The West Adams Heritage Association is very pleased to have participated in the effort by Curbed LA to determine this year’s Neighborhood of the Year!  WAHA acknowledges that we were but one small cog in this exercise, and recognizes that this “win” is really a reflection of the enthusiasm and interaction of our friends and neighbors throughout the Historic West Adams District.  

Our first task at hand will be to clarify for everyone, just where and what does living in “West Adams” actually mean.  Historic West Adams is a collection of neighborhoods that stretches both north and south of the 10 freeway.  The extent of our neighborhood is acknowledged with freeway signs that state “Historic West Adams Next 6 exits,”  beginning just east of Figueroa and stretching westward to Crenshaw.  The “West Adams Neighborhood Council” district extends even further west.

It is important to WAHA that people recognize that our organization has two primary goals.  One, is supporting and building upon the sense of community that is experienced here; and the other is preservation of the historic homes that populate this area.  West Adams was originally created by some of the earliest expansions of the city of Los Angeles from its downtown core.  More about the individual neighborhoods of Historic West Adams will be appearing on these pages in the very near future.

The title of Neighborhood of the Year will be worn with pride, and also with a sense of obligation to positively support all the communities of Los Angeles.  Every neighborhood that was selected to participate from the very first round of this contest was a winner from the outset, and should be a source of pride for all.  As the contest moved forward, enthusiasm did take on some aspects of behavior that would have been better left on the sidelines. While some of the “colorful” language, as well as accusations that were posted to the blogosphere are indeed regrettable, we are willing to accept that these thoughts (both “ours” and “theirs”) were expressed in the “heat of the moment” and were based on a true sense of spirit and contest.

We would like to thank everyone who was “tuned in” throughout the lengthy holiday voting, and congratulations go out to all of the Neighborhoods that participated.  We are all very proud of where we live!