A New Future For The Former Lincoln Heights Jail

The former Lincoln Heights Jail could be getting a major makeover from the L.A. City Council.

The city council approved a motion on Friday to redevelop the old jail to create a mixed-use facility that includes housing. The vote was 11-0, with council members Heather Hutt, John Lee, Curren Price and Monica Rodriguez absent.

The motion was introduced by Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez in May. Hernandez represents Council District 1, which includes Lincoln Heights. She said redeveloping the former jail has the potential to help “heal the environmental and social harm this building has brought to the Lincoln Heights community.”

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Past

The former Lincoln Heights Jail is wedged between Avenue 19, the L.A. River, and the 110 Freeway. The five-story, Art Deco style building opened in 1931.

The $5 million jail was designed to house 625 inmates at full capacity, but by the early 1950s, it was packed with around 2,800 people. Some notable inmates include Al Capone and people arrested during L.A.’s Zoot Suit and Watts Riots.

The jail was infamous for the large number of inmates arrested over suspicions about their sexual orientation. It even had a separate wing for LGBTQ+ inmates, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy.

The visiting and waiting room of the Lincoln Heights Jail in 1949.

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Photo Courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library

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Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

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In 1951, seven inmates were brutally beaten by dozens of officers in an incident that became known as “Bloody Christmas.”

The Lincoln Heights Jail ended up being decommissioned in 1965 because of overcrowding and cost. The L.A. City Council and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors decided it would be cheaper to move the inmates to a nearby county jail.

The building was later used as a filming location, a trade technical high school, and a 24,000 square foot rooftop garden. The building is now vacant after the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts moved out in 2014.

Two years later, the city requested proposals to repurpose the Lincoln Heights Jail, but the developer backed out, leaving the property largely untouched.

Present

The property is currently an environmental hazard, according to Hernandez’s office. There is lead in the ground, asbestos in the building, and two tanks with petroleum products buried 30 feet below ground level.

There have been some environmental assessments and work on the property over the last five years, which the motion says puts the city in a unique position to start over with more engagement from the community.

Future

The property is nearly 147,000 square feet, which Hernandez’s motion says is a “critical opportunity” to create housing.

“This parcel of land is sitting vacant and almost entirely unused in the middle of a neighborhood with an unprecedented need for deeply affordable housing, community resources and economic development,” Hernandez said in a statement. “My office will be leading the charge to finally demolish this jail and rehabilitate the land for use that will serve Lincoln Heights and the broader Northeast LA community.’

Hernandez wants the community’s help to shape the property’s new lease on life.

City staff now have 120 days to report back with potential plans for the site, and 150 days to come up with a community engagement plan.

The motion also directs the Economic and Workforce Development Department to apply for grants to help pay for demolition costs and repurposing the former Lincoln Heights Jail.