The organizers of this past weekend's East of Eden exhibit and gallery open-house included more than a dozen art spaces across the Eastside. No, make that the "Eastside of LA." Or, how about, "Los Angeles East"? All these words and terms were used in event publicity, which shows what a struggle it can be when you invoke the "E" word, as the Militant Angeleno describes it, when no one can seem to agree where Eastside becomes Westside.So, event organizers, playing up this debate, let guests describe which side they are on. On Friday night, they spread a map out on a table outside at the Municipal Gallery at Barnsdall Art Park and asked people where the boundary was located. Of course, this generated some awkward moments, as described by this comment on the Militant Angeleno:
"I pointed out (and marked on the map) the fact that Main Street was the divider between the east and west street addresses, which amazed the people sitting at the table (whatever). They had no idea that the city had already been set up with an east and a west side.
Not sure it made much of a difference."
P.S.: Event organizer and gallery owner Mike Kelley said he thought of the "East of Eden" name knowing it was going to be a touchy subject. His comments and more about the map if you click here.
3 comments:
The Eastside is east of downtown and the LA river, and for some people, eastward beyond that to the OC border. At least that's how I have used it since the 80s. A few community groups called themselves "eastside ____" by people who lived in Boyle Heights and points east.
There's also an African American "westside" and "eastside", south of downtown, based on one's position relative to Main street.
This border isn't that fluid to people who have lived here a long time (or multiple generations), and who live in the eastside and even near downtown. Just because some westsiders think it's fluid, and because some immigrants to the area are confused, doesn't negate this history.
Mike Davis has some info in City of Quartz about the racist segregation of the city which tended to put white people west of downtown, and everyone else east and south. This seems to have coincided with the "re-centering" of the city toward the westside, where the informal center of the city moved westward, as the downtown was exited.
It's as if the existence, lives, and residences of millions of people didn't matter.
Well, no longer. Stop with the "fluid eastside" bullshit.
The westside is fairly well defined as being west of La Brea. There is something to be considered about moving the border eastward to Western, though. (Maybe that's why the street is named "Western". There's a big street in East LA named "Eastern". Coincidence? I think not!)
I completely agree with anonymous. The LA River is the border, the line... I get frustrated when Los Feliz, Echo Park, etc. get called "The Eastside" groannnnnn East of what? La Brea?
We all know why some who live in Echo Park, Los Felix, and Silver Lake refer to those parts of Los Angeles as being on the "east side". They think it sounds hip, as living in the East Village used to be hip. I've lived in Los Angeles since I was born - 1956 - I've lived in Echo Park and in the Miracle Mile and in the Valley and in Mid City, and the east side is EAST of downtown and the Los Angeles River, which means I have never lived on the "east side" or in East Los Angeles. It's that simple. My experience has been that it's mainly the people who've moved here from out of state who say "I live on the east side", when they live off of Vermont and Sunset.
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