Rancho Park, Los Angeles, California
Encyclopedia
Rancho Park is a small residential neighborhood in West Los Angeles, California
with mostly single family homes and tree lined streets. The community is nestled between Westwood and Cheviot Hills. This enclave draws young professionals and families and is home to residents working in a variety of professional occupations. History proves the neighborhood was once a part of Westwood until Olympic Blvd. was placed dividing the area North and South. The Southern section, now known as Rancho Park, felt cut off from it's North side lobbying for its own identity in the 1930s.
on the northwest, Cheviot Hills
on the East, Westside Village
on the south. The district's boundaries, while somewhat ill-defined, are generally considered to be the San Diego Freeway
(I-405
) or Sepulveda on the west, Olympic Boulevard
on the north, Manning Avenue (south of Pico Boulevard
) and Beverly Glen Boulevard
(north of Pico) on the east, and National Blvd. on the south. (Los Angeles City signs mark Olympic Boulevard
as the district's northern boundary.) Major thoroughfares include Pico
, Westwood, Olympic
, Sepulveda
, and Beverly Glen
Boulevards, nearby Santa Monica Boulevard, along with Overland and Manning Avenues.
bungalows and ranch houses. Today, many of the modest sized homes have been rehabbed into larger and more modern architecture. Apart from the heavily traveled stretch of Pico Boulevard (including the Westside Pavilion shopping mall
) in its central portions, the district has a notably quiet, suburb
an feel. The district's streets are equipped with faux 19th-century streetlights and feature large deciduous
trees in the strips between the sidewalk and the street. (Rancho Park is one of the few districts in Los Angeles where fall foliage can be seen.) The enclave is centrally located to other West side communities and while not as upscale as Cheviot Hills or Brentwood
, it is generally desirable and a fairly affluent neighborhood.
s "Mapping L.A." project supplied these Rancho Park neighborhood statistics: population: 5,464; median household income: $78,116.
SPA 5 West Area Health Office serves Rancho Park.
operates the West Los Angeles Community Police Station serving the neighborhood.
Private School:
Charter School:
Los Angeles Public Library
operates the Palms-Rancho Park Branch.
includes an 18-hole layout par 71 championship course. The park has Back Nine Play, a banquet room, a cart rental, a clubhouse, a lighted driving range, lessons, locker rooms for men and women, practice putting greens, a pro shop, rental clubs, and a snack bar. Two people have tied the course record of 61 (–10) at the par-71 course. The junior record is 64 (–7) by Tiger Woods in 1989, at the age of 13. The senior record is held by James White, who shot a 65 (–6) in the Los Angeles Senior City Championship in August 1998.
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...
with mostly single family homes and tree lined streets. The community is nestled between Westwood and Cheviot Hills. This enclave draws young professionals and families and is home to residents working in a variety of professional occupations. History proves the neighborhood was once a part of Westwood until Olympic Blvd. was placed dividing the area North and South. The Southern section, now known as Rancho Park, felt cut off from it's North side lobbying for its own identity in the 1930s.
Geography
It is bordered by West Los Angeles on the west, WestwoodWestwood, Los Angeles, California
Westwood is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles .-History:...
on the northwest, Cheviot Hills
Cheviot Hills, Los Angeles, California
Cheviot Hills is a small residential district on the West Side of Los Angeles, California. It served as the location for the Three's Company spin-off The Ropers.-Geography:...
on the East, Westside Village
Westside Village, Los Angeles, California
Westside Village was originally part of Rancho La Ballona. The area that later became Westside Village was one of the first housing tracts created in the late 30s and early 40s by developer Fritz B. Burns...
on the south. The district's boundaries, while somewhat ill-defined, are generally considered to be the San Diego Freeway
Interstate 405 (California)
Interstate 405 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in Southern California. It is a bypass of Interstate 5, running along the western areas of the Greater Los Angeles Area from Irvine in the south to near San Fernando in the north...
(I-405
Interstate 405 (California)
Interstate 405 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in Southern California. It is a bypass of Interstate 5, running along the western areas of the Greater Los Angeles Area from Irvine in the south to near San Fernando in the north...
) or Sepulveda on the west, Olympic Boulevard
Olympic Boulevard
Olympic Boulevard is a major arterial road in Los Angeles, California. It stretches from 4th Street on the western end of Santa Monica to East Los Angeles—farther than Wilshire Boulevard and most other streets....
on the north, Manning Avenue (south of Pico Boulevard
Pico Boulevard
Pico Boulevard is a major Los Angeles street that runs from the Pacific Ocean at Appian Way in Santa Monica to Central Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California, USA...
) and Beverly Glen Boulevard
Beverly Glen Boulevard
Beverly Glen Boulevard is one of three major routes that connects West Los Angeles to the San Fernando Valley ....
(north of Pico) on the east, and National Blvd. on the south. (Los Angeles City signs mark Olympic Boulevard
Olympic Boulevard
Olympic Boulevard is a major arterial road in Los Angeles, California. It stretches from 4th Street on the western end of Santa Monica to East Los Angeles—farther than Wilshire Boulevard and most other streets....
as the district's northern boundary.) Major thoroughfares include Pico
Pico Boulevard
Pico Boulevard is a major Los Angeles street that runs from the Pacific Ocean at Appian Way in Santa Monica to Central Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California, USA...
, Westwood, Olympic
Olympic Boulevard
Olympic Boulevard is a major arterial road in Los Angeles, California. It stretches from 4th Street on the western end of Santa Monica to East Los Angeles—farther than Wilshire Boulevard and most other streets....
, Sepulveda
Sepulveda Boulevard
Sepulveda Boulevard is a street in Los Angeles, California, which stretches some 42.8 miles from Rinaldi Street at the north end of the San Fernando Valley to the city limits of Hermosa Beach, where it "jumps" east and continues on to Long Beach. It generally runs north-south, passing underneath...
, and Beverly Glen
Beverly Glen Boulevard
Beverly Glen Boulevard is one of three major routes that connects West Los Angeles to the San Fernando Valley ....
Boulevards, nearby Santa Monica Boulevard, along with Overland and Manning Avenues.
The name
Rancho Park was named by area boosters after World War II.We thought it was about time to have our own community. We must separate ourselves from Westwood. There were many names suggested for our new community but there was a pioneer real estate broker here who had established his office on Pico near Manning back in 1927. His name was Bill Heyler. Bill did as much as any other one person to develop the area; so when it came time to adopting a name for the community, the wisdom of our pioneer was in counsel. The honor of naming this community "Rancho Park" went to Bill Heyler. Heyler is also credited with bringing in the Rancho Park Golf CourseRancho Park Golf CourseRancho Park Golf Course is an 18-hole par 71 public golf course located in the Rancho Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks...
, which opened in 1947.
The neighborhood
Rancho Park was developed in the 1920s as a middle-class area, and most of its housing stock consists of Spanish ColonialSpanish Colonial Revival Style architecture
The Spanish Colonial Revival Style was a United States architectural stylistic movement that came about in the early 20th century, starting in California and Florida as a regional expression related to history, environment, and nostalgia...
bungalows and ranch houses. Today, many of the modest sized homes have been rehabbed into larger and more modern architecture. Apart from the heavily traveled stretch of Pico Boulevard (including the Westside Pavilion shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
) in its central portions, the district has a notably quiet, suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an feel. The district's streets are equipped with faux 19th-century streetlights and feature large deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
trees in the strips between the sidewalk and the street. (Rancho Park is one of the few districts in Los Angeles where fall foliage can be seen.) The enclave is centrally located to other West side communities and while not as upscale as Cheviot Hills or Brentwood
Brentwood, Los Angeles, California
Brentwood is a district in western Los Angeles, California, United States. The district is located at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains, bounded by the San Diego Freeway on the east, Wilshire Boulevard on the south, the Santa Monica city limits on the southwest, the border of Topanga State...
, it is generally desirable and a fairly affluent neighborhood.
Demographics
In 2009, the Los Angeles TimesLos 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 Rancho Park neighborhood statistics: population: 5,464; median household income: $78,116.
Government and infrastructure
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...
SPA 5 West Area Health Office serves Rancho Park.
Police service
Los Angeles Police DepartmentLos 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 the West Los Angeles Community Police Station serving the neighborhood.
Education
Rancho Park is served by Los Angeles USD schools:- Overland Elementary School
- Clover Elementary School
- Emerson Middle School
- Venice High SchoolVenice High School (Los Angeles)Venice High School is a public high school located in western Los Angeles, California within the Los Angeles Unified School District . The school contains a Foreign Language and International Studies Magnet, Bilingual Business and Finance Academy and a New Media Academy...
- Hamilton High School
Private School:
- Notre Dame AcademyNotre Dame Academy (Los Angeles, California)Notre Dame Academy Girls' High School is a private, all-girls Catholic High School located in West Los Angeles, California. Part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, it was founded in 1949 by the Sisters of Notre Dame.-Academics:...
(Catholic girls high school) - Le Lycee Francais (private, bilingual and international institution)
- St Timothy School (Catholic school)
- Redeemer Baptist Elementary School
Charter School:
- New West Charter Middle School
Los Angeles Public Library
Los Angeles Public Library
The Los Angeles Public Library system serves the residents of Los Angeles, California, United States. With over 6 million volumes, LAPL is one of the largest publicly funded library systems in the world. The system is overseen by a Board of Library Commissioners with five members appointed by the...
operates the Palms-Rancho Park Branch.
Recreation
The municipal Rancho Park Golf CourseRancho Park Golf Course
Rancho Park Golf Course is an 18-hole par 71 public golf course located in the Rancho Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks...
includes an 18-hole layout par 71 championship course. The park has Back Nine Play, a banquet room, a cart rental, a clubhouse, a lighted driving range, lessons, locker rooms for men and women, practice putting greens, a pro shop, rental clubs, and a snack bar. Two people have tied the course record of 61 (–10) at the par-71 course. The junior record is 64 (–7) by Tiger Woods in 1989, at the age of 13. The senior record is held by James White, who shot a 65 (–6) in the Los Angeles Senior City Championship in August 1998.
In popular culture
- Pico and SepulvedaPico and Sepulveda"Pico and Sepulveda" is a 1947 song by Freddy Martin and his orchestra. Composed by Eddie Maxwell and Jule Styne , it utilizes a Latin-style beat, and Martin used the alias "Felix Figueroa" when performing and recording the song. It was frequently featured on the Dr...
is a song by Felix Figueroa & His Orchestra (stage name for Freddy Martin's band).
External links
- Westside Neighborhood Council (includes Rancho Park)
- Rancho Park Online is the news and a social networking site for Rancho Park
- Los Angeles Times, Real Estate section, Neighborly Advice column: "
[ Rancho Park:Pancakes, putting green just around the corner" (4 Apr 2004)]