Residents said that the sign carried racist and classist sentiments for 50 years, dividing the working-class Latino neighborhood of El Sereno from the wealthy, white suburb of South Pasadena.
A 50-year-old sign between El Sereno and South Pasadena warning of a street closure that symbolized a historical divide between the two communities was officially removed on Monday.
Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León, who represents the 14th District, which includes El Sereno, held a news conference Monday morning to remove the sign, which he described as a "significant step" toward breaking down barriers and fostering unity. Representatives of the city's Department of Transportation and El Sereno residents, including Eddie Santillan, Joe Hamilton and George Lionel, were also in attendance.
In the mid-1970s, the closure of the roadway at the end of Van Horne Boulevard in El Sereno where it meets Via del Rey in South Pasadena was coordinated by South Pasadena city officials. The closure was intended as a measure to control the influx of traffic, and make the street quieter for residents.
According to de León's office, the construction of a 2-foot-high adobe wall to block the street also carried social and racial implications. Some El Sereno residents perceived the barrier as a "deliberate" attempt to exclude their predominately Latino, working-class community from the wealthier, predominately white suburb of South Pasadena.
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Despite a lawsuit filed by El Sereno residents, the court ruled in favor of South Pasadena, asserting their right to protect their residents and property.
"This sign, once a marker of division, will be removed today as a powerful step forward toward unity and reconnection," de León said. "As we remove this sign here today, we will also remove the feelings, the feelings of separation, the feelings that many of my residents here have felt for years."
