Aliso Village (demolished) – Los Angeles CA

Description

In 1942, the United States Housing Authority (USHA) built the Aliso Village low-income housing project in South Central Los Angeles.  The project included over 1500 garden-style (low-rise) apartments designed by eminent L.A. architects.  Like many public housing projects around the country, Aliso Village was successful for a time as affordable working class home but was later allowed to deteriorate as it became occupied solely by the poorest of the poor.  It was demolished at the end of the 20th century and replaced by a new project, Pueblo Del Sol.

 The original project as proposed was described at the time:

“LOS ANGELES HOUSING PROJECTS – A group of Los Angeles architects, composed of George Adams, Walter Davis, John Kibbey, Ross Montgomery, William Mullay and Lloyd Wright, has prepared preliminary plans for the proposed housing project to be built in the First and Utah streets district, Los Angeles, by the Municipal Housing Commission… The improvements would consist of a series of two-story, fireproof, multiple dwellings, containing a total of 1529 apartment units and costing between $4,000,000 and $5,000,000. The scheme will be submitted to the Federal government with a request for funds with which to finance the improvements. Ross Montgomery is the co-ordinating architect.” [Architect & Engineer]

According to the sign at the opening ceremony, the project was part of the Low Rent Housing Program of the United States Housing Authority.

“These projects were built in 1942 in garden style architecture by architects Ralph Flewelling and Lloyd Wright son of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The projects were built because before the war it was an impoverished slums area with dilapidated buildings. The housing projects built after the war was home to hundreds of people mostly on fixed incomes. In the 70s, 80s and 90s gangs, drugs and violence so were rampant they got demolished in 1999 and replaced by subsidized housing called Pueblo del Sol.” [picuki.com]

According to a good friend of the researcher who grew up nearby, the local gang was named after the project.