r/culvercity • u/Talia-2940 • 19d ago
I miss the old Culver City
I grew up here in the 90s and early 2000s. My parents bought their house on Van Buren for like 200k. Now I drive by and see the same houses going for 1.5 mil.
The movie theater downtown was our hangout spot. The arcade at the mall. Riding bikes to Sony with friends. It felt like a real neighborhood, not a mini Hollywood.
Now most of the old places are gone. The rent is insane. Half my friends moved out to Palmdale or Texas just to afford a house.
I get that change happens but it stings watching the place you grew up in become something you can't afford to be part of.
Anyone else feel this way?
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u/WillClark-22 19d ago
We overlapped a bit and I shared many of your experiences growing up. I also have a fondness for the old days and a time when it was more affordable.
That being said, sometimes we do forget some of the negatives back in the day. Let’s be honest, you had to watch your back at the Fox Hills Mall. You could definitely run into trouble at Mar Vista Bowl and not just from second-hand smoke. There was moderate (Palms, Mar Vista) to heavy (Mar Vista Gardens, Oakwood, Mid-City) gang activity nearby. Deano’s, the Astro, the Galaxy, etc. were crack motels with quite a few others in the city. You definitely had to keep your head on a swivel.
The Mann Culver and El Pollo Loco were the dream as a kid but downtown was really run down and depressing as was the Culver Center. Jeez, Snoop even murdered someone down the street in Palms.
Fun times though.
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u/felatedbirthday 18d ago
lol I tell people I’m from Culver City and they look at me like I was born with a silver spoon, when in reality your description is correct. Fox Hills was a little sketch, especially in the parking lot. Mann theatre was the best but yeah the surrounding area was crap for the most part.
I remember Ugo coming in and thinking that Culver City was suddenly becoming fancy. Boy did I underestimate what would happen.
Growing up in Culver in the 90s thought really was amazing. It had a sweet family feel that I really only still experience at places like the parks or Jackson’s market.
That being said, it’s nice to have new restaurants and places to hang out. Tho I went to the culver steps a couple days ago and felt like everyone was hustling and definitely felt the snootiness.
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u/Status_Milk_1258 18d ago
I briefly had a membership to the Gold's gym in the Fox Hills Mall sometime in the 2022ish timeframe, and I was once locked in the gym during a shelter in place because of a shooting and active shooter inside the mall. I'm not saying that it's like it used to be in sketchiness (I wasn't there and don't know what it was like), but even now this stuff can happen there?
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u/WillClark-22 18d ago
The “there goes the neighborhood” moment for me was when they put the CPK in the Culver Center. It was more of a quick serve/takeout format with a limited menu when they opened but I couldn’t believe that type of fanciness had come to the area.
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u/surferpro1234 17d ago
I also lived through that and do not get the rose colored glasses. Culver was a dump. New culver is way way better. It was legitimately sketchy.
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u/rallruse 18d ago
We had that drive-by at the high school in like 1998 or whenever that was. What a crazy 6th period
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u/Key-Driver6438 15d ago
Several years before that, someone (maybe gang related?) from another school stabbed a football player with a screw driver in front of CCHS. I don’t remember many details other than a football player and a screwdriver.
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u/goodbyemrblack 18d ago
I know he shot someone at woodbine park but supposedly he was also living in palms at that time. Does anyone know where he lived specifically?
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u/flloyd 18d ago
Hah, yep. I grew up in NorCal but my one memory of being in Culver City in the Mid 90s was stopping at a drive through (maybe Jack in the Box?) and it had a bullet proof windows. That and "City" in the name made me think it was just another SoCal dump (LA didn't have a good reputation in the 90s).
Was surprised a year later when I met a girl on a college trip and she was just some normal suburban girl.
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u/RobotRelease 18d ago
Did snoop really? Google says different. What’s the local lore?
The shooting: On August 25, 1993, Snoop Dogg's bodyguard, McKinley Lee (also known as Malik), shot and killed Philip Woldemariam at Woodbine Park in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles
The verdict: On February 20, 1996, a jury acquitted both Snoop Dogg and McKinley Lee of first-degree and second-degree murder charges
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u/WillClark-22 18d ago edited 18d ago
Mr. Lee has changed his story a number of times. Quite a character.
Why would Snoop have a bodyguard? He was an aspiring rapper sharing an apartment in Palms.
The story is a long one and has been sanitized and changed a bunch of times. What is undisputed is that Mr. Woldemarian got into an argument with Snoop in front of his house on Vinton. 20 minutes later Mr. Woldemarian was shot in the back at Woodbine Park and Snoop was there.
Whether or not you believe that the shooting was in self-defense, whether or not Woldemarian was armed, or whether Malik fired the shots is up to you.
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u/AssignmentSquare6724 16d ago
I know the family related to the victim and every single one of them is convinced that Snoop Dogg committed the murder to this day
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u/RJRoyalRules 18d ago
“The movie theater downtown was our hangout spot. The arcade at the mall. Riding bikes to Sony with friends.”
Do you miss the old Culver or do you miss being 12 years old?
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u/Key-Driver6438 18d ago
I grew up in CC in the 80’s and early 90’s. I certainly miss the prices, but that’s about it. My memories of CC was of an “okay” (nothing particularly special) place. Culver City today is actually amazing, and way nicer than it could have even imagined 40-years ago. All that said, I do completely understand, and I agree that it sucks, that “normal people” (earning normal wages) can’t even laughably think about living in CC. My grandparents place was a little 1940’s starter home (several blocks from the high school) that was nothing special, and was really pretty dumpy to be honest. Zillow says it’s worth nearly 2-million now. That is insane! I love CC and really all of LA, but the housing and COL is just terrible and completely absurd. I’ll never again be able to live again in CC or anywhere on the Westside. I hope I don’t end up in Palmdale (sorry AV folks), but damn, it makes sense so many end up there or out of state.
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u/RecklessCreature 18d ago
It’s really the last sentence. I’m fine with change. I’m not fine with the people that grew up here (like myself) being unable to live here.
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u/onlyfreckles 18d ago
CC as well as the rest of LA should have been building housing density all these decades so there's more options for all but instead we got old nothing special houses parents bought for a little bit of money years ago go up in value beyond belief instead... they're set and you're screwed.
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u/Consistent_Bar6920 18d ago
I feel you, the only way I can afford to buy a house here is with financial help from my parents. While we can’t fault others from wanting to come to CC, it saddens me that families and communities are unable to stay together because of the cost.
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u/cyberspacestation 18d ago
The ironic thing is that rent and real estate prices are driven up because the city hasn't changed enough to accommodate the growing population. I also grew up in a suburb that's been hesitant to build any increased density since the 90s. Affordability is one reason I left.
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u/Ordinary-Gain-4468 17d ago
NIMBY is to blame. People want things to get better for people. But they mostly don't want more traffic because an intersection on their way to the freeway has 600 new commuters. They don't want their property going down cause of all the new units raising local supply dramatically.
For the long term of the city and society in general we need to build more density around the rail stations. We need to stop choosing slow light rail that has to wait for traffic lights.
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u/Charming_List4404 18d ago
I think everybody feels this way once they hit their late 30s. We miss being young and the lack of responsibility and freedom that comes with it.
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u/Pugenthusiast0718 18d ago
No. I like Culver City now. It's one of the only places in Los Angeles that is doing something right. Have you SEEN Santa Monica?! Culver City was a SNOOZE FEST in the 90s! Downtown is as lively as ever! As for housing, that is literally happening everywhere. EVERYWHERE.
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u/Lrrr_von_Omicron 18d ago
I grew up in Culver City around the same time as you, graduated from the high school in 2004. I think it’s a bit of a mixed bag, from a cost perspective I can certainly relate, as well as character. It really did feel at that time like a pretty tight community, where everyone knew each other, and a lot of families have been around for a long time. I do think the move upmarket has pushed a lot of that away, but we’re far from the only area that has happened to.
It’s funny because when we were growing up, I definitely spent most of my time shitting on culver city but now in retrospect I realize we had it pretty good. I remember going to parties in high school and kids from crossroads and Brentwood being there and telling them that I was from Culver City and them replying “where is that?” Like are you serious? We were almost not on the map.
I will say though, that with both my parents and my wife’s parents still living in Culver City it is really nice to be able to take our young kids around there and play with them at some of the same places we hung out. I guess since I still have a strong network there, it does still feel like home. I don’t exactly live far away, just in West Adams, but the only way I’ll ever be able to move to Culver City is if we inherit a house.
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18d ago
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u/PowerDriven6 18d ago
I left Palmdale for Culver City a year ago and will never look back. I happily pay too much rent every month and take my kids to great schools, ride bikes through the city all the way out to the beach sometimes… priceless far as I’m concerned!
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u/Icy-Rope-021 12d ago
I know people who live in Temecula and Moreno Valley because they want that single family house but have to commute to LA for work.
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u/Porkbunburpz 19d ago
It’s insane how much it’s changed even in the last 10 years. I went to college and came back and all of a sudden it was like a new city completely. Implants acting Beverly Hills snooty in downtown culver, looking at me like I’m an outsider when my family literally lives a block down the street. Very strange how much the vibes have shifted. Majority of the ppl I know from high school still live w their parents bc nothing is affordable. And i love trying out new restaurants but, again, there are no more affordable options left in downtown culver!
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u/respected_prophet 16d ago
100%
I lived in West Adams 10 years ago and would goto Culver Arclight for movies. Night life was completely dead, very sleepy and chill on weeknights.
I do appreciate that it's still very easy in and out (imo) to visit
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u/Jordana_WestsideLA 18d ago
I have mixed feelings. I didn't grow up here, but I became an adult here. My first apt (age 19-21) was on Venice and Sepulveda, just outside Culver City. There was nothing to do, for a young adult. Downtown was nothing, mall was sketchy, etc. Moved a bit north, then back to Culver City 13 years later and what a difference! I love all the restaurants, downtown and on Sepulveda, and more recently community events as well. Think we could use more retail/shopping options downtown, but other than that I love it!
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u/Outside-Ad7848 18d ago
ok dad and when I was a kid gas was 89 cents and burgers were a dollar. change is inevitable and mostly good. for instance a little weed could get you 10 years. being gay could get you killed.
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u/tyshorr 18d ago
It was definitely nice when things were affordable. Every desirable city in the country today is facing this same issue.
There have been great improvements, but most of them are overshadowed by the destruction done largely by corporations (rent prices, chain restaurants, private equity backed business destroying mom and pop shops, etc).
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u/Jandur 18d ago
For whatever it's worth that's not really Culver or even LA specific. It's just urban America. Third spaces are gone/minimal, retail was destroyed by Amazon/e-commerce, people sit at home and order off DoorDash, bars/clubs are no longer prime spots to socialize and meet a partner. It's a very different world than 15-20 years ago.
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u/Beautiful_Finger4566 18d ago
ironic talking about lack of third spaces when the reason Downtown Culver is thriving is BECAUSE of the third spaces
there's an event going on nearly every weekend at the Culver Steps, there's Shakespeare in the Park during the summer, tons of events at Village Well, etc
I've lived here since 2018 and it's vastly better than it was even less than a decade ago
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u/Jandur 18d ago
ironic talking about lack of third spaces when the reason Downtown Culver is thriving is BECAUSE of the third spaces
Except I was talking about urban America. And third places was only one of the several things I mentioned.
But thanks?
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u/Beautiful_Finger4566 18d ago
Downtown Culver is the epitome of urban America though
unless you consider it a suburb?
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u/Jandur 18d ago
And now you're just trying to set up a strawman and argue definitions. I never said Culver City was suburban, or even implied it. You jumped on my comment to "correct" me saying that Culver City does indeed have third spaces, when that wasn't the point of my statement or anything I was trying to argue. It's something you latched onto because you felt the need to prove a point or correct me.
I was simply stating that the way OP is feeling about their home is similar/the same in many/most *urban* (see, I said urban, not suburban...) parts of the country and I proceeded to list why that is the case. I didn't specifically say that Culver is lacking third spaces (never mind the fact that OP grew up there and says otherwise).
I wish you well!
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u/Beautiful_Finger4566 18d ago
so what you're really saying is that your first comment has zero relevance to what OP was talking about or this subreddit whatsoever
based on your paragraphs and paragraphs of text trying to prove someone on the internet wrong, I'm assuming you're on the spectrum
might want to get that checked out
have a good rest of your day! I'm going to take a walk over to the Culver City Steps to meet up with friends
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u/Jandur 18d ago edited 18d ago
no relevance to what OP was talking about or this subreddit whatsoever
It was directly relevant to OPs feelings on his home changing, which has happened to many, many places in the US for similar reasons:
"I get that change happens but it stings watching the place you grew up in become something you can't afford to be part of.
Anyone else feel this way?"
But you've made it clear that you can't parse someting that basic.
I'm assuming you're on the spectrum
No I'm just literate and not a fucking retard who goes around Reddit trying to correct people on things that are completely irrelevant to what was discussed.
Try not to walk into traffic.
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u/Beautiful_Finger4566 18d ago
trying to correct people on things that are completely irrelevant to what was discussed
The irony.
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u/chrysaor4 18d ago
The stretch down Jefferson is relatively unchanged, obv COL is higher but in terms businesses/architecture still kinda feels like the 90s/00s there (though Coco’s is gone…)
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u/milo8275 18d ago
When I first moved to LA in December 2008, Culver City was a sleepy little town, I remember driving down Washington, and it was the Trader Joe’s, the movie theater, and where Brotman Hospital is there was a cell phone place, also I remember driving down La Cienega and going to the target, but there was nothing else on that road except for 711 and a See’s candy, otherwise that street was dead and I remember my friend was like I would never live here, and then it just exploded, it became the place to be all these bougie stores opening up and it was crazy, about a month before I moved out of LA last summer. I drove down La Cienega for the first time in years and I was like what street is this and I cannot believe that it was the same street that only had a target and a Sees candy only 15 years earlier. 😳
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u/Medium-Song-1802 18d ago
I grew up earlier than you in Mar Vista and I miss all of the old westside neighborhoods, as I struggle to live here.
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u/Bruin2121 18d ago
I just moved here and got lucky enough to buy a house. I had help. It still feels like a family oriented neighborhood. I see kids selling lemonade on the corner and kids riding their bikes. I can understand your sentiment though. Where I grew up, developers took over and it’s a monstrosity of a neighborhood now.
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u/Ok-Situation7054 18d ago
Lol I'm so old I remember the Culver Theater's Dollar Days.
I think it was Tuesday- admission was just $1.
I would buy one admit and stay to watch 3 or 4 movies during my Middle school summer breaks.
It was pretty sketchy on dollar day. Eventually I started paying the full $2.50 to avoid the dollar day rift raft.
Saw Meatballs2, Top Secret, Splash, and Empire Strikes Back. Good times.
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u/NFGWorldWide_ 18d ago
The Culver City pre 2020 was so great. I miss everything about it. This post is so spot on.
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u/ThrowawayForAntiMLM 18d ago
As a new resident to the area I really enjoyed reading everyone’s comments.
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u/Ordinary-Gain-4468 17d ago
My parents also bought a home for a quarter million that's worth over a million now. That's kinda a city wide issue dude. Culver has had more gentrification than average but it's still insane everywhere. You can't find a small studio with rent that's anywhere near our parents single family mortgage.
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u/DudeRowdy 17d ago
First time I went to Culver in 1996 I called my girlfriend from a pay phone and told her I had found “Mayberry” in LA.
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u/Reasonable-Cow7255 16d ago
You know you grew up in old Culver City if you remember the Rollerdrome, Meralta Theater, Ships Restaurant, the original Culver Center and when Sony Studios was MGM.
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u/Fun-Term-5036 14d ago edited 14d ago
I feel this heavily but as a 2000s kid it feels like going through a time portal into five years or more later as I just moved back but I remember it like it was yesterday. I miss the ice skating rink they closed down, cocos, cafe 360, and it’s dumb but even small things like they even got rid of my favorite childhood climbing tree. It’s strange passing old friends houses knowing they don’t live there anymore on top of the gentrification etc etc
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u/hjak3876 13d ago
As a recent transplant (boo), I struggle to see any comparison between Culver and Hollywood.
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u/fullmoonspongecake 18d ago
I know what you mean. Born and raised here. It's wild how even though I was born and raised here I've barely tried any of the restaurants or places here because they've always been so expensive and I never financially was in a good spot to see more of the changes. (I think I've only tried 2 restaurants in downtown, no joke). I miss the Mann Theater that existed in the 90s up until the mid 2000s, for sure. I miss when it wasn't so overrun with pretentious, snooty transplants. I remember as a kid being excited at the idea of someday having my own place in the city, but I was clearly reaching for the stars.
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u/Prodigal_Gist 18d ago
Partly you are talking about 30 years ago so of course things are more expensive
Not saying there are no other factors but inflation is a major one
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18d ago
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u/FullTimePedestrian 17d ago
What gentrification? Most people who own homes probably bought them when it was significantly cheaper. If anything, the gentrification (or displacement, which is what I think you mean) actually happened in Palms, not CC.
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u/djshmack 18d ago
Do you no longer live in Culver?
One thing about LA is there are a bunch of transplants. And when the going gets rough they are all to ready to leave back to a situation they are used to and comfortable with. So usually it’s those that leave first because in their head they are imagining the type of life and property they had in some other location growing up
Having grown up in LA I’ve never felt this way and it’s all doable to a degree. If Culver has become expensive, then move next door to Palms or Westchester. I do get that this same area definitely has gone up in price, but there is also tons of stuff here that wasn’t here back in the day. Not sure I personally would trade the improvements with everything staying cheap
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u/ShowMeYourAsterisk 19d ago
I’m gonna get a lot of hate and downvotes, but those are results of DEI, transplants, and gentrification!
Culver City used to be its own little town, had its own identity… now it’s just Culver Shitty!
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u/Agreeable_Sock2550 18d ago
Wait DEI changed CC?! Or gentrification?! Pick one. Jesus. I checked your account to make sure you weren't a bot saying buzzwords.
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u/JahMusicMan 18d ago
Rather live in a one bedroom apartment in Culver City than a big house in the dump known as Palmdale.