This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Photos: How Skid Row Has Changed Over 30 Years
Photographer Camilo José Vergara has been taking snapshots of Skid Row for almost 30 years and has seen the area evolve through his lens. In his "Skid Row L.A." project, he's taken photos that illustrate homeless life in the city—from the people living in it to the art on the walls and police arrests.
"I've spent all my life photographing the poorest places in the country—urban places—so it was just natural for me to find Skid Row," he tells LAist.
Although Vergara began taking photos of the area in the 1980s, he didn't start systematically shooting this project until 1995. Ever since then, he's flown to L.A. one to three times a year to photograph the same corners, talk to the people living there and hang out at the missions.
Skid Row is a 50-block neighborhood in downtown with a population of about 5,000 transients living on the streets, according to Marketplace. It also has the largest concentration of homeless people in the nation. The area, which had been left alone for the most part, began to change in the 2000s as housing developments and restaurants started popping up downtown.
"I think that the statement about Skid Row being the largest public concentration of human misery in the United States was more true in the '90s and I would say it peaked around '96, '97," Vergara says.
Though, he has noticed that the police presence is much greater and more visible now, as can be seen in the later years of his photography project.
Although Vergara isn't trying to change the world with his project, he believes taking photos helps people "find out what's happening to a place."
Sponsored message
Vergara shoots other cities such as Chicago, Brookyln and Detroit. He recently released in December his book, Harlem: The Unmaking of a Ghetto (Historical Studies of Urban America).
Related:
Advocates Will Protest Ban On Feeding Homeless In Public
Watch A Single Building In Los Angeles Change Over 33 Years
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
