Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #626 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of West Athens was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1959. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1970.
More historic than 13% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Athens is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #626 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 West Athens’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Athens’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Athens. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Athens.
From Wikipedia’s history of West Athens.
Athens was platted and settled in the first decade of the 20th century. The area was initially marketed as Athens-on-the-Hill, apparently referring to two 200 ft (61 m) hills ("the eastmost summit is around 122nd and 124th, Broadway and Athens Way, and the westernmost summit is between 117th and 120th, S. Budlong and Vermont").
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on West Athens’ page.
Retake this view · +15Between 8,531 and 13,286 people in every census since 1970.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on West Athens’ Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in West Athens itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
West Athens is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #626 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.
2% of West Athens’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1959.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), Wikipedia, 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.
1906
2015
2010
