Northridge, Los Angeles, California
Encyclopedia
Northridge is a community located in the San Fernando Valley
region of the City of Los Angeles, California
, United States.
The 1994 Northridge earthquake is named for the place based on early estimates of the location of the quake's epicenter
; however, further refinements showed it to be technically in neighboring Reseda
. The area was also heavily damaged in the 1971 San Fernando earthquake.
In 1994, the Northridge Little League
Baseball team won the United States Little League Championship game, but lost the World Series game to the international team from Zulia-Maracaibo
, Venezuela
.
The U.S. Metric Association
is based in Northridge.
, Chatsworth, North Hills, Reseda, Porter Ranch, and Winnetka. Major streets in the area include Roscoe Boulevard, Devonshire Street, Nordhoff Street, Corbin Avenue, Tampa Avenue, and Reseda Boulevard. The community is partially bounded by the Santa Susana Mountains. The Ronald Reagan Freeway (State Route 118
) runs along the northern edge of Northridge, and provides access to the rest of the Los Angeles area freeway system. The area code is 818 and zip codes are 91324 through 91330.
It wasn't until 1769 when the area known as Northridge was descriptively first reported by Father Juan Crespi, the prolific diarist who accompanied the exploration party of Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolà
on its arduous trek through California, including the Sepulveda Pass leading to the San Fernando Valley. Having traversed more than their share of dry and arid land, the discovery of water, wherever it was, merited rejoicing. And so it was with Zelzah, an unexpected oasis and one of the meeting places of the Gabrielino Indians, native to the area. The explorers bathed and rested at the watering hole, fed by underground streams which still run deep beneath the intersection of Parthenia Street and Reseda Boulevard.
By 1797, the Mission San Fernando Rey de España
became established nearby and served as a catalyst to change the native population, which inhabited the area around Northridge for centuries. The Gabrielino Indians ended their nomadic freedom when they were pressed into service by the Mission, or fled to escape slave-labor conditions.
When American and naval military forces decided to occupy California in the late-1840s, representatives of the Mexican Governor Pio Pico
broke with the tradition of "granting" land and, instead, sold it, without the usual area limitations to Eulogio de Celis, a native of Spain. By 1850, de Celis was listed in the Los Angeles Census as an agriculturist, 42 years old, and the owner of a real estate worth $20,000. He returned to Spain in 1853, and he was to never return. He had, however, appointed Edward Fischer as his attorney to handle his affairs in America. After his death in Spain in 1869, de Celis' widow and children returned to California and his eldest son, Eulogio, was appointed administrator of his estate. Although de Celis' claim had been filed in October 1852, two years after California had been admitted into the Union as a state, it was not until Jan. 8, 1873 that a formal U.S. survey showed the Rancho Ex-Mission de San Fernando area as 116858 acres (472.9 km²), the largest area of any single grant in California.
A few years later, the land was split up. The heirs of Eulogio de Celis sold the northernly half - 56000 acres (226.6 km²) - to Senator George K. Porter, who had called it the "Valley of the Cumberland" and Senator Charles Maclay, who exclaimed: "This is the Garden of Eden." Porter was interested in ranching; Maclay in subdivision and colonization. Francis Marion ("Bud") Wright, an Iowa farm boy who migrated to California as a young man, became a ranch hand for Senator Porter and later co-developer of the 1100 acres (4.5 km²) Hawk Ranch, which is now Northridge land. Wright continued to farm the land with Colonel Henry Hubbard from 1887 until 1910, when it was sold for subdivision to the Valley Farms Company. Before the first small farm homes had been sold, Bud Wright's wife, Emily Vose Wright, a deeply religious woman, had christened the development Zelzah, a Biblical name for oasis, or "watering place in the desert." And "Zelzah" station it was, a Southern Pacific
depot town at the Henry Hubbard & "Bud" Wright Hawk Ranch north of Los Angeles. The "Zelzah" name would stick until 1929.
Shortly after the Los Angeles City Aqueduct opened in 1913, Henry Hubbard became a member of Aqueduct Board. The following year Zelzah Grammar School opened and citizens formally voted for annexation to the City of Los Angeles and Owens River water rights in 1915. William Mulholland
, engineer of the mammoth project, lived nearby and maintained one of many large rancho tracts remaining from the Spanish, Mexican and Californio land grant days.
Zelzah Acres became the name of one of those early housing tracts carved from the former enormous Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando
lands joining nearby towns of Chatsworth Park, Lankershim, Owensmouth, San Fernando
and Van Nuys. Through the 1920s, Zelzah grew up, linked to Los Angeles by annexation, water, city government taxes, and transportation. A group of citizens joined forces and on July 1, 1929, christened this post office and train depot North Los Angeles, a name they considered more suitable and more memorable.
At the suggestion of Carl Dentzel, a local resident and director of the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles, North Los Angeles became "Northridge Village" and was promptly shortened to Northridge. The sign on the depot was changed again and the new name became permanently affixed, amid cheers from the crowd, on Oct. 1, 1938.
In the mid-1940s, Devonshire Downs opened its doors at Devonshire and Zelzah boulevards in Northridge. It featured horse racing, carnivals and other activities. In 1948, the state bought the 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) facility and used it for the San Fernando Valley Fair for the next three decades. Ronald Reagan
would later visit Devonshire Downs for a political rally when he was running for his first term as President of the United States of America.
In 1951, a local reporter reported that Northridge's population had reached 5,500 residents, an increase of 1,000 people from 1950. In addition, it was around this time Reseda Boulevard had been paved for its full width and become the main business street of boulevard proportions. The need also arose for Northridge to accommodate the new population, so in 1954 the first middle school opened in the rapidly growing town. Northridge Middle School opened with 1,000 students who had been brought all the way from Fulton Middle School in Van Nuys.
The 1960s saw a period of rapid growth in Northridge with new housing develops and freeways bringing in new families from around the country. The Valley's first freeway, the Ventura, opened to traffic in April 1960, giving motorists what was then thought to be uninterrupted passage through the Valley from the Hollywood Freeway
at Cahuenga Pass
to and beyond Calabasas.
By the 1970s, Northridge steadily metamorphosed into a thriving modern community it is today. Fed by industrial parks, a new shopping center, paved roads, and an educated population, Northridge attracted new employers. By 1975, the population had zoomed to 86,686, nearly 2,000 more than official 1974 projections. The Northridge Fashion Center, built at a cost of $60 million and located at Tampa and Nordhoff, opened in 1971 with Bullock's, Sears, The Broadway, and JC Penney's as anchor tenants. The mall suffered serious damage in the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake, as well as the more devastating 1994 Northridge Earthquake.
Clark Gable
and Carole Lombard
once owned a ranch where Devonshire and Etiwanda are today. In its place is the Devonshire Police Station, the LAPD Division that handles the Northridge area. Marian and Bette Hutton were the early owners of what is now Northridge Park.
Silent star Janet Gaynor
and her costume-designer husband Adrian were the first owners of a spacious estate in Northridge, which was later sold to Barbara Stanwyck
and Robert Taylor
. Later, actor Jack Oakie
owned the property and lived on it. The Oakie house was set for the wrecking ball, but in 2010 the city agreed to buy the Tudor-style stone landmark and its 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) ranch estate.
Also, Mrs. Zeppo Marx and Barbara Stanwyck started Marwyck Ranch as a horsebreeding farm. In 1942, it was purchased by R.H. Ryan, who converted it into Northridge Farms, a nationally recognized horse breeding farm. For years, Northridge was known as the "Horse Capital of the West" with regular Sunday horse shows, annual stampedes, and country fairs.
Over the years, Northridge has been a popular place for the film and television business to shoot location productions due to its close proximity to the major studios. The movie "Legally Blonde 2" (2003) filmed scenes on the California State University, Northridge
campus as did "Superbad" (2007). Elliot's neighborhood in "ET: The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982) was set in a Northridge neighborhood, and a chase scene filmed in the Porter Ranch area. Several of the actors and extras from the "Bad News Bears" (1976) were from Northridge but the field where they played is in Mason Park on Mason Avenue in Chatsworth.
One of the music industry's biggest festivals in the Valley was held in Northridge. The Fantasy Faire & Magic Festival was held at Devonshire Downs (sometimes known as Devonshire Meadows) in 1967, featuring music acts such as The Doors
, Jefferson Airplane
, Country Joe & the Fish, The Grassroots, Canned Heat, and Iron Butterfly.
In 2011 Northridge was once again put on the map, this time, as the town where Miley Cyrus was caught on tape in the infamous salvia/marijuana scandal.
Median household income in 2000 was $60,108.
In 2009, the Los Angeles Times
s "Mapping L.A." project supplied these Northridge neighborhood statistics: population: 57,561; median household income: $67,906.
Orange groves starting making way for housing developments in the 1950s, and farmhouses soon were replaced by rows of houses. A portion of the CSUN campus continues to have one of the last remaining orange groves, which was planted in the roaring 1920s. Some residential yards also have the original trees still growing oranges.
By the 1980s, CSUN was the largest employer in Northridge with more than 3,000 employees. Other major employers were the Northridge Fashion Center and the Northridge Hospital. During the 1990s, several major home lenders, such as Countrywide and Washington Mutual, began opening service facilities in Northridge. But the housing downturn resulted in those jobs being eliminated.
In 2000, insulin pump maker MiniMed announced plans to open a facility in Northridge as part of a collaboration with CSUN to build a biotechnology center. MiniMed located on a 65 acres (263,045.9 m²) parcel of land once known as Devonshire Downs. The property, now referred to as North Campus, is owned by CSUN. MiniMed's initial plans called for locating 4,5000 workers at the Northridge site. In 2001, Minnesota-based Medtronic Inc. completed the $3.7 billion acquisition of MiniMed.
By 2011, MiniMed's new owner decided to downsize the Northridge facility and relocate 300 customer service positions to Texas. Medtronic also announced the layoff of more than 400 workers at the Northridge offices. Today, about 1,800 employees continue to work at the MiniMed complex, located at Devonshire Street and Zelzah Avenue. The division is now known as Medtronic Diabetes, and the Northridge operations focus on research and development, as well as manufacturing.
Los Angeles Fire Department
Station 70 (Northridge) and Station 103 (Northridge/CSUN) serve the community.
City of Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils that cover Northridge:
Northridge East Neighborhood Council
Northridge West Neighborhood Council
Northridge South Neighborhood Council
Los Angeles Police Department
operates two police stations that serve Northridge:
operates the Pacoima Health Center in Pacoima
, serving Northridge.
The United States Postal Service
Northridge Post Office is located at 9534 Reseda Boulevard.
The U.S. Census Bureau operates the Los Angeles Regional Census Center in Chatsworth
, adjacent to Northridge.
.
Public middle schools include Alfred B. Nobel Middle School, Oliver Wendell Holmes International Middle School,
Northridge Middle School, and William Mulholland Middle School.
Public high schools serving Northridge include Northridge Academy High School
in Northridge, Monroe High School
in North Hills, Birmingham High School
in Van Nuys, Reseda High School
and Grover Cleveland High School
in Reseda, John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, various LAUSD magnet schools, and Granada Hills Charter High School
.
In 1962, Nobel Junior High School in Northridge became the first air-conditioned school in the Los Angeles school district.
The area is also served by several private and parochial schools, including Chatsworth Hills Academy
, L.A. Baptist, Our Lady of Lourdes, St Genevieve, and Chaminade.
Community colleges that serve the area include Los Angeles Valley College
, Pierce College, and Los Angeles Mission College
. They are part of the nine campus Los Angeles Community College District
.
West Valley Occupational Center provides learning opportunities and employment training to adults and in-and out-of-school youth.
California State University, Northridge, part of the CSU system, offers bachelors and masters degrees in a number of disciplines. The school is a major producer of K12 teachers in the region and the nation as a whole. CSUN also boasts a leading engineering, business, and film program.
Like Northridge itself, which emerged from a trio of community names to its present day entity, CSUN had its beginnings as a college on Nordhoff Street and Etiwanda Avenue and official opened in 1956 as "San Fernando Valley Campus of Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences." It was a tough name to cope with, so two years later in 1958 it separated from its parent and became "San Fernando Valley State College." By the early 1970s, however, this institution became known as "California State University, Northridge." By fall of 2006, CSUN had reached enrollment surpassing 34,500 students.
A 2004 study revealed that CSUN is a major contributor to the local economy: between $663 million and $686 million annually. Additionally, CSUN employs 5,800 people directly through the university and adds another 5,700 to 6,000 jobs into the local economy.
Dearborn Park is located in Northridge. The unstaffed, unlocked park has lighted outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, picnic tables, and lighted tennis courts. Vanalden Park, an unstaffed pocket park, has a horseshoe pit, a jogging path, and picnic tables.
Today, Northridge Hospital Medical Center consists of a 411-bed hospital and serves 2 million residents of the Valley. The hospital is one of only two facilities in the Valley certified as a trauma center for treating life-threatening injuries. During the 1994 earthquake, the hospital remained open and treated over 1,000 patients that came to the facility during the first few days following the 6.7 magnitude quake. Northridge Hospital, a non-profit medical facility, is operated by Catholic Healthcare West.
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
region of the City of Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, United States.
The 1994 Northridge earthquake is named for the place based on early estimates of the location of the quake's epicenter
Epicenter
The epicenter or epicentre is the point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or underground explosion originates...
; however, further refinements showed it to be technically in neighboring Reseda
Reseda, Los Angeles, California
Reseda is a San Fernando Valley district in the city of Los Angeles, California.-History:The area now known as Reseda was originally inhabited by Native Americans of the Tongva tribe that lived close to the Los Angeles River....
. The area was also heavily damaged in the 1971 San Fernando earthquake.
In 1994, the Northridge Little League
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...
Baseball team won the United States Little League Championship game, but lost the World Series game to the international team from Zulia-Maracaibo
Maracaibo
Maracaibo is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
.
The U.S. Metric Association
U.S. Metric Association
The U.S. Metric Association , based in Northridge, California, is a non-profit organization that advocates for total conversion to the SI system in the United States ....
is based in Northridge.
Location and geography
Northridge is 17 square miles (44 km²) in area and is approximately 807 feet (246 m) above sea level. Located in the northwest part of the San Fernando Valley, adjacent neighborhoods with Northridge include Granada HillsGranada Hills, Los Angeles
Granada Hills is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles.It is located just north of the North Hills and Northridge districts, west of the Mission Hills and Sylmar districts, and just east of the Porter Ranch district. It is accessible by the Ronald Reagan , San...
, Chatsworth, North Hills, Reseda, Porter Ranch, and Winnetka. Major streets in the area include Roscoe Boulevard, Devonshire Street, Nordhoff Street, Corbin Avenue, Tampa Avenue, and Reseda Boulevard. The community is partially bounded by the Santa Susana Mountains. The Ronald Reagan Freeway (State Route 118
California State Route 118
State Route 118 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that begins running west to east through Ventura and Los Angeles counties in southern California. It travels from Saticoy in Ventura County east to Lake View Terrace in Los Angeles...
) runs along the northern edge of Northridge, and provides access to the rest of the Los Angeles area freeway system. The area code is 818 and zip codes are 91324 through 91330.
History
The area now called Northridge was first inhabited about 2,000 years ago by the Native American Gabrielino (or Tongva) people. Totonga was their tribal village and where Northridge eventually became located. The Gabrielino-Tongva people, who lived in dome-shaped houses, are sometimes referred to as the "people of the earth." They spoke a Takic Uto-Aztecan (Shoshonean) language.It wasn't until 1769 when the area known as Northridge was descriptively first reported by Father Juan Crespi, the prolific diarist who accompanied the exploration party of Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolà
Gaspar de Portolà
Gaspar de Portolà i Rovira was a soldier, governor of Baja and Alta California , explorer and founder of San Diego and Monterey. He was born in Os de Balaguer, province of Lleida, in Catalonia, Spain, of Catalan nobility. Don Gaspar served as a soldier in the Spanish army in Italy and Portugal...
on its arduous trek through California, including the Sepulveda Pass leading to the San Fernando Valley. Having traversed more than their share of dry and arid land, the discovery of water, wherever it was, merited rejoicing. And so it was with Zelzah, an unexpected oasis and one of the meeting places of the Gabrielino Indians, native to the area. The explorers bathed and rested at the watering hole, fed by underground streams which still run deep beneath the intersection of Parthenia Street and Reseda Boulevard.
By 1797, the Mission San Fernando Rey de España
Mission San Fernando Rey de España
Mission San Fernando Rey de España was founded on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary" , 1797. The settlement is located on the former Encino Rancho in the Mission Hills community of northern Los Angeles, near the site of the first gold discovery in Alta California.-History:Mission San Fernando Rey de...
became established nearby and served as a catalyst to change the native population, which inhabited the area around Northridge for centuries. The Gabrielino Indians ended their nomadic freedom when they were pressed into service by the Mission, or fled to escape slave-labor conditions.
When American and naval military forces decided to occupy California in the late-1840s, representatives of the Mexican Governor Pio Pico
Pío Pico
Pío de Jesús Pico was the last Governor of Alta California under Mexican rule.-Origins:...
broke with the tradition of "granting" land and, instead, sold it, without the usual area limitations to Eulogio de Celis, a native of Spain. By 1850, de Celis was listed in the Los Angeles Census as an agriculturist, 42 years old, and the owner of a real estate worth $20,000. He returned to Spain in 1853, and he was to never return. He had, however, appointed Edward Fischer as his attorney to handle his affairs in America. After his death in Spain in 1869, de Celis' widow and children returned to California and his eldest son, Eulogio, was appointed administrator of his estate. Although de Celis' claim had been filed in October 1852, two years after California had been admitted into the Union as a state, it was not until Jan. 8, 1873 that a formal U.S. survey showed the Rancho Ex-Mission de San Fernando area as 116858 acres (472.9 km²), the largest area of any single grant in California.
A few years later, the land was split up. The heirs of Eulogio de Celis sold the northernly half - 56000 acres (226.6 km²) - to Senator George K. Porter, who had called it the "Valley of the Cumberland" and Senator Charles Maclay, who exclaimed: "This is the Garden of Eden." Porter was interested in ranching; Maclay in subdivision and colonization. Francis Marion ("Bud") Wright, an Iowa farm boy who migrated to California as a young man, became a ranch hand for Senator Porter and later co-developer of the 1100 acres (4.5 km²) Hawk Ranch, which is now Northridge land. Wright continued to farm the land with Colonel Henry Hubbard from 1887 until 1910, when it was sold for subdivision to the Valley Farms Company. Before the first small farm homes had been sold, Bud Wright's wife, Emily Vose Wright, a deeply religious woman, had christened the development Zelzah, a Biblical name for oasis, or "watering place in the desert." And "Zelzah" station it was, a Southern Pacific
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
depot town at the Henry Hubbard & "Bud" Wright Hawk Ranch north of Los Angeles. The "Zelzah" name would stick until 1929.
Shortly after the Los Angeles City Aqueduct opened in 1913, Henry Hubbard became a member of Aqueduct Board. The following year Zelzah Grammar School opened and citizens formally voted for annexation to the City of Los Angeles and Owens River water rights in 1915. William Mulholland
William Mulholland
William Mulholland was the head of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, in Los Angeles. He was responsible for building the water aqueducts and dams that allowed the city to grow into one of the largest in the world. His methods of obtaining water for the city led to disputes collectively...
, engineer of the mammoth project, lived nearby and maintained one of many large rancho tracts remaining from the Spanish, Mexican and Californio land grant days.
Zelzah Acres became the name of one of those early housing tracts carved from the former enormous Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando
Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando
Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando was a Mexican land grant in present day Los Angeles County, California granted in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to Eulogio de Celis...
lands joining nearby towns of Chatsworth Park, Lankershim, Owensmouth, San Fernando
San Fernando, California
San Fernando is a city located in the San Fernando Valley, in northwestern region of Los Angeles, California, United States. The population was 23,645 at the 2010 census, up from 23,564 at the 2000 census.-History:...
and Van Nuys. Through the 1920s, Zelzah grew up, linked to Los Angeles by annexation, water, city government taxes, and transportation. A group of citizens joined forces and on July 1, 1929, christened this post office and train depot North Los Angeles, a name they considered more suitable and more memorable.
At the suggestion of Carl Dentzel, a local resident and director of the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles, North Los Angeles became "Northridge Village" and was promptly shortened to Northridge. The sign on the depot was changed again and the new name became permanently affixed, amid cheers from the crowd, on Oct. 1, 1938.
In the mid-1940s, Devonshire Downs opened its doors at Devonshire and Zelzah boulevards in Northridge. It featured horse racing, carnivals and other activities. In 1948, the state bought the 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) facility and used it for the San Fernando Valley Fair for the next three decades. Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
would later visit Devonshire Downs for a political rally when he was running for his first term as President of the United States of America.
In 1951, a local reporter reported that Northridge's population had reached 5,500 residents, an increase of 1,000 people from 1950. In addition, it was around this time Reseda Boulevard had been paved for its full width and become the main business street of boulevard proportions. The need also arose for Northridge to accommodate the new population, so in 1954 the first middle school opened in the rapidly growing town. Northridge Middle School opened with 1,000 students who had been brought all the way from Fulton Middle School in Van Nuys.
The 1960s saw a period of rapid growth in Northridge with new housing develops and freeways bringing in new families from around the country. The Valley's first freeway, the Ventura, opened to traffic in April 1960, giving motorists what was then thought to be uninterrupted passage through the Valley from the Hollywood Freeway
Hollywood Freeway
The Hollywood Freeway is one of the principal freeways of Los Angeles, California and one of the busiest in the United States. It is the principal route over the Cahuenga Pass, the primary shortcut between the Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley...
at Cahuenga Pass
Cahuenga Pass
The Cahuenga Pass is a mountain pass through the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Hollywood district of the City of Los Angeles, California....
to and beyond Calabasas.
By the 1970s, Northridge steadily metamorphosed into a thriving modern community it is today. Fed by industrial parks, a new shopping center, paved roads, and an educated population, Northridge attracted new employers. By 1975, the population had zoomed to 86,686, nearly 2,000 more than official 1974 projections. The Northridge Fashion Center, built at a cost of $60 million and located at Tampa and Nordhoff, opened in 1971 with Bullock's, Sears, The Broadway, and JC Penney's as anchor tenants. The mall suffered serious damage in the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake, as well as the more devastating 1994 Northridge Earthquake.
Entertainment
During the 1930s and 1940s, when the film industry spent thousands of dollars building stars and making movies on location, Northridge became a residential magnet for celebrities and horse lovers. Its spacious fertile lands were not only investments for these stars, they were relatively isolated from the hassle that was Hollywood for these fan-plagued people, some of whom genuinely wanted to live private lives away from Tinseltown.Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
and Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
once owned a ranch where Devonshire and Etiwanda are today. In its place is the Devonshire Police Station, the LAPD Division that handles the Northridge area. Marian and Bette Hutton were the early owners of what is now Northridge Park.
Silent star Janet Gaynor
Janet Gaynor
Janet Gaynor was an American actress and painter.One of the most popular actresses of the silent film era, in 1928 Gaynor became the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in three films: Seventh Heaven , Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and Street Angel...
and her costume-designer husband Adrian were the first owners of a spacious estate in Northridge, which was later sold to Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
and Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
. Later, actor Jack Oakie
Jack Oakie
Jack Oakie was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television.-Early life:...
owned the property and lived on it. The Oakie house was set for the wrecking ball, but in 2010 the city agreed to buy the Tudor-style stone landmark and its 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) ranch estate.
Also, Mrs. Zeppo Marx and Barbara Stanwyck started Marwyck Ranch as a horsebreeding farm. In 1942, it was purchased by R.H. Ryan, who converted it into Northridge Farms, a nationally recognized horse breeding farm. For years, Northridge was known as the "Horse Capital of the West" with regular Sunday horse shows, annual stampedes, and country fairs.
Over the years, Northridge has been a popular place for the film and television business to shoot location productions due to its close proximity to the major studios. The movie "Legally Blonde 2" (2003) filmed scenes on the California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge is a public university in Northridge, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California, United States....
campus as did "Superbad" (2007). Elliot's neighborhood in "ET: The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982) was set in a Northridge neighborhood, and a chase scene filmed in the Porter Ranch area. Several of the actors and extras from the "Bad News Bears" (1976) were from Northridge but the field where they played is in Mason Park on Mason Avenue in Chatsworth.
One of the music industry's biggest festivals in the Valley was held in Northridge. The Fantasy Faire & Magic Festival was held at Devonshire Downs (sometimes known as Devonshire Meadows) in 1967, featuring music acts such as The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
, Country Joe & the Fish, The Grassroots, Canned Heat, and Iron Butterfly.
In 2011 Northridge was once again put on the map, this time, as the town where Miley Cyrus was caught on tape in the infamous salvia/marijuana scandal.
Demographics
As of the 2000 census, and according to the Los Angeles Almanac there were 68,469 people residing in 24,172 households in Northridge. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 78.14% White, 4.89% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 2.45% African American, 0.47% Native American, 11.48% from other races, and 5.41% from two or more races. 24.77% of the population were Hispanic of any race.Median household income in 2000 was $60,108.
In 2009, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
s "Mapping L.A." project supplied these Northridge neighborhood statistics: population: 57,561; median household income: $67,906.
Economy
Agriculture, mostly citrus, corn, wheat, apricots, tomatoes and beans, was the main industry in Northridge until the early 1940s. The area also had a thriving livestock trade in cattle and chicken ranches. Northridge Hospital is located where there was once bean and tomato fields. The Northridge Fashion Center sits on what was once orange groves, and much of what is now the university was farmland.Orange groves starting making way for housing developments in the 1950s, and farmhouses soon were replaced by rows of houses. A portion of the CSUN campus continues to have one of the last remaining orange groves, which was planted in the roaring 1920s. Some residential yards also have the original trees still growing oranges.
By the 1980s, CSUN was the largest employer in Northridge with more than 3,000 employees. Other major employers were the Northridge Fashion Center and the Northridge Hospital. During the 1990s, several major home lenders, such as Countrywide and Washington Mutual, began opening service facilities in Northridge. But the housing downturn resulted in those jobs being eliminated.
In 2000, insulin pump maker MiniMed announced plans to open a facility in Northridge as part of a collaboration with CSUN to build a biotechnology center. MiniMed located on a 65 acres (263,045.9 m²) parcel of land once known as Devonshire Downs. The property, now referred to as North Campus, is owned by CSUN. MiniMed's initial plans called for locating 4,5000 workers at the Northridge site. In 2001, Minnesota-based Medtronic Inc. completed the $3.7 billion acquisition of MiniMed.
By 2011, MiniMed's new owner decided to downsize the Northridge facility and relocate 300 customer service positions to Texas. Medtronic also announced the layoff of more than 400 workers at the Northridge offices. Today, about 1,800 employees continue to work at the MiniMed complex, located at Devonshire Street and Zelzah Avenue. The division is now known as Medtronic Diabetes, and the Northridge operations focus on research and development, as well as manufacturing.
Points of interest
- CSUN Botanic GardenCalifornia State University Northridge Botanic GardenThe California State University Northridge Botanic Garden or CSUN Botanic Garden is located in the northern San Fernando Valley, in the southeast section of the California State University, Northridge campus in the community of Northridge in Los Angeles, California.The site includes a botanical...
- California State University, NorthridgeCalifornia State University, NorthridgeCalifornia State University, Northridge is a public university in Northridge, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California, United States....
– CSUN. - Donald E. Bianchi Planetarium at CSUN
- Faith Bible Church, Northridge, CaliforniaFaith Bible Church, Northridge, CaliforniaFaith Bible Church, built in 1917, was the first church built in Northridge, located in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The church building was declared a City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1975 by the Los Angeles Cultural Historical Board.-History:The church is...
, built in 1917, is the oldest church in Northridge - Northridge United Methodist Church, Northridge, California, dating back to 1924, was first known as the Community Methodist Episcopal Church of Zelzah.
- Northridge Fashion CenterNorthridge Fashion CenterNorthridge Fashion Center is a large shopping mall located in Northridge, California. It opened in 1971. It was severely damaged during the Northridge earthquake in 1994, but renovated extensively in 1995 and 1998...
, Regional shopping mall. - Northridge Hospital Medical CenterNorthridge Hospital Medical CenterNorthridge Hospital Medical Center is a hospital in the Northridge town of Los Angeles, California, USA. It is currently operated by Catholic Healthcare West.-History:...
- Studio 606 West, the recording studio of rock band Foo FightersFoo FightersFoo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
Local government
Los Angeles Fire Department
The Los Angeles Fire Department is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Los Angeles....
Station 70 (Northridge) and Station 103 (Northridge/CSUN) serve the community.
City of Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils that cover Northridge:
Northridge East Neighborhood Council
Northridge West Neighborhood Council
Northridge South Neighborhood Council
Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
operates two police stations that serve Northridge:
- Devonshire Community Police Station serves residents north of Roscoe Boulevard.
- West Valley Community Police Station serves residents south of Roscoe Boulevard.
County, state, and federal representation
The Los Angeles County Department of Health ServicesLos Angeles County Department of Health Services
Health services to over 10 million residents in the Los Angeles County are provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Mental health services are provided by the County Department of Mental Health...
operates the Pacoima Health Center in Pacoima
Pacoima, Los Angeles, California
Pacoima is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California.It is bordered by the Los Angeles districts of Mission Hills on the west, Arleta on the south, Sun Valley on the southeast, Lake View Terrace on the northeast, and by the city of San Fernando on the north...
, serving Northridge.
The United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
Northridge Post Office is located at 9534 Reseda Boulevard.
The U.S. Census Bureau operates the Los Angeles Regional Census Center in Chatsworth
Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California
Chatsworth is a district of Los Angeles, California, United States; in the northwestern San Fernando Valley. The district is bordered by the Santa Susana Mountains and unincorporated Los Angeles County lands to the north, Porter Ranch to the northeast, Northridge to the east, West Hills, Canoga...
, adjacent to Northridge.
Education
Children attend public schools in the Los Angeles Unified School DistrictLos Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in California. It is the 2nd largest public school district in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population...
.
Public middle schools include Alfred B. Nobel Middle School, Oliver Wendell Holmes International Middle School,
Northridge Middle School, and William Mulholland Middle School.
Public high schools serving Northridge include Northridge Academy High School
Northridge Academy High School
Northridge Academy High School is a public high school located in Northridge, Los Angeles, California, USA.-Overview:The school is administered by the Los Angeles Unified School District...
in Northridge, Monroe High School
Monroe High School (Los Angeles)
Monroe High School is a high school in the North Hills area of Los Angeles, California, belonging to the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its address is 9229 Haskell Ave., North Hills, CA 91343. Home of The Vikings...
in North Hills, Birmingham High School
Birmingham High School
Birmingham Community Charter High School is a public coeducational high school in the neighborhood/district of Lake Balboa in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles, California, United States...
in Van Nuys, Reseda High School
Reseda High School
Reseda High School, established in 1955, is located in the Reseda section of the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.The school currently is home to the Reseda High School Science Magnet HS and the Reseda Police Academy Magnet HS, in addition to Reseda High's four small learning...
and Grover Cleveland High School
Cleveland High School (Los Angeles, California)
Grover Cleveland High School is a public school serving grades 9-12. Cleveland Humanities Magnet is part of Cleveland High School. The school is located in Reseda, in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California....
in Reseda, John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, various LAUSD magnet schools, and Granada Hills Charter High School
Granada Hills Charter High School
Granada Hills Charter High School is an independent public school consisting of over 4,200 students in grades 9–12, located in Granada Hills, California. It currently holds the record as the top comprehensive public senior high school in Los Angeles...
.
In 1962, Nobel Junior High School in Northridge became the first air-conditioned school in the Los Angeles school district.
The area is also served by several private and parochial schools, including Chatsworth Hills Academy
Chatsworth Hills Academy
Chatsworth Hills Academy is a private, coeducational day school located in Chatsworth, California, USA. CHA students are enrolled in Grades K through Eight and Preschool....
, L.A. Baptist, Our Lady of Lourdes, St Genevieve, and Chaminade.
Community colleges that serve the area include Los Angeles Valley College
Los Angeles Valley College
Los Angeles Valley College is a community college located in the Valley Glen district of Los Angeles, California in the east-central San Fernando Valley. The school is a part of the Los Angeles Community College District....
, Pierce College, and Los Angeles Mission College
Los Angeles Mission College
Los Angeles Mission College is a two-year community college located in Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College District...
. They are part of the nine campus Los Angeles Community College District
Los Angeles Community College District
The Los Angeles Community College District is the community college district serving Los Angeles, California and some of its neighboring cities. In addition to typical college aged students, the LACCD also serves adults of all ages. Indeed, over half of all LACCD students are older than 25 years...
.
West Valley Occupational Center provides learning opportunities and employment training to adults and in-and out-of-school youth.
California State University, Northridge, part of the CSU system, offers bachelors and masters degrees in a number of disciplines. The school is a major producer of K12 teachers in the region and the nation as a whole. CSUN also boasts a leading engineering, business, and film program.
Like Northridge itself, which emerged from a trio of community names to its present day entity, CSUN had its beginnings as a college on Nordhoff Street and Etiwanda Avenue and official opened in 1956 as "San Fernando Valley Campus of Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences." It was a tough name to cope with, so two years later in 1958 it separated from its parent and became "San Fernando Valley State College." By the early 1970s, however, this institution became known as "California State University, Northridge." By fall of 2006, CSUN had reached enrollment surpassing 34,500 students.
A 2004 study revealed that CSUN is a major contributor to the local economy: between $663 million and $686 million annually. Additionally, CSUN employs 5,800 people directly through the university and adds another 5,700 to 6,000 jobs into the local economy.
Parks and recreation
The Northridge Recreation Center is located in Northridge. It has an indoor gymnasium, without weights, which may also be used as an auditorium. Its capacity is 400. Doc Green is the commissioner of the youth sports leagues at Northridge Recreation Center. The park also has barbecue pits, a lighted baseball diamond, lighted indoor basketball courts, lighted outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, a community room, picnic tables, a lighted soccer (football) field, and lighted tennis courts. The Northridge Pool, on the recreation center grounds, is an outdoor heated seasonal pool. Northridge Park is also home to the Northridge Knights football, Mascot, and Cheer youth teams. These teams are members of the non-profit Northridge Athletic Club, which has provided children ages 6 – 14 and parents the opportunity to participate in local organized sports for over 40 years. In addition, the park also offers young children and teens summer camp programs which include outdoor athletic, art, and swimming activities. Campers take part in weekly field trips to places like Six Flags Magic Mountain, Disneyland, Los Angeles Zoo, Zuma Beach, and Universal Studios.Dearborn Park is located in Northridge. The unstaffed, unlocked park has lighted outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, picnic tables, and lighted tennis courts. Vanalden Park, an unstaffed pocket park, has a horseshoe pit, a jogging path, and picnic tables.
Hospital
The idea for a medical center in Northridge actually dates back to the late 1940s, when Dr. Frederick Gruneck conceived of the hospital. Long before groundbreaking, the Northridge Hospital Development Association had carefully plotted out precisely what was to be included in the $30 million program for construction of Northridge Hospital and Medical Center. This master plan, initiated in 1955, started out as a 49-bed facility with a one-room emergency room.Today, Northridge Hospital Medical Center consists of a 411-bed hospital and serves 2 million residents of the Valley. The hospital is one of only two facilities in the Valley certified as a trauma center for treating life-threatening injuries. During the 1994 earthquake, the hospital remained open and treated over 1,000 patients that came to the facility during the first few days following the 6.7 magnitude quake. Northridge Hospital, a non-profit medical facility, is operated by Catholic Healthcare West.
Famous residents
- Patty Andrews, The Andrews SistersThe Andrews SistersThe Andrews Sisters were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews , soprano Maxene Angelyn Andrews , and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews...
- Nancy CartwrightNancy CartwrightNancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...
, voice of Bart Simpson - Jack CasselJack CasselJoseph Buren "Jack" Cassel is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros organizations. He retired from professional baseball in 2010 and works in Global Wealth Management for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in San Francisco, California. -College years:Cassel...
, pitcher for the Houston AstrosHouston AstrosThe Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field... - Matt CasselMatt CasselMatthew Brennan "Matt" Cassel is a quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft...
, quarterback for the Kansas City ChiefsKansas City ChiefsThe Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a... - Jarron CollinsJarron CollinsJarron Collins is an American professional basketball player.-High school career:Collins and his twin brother Jason graduated from Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, California...
, Utah JazzUtah JazzThe Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
center (went to school at Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth) - Jason CollinsJason CollinsJason Paul Collins is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Atlanta Hawks. He graduated from Harvard-Westlake School, where his backup was actor Jason Segel...
, Memphis GrizzliesMemphis GrizzliesThe Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...
center (went to school at Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth) - Jim DavisJim Davis (actor)Jim Davis was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap Dallas, a role which he held up until his death in April 1981.-Biography:...
, actor on DallasDallas (TV series)Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing... - Lori Beth DenbergLori Beth DenbergLori Beth Denberg is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her work as an original cast member of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That, and for her role as Lydia Liza Gutman on The WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show.-Acting background:Denberg began acting in community...
, actress, (cheerleader in Dodgeball: A True Underdog StoryDodgeball: A True Underdog StoryDodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, commonly referred to as simply DodgeBall, is a 2004 American sports comedy film produced by 20th Century Fox and Red Hour Productions, written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and starring Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, and Rip Torn...
& cast member in All ThatAll ThatAll That is an American live-action, sketch comedy-variety show that aired on the Nickelodeon cable television network featuring short comedic sketches and weekly musical guests. The theme song for All That was performed by TLC...
) - David DraimanDavid DraimanDavid Michael Draiman is an American songwriter and the lead singer for the metal band Disturbed. Draiman is known for his distorted voice and rhythmic singing style...
, lead singer of the band Disturbed (moved to Austin in 2009) - Jackie Earle HaleyJackie Earle HaleyJackie Earle Haley is an American film actor. Establishing himself from child actor to adult Academy Award-nominee, he is perhaps best known for his roles as Moocher in Breaking Away, Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears, pedophile Ronnie McGorvey in Little Children, the vigilante Rorschach in...
, actor (Bad News Bears, WatchmenWatchmen (film)Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder and starring Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson. It is an adaptation of the comic book of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons...
) - Jenilee HarrisonJenilee HarrisonJenilee Harrison is an American actress possibly best known for her role as replacement blonde roommate Cindy Snow on the hit sitcom Three's Company from 1980–1982 and Jamie Ewing in Dallas from 1984–1986.- Early years :...
, actress on Three's CompanyThree's CompanyThree's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House.... - Mike HoughtonMike HoughtonMike Houghton is a former guard in the National Football League.-Biography:Houghton was born Michael Christopher Houghton on December 1, 1979 in Northridge, California.-Career:...
, guard for the Buffalo BillsBuffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... - Tyler Patrick JonesTyler Patrick JonesTyler Patrick Jones is an American teen actor known for his recurring role as Ned Banks on the CBS television show Ghost Whisperer.-Commercials:* Hallmark - Daniel* Macy's Super Saturday Sale...
, actor - Ryan KalishRyan KalishRyan Michael Kalish is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Boston Red Sox organization.A standout high school baseball and football player, he was drafted by the Red Sox in 2006...
, outfielder for the Boston Red SoxBoston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
(born in Northridge, but grew up in New Jersey) - Josh KlinghofferJosh KlinghofferJoshua Adam "Josh" Klinghoffer is an American multi-instrumentalist, who is best known as the current guitarist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Klinghoffer replaced his friend and frequent collaborator John Frusciante, who left the band in 2009.Klinghoffer also fronts Dot Hacker, and was...
, musician - Casey MatthewsCasey MatthewsCasey Christopher Matthews is an American football linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Eagles in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon....
, linebacker, Philadelphia EaglesPhiladelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... - Clay Matthews IIIClay Matthews IIIWilliam Clay Matthews III is an American football linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers 26th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Southern California.-Early years:Matthews was born in the Los...
, linebacker, Green Bay PackersGreen Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions... - John H. MeierJohn H. MeierJohn H. Meier is an American financier and business consultant now living in Vancouver, Canada. He is noted for working as a business adviser for Howard Hughes and for his behind-the-scenes involvement in events that precipitated President Richard M. Nixon's resignation...
, former business adviser to Howard HughesHoward HughesHoward Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
, involved with WatergateWatergate scandalThe Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement... - Alvy MooreAlvy MooreJack Alvin "Alvy" Moore was an American light comic actor best known for his role as scatterbrained county agricultural agent "Hank Kimball" on the television series Green Acres....
, actor (Green AcresGreen AcresGreen Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
) - Alphonse MouzonAlphonse MouzonAlphonse Mouzon is a well-known jazz-fusion drummer and percussionist, and the Chairman/CEO of Tenacious Records. He also composes, arranges and produces, as well as acts...
, jazz musician, composer - Jeffrey OsborneJeffrey OsborneJeffrey Linton Osborne is an American funk and R&B musician, songwriter, lyricist, and former lead singer of the band, L.T.D.-Early life and career:...
, musician - Debbi PetersonDebbi PetersonDeborah Mary 'Debbi' Peterson is the younger sister of Vicki Peterson, and the drummer of the all-girl group, The Bangles...
, rock band The BanglesThe BanglesThe Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles during the decade.-Formation and early years :... - Vicki PetersonVicki PetersonVicki Peterson is an American rock musician ....
, rock band The Bangles - Richard PryorRichard PryorRichard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
, comedian lived here during his infamous burn injury as a result of freebasing cocaine - Paul Rodriguez Jr.Paul Rodriguez Jr.Paul Rodriguez III , also known by his nickname P-Rod, is a Mexican-American professional street skateboarder and actor.-Early life:...
, pro skater and actor. Son of famous comedian and actor Paul Rodriguez - Bob SkubeBob SkubeRobert Jacob "Bob" Skube is a retired professional baseball player whose career spanned seven seasons, two of which were spent in Major League Baseball with the Milwaukee Brewers . Skube has also served as a manager and coach in minor league baseball...
, outfielder for the Milwaukee BrewersMilwaukee BrewersThe Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League... - Lane SmithLane SmithWalter Lane Smith III was an American actor. Some of his well known roles included portraying collaborator entrepreneur Nathan Bates in the NBC television series V, Mayor Bates in the film Red Dawn, newspaper editor Perry White in the ABC series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,...
, actor - Danny WorthDanny WorthDaniel Weston Worth is an American professional baseball second baseman with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. Worth was born in Northridge, California....
, infielder, Detroit TigersDetroit TigersThe Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant... - Brian VraneshBrian VraneshBrian Vranesh is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour.Vranesh was born in Northridge, California. He attended the College of the Canyons. He turned professional in 1999 and has no professional wins...
, professional golfer on the PGA TourPGA TourThe PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America... - Arianne Zucker, actress Days of Our LivesDays of our LivesDays of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...