Downey, California: A new kind of suburban idyll
The etched-glass door of the Downey Brewing Company still
reads "Foxy's" -- all that's left of the restaurant that occupied the
space for decades, catering to a long-gone crowd.
Today, the five-year-old boutique brewpub buzzes with the sounds of craft beer pouring out of taps, clanking glasses and dishes, and a crowd of patrons that - like the population on the outside - is mostly Latino.
(Jessica Haro and Eric Ibarra sit at a fountain on the corner of Firestone Blvd and Downey Ave on November 9th, 2013.) Photo by Mae Ryan/KPCC
In some ways, the pub's story reflects the story of Downey, a onetime aerospace hub which, like nearby Whittier and a cluster of other Southern California communities, embodies the latest chapter in the evolution of Latino L.A.
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Back in 1980, Downey was mostly non-Latino white, with Latinos representing less than 17 percent of the population.
It was an earlier era's picture of the suburban idyll: wide green lawns, tidy ranch-style homes,
a Stonewood Shopping mall, a golf course,
an iconic McDonald's with golden arches that's still the chain's oldest surviving outlet.
Thousands of residents held good jobs at the sprawling Rockwell aerospace plant, which in its heyday produced Apollo capsules and the Space Shuttle.
But defense cuts began taking their toll in the 1990s.
By the time the plant closed in 1999, the city's white suburban identity was in a state of flux, with many families moving out.
Left behind was a mix of retirees, languishing businesses,
and - for some Latinos who had been saving their pennies in more modest communities nearby – opportunity.
Like Vasquez, who grew up a short distance to the west in Bell, Latin American immigrants and their descendants gradually began transforming the city.
They started buying up the ranch-style homes and investing in businesses.
Today Downey is 71 percent Latino – and like their predecessors – these newer residents are mostly middle class.
University of Southern California sociologist Jody Vallejo says they represent a growing group of upwardly mobile (Yuppies) Latinos who have chosen to settle in Latino-majority communities that reflect their economic reality. These include Whittier, West Covina, pockets of Orange County, and Downey,
"Which is often referred to by Mexican Americans themselves as the Mexican American Beverly Hills," Vallejo says.
Okay, so it's not quite Beverly Hills.
But with a median annual household income of more than $60,000 - and close to 40 percent of its households earning $75,000 or more, according to a Cal State Long Beach analysis - it’s earned its reputation as a middle class Latino stronghold.
The Latino version of the middle-class "ethnoburb" - a term typically associated with Asian American suburbs - is a phenomenon that Vallejo says began in the 1990s but took off in earnest during the last decade.
It coincides with slow but steady gains in educational and career attainment among Latinos as the great, post-1965 wave of immigration from Latin American settles into its second and third generations.
For those who succeed, moving into communities once perceived as out of reach is part of "making it," Vallejo says.
"Many Latinos who are moving to places like Downey did grow up in places like South Gate or Lynwood, and really saw, or see, Downey as the next step," Vallejo says.
"Growing up, you thought that's where all the wealthy or the middle class people lived.”
Mexico City transplant Elsa Valdez once lived in Maywood. But for her, Downey was the always the place to go.
“This is the city that we were coming to the mall, to the theaters," Valdez said. "I see the city that it was cleaner than the city that I was living. It is also really close to my community, that is, Latin people in Huntington Park, Maywood, Cudahy and all those cities.”
Valdez bought in Downey in 1995. Now she sells real estate in the area, and says most of her clients are the children of immigrants - entrepreneurs and professionals who can afford homes costing half a million or more.
This latest wave of residents has spawned a new wave of businesses, including upscale Latino-owned ones.
Recently, Valdez took her mother to lunch at Porto's, L.A.’s famous bakery begun decades ago by a Cuban immigrant family. The $14 million Downey location opened three years ago, drawing long lines of customers who line up at gleaming glass counters to order flawless guava pastries and steaming cups of café con leche brewed on on luxe equipment.
City officials have drawn several chain restaurants and other businesses catering to middle-class tastes, but there's a homegrown element, too: an art gallery that opened last year and highlights the work of local artists, for example, and a soon-to-open upscale independent steakhouse whose chef has promised a signature mac and cheese spiked with chorizo.
"All one needs to do is look around to see the effects of gentefication," says Vallejo,
using a coined term that refers to gentrification by Latinos.
Outgoing Downey mayor Mario Guerra says that in some cases, a majority Latino population can still be a hard sell for some retailers.
“There’s certain businesses that look at a certain demographic, and don’t take in the reality and look at the buying power of Latinos," Guerra says. "And it’s sad for them, because they are missing out on opportunities.”
But there are others willing to cash in on that buying power.
Guerra and other city officials broke ground recently at the old Rockwell site, making way for a new development that will host theaters, restaurants and a pedestrian shopping village.
Sara said:
ReplyDeleteThe City of Downey has turned into an overpopulated suburban version of Tijuana. I have lived in this city since 1982 and it is nothing like it used to be. Each year there are more and more people, mostly Spanish speaking. The streets are always full of traffic and everyone you encounter when you are out are rude; cashiers, tellers, people in retail, etc. Forget the mall! Stonewood is horrible. Its overcrowded, filthy and disgusting. People that used to live in surrounding ghettos have infiltrated this once nice city. Despite everyone from surrounding cities coming to Downey because they feel they are 'moving up', they are actually all 'bringing down' the town. Residents have steadily left over the years and the remaining older people, of all races I might add, are sick and tired of the way the city is. They want out and they are all moving. Give this city 5 years and it will be just like Lynwood. More gangs, drugs, crime, and overpopulation.
Estela Salas-Sarmiento said to Sara:
ReplyDeleteWell my previous comment was blocked, so let me try to be as offensive as you without "crossing the line". Downey in the 70s was a xenophobic community. I experienced first hand being racially profiled as soon as I crossed the bridge on Florence ave. Sara, let go of the past and accept it's no longer reasonable to "ghettoize" groups based on ethnicity. Also, I find it hard to believe that you ever ventured into the mean streets of Tijuana. If you had, you would have seen that "people in retail" are typically quite pleasant and hard working; I don't think Latinos have monopolized that market to the extent your comment suggests.
I wish you could teach us Latinos how not to use drugs, commit crimes, and join gangs--oh wait a minute! I don't do any of that. You know why? It's not ethnicity, it's SES, SARA!
Ernesto said to Sara:
ReplyDeleteMaybe the reason they are rude to you is because people treat you as a reflection of who you are. If you are an bitter, hateful person, you will receive the same treatment in return. I have been here since the late 70's and I think the city is finally getting an identity of its own. The only thing that matters are the people that are here now trying to make it better. The residents that leave, good riddance.
The way you speak about spanish speaking people is so hateful, it's almost like you resent people who are different that you or what you are accustomed to. You are a scary person that, as the most said below, should consider moving away to somewhere you can have a better attitude. good luck Sara
Sara to Sara:
ReplyDeleteOh, and those huge "McMansion" houses that these people are building. They look ridiculous and out of place. Some even have ridiculous looking statues of lions. What is that all about. Yes, I have to speak up here. It is sad to see Downey the way it is and its even worse to read an article like the one above that almost glamorized this 'new' Downey. Horrible, just horrible.
We used to call them "Taj Mahals". This is the first time I have heard the term "McMansion". I am curious as to its derivation.
ReplyDeleteI spent twenty of the best years of my life in Downey, on Downey Avenue.
Adele to Sara:
ReplyDeleteMcMansions aren't new. I saw them going up in the 70s. So what? And statues? Haven't you seen the house at 7th and Wiley-burke? That house went up in the 60s. Again, so what? Diversity is great. Do you want everything in Downey to be ticky-tacky?
Downey DAD to Sara:
ReplyDeleteSara , you are exactly the type of person that NEEDS to leave. Please do us all a favor and move out.
Downey DAD to Sara:
ReplyDeleteSo you have a problem with people that are culturally different and value different things than you. It is all very clear Sara,
JDiaz said:
ReplyDeleteGreat article, and yes, there are some great improvements, some of which I personally disagree with. Its nice to see businesses opening up, however, this town needs more than just fast food chains, eateries, and bars to flourish. I think a convention center where the new shopping center is being built would have been a better choice. The residents in this city need FULL TIME JOBS with benefits and good pay to flourish here. Fast food chains and bars aren't going to offer that. I understand that the city may benefit greatly from new alcohol and liquor licenses, but the Downey City Council should be working harder to attract BIG businesses to establish themselves here in this once conservative community.
Also, I like to give Stay Gallery BIG kudos for bringing culture and creative education to the city. We need more places like that around here.
Although bars are great, the destructive consequences of these sprawling businesses in this town seem to be overlooked. I live next to The Palms restaurant, which attracts riff-raff and trouble from other cities, including prostitution, drug deals, and drunkards who stumble around the neighborhood, even on Sunday nights. I once viewed Downey as being "the land of milk and honey" and now, I see this fine town decaying. I notice things going down hill mostly in neighborhoods that are heavily concentrated with apartments. I understand the communal living culture of the evolving demographics, but seriously, people need to take pride of ownership around here, even if they rent. I'll close with this: Inglewood, in it's heyday, was just as clean, crisp, and conservative as Downey was pre-1999. Huntington Park used to be just as nice. Let's see where this town stands in a few years.
Mike in Whittier said:
ReplyDeleteI'd have to live pretty far on the west side to consider Whittier near Downey. And the Trader Joes in Cerritos is closer to Downey than Whittier. I actually liked the article, though.
Adele said to Mike in Whittier:
ReplyDeleteWhittier's not as far as you think. Go back - way back - to the early 30s. My Dad lived on Studebaker Rd, in the Triangle area (far east side) of Downey, which was outside the Downey School District. He graduated from Whittier High School.
DowneyDad said:
ReplyDeletegreat article… a region on the rise for sure.
Sara said to DowneyDad:
ReplyDeleteNot exactly, but I guess it depends on who you ask.
Mayor Fernando Vasquez said : Only in America can a son of immigrant parents with a 1st grade education earn a college education and become the Mayor of Downey. Thank you Downey for allowing me to serve as your 46th Mayor!
ReplyDelete