Inglewood, California

Inglewood, California, “City of Champions,” is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County with a population of more than 100,000. Inglewood has a land area of about 9 square miles. Fosters Freeze, the first Soft Serve ice cream chain in California, was founded in 1946 in Inglewood by George Foster. Also in Inglewood is Randy’s Donuts, which features a sculpture of a giant donut on its roof. A classic example of either programmatic architecture or of a novelty sign, the donut sits atop a structure dating to 1953 that was originally part of the Big Donut Drive-Ins chain. Inglewood is bounded on the north by Culver City, the Crenshaw District, and Baldwin Hills; on the south by Lennox, Hawthorne, and El Segundo; on the west by Los Angeles International Airport, Westchester, Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Playa Vista, and the Pacific Ocean; and on the east by Westmont, South Central Los Angeles, and Florence-Graham.

SoFi Stadium is a 70,000-seat sports and entertainment arena located in Inglewood’s Hollywood Park complex on the grounds of the former Hollywood Park racetrack. The Hollywood Park racetrack operated from 1938 to 2013. SoFi Stadium, which sits 100 feet below ground level, hosts both the National Football League’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. Southern California Edison built an electric substation to support the venue. The 6,000-seat YouTube Theater is a music and theatre venue located within SoFi Stadium. The approximately 300-acre Hollywood Park complex also offers a 12-screen cinema, restaurants, office space, hotel rooms, residences, and open space, including 12 miles of trails and 25 acres of parkland.

Kia Forum (The Forum), inspired by the Roman Coliseum, is an indoor arena that opened in 1967. The Forum was long the home of the Los Angeles Lakers, a professional basketball team, and the Los Angeles Kings, a professional hockey team. The Forum, which seats up to 18,000 depending on the type of event, was completely upgraded in recent years without altering the appearance of its exterior. The Forum was built on a portion of the former Inglewood Golf Course. The Inglewood Golf Course opened as the Potrero Country Club in 1925 and covered 120 acres. Wooden oil derricks dotted course, serving as an uncommon set of hazards. Potrero Country Club is one of about 14 full-sized Los Angeles County golf courses that no longer exists.

Inglewood Oil Field, which lies just outside of Inglewood city limits in the Baldwin Hills region, is one of America’s largest contiguous urban oil fields. Inglewood Oil Field dates to 1924. Over the course of its history, 1,600 wells have been drilled. In the early 1920s, the Los Angeles area was responsible for one-quarter of the world’s oil production. The oil field currently covers about 1,000 acres.

Hollywood Park Casino is a cardroom in Inglewood with more than 100 tables.

The Crenshaw/LAX K Line provides light rail transit service to Inglewood. The K Line connects Downtown Inglewood to Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s extensive system of commuter rail service.

Ignacio Machado, owner of a 2,200-acre ranch called Rancho Agape de la Centinela, built an adobe ranch house in what is now Inglewood in about 1834. Sources differ as to exactly when Centinela Adobe, or La Casa del Rancho Aguaje del Centinela, was constructed. Centinela Adobe overlooked a valley through which Centinela Creek flowed. Ignacio Machado planted various crops along the streambed. Centinela Adobe is now a museum managed by the Historical Society of the Centinela Valley and staffed by volunteers.

In the 1880s, Daniel Freeman purchased Rancho Agape de la Centinela as well as neighboring Rancho Sausal Redondo. Daniel Freeman, who lived in Centinela Adobe for a time, amassed great wealth from dry farming and real estate development, forming the Centinela-Inglewood Land Company. A mansion was built for Daniel Freeman in 1888 on the west side of the present-day site of Prairie Avenue between Manchester Avenue and Florence Avenue. A prominent local figure, Daniel Freeman became the president of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the first president of the exclusive California Club. In 1889 a Santa Fe railroad station was built in the area (this only a few years after the completion of the first transcontinental rail line to Los Angeles) and the settlement of Inglewood was soon established. The purchase price for a lot was as low as $250.

On June 21, 1920, Inglewood was affected by an earthquake. Though only of moderate intensity, due to the building practices of the time, the temblor created significant damage and drew a great deal of public attention. Damage was most noticeable along Commercial Street (now La Brea Avenue) in Inglewood’s business district. Unreinforced masonry brick walls collapsed, so that bricks and glass toppled out into the street. Crowds gathered to view the damage. Extra law enforcement was deployed to maintain order, In the years since, stricter building standards have been enacted. Curiously, the earthquake did not detour people from moving to the City. In fact, in the early 1920s, Inglewood was the fastest growing city in the United States.

In 1927, a swath of ranchland just west of Inglewood, the Andrew Bennett Ranch or Bennett Rancho, was transformed into an airport called Mines Field. The airport was later renamed LAX, or Los Angeles International Airport, which features what is likely the most recognizable airport-related landmark in the world, the science-fiction inspired Theme Building. The building looks like a flying saucer suspended by graceful, arched landing gear. The building opened for business in 1961 and represented the futuristic mindset of the time.

As with the City of Hawthorne, Inglewood was transformed from an agricultural center into a significant hub of development for aircraft and missile design and manufacture. The workers who took those jobs established homes and re-created the communities around those industries. World War II and the resulting need for aircraft and weapons systems was the major catalyst for this transformation, and the resulting rapid growth of satellite businesses caused the population and economy of Inglewood to continue to grow during the middle part of the 20th century.

The City of Inglewood has a city council/manager form of government. Inglewood is divided into four Council Districts.

Inglewood Police Department was founded in 1908 and now has over 270 employees.

Inglewood Public Library severed its ties with the Los Angeles County Library system in 1962 to form its own library system.

The Inglewood Unified School District serves the City of Inglewood and portions of the Ladera Heights, an unincorporated Los Angeles County community.

Inglewood Senior Center was founded in 1975. The center provide referrals, care management, transportation, meals, and other services.

Inglewood is home to a field office of the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

The Inglewood Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department maintains the expansive 55-acre Edward Vincent Park. Originally called Centinela Park, the park is the site of Centinela Springs, the onetime main source of Inglewood’s water supply.

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