Nicknamed "Dogtown" because of its proximity to the historic Ann Street Animal Shelter[1] whose canine residents could be heard for blocks around,[2][3] it is operated by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles.

The proposal to build the site was rejected in December 1940 because of high land purchase costs (averaging $23,900 per acre, when other developments were as low as $2400).

[6] The land price was reduced to $20,000 an acre by January 1941, but didn't proceed until a federally-backed United States Housing Authority loan signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt was given on March 12, 1941.

This changed to 15% in January 1943, and was completely removed in July 1943 after pressure and protests by the National Urban League, California Eagle, Los Angeles Sentinel, NAACP, and the CIO union.

[20][2][21] In 1856 the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul founded the city's first orphanage, Institución Caratitiva, in the former residence of a former mayor, Benjamin Davis Wilson.

In 1891, the sisters moved their operations to Boyle Heights William Mead Homes is located close to the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles.