Whenever I go home for a visit, I always drive down Crenshaw Boulevard. It brings back many memories of being young and cruising “the Shaw” with my friends. The Crenshaw Hand Car Wash and the Jack N the Box have been there since I was a young girl. They will probably never go away. At this point they are icons on the Crenshaw Landscape.
Crenshaw Boulevard stretches far south into Gardena which is in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. Traveling north it cuts off on Wilshire Boulevard leading into the Miracle Mile district. No matter what neighborhood you pick it up in, there are plenty of historic things to see on Crenshaw. The Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza has been around for years and has transformed from a strip of trendy shops to an entire mall complete with Magic Johnson’s Magic Theaters cineplex. The strip itself is filled with black owned businesses and wig shops. Of course there is the famous Crenshaw Wall which has been around since my mother was a young girl. That wall has been painted and repainted by black artists depicting different black heroes and figures from history. Presently there is a picture of Mumia on it. I’ll have to snap a photo of it when I go back to L.A.
When I think of Crenshaw I think of being in my late teens and early twenties, hanging with my friends, driving up and down the strip checking out guys and seeing people we know. I remember gathering spots where people would stop and pull over to talk, flex their new outfits or even fight with someone they had been itching to rumble with for a long time. Things never really got out of hand because the police presence is always so thick it’s hard for anything to get out of control. Don’t let that scene in Boys In The Hood fool you.
If you are ever in L.A., drive down Crenshaw and see what’s up. Stop at the Jamaican store and get some meat patties. Stop in Leimert Park and visit one of the many black owned art galleries or bookstores. Go to EPS one hour photo and have your picture taken. Go to the Liquor Bank and buy a forty. Go to Annette’s and get your hair braided. Drive past Crenshaw Ford Motors and take pictures. Visit the wall.
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