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Located in the northern central portion of Los Angeles' West Side, Westwood is bordered Beverly Hills on the east, West Los Angeles on the southwest, Rancho Park on the southeast, and Sawtelle on the south and southwest. The district's boundaries are generally considered to be Olympic Blvd. (or Pico Blvd. and, by some, Santa Monica Blvd.) on the southeast, the city limits of Beverly Hills on the northeast, and Sunset Blvd. on the north; its southwestern boundary is the San Diego Freeway (405) between Santa Monica and Wilshire boulevards, and Veteran Avenue between Wilshire and Sunset.
Westwood was carved from the old Wolfskill Farm, a 3,000 acre tract that was purchased in 1919 by wealthy retailer Arthur Letts. Letts' son-in-law, Harold Janss, was Vice President of Janss Investment Company, which developed the area and started advertising new homes in 1922. The community is best known as the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (The Bruins of UCLA).
Attractions
The major attraction is the shopping area of Westwood Village just south of the UCLA campus. While initially established in the 1920?s and catering mostly to the UCLA students with coffee shops, galleries, book stores and casual cafes, major redevelopment over the last decade has brought in many new high end shops, super markets, boutiques and restaurants the area. Home to several vintage movie theaters, including the Art Deco Crest, the Mann Village (once called the Fox Theatre) and the Mann Bruin, Westwood hosts many of the film industry?s premieres. In addition to the movie venues, there are also the UCLA Royce Hall, The Geffen and Billy Wilder theaters which play host to a variety of lectures and cultural events throughout the year.
Westwood is also home to the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery last resting place of many of Hollywood?s biggest stars. A museum named for and endowed by activist and philanthropist Armand Hammer, longtime head of Occidental Petroleum (which maintains its headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard), has become one of Los Angeles' trendiest cultural attractions since UCLA assumed its management in the 1990s. The Hammer, as it is commonly known, is particularly notable for its collection of Impressionist art and cutting-edge modern art exhibitions.
For more detailed information, please visit www.westwoodvillageonline.com.
Westwood Homes
The greater Westwood area can be broken down into many smaller sub-neighborhoods running from south to north, most of which are predominantly single-family residences. The two exceptions are the rental properties and apartment buildings immediately adjacent to UCLA and south along the 405 freeway, and the Wilshire Corridor. A stretch of Wilshire Blvd between Westwood and Beverly Glen, the Corridor is lined with high-rise luxury condominiums- most are full-service buildings with such amenities as 24-hour valet, pools, tennis courts and spas.
The higher-end residential areas are both North of Wilshire Boulevard straddling the UCLA campus: ?Little Holmby? to the east and Westwood Hills to the west. Both of these upscale areas feature tree-lined streets, sidewalks and hard-to-find ambiance. Older Spanish, Tudor and English-style homes reflect tremendous pride of ownership. The Little Holmby neighborhood also encompasses the Armand Hammer Park, a spacious public park, which features a large playground and 18-hole pitch and putt golf course. The neighborhoods South of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards continue the same architectural themes and ambiance but just with smaller sized homes and on smaller lots.
For the most part, there are 3 principal areas in Westwood defined by 5 major North/South streets and 2 East/West streets. These areas are:
1)South of Sunset Blvd. and North of Wilshire Blvd., East of Veteran Avenue and West of Los Angeles Country Club. This is ?Little Holmby?
2)South of Sunset and North of Wilshire, East of Sepulveda and North of Veteran Avenue. This is typically known as ?Westwood Hills.?
3)South of Wilshire Blvd. and North of Santa Monica Blvd., East of Westwood Blvd., West of Los Angeles Country Club. There are some homes in this area, that are West of Westwood Blvd., East of Sepulveda, South of Ohio and North of Santa Monica Blvd. This is traditionally known as simply ?Westwood.?
4)South of Santa Monica and North of Olympic Blvd. East of Westwood Blvd and West of Fox Hills Drive.
5)South of Olympic Blvd. and North of Pico Blvd., East of Westwood Blvd. and West of Fox Hills Drive.
Schools
These areas are further defined by their associated Elementary Schools. Areas North of Wilshire are serviced by ?Warner Avenue School.? Many people refer to this as the ?Warner District.? The areas North of Santa Monica are serviced by Fairburn Elementary School. Many people refer to this area as the ?Fairburn District.? The areas South of Santa Monica and North of Pico are serviced by Westwood Charter Elementary School. This area is often referred to as ?Westwood Charter District.? All of these schools are exceptional and among the best public schools in all of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Most of the residents utilize Emerson Middle school for junior high (a small portion also can attend Webster Middle school). The neighborhood high school is University High School. Many of the neighborhood residents also avail themselves of the vast Los Angeles private school system.
For more School information, please visit the following websites:
http://www.GreatSchools.net
http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Warner_EL/
http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Fairburn_EL/
http://www.westwoodcharter.org/
http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Emerson_MS/
http://www.universityhs.com
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