Photos: Signs Recognize Monrovia Neighborhood's Drastic Turnaround

Just four years ago, the neighborhood near Los Angeles and Sherman Avenues was home to the city's most notorious gang house.

Two Duroc Crips who lived there , days after their uncle was shot to death by rival gang members in front of his Sherman Avenue home. The shootings marked a period of gang warfare in Monrovia that claimed four lives and touched off a massive public safety response.

But times have changed.

On Tuesday, city officials unveiled signs in the neighborhood that recognize it as a finalist for the 2011 "Neighborhood USA Best Neighborhood Award," an extraordinary achievement given the history of the area. Placed just steps away from site of one of the 2008 murders, the signs mark a new period of tranquility in the area where neighbors now come together to keep the streets safe.

"This is really exciting," said Dan McConnell, Monrovia's neighborhood services coordinator. "[Neighborhoods USA] recognized your efforts in bringing your community back together again and being a cohesive group and getting the element out that you didn't need in this neighborhood."

Neighborhood residents like Gwendolyn Jones began knocking on doors and getting neighbors involved in cleaning up the area after the 2008 shootings left the city reeling. Their efforts culminated in a 2010 potluck and movie night held outside in the streets where the whole neighborhood banded together.

"The neighborhood had some problems so we tried to get to know our neighbors," Jones said. "You need each other."

Jones and other residents even cleaned up fresh graffiti days before the event, scrubbing it off a fence with barbeque brushes.

"I think sometimes people don’t realize what a resource they themselves are," Community Relations Specialist Alexis Newell . "Sometimes, it can be done locally, with your own barbecue brush."

That resourcefulness still characterizes the neighborhood to this day. Jones said her neighbors still come together to discuss issues affecting the neighborhood, but they don't bother with a formal meeting place.

"We usually just get together in my driveway," she said.