Rodger Young Village

Rodger Young Village. . , Before there was an Autry Museum, the current Los Angeles Zoo or Interstate 5, this broad, flat portion of Griffith Park was an airfield, first for pioneering aviators and later for the National Guard. This site - aircraft hangers and all - became the Rodger Young Village. , , By 1946, the shortage of veterans housing was at near-disaster levels and there was a shortage of building materials. The answer was Quonset huts, inexpensive corrugated metal structures designed to be erected quickly during wartime. The former airfield - more than 100 acres that were already connected to gas, water, and sewer lines - was the perfect place to put them. In barely more than two months, some 1,500 Quonset huts were assembled and divided in half, creating 3,000 homes. Rent was $34 a month unfurnished, $40 furnished. , , A small town was constructed with wartime speed. It was named for Rodger Young, a World War II private who posthumously won the Congressional Medal of Honor by drawing fatal fire so that the rest of his cornered platoon could escape. The Rodger Young Village was dedicated on April 27, 1946, with numerous Hollywood celebrities - including Jack Benny, Bette Davis, Lena Horne, and Dinah Shore in attendance. , , Consequently, the two aviation hangars were converted into a market, pharmacy, barber shop, hardware store, movie theater, church, elementary school, thrift shop, and other businesses, and services. A shop supplying goods and services for newborns - including a diaper delivery service - was particularly popular. In 1946, the proprietor of the shop (a veteran's wife) estimated there were 500 expectant mothers in the village. , , The village had a large number of small children. In its first year of operation, the village's grammar school had a student body of 977, making it far larger than the long-established Los Feliz Elementary School south of the park.
, The village was officially shut down on March 14, 1954, as the Los Angeles area veterans housing emergency was declared over. , , photo captions: , When not at home, children played at the village playground, rode their bicycles on village streets or gave themselves a treat at the village ice cream parlor. And just outside the village were the trails of Griffith Park and the Los Angeles River (unobstructed by freeways). The racial and ethnic diversity of the village was also noteworthy, outpacing nearby neighborhoods. , , Each 80-foot-long, 20-foot-wide hut was divided into two dwellings. Each had two bedrooms, one bath, a living room, and a kitchen. Furnished units came with an icebox (not a refrigerator), a stove, and some surplus military furniture. Each unit had a shaded porch, and about five feet of lawn in front of it. Most residents relied on telephone booths located about 100 feet apart. , , Many village residents - adults and children - put considerable effort into turning their Quonset huts into homes. The village thrift shop was the source of some furnishings.