Toluca Lake | |
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![]() Toluca Lake sign | |
![]() Toluca Lake boundaries as drawn by the Los Angeles Times | |
Coordinates: 34°8′51″N118°21′5″W / 34.14750°N 118.35139°W | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
County | Los Angeles |
City | Los Angeles and Burbank |
Established | 1923 |
Population (2009) [1] | |
• Total | 7,782 |
Time zone | UTC−8 (Pacific (PST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (PDT) |
ZIP Code | 91602 |
Area code | 818 |
Toluca Lake is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley 12 miles (19 km) northwest of downtown. The name is also given to a private natural lake fed by wells and maintained by neighboring property owners. Prior to the paving of the Los Angeles River in 1938 and L.A. well extraction in the late 19th and 20th century which lowered the water table, Toluca Lake was fed by artesian springs.
The history of Toluca Lake can be traced to the days of the Tongva Indians, followed by Spanish colonization and Mexican independence. Toluca Lake was part of the early rancho system. The original Toluca Lake was divided, with the neighborhood being known as Forman Toluca Ranch. In 1923, investors bought and developed the land as "Toluca Lake Park".
The neighborhood has had notable residents. Comedian Bob Hope was a longtime resident of Toluca Lake, as were Audie Murphy and Jonathan Winters. Legendary film composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold lived there from 1938 to 1957, right on the lake. Famed actress Bette Davis built a house there. Bing Crosby had a house later owned by Andy Griffith and Jerry Van Dyke. Phil Everly, Mary Astor, and Frank Sinatra also had houses there. More recently, it has been the home of entertainers such as Hilary Duff, Tara Strong, Steve Carell, Wayne Knight, Andy Garcia, and Melissa McCarthy.
The Toluca Lake neighborhood is situated on 1.22 square miles [1] of the southeastern San Fernando Valley. The Mapping L.A. section of the Los Angeles Times website describes it as bounded on the south by Universal City, on the west by Studio City, on the north by North Hollywood and on the east by the city of Burbank. [2]
The Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce website states that the district is not only a neighborhood in Los Angeles but that it "spills over into Burbank" and "Political entities and others, such as the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council each draw their own boundaries to suit specific needs. For example, the Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce serves the entire community in Burbank and Los Angeles, while the City of Los Angeles considers its neighborhood called Toluca Lake to be entirely within its city boundaries" [3]
The geologic Toluca Lake is a 6-acre (2.4 ha) body of water located near the district's southeastern boundaries. The historic natural lake was fed by springs of upwelling groundwater from the Los Angeles River and San Fernando Valley subterranean aquifers. Late 19th and 20th century L. A. DWP well extraction and 1930s concrete river channelization lowered the water table, and currently community wells at the lake's edges maintain the water level. [4] The bottom of the lake is surfaced with four inches (102 mm) of asphalt concrete to prevent seepage. [4] Owned by the surrounding homeowners, the lake has been maintained by the Toluca Lake Property Owners Association, a non-profit corporation established in 1934. [4] The lake, encircled by private residences and the Lakeside Golf Club, is completely inaccessible to and hidden from the public. [5]
Climate data for Toluca Lake, Los Angeles | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 91 (33) | 89 (32) | 100 (38) | 106 (41) | 104 (40) | 115 (46) | 114 (46) | 113 (45) | 112 (44) | 107 (42) | 96 (36) | 90 (32) | 115 (46) |
Average high °F (°C) | 68 (20) | 70 (21) | 71 (22) | 75 (24) | 77 (25) | 83 (28) | 89 (32) | 90 (32) | 87 (31) | 82 (28) | 74 (23) | 68 (20) | 78 (26) |
Average low °F (°C) | 43 (6) | 45 (7) | 47 (8) | 50 (10) | 54 (12) | 58 (14) | 61 (16) | 62 (17) | 60 (16) | 54 (12) | 47 (8) | 43 (6) | 52 (11) |
Record low °F (°C) | 20 (−7) | 26 (−3) | 23 (−5) | 30 (−1) | 35 (2) | 35 (2) | 45 (7) | 43 (6) | 42 (6) | 35 (2) | 29 (−2) | 24 (−4) | 20 (−7) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 3.61 (92) | 4.18 (106) | 3.64 (92) | 0.91 (23) | 0.33 (8.4) | 0.09 (2.3) | 0.02 (0.51) | 0.17 (4.3) | 0.29 (7.4) | 0.53 (13) | 1.18 (30) | 2.07 (53) | 17.02 (432) |
Source: [6] |
The Toluca Lake neighborhood had a population of 7,782 in the 2000 census and an estimated population of 8,563 in 2008. At 6,393 people per square mile, its density was among the lowest in the city of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles Times, its percentage of white people, 71.9%, was high for the county; with black and Asian residents accounting for only 5.3% and 5% of the population, respectively. Principal ethnicities were Latino (14%), German (9.2%) and Irish (8.7%). Only 17.7% of its residents were foreign-born, a low figure compared to the city as a whole; of those, Mexico at 14.7% and the Philippines at 6.9% were the most common foreign places of birth. [1]
The median household income level of its residents was $73,111 in 2008, and 48.4% of its residents 25 and older had a four-year degree, both of which were high for the city. The average household size was 1.9 people, low for both the city and the county. Of its housing units 62.2% were occupied by renters and 37.8% by owners. [1]
Residents' median age was 37, which was old for the city of Los Angeles and old for the county. Only 9.7% of residents were headed by single parents, a low figure for both the city and the county. [1]
The Tongva people have lived in the San Fernando Valley and the Los Angeles basin for 8,000 years. [7] The Tongvan settlement Cahuenga used the springs and marsh in the Toluca Lake locale for water, fishing, hunting, harvesting, and building supplies (tule plants). [8]
After the Spanish conquest in the 1790s of Las Californias, the San Fernando Valley, including the "Toluca Lake locale", became the extended property of the Mission San Fernando Rey de España. After the 1823 Independence of Mexico, the secularization of missions in Alta California included the issuing of a Mexican land grant for Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando. [9] The extreme eastern end of the lake was within the 1843 Rancho Providencia grant to Vincente de la Osa. [10] In 1862, Pío Pico sold his share of the Ex-San Fernando Mission land, the entire southern half of the Valley below Roscoe Boulevard, to Isaac Lankershim (operating as the San Fernando Farm Homestead Association) in 1869. In 1873, Isaac Lankershim's son, James Boon Lankershim, and future son-in-law, Isaac Newton Van Nuys, took over management of the property, including the lake at Toluca. During the 1880s, the San Fernando Farm Homestead Association was succeeded by the Los Angeles Farm & Milling Company.[ citation needed ]
In 1893, a petition was filed with the U.S. Postal Service for the area's first post office, to be named "Toluca Post Office". General Charles Forman, a wealthy local landowner and one of the proponents of the petition, later stated that he had chosen the name "Toluca" from a Paiute word meaning "fertile" or "beautiful" valley. Though part of a larger area traditionally called "Lankershim" after a colonel of the same name—and with a Southern Pacific Railroad train station named "Lankershim" that also opened in 1893 across from the post office—Forman called his own ranch and the surrounding land "Toluca". [11] [12]
One of the wealthiest men in Nevada, Forman had made his fortune starting from nothing, first in mining, then cattle ranching, and then lumber. Falling in love with and marrying Los Angeles native Mary Agnes Gray, he soon moved to the area in the late 1880s and started the Kern River Company, a power company which delivered electricity from generators at the Kern River to Los Angeles. He also bought a large parcel of rich farm land, which included much of modern-day Toluca Lake and at least the western portion of the "ancient and historical" marshy pond now called Toluca Lake. [12] By 1923, the Forman Toluca Lake Ranch was a flourishing producer of peaches, apples, and walnuts. [4] [13]
In 1923, investors bought and developed the land as Toluca Lake Park. This initial venture failed, but a new group soon took over, renaming the firm as the Toluca Lake Company. With a "vision of creating a first 'bedroom community' for Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley", the company formally changed the name of the community to simply Toluca Lake and adopted as their logo the "swan on rippled water" image associated with the community today. [12] The name Lankershim also was considered for the town. Colonel J. B. Lankershim established the town site of Toluca at the eastern edge of the family's vast holdings in 1888. The town name was changed from Toluca to Lankershim in 1896. [14] By 1927, the lure of Hollywood inspired local merchants to launch a campaign to change the community's name to North Hollywood. [15] The original town site of Toluca is now part of Toluca Lake.
The Lakeside golf course was designed in 1924 by Max Behr. This attracted actor Richard Arlen, who became one of Toluca Lake's first residents, and eventually its honorary mayor. [11]
Aviator Amelia Earhart lived in Toluca Lake on Valley Spring Lane after marrying publishing magnate George P. Putnam in 1931. The Spanish colonial-style home, which exists today, features a front-yard tree under which she signed her round-the-world flight plan. She made her home in Toluca Lake because the best aircraft were being designed and built at the Lockheed plant in Burbank. [11] [16]
Entertainer Bob Hope moved to Toluca Lake in the late 1930s, and lived there until his death in 2003 at the age of 100. [17] [18] In the 1938 Little Rascals film Three Men in a Tub , the kids hold a regatta on the lake, which was largely surrounded by open country at that time.[ citation needed ] Actors Bette Davis, W. C. Fields, Dorothy Lamour, Billie Dove, Dick Powell, and Bing Crosby also moved into the community. [11] In 1943, Crosby's mansion was almost completely destroyed by fire. [11] Frank Sinatra moved into the home featured player and screen icon Mary Astor built on Toluca Lake in the 1940s. [11] Former actor and 40th President of the United States Ronald Reagan had his wedding reception with second wife Nancy Reagan at the Toluca Lake home of actor (and best man) William Holden on March 4, 1952. [19]
Notable residents have included Steve Carell, [20] Miley Cyrus, [20] Viola Davis, [21] Kirsten Dunst, [22] Melissa McCarthy, [23] and Octavia Spencer. [21] In June 2018, Ron Burkle purchased the 5.2 acre Bob Hope estate for $15 million, with the proceeds going to the Bob and Dolores Hope Foundation. [24] In 2021, Kelly Clarkson purchased an original 1936 colonial-style mansion on a Toluca Lake property. [25]
Toluca Lake is represented by the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council [26] led by Neighborhood Council President Colby Jensen, [27] as well as Councilman Paul Krekorian in the Los Angeles City Council and Adrin Nazarian in the California State Assembly. NBC-4 weatherman Fritz Coleman is the honorary mayor of Toluca Lake.
In 2006, Toluca Lake homeowner groups mobilized against a proposed development in North Hollywood by NBCUniversal and Thomas Properties Group. The Metro Studio Project involves upwards of 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) of space and would house employees leaving NBC's Burbank facility. The project also proposes Times Square-style supergraphics and digital illuminated billboards. It would be built partly on land for which NBCUniversal has a lease agreement from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. [28] The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has yet to act on the proposal, and Environmental Impact Reports are not finalized.[ citation needed ]
The 2000 census found that 48.4% of Toluca Lake residents within Los Angeles had earned a four-year degree, a high figure for both the city and the county. The percentage of those residents with a master's degree or higher was large for the county. [1]
The Los Angeles section of Toluca Lake is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The Burbank section is within the Burbank Unified School District.
Schools within Toluca Lake are: [29]
Toluca Lake is the setting of "The Bonnie Situation" chapter in Quentin Tarantino's film "Pulp Fiction" (1994)
Toluca Lake is a lake featured in the Silent Hill series. It first appeared in the 1999 video game of the same name.
In the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' song "Higgs Boson Blues" (2013), Miley Cyrus is described as floating in a swimming pool in Toluca Lake. [30]
Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center.
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located 12 miles (19 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, who established a sheep ranch there in 1867. Burbank consists of two distinct areas: a downtown/foothill section, in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains, and the flatland section.
Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and then subdivided, with part of it named Owensmouth as a town founded in 1912. It joined Los Angeles in 1917 and was renamed Canoga Park on March 1, 1931, after Canoga, New York.
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated areas and the incorporated cities of Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, Hidden Hills, and San Fernando. The valley is well known for its iconic film studios such as Warner Bros. Studios and Walt Disney Studios. In addition, it is home to the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.
Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, now known as Radford Studio Center.
North Hollywood is a Los Angeles, California neighborhood, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North Hollywood Metro Rail station is one of the few subway-accessible Metro Rail stations in Los Angeles.
Pacoima is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. Pacoima is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley region of LA.
Universal City or Universal Studios Complex is an unincorporated area within the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Approximately 415 acres (1.7 km2) within and around the surrounding area is the property of Universal Pictures, one of the five major film studios in the United States: about 70 percent of the studio's property is inside this unincorporated area, while the remaining 30 percent is within the Los Angeles city limits. Universal City is primarily surrounded by Los Angeles with its northeastern corner touching the city of Burbank, making the unincorporated area a county island.
West Hills is a suburban/residential community in the western San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. The percentage of residents aged 35 and older is among the highest in Los Angeles County.
The NoHo Arts District is a community in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, that is home to contemporary theaters, art galleries, cafes, and shops. The community is generally bounded by Hatteras Street to the north, Cahuenga Blvd to the east, Tujunga Ave to the west, and Camarillo Street to the south. The area features more than twenty professional theaters, producing new work and classics, diverse art galleries, public art, and professional dance studios. The district also features the largest concentration of music recording venues west of the Mississippi. A Metro Rail station is located here, the North Hollywood station of the B Line and serves as the terminus of the Metro G Line busway.
Universal City/Studio City station is an underground rapid transit station on the B Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. It is located under Lankershim Boulevard at its intersection of Campo de Cahuenga and Universal Hollywood Drive in the neighborhoods of Universal City and Studio City, after which the station is named.
North Hollywood station is a combined rapid transit and bus rapid transit (BRT) station in the Los Angeles Metro Rail and Metro Busway systems. It is the northwestern terminus of the B Line subway and eastern terminus of the G Line BRT route. It is located at the intersection of Lankershim Boulevard and Chandler Boulevard in the NoHo Arts District of the North Hollywood neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles.
The Campo de Cahuenga, near the historic Cahuenga Pass in present-day Studio City, California, was an adobe ranch house on the Rancho Cahuenga where the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed between Lieutenant Colonel John C. Frémont and General Andrés Pico in 1847, ending hostilities in California between Mexico and the United States. The subsequent Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848, ceding California, parts of Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona to the United States, formally ended the Mexican–American War. From 1858 to 1861 the Campo de Cahuenga became a Butterfield Stage Station.
San Fernando Road is a major street in the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County. Within the Burbank city limits it is signed as San Fernando Boulevard, and north of Newhall Pass it is signed as The Old Road. It was previously designated as Business Loop 5 in the 1970s.
Lankershim Boulevard is a major north-south thoroughfare in the eastern San Fernando Valley, primarily within the City of Los Angeles, in Los Angeles County, California.
The San Fernando Line was a part of the Pacific Electric Railway system in Los Angeles County, California. It was designed to increase the reach of public transportation from the Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood into the San Fernando Valley, to support land speculation and development expanding Los Angeles.
Providencia Ranch, part of Providencia Land and Water Development Company property named for the Rancho Providencia Mexican land grant, was a property in California, US. It was used as a filming location for the American Civil War battle scenes in The Birth of a Nation (1915) and other silent motion pictures. The valley was also the site for two Universal Studios west coast operations in 1914.
Rancho La Providencia was a 4,064-acre (16.45 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California given by governor Juan B. Alvarado in 1843 to Vicente de la Osa. The majority of Rancho Providencia land north of the modern channel of the Los Angeles River is now part of Burbank. The street grid change along Burbank Boulevard marks the northwestern boundary of the rancho grant. The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. Studios, NBC Studios Burbank, Providence High School, and Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center are all within the former boundaries of Rancho Providencia. The Burbank Equestrian Center and portions of the Rancho south of the river are now part of the city of Los Angeles.
The history of the San Fernando Valley from its exploration by the 1769 Portola expedition to the annexation of much of it by the City of Los Angeles in 1915 is a story of booms and busts, as cattle ranching, sheep ranching, large-scale wheat farming, and fruit orchards flourished and faded. Throughout its history, settlement in the San Fernando Valley was shaped by availability of reliable water supplies and by proximity to the major transportation routes through the surrounding mountains.
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