When contemplating a trip to California most people place Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Monterey Bay Aquarium at the top of their must-see lists. At the bottom of most must-see attraction lists are L.A.’s gang-ridden ghettos.
Ironically, though, the city’s violent hoods are making headlines for being a hot tourist spot. For $65 per person (and a signature on a waiver that acknowledges they could be crime victims) visitors can hop on a bus and take an official L.A. Gang Tour.
The paid tour of some of Los Angeles’ darkest neighborhoods was the brainchild of Alfred Lomas, a former member of the Florencia 13 gang. Lomas says the tours are designed to “provide a glimpse into gang life while also trying to convince people that gang-plagued communities are not as hopeless as Hollywood makes them out to be.”
Lomas says the public’s fascination with gangs was the impetus for his unusual travel tour.
“We can either address the issue head-on, create awareness and discuss the positive things that go on in these communities, or we can try to sweep it under the carpet,” Lomas told USA Today in a recent interview.
For $65 guests will be chauffeured around South Los Angeles in an unmarked chartered coach past infamous sites, such as the concrete riverbed featured in movies like “Terminator” and “Grease.” Next up is the Central Jail, home to many drug and gang lords. Skid Row, homeless masses, and the home bases of some of the nation’s deadliest gangs are also part of the tour. The bus also drives through Florence-Firestone neighborhood, close to the birthplace of the Crips and past numerous gray warehouses spray painted with graffiti.
While some say the Gang Tour brings to “life the class divisions you have in America,” and gives visitors “an important firsthand account of the area” others, such as L.A. City Councilman Dennis Zine, say the $65 bus ride is “a terrible idea.”
“Is it worth that thrill for 65 bucks? You can go to a (gang) movie for a lot less and not put yourself at risk,” Zine told reporters.
Still, Lomas says the tours are filling-up on a regular basis. The former gang member says he doesn’t want the tours to be voyeuristic and sensational, and for that reason tourists are banned from shooting photographs or video from the bus. In addition, passengers are given a historic background of each neighborhood, instead of simply listening to tour guides list where gangs hang out.
Lomas says, so far so good. Since the tour buses have rolled out, passengers have expressed only positive remarks about their experiences.
Would you pay $65 to take a Gang Tour?
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