Vermont Square was advertised in the Los Angeles Herald in 1909 as, "The largest subdivision ever put on the market in Los Angeles"

The name "Vermont Square" was revived in the 1990s in an effort to distinguish the area from South Central Los Angeles. Advocates sought to have the 3-mile area, approximately bounded by Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard to the north, the 110 Freeway on the east, Arlington Avenue on the west and Slauson Avenue to the south, recognized with the original tract name.

Vermont Square is bordered by the neighborhoods of Exposition Park on the north, Historic South Central on the northeast, South Park on the east, Vermont-Slauson, Harvard Park and Chesterfield Square on the south, and Hyde Park and Leimert Park on the west.