25 years later | Empty lots a reminder of the 1992 riots - Los Angeles Times
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25 years later | Empty lots a reminder of the 1992 riots

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For a quarter of a century, the bare patch of land near Western Avenue and Adams Boulevard has sat empty, ringed with wire.

When riots engulfed South Los Angeles in 1992, spurred by the acquittal of four white police officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King, many buildings in the area went up in flames. Burned beyond repair, the buildings were torn down.

Across the street? Another empty lot.

Ladre Powell, 6, dribbles a basketball beside a vacant lot at 84th Street and Manchester Avenue in South Los Angeles. Vacant lots dot the South L.A. landscape 25 years after rioting, looting and arson raged for days in the aftermath of the King beating verdict.

A pedestrian walks past a sidewalk reminder of what once stood at Manchester and South Vermont avenues in South Los Angeles, one of many flashpoints during the 1992 riots.

Urban blight remains in the area around Manchester and South Vermont avenues in South Los Angeles, 25 years after rioting tore the area apart.

A parking meter appears to grow out of a patch of weeds next to a vacant lot at Manchester and South Vermont avenues in South L.A.

A plane making an approach to LAX flies over the area around Manchester and South Vermont avenues, where many buildings are shuttered and vacant lots remain in the place of other structures that were burned during the 1992 riots.

A mural in the Jefferson Park area of South Los Angeles depicts police brutality against African Americans.

Motor traffic crosses at Vernon and Vermont avenues in South Los Angeles, one of many flashpoints during the 1992 riots.

A tree grows in a vacant lot at 87th Street and South Vermont Avenue behind a brightly painted fence.

A plane making an approach to LAX flies over a vacant and gated lot at Colden Street and South Vermont Avenue in South Los Angeles.

A blooming tree brings a spot of color to a desolate lot at 84th Street and South Vermont Avenue in South L.A.

An abandoned shopping cart sits in a vacant lot at 84th Street and South Vermont Avenue, the scene of many flashpoints during the 1992 riots.

A padlock secures a gate on a vacant lot at 27th Street and South Western Avenue in South Los Angeles.

A sign warns passersby not to trespass on a vacant lot at 84th Street and Manchester Avenue.

A weed sprouts flowers along a vacant lot at Manchester and Vermont avenues in South Los Angeles.

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