34% of East Los Angeles’ homes were built before 1940
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #3 of 847 in California. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 6 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1960.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, East Los Angeles is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #3 of 847 in California. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of East Los Angeles’ overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, East Los Angeles ranks #55 on History.
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so East Los Angeles’ 0.7 sits above most of its state (73% of California towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about East Los Angeles’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of East Los Angeles. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1894Los Angeles sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of East Los Angeles.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Historically, when it was founded in 1873, the neighborhood northeast of downtown was originally named East Los Angeles, but in 1917, residents voted to change the name to its current name, Lincoln Heights. Today, it is considered part of Eastside Los Angeles, the geographic region east of the Los Angeles River that includes three neighborhoods within the city of Los Angeles (Boyle Heights, El Sereno, and Lincoln Heights) and the unincorporated community in Los Angeles County known today as "East Los Angeles". Lincoln Heights is 4 miles (6 km) northwest of present-day East Los Angeles. When Lincoln Heights, the first Eastside subdivision created in 1873, changed its name in 1917, Belvedere (Belvedere Gardens and Belvedere Heights) and surrounding unincorporated county areas were given the moniker of East Los Angeles. By the 1930s, most maps had started to label the Belvedere area as "Ea…
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
East Los Angeles is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #3 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in East Los Angeles?
4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Golden Gate Theater (listed 1982, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Chicano Moratorium March December 20, 1969 and the National Chicano Moratorium March August 29, 1970, with 6 contributing buildings. 8 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in East Los Angeles?
34% of East Los Angeles’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1950.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1973
2022
2012
2011
