Meadowview, Sacramento, California

Location

Meadowview is a neighborhood of Sacramento, California located in the southernmost of the city.

Detail

It is bordered by 47th avenue to the north, the Watt/I-80–Downtown–Meadowview Light Rail Line to the east, an open field to the south, and State Route 160 on the west. The Meadowview area is also located near Interstate Highway 5 (I-5). The neighborhood started out with middle and working class African-American families migrating from the Bay Area, Deep South, and Midwest. Early on it was a tight knit community with many families attending the same church congregations or sharing the common bond of migrating to Sacramento from other areas of the country. There were also working professionals with college degrees in the community such as Doctors, Teachers and many veterans. During the late 1970s to early 1980s more families started to migrate from the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. During this time many businesses closed down in the neighborhood. Crime and gangs started to prevail. Once considered a war zone during the 1980s and early 1990s, Meadowview is vastly improving from its bad reputation to a place where families can be safely raised. New additions like the Sam C. Pannell Community Center (named after the late African American city official), Walgreens and new housing development on the south side of the neighborhood.

Schools/Learning

The Meadowview area is zoned by the Sacramento City Unified School District with schools in the neighborhood being: Rosa Parks Middle School (formerly Goethe), Mark Hopkins Elementary School, John Bidwell Elementary School, John Sloat Elementary School, Freeport Elementary School, Edward Kemble Elementary School, Cesar Chavez High School, Susan B. Anthony High School, and the Luther Burbank High School. At the Samuel C. Pannell Community Center, where there are many events such as Teen Unity (The Basement), Exercise Room, Computer Lab, etc.

Crime

Meadowview is a part of Sacramento that is consistently referred as a solo city within a city. This part of Sacramento is known for drug & gang violence, mainly affecting the African American community. During the 1970s and 1980s the apartment complex known as Danger Island/The Rock was a hotspot for narcotics in Sacramento. Streets like 68th & 69th Avenue, Detroit Blvd, Skelton Way and 29th Street were known in the 80's for heavy criminal activity.

Notable residents

• LeVar Burton, Actor
• Greg Vaughn, Major League Baseball player
• Cornel West, Academic

External links

• Google map of neighborhood