West Los Angeles
West Los Angeles | |
|---|---|
  West Los Angeles Location within theWestside region of Los Angeles County | |
| Coordinates:34°02′47″N118°26′50″W/ 34.04639°N 118.44722°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Los Angeles |
| City | Los Angeles |
West Los Angelesis an area within the city ofLos Angeles,California,United States. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by theInterstate 405freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by different sources. Each lies within the largerWestside region of Los Angeles County.
Geography[edit]
West Los Angeles Community Plan[edit]
The West Los Angeles Community Plan area recognized by the city of Los Angeles is generally bounded byCentinela Avenueon the west;Wilshire BoulevardandSanta Monica Boulevardon the north; National Boulevard,Pico Boulevard,and Exposition Boulevard on the south; and Durango Avenue, Robertson Boulevard, and Canfield Avenue on the east. Among the neighborhoods included within it areSawtelle,Rancho Park,Beverlywood,Cheviot Hills,Castle Heights,andCentury City.[1][2]The Community Plan area itself is part of the larger West Los Angeles Area Plan Commission area (i.e., theWestside region).[3]
Automobile Club of Southern California[edit]
TheAutomobile Club of Southern Californiadoes not mark boundaries on its map, but centers the neighborhood of West Los Angeles proper as south of Santa Monica Boulevard, west ofInterstate 405,north ofOlympic Boulevardand east of Barrington Avenue.[4]The borders of the official West Los Angeles Neighborhood Council correspond closely to this definition. Specifically, its district stretches from the 405 freeway in the east to Centinela Avenue in the west and Wilshire Boulevard in the north and the 10 freeway in the south. This is roughly the same area labeled as "Sawtelle" in theMapping L.A.website of theLos Angeles Times.
The Los Angeles Times[edit]
In 2003, aLos Angeles Timescorrespondent noted:
The meaning of the term West Los Angeles varies widely. Some use it to describe the entire Westside includingSanta Monica,Veniceand stretching east toWestern Avenue.More precisely, though, it is the portion ofincorporated Los Angelesbetween the Santa Monica city limits on the west,Wilshire Boulevardon the north,Century Cityto the east and extending just beyond National Boulevard on the south. Sections of West L.A. run the gamut from stylishCheviot Hillsto a cluster of generic homes east of Bundy Drive.[5]
That report on the meaning of West Los Angeles also includedRancho Park,located at Pico and Beverly Glen, and the Westdale Trousdale area near National Boulevard and Barrington Avenue.[5]
City of Los Angeles[edit]
The 2004City of Los Angeles & Communitiesmap by the Los Angeles Almanac shows West Los Angeles as a neighborhood south of Santa Monica Boulevard and north of Culver City. West Los Angeles is book-ended withMid-City,Mid-City WestandMid-Wilshireon the east andSawtelleon the west. Century City, Rancho Park, and Cheviot Hills are shown (without boundaries) as sub-neighborhoods in West Los Angeles.[6]
Together, the areas east and west of Sepulveda Boulevard/I-405 comprise a large portion of the official West Los Angeles Community Plan area.[1]
Frommer's Guide[edit]
TheFrommer'sGuide described West Los Angeles as "a label that generally applies to everything that isn't one of the other Westside neighborhoods." It lies "south ofSanta Monica Boulevard,north ofVenice Boulevard,east ofSanta MonicaandVenice,and west and south ofCentury City.[7]
Mapping L.A.[edit]
In 2009, theLos Angeles TimesMapping L.A. projectdefined West Los Angeles as south ofSanta Monica Boulevard,west ofBeverly Glen Boulevard,north ofPico Boulevardand east ofSepulveda Boulevard.[8]Profiling the neighborhood in 2018, theTimesdescribed it as follows:
Nowadays, West L.A. is a marooned rump of the once-mighty West Los Angeles of old, which stretched from Century City to the Santa Monica city limits, and which has atomized over the years into a handful of disparate neighborhoods.... Many people assume West Los Angeles refers to all that lies between the sea and Robertson Boulevard (or wherever their own arbitrary border ofcentral Los Angeleslies). But it is its own place, not just atoponymto be used interchangeably with "the Westside."[9]
Demographics[edit]
For the area west of the 405 freeway,Mapping L.A.gives the population of the 2.69-square-mile "Sawtelle" neighborhood as 35,844 according to the 2000 U.S. census, with a rise to 38,698 in 2008 as estimated by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning. Its density of 13,319 people per square mile, about was average for the city of Los Angeles but among the highest densities for the county. The percentage of Asian people is high for the county and the area is highly diverse compared to both City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles averages. Mexico (29.0%) and Iran (13.8%) are the most common foreign places of birth. Notably, 49.8% of residents 25 and older have a four-year degree, which is high for the city of Los Angeles and high for the county. The percentages of never married males and never married females are among the county's highest.[10]
For the area east of the 405 freeway,Mapping L.A.gives the population of the 1.05-square-mile neighborhood as 12,659 according to the 2000 U.S. census, with a rise to 13,582 in 2008 as estimated by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning. Its density of 12,061 people was about average for the city of Los Angeles. 76.7% of residents werenon-Hispanic white,11.4% wereAsian-American;5.3% were Hispanic or Latino of any race; 2.3% wereAfrican Americanand 4.1% identified themselves with other ormixed racecategories.[8]
The median household income in eastMapping L.A.area was $86,403 in 2008 dollars, which was considered high for both the city and the county. The percentage of households earning $125,000 and up was high for the county. Median age of residents was 38, old compared with other locality in the city and the county. The average household size was 1.9, low for both the city and the county. 51% of residents rented their living quarters, and 49% owned them. The percentage of widowed men and women was among the county's highest. Iranian and Russian were the most common ancestries.[8]
The eastMapping L.A.area was highly educated, with 60.4% of residents 25 and older holding a four-year degree, a higher ratio than found in the rest of the city or the county.[8]
Homeless population[edit]
In 2022, there were 412 homeless individuals in West Los Angeles.[11]
Enclaves[edit]
Neighborhoods include:
- Beverlywood
- Castle Heights
- Century City
- Cheviot Hills
- Crestview
- Faircrest Heights
- La Cienega Heights
- Reynier Village
- Pico-Robertson
- Carthay Square
- Little Ethiopia
- Picfair Village
- South Carthay
- Westwood
- Wilshire Vista
- Rancho Park
Government and infrastructure[edit]
TheLos Angeles County Department of Health ServicesSPA 5 West Area Health Office serves West Los Angeles.[12]
Emergency services[edit]
Los Angeles Police Departmentoperates the West Los Angeles Community Police Station at 1663 Butler Avenue.Los Angeles Fire DepartmentStation 59 at 11505 W. Olympic Boulevard serves the area.[13]
Education[edit]
Primary and secondary schools[edit]
Public schools[edit]
West Los Angeles is part of theLos Angeles Unified School District.[14]Neighborhood elementary schools areBrockton Avenue,Canfield Elementary School, Castle Heights Elementary School, Charnock Road Elementary School, Cheviot Hills Continuation School, Clover Avenue Elementary School, Crescent Heights Boulevard Elementary School, Nora Sterry Elementary School, Overland Elementary School, Shenandoah Street Elementary School andWarner Avenue.Middle schools areEmerson,Palms, and Webster. High schools areHamilton High School,Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies,University High Schooland Indian Springs Continuation, both on the same site.
Private schools[edit]
YULA High School,Yeshivat Ohr Chanoch Boys High School, Vista School, Temple Issiah Preschool and Kindergarten,Saint Sebastian School,St.Mary MagdalenElementary School, Rabbi Jacob Pressman Academy, Lycee Francais de Los Angeles, BaisChaya MushkaChabad,West Los Angeles Baptist School and First Lutheran School of Venice are nearby private schools.Pacific States Universityin theHarvard Heightsarea is a graduate and undergraduate college.
Public libraries[edit]
TheLos Angeles Public Libraryoperates the West Los Angeles Regional Library.[15]
Parks and recreation[edit]
The Stoner Recreation Center is situated in the area. The center includes a waterpark, barbecue pits, a lighted baseball diamond, lighted outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, a lighted football field, an indoor gymnasium without weights and a capacity of 300 people, picnic tables, a lighted soccer field, lighted tennis courts, and lighted volleyball courts. The Annual Cherry Blossom Festival, co-sponsored by the West Los Angeles Japanese American Community Center, is held at the park.[16]Other parks and recreations in the area are Cheviot Hills Park, Rancho Park Golf Course and Reynier Park. Sawtelle Boulevard has become one of the most prominent food streets in the city[17]and the entire 90025 ZIP code, encompassing both sides of the 405 freeway, is undergoing more teardowns of old residences than anywhere other in the city.[citation needed]
Media[edit]
Fox Broadcasting Companymaintains studio operations on South Bundy Drive for local stationsKTTVandKCOP-TV,as well as nationalFox Sportsprogramming. West Los Angeles is also home toThe Villagerecording studio, which has been used for musical projects including albums, motion picture and television soundtracks, and radio programming.
Notable people[edit]
- Nikki Reed,actress
- David Avadon,illusionist[18]
- Pat Doyle,baseball coach
- Juliet Landau,actress[19]
- Geoff Schwartz,NFL football player[20]
- Mitchell Schwartz,NFL football player[20]
- Pat Smear,guitarist for theFoo Fighters,Germs,andNirvana.
References[edit]
- ^ab"West Los Angeles Community Plan"(PDF).Archived(PDF)from the original on December 29, 2017.RetrievedDecember 29,2017.
- ^"Home | Los Angeles City Planning".planning.lacity.org.Archivedfrom the original on January 18, 2020.RetrievedDecember 29,2017.
- ^Area Planning CommissionsArchivedMarch 30, 2018, at theWayback Machine,Map (accessed April 10, 2018)
- ^Automobile Club of Southern California, map, Los Angeles Central and Western Area, copyright 2002-2013
- ^ab"In the vicinity of everything in West L.A."Los Angeles Times.January 19, 2003.Archivedfrom the original on September 6, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 6,2021.
- ^"City of Los Angeles & Communities".Archivedfrom the original on June 18, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 8,2018.
- ^"Neighborhoods in Brief in Los Angeles | Frommer's".www.frommers.com.Archivedfrom the original on December 29, 2017.RetrievedDecember 29,2017.
- ^abcd[1]ArchivedJanuary 4, 2014, at theWayback MachineMapping L.A.
- ^Scott Garner (May 18, 2018)."Neighborhood Spotlight: West L.A. — underneath it all — is a hometown, American as Apple Pan".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on April 23, 2019.RetrievedApril 23,2019.
- ^"Sawtelle".Mapping L.A.Archivedfrom the original on July 13, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 1,2016.
- ^"Homeless Count by City/Community".LAHSA.Archivedfrom the original on April 14, 2023.RetrievedApril 14,2023.
- ^"About UsArchivedMay 27, 2010, at theWayback Machine."Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.Retrieved on March 18, 2010.
- ^"West LA Community Police Station - Los Angeles Police Department".www.lapdonline.org.Archivedfrom the original on September 6, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 6,2021.
- ^"West LA neighborhood Council Schools".Archivedfrom the original on February 10, 2007.RetrievedDecember 29,2006.
- ^"West Los Angeles Regional LibraryArchivedFebruary 12, 2010, at theWayback Machine."Los Angeles Public Library.Retrieved on March 19, 2010.
- ^"Stoner Recreation CenterArchivedApril 11, 2010, at theWayback Machine."City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 19, 2010.
- ^Okazaki, Manami (November 4, 2017),"Sawtelle Japantown: A return to one's roots?",The Japan Times,archivedfrom the original on November 4, 2017,retrievedNovember 5,2017
- ^Valerie J. Nelson (September 4, 2009)."David Avadon dies at 60; illusionist specialized in picking pockets".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on December 25, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 5,2016.
- ^Good housekeeping - Google Books.July 27, 2007.Archivedfrom the original on December 31, 2023.RetrievedOctober 15,2020.
- ^abRebecca Meiser (June 18, 2012)."Friday Night Lights: Geoff and Mitchell Schwartz are the First Jewish Brothers in the NFL Since 1923".Tablet Magazine.Archivedfrom the original on April 11, 2014.RetrievedJanuary 5,2016.
