The commercial corridor along Crenshaw Boulevard is known as "the heart of African American commerce in Los Angeles".
It was "laid out as a town" in 1887[3] as a stop on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's Harbor Subdivision, which ran from Downtown Los Angeles to the port at Wilmington in a westward loop.
However, on May 17, 1923, its 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2) was consolidated with the larger city of Los Angeles after a favorable vote by Hyde Park residents.
[6] In 2000, there were 2,474 families headed by single parents, or 28.5%, a rate that was high for the county and the city.
[6] Hyde Park residents aged 25 and older holding a four-year degree amounted to 12.2% of the population in 2000, considered low when compared with the city and the county as a whole, but the percentages of residents aged 25 and older with a high school diploma and college bachelor's degree was considered high for the county.