Back in February, Los Angeles native and documentary photographer Sam Comen went to a Central Avenue Business Association meeting to find out what he could do as a photographer in the community. There he “heard from the business owners about their passion to bring in cultural tourism and make people aware of this place, which is right under peoples’ noses,” Comen said, “and I felt the moment was right to bring this together.”
Comen worked with his friend Jason Neville, an urban planner, to develop the idea of capturing images that spanned Central Avenue’s rich history from a thriving pre-war community in the 1940s, through post-war blight and two waves of civil unrest to the present day. “We decided that rather than use only my camera to look into the community, that we’d ask the people who lived there give us a look through their cameras,” said Comen.
Central Avenue: A Community Album opens on Saturday April 14 with a reception from 7:00 to 10:00pm and runs through April 21, 2012 at 2515 S. Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90011 at the corner of Adams Blvd. More info here.
Likely Walter Carnegie (though not identified) at Carnegie TV & Radio repair shop in the “PL” telephone prefix area, a phone switching station for the Vernon-Central district. Year unknown, likely 1950s. Courtesy The Southern California Library for Social Reseach
Juan Carrillo, Zena Gramajo (seated,) Mariela Godinez, and Grecia Andrade photographed at Central Ave. and 41st St. on their way home from Jefferson High School on March 14, 2012.
Thomas Aaron outside his apartment at Naomi Ave. and 35th St. on March 22, 2012.
Julio Ramirez in his shop at Central Ave. and 56th St. on March 15, 2012.
Juan Carrillo, Zena Gramajo (seated,) Mariela Godinez, and Grecia Andrade photographed at Central Ave. and 41st St. on their way home from Jefferson High School on March 14, 2012.
Franks1: Frank Espinosa at his tire shop on Central and 29th street, circa 1990, as his mother hands him the phone. Contributed by Frank Espinosa.
Future Farmers of America class circa 1975 at Jefferson High School, found in a vocational classes scrapbook in the JHS archive. Courtesy of Jefferson High School.
Gloria Wilson on the new Ford DeLuxe outside her and her husband’s home on Maple and 30th St, circa 1953. Contributed by Lynda Wilson.