*The Nickerson Gardens housing project was affirmed on this date in 1955. It is a complex that occupies the blocks northeast of Imperial Highway and the corner of Central Avenue in Watts, Los Angeles, California.
Nickerson Gardens is the largest public housing development west of the Mississippi River. Its original architect was Paul Revere Williams. In the mid-1970s, it was 95% Black; by 2004, the Black population had decreased to 75% and continues to drop. Nickerson Gardens was sometimes known as the recognized birthplace of the Bounty Hunter Bloods gang.
The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles owns and manages the complex. Nickerson Gardens consists of 156 buildings with townhouse-style units. The complex was one of the many locations featured in To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). Nickerson Gardens is assigned to Markham Middle School and Jordan High School.
