Fifty years ago, a coalition of Mexican American activists solidified a landmark East L.A. thoroughfare as the epicenter of the Chicano Movement
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“Let’s take a trip down Whittier Boulevard!”"¡Arriba, Arriba!” shouts local act Thee Midniters before ripping into “Whittier Boulevard,” their 1965 surf-guitar-driven instrumental tribute to East L.A.’s main street mythos. “I wasn’t one of the guys in front, but one of the participants running down the street with everyone else,” says Villalobos, 74, president of theBut the demonstration did more than sharpen the community’s political conscience, Villalobos said.
This slice of the boulevard was nearly vacant except for a few families walking down the street during a recent afternoon visit. Scores of mom-and-pop shops were closed, barred with black steel gates. A few already have gone out of business, and more casualties of the economic downturn are likely in coming months. Foot traffic has fallen drastically.
Gentrification also has taken a toll on the community. Those fortunate to have purchased homes more than two decades ago have seen their property values increase by an average of $338,910 within the 90022 ZIP Code, according to data from Zillow.
Historians contend that the boulevard had been part of El Camino Real, the “Royal Road” or “King’s Highway,” and was used by Spanish missionaries during the colonial period. The roadway area remained undeveloped for decades, surrounded by agriculture, until nearby industrial jobs prompted real estate companies to establish housing tracts.
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