 Line tracks south after diverging from its Florence Avenue right-of-way) saw its heyday between the 1920s and 1940s. After suffering a decline period between the 1960s and 1990s, it's since been beautified and rejuvenated with various specialty stores, restaurants, cafes and art galleries. Though the "G-Word" is a concern due to the arrival of the Metro K Line, nearby SoFi Stadium and the future Intuit Dome, the number of existing and successful community-owned and Black-owned businesses in the Downtown Inglewood area might just keep the worst fears at bay. If you want to see a small-town Main Street vibe near the Metro, then Market Street is the place.



17. The 405 Freeway
1961
405 Freeway at Manchester Avenue

You know The 405. Nothing to see here, except to take the opportunity to look out the window and marvel at all those cars stuck in traffic, while you're not in it.

Westchester/Veterans Station:



18. Westchester Playhouse
1960
8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester

This former warehouse building was transformed into a 112-seat live theater venue thanks to the renowned theater company The Kentwood Players (billed as "L.A.'s Most Professional Amateur Theater Group"). Where else can one see community theater at an affordable price (tickets are in the $20 range), accessible by the Metro?



19. Randy's Donuts
1952
805 W Manchester Blvd, Inglewood

It's as iconically Los Angeles as an Original Tommy's chiliburger, a Philippe French Dip, a Langer's Pastrami Sandwich and an El Tepeyac burrito. It's a big-ass concrete-and-steel donut by the freeway, what more can you ask? What started out in 1952 as a local branch of the Big Do-Nut chain (known for big-ass donuts on their roofs) designed by Henry J. Goodwin, it became known as Randy's (the son of the shop's first owner, Robert Eskow) in 1976, and the rest is history. Today, the 24-hour donut icon has grown to a dozen locations in Southern California, plus one in Las Vegas, and locations in South Korea, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines.

...that's it for now. As far as this train goes.

There are two stations still under construction - LAX/Metro Transit Center (opening 2024) which will interface with the long-awaited LAX Automatic People Mover, and the Aviation/Century station (opening 2023). The Militant will update this post when the line is fully completed. Until then, get your Kicks on the K Line!

RELATED: Wanna know where to eat along the new Metro K Line? The Militant has a few recommendations.

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