LAKEWOOD

FOCUS Postwar Boomtown When Mark Taper, Ben Weingart and Lou Boyar built Lakewood Park around a complete shopping center in 1949, the nation’s first postwar planned community was born. What was once 3,375 acres of sugar beet and bean fields from a Spanish land grant became the nation’s largest housing project, dubbed “Tomorrow’s City Today.” Efficiency was the key. Great tracts of land were divided so construction crews could pave 133 miles of streets. Machines gouged foundation trenches in 15 minutes. Lumber arrived pre-cut for each home. Conveyor belts carried shingles to the roofs. Carpenters used nailing machines and power door-hanging machines. In one week, work started on 567 homes; in four years 17,000 homes were built and sold. Today many of the oldest houses--bordered by Ashworth and South streets and Lakewood and Bellflower boulevards--are occupied by their original owners. City Services City Hall 866-9771 5050 N. Clark Ave. Sheriff (business) 866-9061 5130 N. Clark Ave. Fire (business) 634-1235 4020 E. Candlewood St. Post Office 866-1741 5200 Clark Ave. Library 866-1777 5020 N. Clark Ave. In Emergency, Dial 911 Government City Council: Robert G. Wagner (mayor); Marc F. Titel (mayor pro tem); Jacqueline Rynerson, Larry Van Nostran, Paul E. Zeltner City Manager: Howard Chambers Fire Chief: Morris Gregory Sheriff’s Commander: Stephen Batchelor Area Lawmakers Congress: Glenn M. Anderson, Democrat, 32nd District; 300 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach 90801; 437-7665 State Assembly: Frank Vicencia, Democrat, 54th District; 16600 Civic Center Drive, No. 233, Bellflower 90706; 804-1436; Wayne Grisham, Republican, 63rd District; 13710 Studebaker Road, No. 202, Norwalk 90650; 929-1797 State Senate: Robert G. Beverly, Republican, 29th District; 1611 S. Pacific Coast Highway, No. 102, Redondo Beach 90277; 540-1611; Paul B. Carpenter, Democrat, 33rd District; 5400 Orange Ave., No. 203, Cypress 90630; (714) 952-3201 County Supervisor: Deane Dana, 4th District; Hall of Administration, 500 N. Temple St., Room 882, Los Angeles 90012; 974-1044 Statistics Population: 75,059 Area: 9.50 square miles Incorporation: April 16, 1954 Median household income: $29,200 Median home value: $81,779 Median age: 32.9 years Racial/ethnic mix: white, 86.5%; black, 3.0%; Latino, 12.4%; other, 10.5% Statistics: Donnelley Demographics (1985 estimates)