Historic Black barbershop is L.A.'s newest city landmark

Family-run Stylesville salon has been a community institution in Pacoima since the segregated 1950s

- JASMINE MENDEZ

GREGORY Faucett is the grandson of Freddie and Ollie Carter, who opened Stylesville Barbershop in 1957.

Being recognized by the city for decades of service to their Pacoima neighborhood feels long overdue for the Carter family.

On Oct. 11, the city of Los Angeles honored Stylesville Barbershop & Beauty Salon with a landmark plaque memorializing its “post-World War II development of the African American community in Pacoima.”

The Carter family gathered close relatives, years-long clients and friends for the big day. Bright purple and black balloons brought the shop to life, adding a festive touch to its faded paint and well-worn barber chairs.

“We are marking and permanently protecting Stylesville and documenting its rightful place in history as the oldest Black-owned business in the city of Los Angeles,” Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who represents Pacoima, said in a speech. “I’m incredibly proud to be here to help celebrate this moment with the entire family, and with our proud community that wants to continue to uplift these voices each and every day." First opened on Van Nuys Boulevard in 1957 by Freddie and Ollie Carter, Stylesville was the go-to spot for the latest hairstyles during an era when the San Fernando Valley was heavily segregated.

ZAIRE BROOKINS, 15, sweeps at the salon, now a city landmark.

Freddie was 28 at the time, and according to a story in The Times, "scores of blackowned businesses ran along the boulevard." Ollie Carter, 94, still owns the shop, and Barron Ward, 63, who grew up in Pacoima in the '60s, said she gave him his first perm.

"Oh man, across the street in 1967, me and my brothers used to come here every single weekend. Freddie, the owner, used to sit us on this little wood thing to get a haircut," Ward said.