Water and Power Associates Informing the Public about Critical Water and Energy Issues facing Los Angeles and California

Historical Notes

In 1952, state officials had originally identified Baldwin Hills as the site of a satellite campus for Los Angeles State College (now Cal State Los Angeles).  In reaction to the decision, Valley leaders organized to successfully overturn the legislation and to later ensure that a four-year college would be sited in the San Fernando Valley.  On December 21, 1954, advocates for a Valley four-year college hosted 23 legislators for dinner at the Brown Derby on Wilshire Boulevard.  Armed with demographic projections, they pitched the Valley as the only logical place for the next state college.  The pitch worked.  In 1955, state Assemblyman Judge Julian Beck sent the legislation for approval to pruchase land in the north San Fernando Valley for a new satellite campus to Los Angeles State College.

Historical Notes

On July 1, 1958, the founding date of the present university, the institution became San Fernando Valley State College, with about 3,300 students and 104 faculty. On June 1, 1972, the college was renamed California State University, Northridge by action of the state Legislature and the Board of Trustees of the California State University.

By September, 1958, enrollment reached 2,525 students and full-time in-state student fees were $29 per semester.

Historical Notes

On June 12, 1959, ninety students received their degrees on the SFVSC football field. This image shows the large expanse of empty land held by the college at this time; visible in the background is the Santa Susana mountain range.

Historical Notes

In 1959, the first permanent building, South Library was dedicated.

In 1960, Construction was completed on the Speech-Drama and Fine Arts buildings, the later designed by famed architect Richard Neutra.

Historical Notes

In 1961, the Music Building was constructed with a 400-seat theatre. "Othello" is the first prodution.

In Feb, 1961, enrollment passes 6,000.

Historical Notes

By 1964, the Physical Education Building, the three-building Sierra Hall complex, the Administration Building, and the Engineering Building were completed as student enrollment reached 12,690.

Historical Notes

In 1966, the era began of campus student protests against the Vietnam War, continuing through the early 1970s.

In Fall of 1966, gubernatorial candidate Ronald Reagan gave a speech on campus.  Also, Vice President Hubert Humphrey was heckled by anti-war protestors on his visit.

Historical Notes

In March, 1968, Presidential candidates Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Sen. Eugene McCarthey drew a record 12,000 spectators during a visit to the campus.  Student demonstrators burned draft cards; and rock singer Janis Joplin performed on campus.

Historical Notes

San Fernando Valley State College was officially named California State University, Northridge (CSUN) on June 1, 1971.

Historical Notes

North Hills was originally an agricultural community known as Mission Acres. After World War II, the newly developed suburban community was renamed Sepulveda until the 1990s.

In 1992, residents of the western half of Sepulveda, west of the San Diego Freeway, voted to secede from the eastern section in order to form a new community named North Hills. Thereafter the value of properties east of the San Diego Freeway in Sepulveda fell. The City of Los Angeles eventually changed the name of remaining Sepulveda to North Hills also. The city then formed a new sub-neighborhood of "North Hills West" which begins west of the 405 freeway and goes to Bull Creek/Balboa and from Roscoe to Devonshire. The eastern section became the sub-neighborhood of North Hills East.*^

Historical Notes

Designed by acclaimed architect Frank Ehrenthal, the building was completed in 1964. Its bizarre shape led to the nickname "The Onion." In addition to its church service, the building also operated as a nursery school, and held small theatrical performances.

Historical Notes

In 2010, the Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Society Sanctuary was dedicated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 975. Click HERE to see complete listing.

Historical Notes

Photo caption dated October 27, 1954 reads "Contractors are rushing to complete work on the new Panorama Market located at 10321 Sepulveda Blvd. at Devonshire Street. Company officials revealed today it will open during November. This new layout pictured above embraces 55,000 square feet of floor space and among its many features will be a free check cashing booth, free parking for hundreds of cars and unlimited one-stop shopping facilities at one of the most modern shopping centers with the latest innovations in the Southland. Ground for the project was broken last Spring. Arthur Froehlich is architect."

Historical Notes

Tarzana’s first Post Office opened on December 12, 1930 in an 8ft. by 8ft. rear room of Holmquist’s grocery, Tarzana’s Red and White Market, with Mrs. E. L. Holmquist the then present Postmistress in charge.

Historical Notes

August 2, 1937 marked the first day that RFD mail was delivered from the new Tarzana Post Office (seen above).  420 families on Rural Route No. 1, Tarzana began receiving their mail direct from their home post office, Tarzana and with the delivery came their home newspaper, The Tarzana Herald.

Historical Notes

They renamed these stores A & M Discount Foods (the A & M stood for Arden Mayfair).  Once a large presence all over the west coast, there was only one Mayfair Market left by 2009. It was located in Hollywood.  That same year the last remaining Mayfair was converted into a Gelson’s.

Historical Notes

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the percentage of divorced men and women in Tarzana was among the county's highest. Some 9% of the residents were military veterans, considered high for the city of Los Angeles. The percentages of residents aged 50 and older were also among the county's highest.*^

Historical Notes

Today, Cafe Carolina occupies the building at 17936 Ventura Boulevard. Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Valley Times photo caption dated October 24, 1953 reads, "Seven a.m. saturation - This is view looking east on Ventura boulevard just east of the Big Squeeze bottleneck at Balboa Boulevard. Work-bound suburban residents are forced into two lanes, while two west-bound lanes are free of traffic. Suggested solution: Three-lane traffic eastbound in the mornings; three-lane traffic westbound in the evening."

Historical Notes

Photograph caption reads, "Five p.m. frustration - Picture taken from exactly the same spot as 7 a.m. Saturation illustrates reverse flow of home-bound residents, again forced into two lanes while two lanes at right carry little or no traffic. This photo is a time-exposure. Bright white streak is caused by endless line of headlights on cars moving westward."

Historical Notes

Vincent de la Osa Adobe, built in 1849 by Don Vicente De La Osa, was a favored stopping place for the numerous travelers on El Camino Real. It stands on land that is a part of the one-square-league Rancho El Encino granted in 1845 by Governor Pio Pico to three Indians, Ramon, Francisco, and Roque, whose interests were purchased by Don Vicente. Originally the land was under the jurisdiction of Mission San Fernando Rey founded in 1797 (Click HERE to see more).

Historical Notes

Valley Times photo caption dated June 1, 1957 reads "Ducks enjoy Encino pool. Adorning monument grounds is this spring-fed pool, a Valley beauty spot. Stream carries 85-degree spring water to pond. Ducks flew there, liked it, stayed permanently."

Historical Notes

Los Encinos State Historic Park, just northeast of the intersection of Balboa and Ventura Boulevards in Encino, was the hub of Rancho El Encino.  This California rancho includes the original eight-room de la Ossa Adobe, the two-story limestone Garnier building, a blacksmith shop, a natural spring, and a pond.

The natural spring provided a year-round source of water for the ancient, autonomous, village of Siutcanga.  The village was home to Chumash, Tongva, and Tataviam people, who later were called "Fernandeños" by the Spanish due to the enslavement of these three groups to the San Fernando Mission.  An excellent description of this village was recorded as part of the 1769 Portola Expedition. This Spanish expedition reached the San Fernando Valley and named it “El Valle de Santa Catalina de Bononia de Los Encinos” (The Valley of St. Catherine of Bononia of the Oaks).*^*^*

The name Encino means "Oak"; Rancho Los Encinos - Ranch of Oak Trees"

Historical Notes

Located along a significant travel route between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, the property passed through many hands between the 1840s and the early 20th century. Today, the park contains exhibits related to the agricultural enterprises of Rancho El Encino’s various owners, including Mission Indian, Mexican Californio, French, and French Basque families.*^*^*

Click HERE to see more Early Views of Rancho Los Encino.

Historical Notes

Burning bright above the San Fernando Valley and L.A. Basin at dusk were the red, 40-foot tall "T's" - the iconic logo of the late, great Thriftimart supermarket chain. These gigantic signs emerged on the local landscape through the 50's and 60's.

The company that would eventually be named Thriftimart, Inc. was created in 1930 when a group of former A&P managers headed by Roger Laverty, Sr. purchased a company called Fitzsimmons Stores, Ltd. (the name the company would bear until well into the 1950's). In its earlier years, the company grew through acquisitions, including the 9-store "Thriftimart" and the 17-store Roberts Markets chains in the 1940's. In 1955, the company purchased the Smart & Final Iris Company, which at the time was strictly a wholesale operation.

By 1961, the company had over 60 stores and had renamed itself after its famous trademark.*

Historical Notes

Thriftimart purchased Smart & Final in 1955 as its wholesale division. The Smart and Finals you see today were once Big T stores. By now most are remodeled and modern or a Safeway store such as the Canoga Park Big T, now West Hills Pavilions.

The Rexall is Dunkin Donuts, Coronet 5 and 10 a Post Office.

Historical Notes

The Queens Arms was a spectacular, Disneyland-like sight along Ventura Boulevard between Hayvenhurst and Libbit avenues. It was opened in 1956 by brothers Chris and John Skoby. 

The duo’s first restaurant was Skoby's Drive-in, located in Burbank.  Skoby restaurants that followed included The King's Arms in Toluca Lake, The Queen's Arms in Encino and Blackbeard's, with locations in Newport Beach and on Maui.  Skoby's only remaining restaurant, like the first, is simply named Skoby's, in Chatsworth.

Chris Skoby, had planned the restaurant based on his visits to Europe during the 1940s, when he fell in love with the architecture. He found a designer who was active in the film industry.

The main interior designer of the Queens Arms was Martin Obzina, who was a top art director for Alfred Hitchcock on many of his films.  There was a full-size knight in armor in the foyer and elaborate Renaissance-themed murals on the walls.^

Historical Notes

Many celebrities dined at the Queens Arms during its heyday, including Encino residents Dick Van Dyke and Steve Allen. Many top-notch entertainers performed there as well, including Gary Lewis of Gary Lewis and the Playboys in 1974.

In 1975 the Queens Arms closed its drawbridge for the final time, but actually lived on, for a short time, as the Spaghetti Castle, a family-oriented restaurant with cheaper fare that never really took off. The property was then taken over for several years by Terry York Chevrolet, which was next door on the corner of Hayvenhurst for many years.  Today, a Ralphs Market stands on the site where the Queens Arms used to be.  Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Edward Everett Horton had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons.  He began his stage career in 1906, singing and dancing and playing small parts in vaudeville and in Broadway productions. In 1919, he moved to Los Angeles where he began acting in Hollywood films.

In 1925, Horton purchased several acres in the district of Encino and lived on the property at 5521 Amestoy Avenue until his death. He named the estate, which contained Horton's own house and houses for his brother, his sister and their respective families, Belleigh Acres.  In the 1950s, the state of California forced Horton to sell a portion of his property for construction of the Ventura Freeway. The freeway construction left a short stump of Amestoy Avenue south of Burbank Boulevard and shortly after his death, the city of Los Angeles renamed that portion Edward Everett Horton Lane.

Edward Everett Horton Lane ends at Burbank Boulevard, and begins in the shadow of the Ventura Freeway. On the other side of the boulevard is a bus stop also named for Edward Everett Horton, between bus stops at Aldea and Balboa. The borderline of Anthony C. Beilenson Park is directly across the street from the corner of Burbank Boulevard and EE Horton Lane. The opposite end of the lane leads to a foot bridge that overlooks the Ventura Freeway and ends up on the Amestoy Avenue side.*^

Scott Fitzgerald rented a two-story guest house on the property, 1938-39.  Reflective of the devastation of the Great Depression, the author received his last royalty check while a Valleyite, $13.13. ^

Historical Notes

The Atlas, first tested in 1957, was the United States' first successful ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile).  It launched the Mercury project space capsules and became the foundation for a family of successful space launch vehicles now built by United Launch Alliance. The Atlas rocket family is today used as a launch platform for commercial and military satellites, and other spacecraft.*^

Historical Notes

The San Diego Freeway, connecting the Westside with the San Fernando Valley, would not open until 1962.*^

Historical Notes

The portion of the Ventura Freeway signed as US 101 is signed as a north-south route by CalTrans despite the freeway's actual alignment being east-west. This is due to the fact that US 101 as a whole has a north-south alignment. The apparent inconsistency can be confusing to visitors, as the same freeway entrance can often be signed as "101 North" and "101 West." This is most common in the San Fernando Valley.

Historical Notes

Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley.  It is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions). It was also U.S. Route 101 before the freeway (which it is parallel to for much of Ventura Boulevard's length) was built, and it was also previous signed as Business U.S. Route 101.

Historical Notes

Running 18 miles, Ventura Boulevard is the world's longest avenue of contiguous businesses. The Boulevard begins near Calabasas in Woodland Hills at an intersection with Valley Circle Boulevard, passes through Tarzana, Encino, Sherman Oaks, and finally in Studio City (where it intersects with Lankershim Boulevard) it becomes Cahuenga Boulevard, which then winds through Cahuenga Pass into Hollywood.

Historical Notes

Opened in 1938, the Studio City Theater at 12136 Ventura Boulevarfd was operated by Fox West Coast Theatres and its successor companies. The last operator was Mann Theatres. It's been known as the Studio Theatre, the Studio City Theatre and the Fox Studio City. 

The theater closed in 1991. The interior is largely intact but has been converted into a Bookstar/Barnes & Noble bookstore.

Historical Notes

People still fondly remember the Currie’s chain and its “mile-high cone” whose replica was often displayed billboard-style on roofs. The chain was started in 1927 by three brothers named Kuhns. After WWII they sold it to the Good Humor Company who later sold it to Lipton in the 1960s. In 1964 the chain opened its 87th store, in North Hollywood. Although Currie’s anticipated launching units in every community in Southern California, only three outlets were listed in the 1967 Los Angeles phone book and the chain had disappeared by the 1980s.

Historical Notes

In 1962, D.J. Bob Eubanks bought the first club on Ventura Blvd and ran it as the Cinnamon Cinder. The club served no alcohol and admission was $1.50.

It was here on Aug. 23, 1964, that the Beatles gave a secret press conference before their Hollywood Bowl show. Like everywhere else the Beatles went, it was swarmed with hundreds of teenaged fans.

The clubs success was attributed to stringent rules; No-one under 18 permitted. Single men past age 25 were discouraged from seeking entrance. Girls were not permitted if wearing capris or shorts (must wear skirts). Boys were barred if wearing t-shirts, sweatshirts, club or school jackets, levis or tennis shoes.

Historical Notes

A shopping center (Studio City Place) now exists where Competitive Motors once stood.  Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

The concept of soft serve was developed in 1938 by John Fremont McCullough and his son Bradley. They partnered with ice cream shop owner Sheb Noble to open the first Dairy Queen in Joliet, Illinois, in 1940.

Historical Notes

The Little Brown Church in the Valley, a diminutive sanctuary in Studio City surrounded by multistory apartment buildings, has hosted more than 23,000 weddings. But it's probably best known as the site of the union between Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis on March 4, 1952. *

The Little Brown Church still stands today. Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

◆ 40th President of the United States (1981 – 1989)

◆ 33rd Governor of California (1967 – 1975)

Historical Notes

The Little Brown Church in the Valley, a tiny Protestant chapel, was built alone by the Rev. John H. Wells in the late 1930s. 

Historical Notes

Today, the historic structure located at 4418 Coldwater Canyon is primarily a wedding site but still houses a small and devoted congregation. The wedding place of President Ronald Regan and his wife Nancy, the modest chapel has been host to many celebrity marriages.

Historical Notes

Original property of McKinley Home for Boys lists a Van Nuys address. This site on which the Bullock's Fashion Square was built is actually part of Sherman Oaks. Conditions of the transaction required that the property be rezoned for commercial use. The McKinley Home for Boys built a new facility in San Dimas, Calif.*

Historical Notes

Originally anchored by Bullock's from 1962, Sherman Oaks Fashion Square added The Broadway, and I. Magnin department stores in 1975. In 1988-1990, the outdoor mall was enclosed and double-decked with a Mediterranean theme. In 1994, the mall suffered serious damage from the Northridge earthquake. In 1996 Bullock's was converted into Macy's. The Broadway later became Bloomingdale's--the result of Federated Department Stores buying out Carter Hawley Hale Stores, parent company of The Broadway. The Westfield Group acquired a half-interest in the shopping center in 2002, and renamed it "Westfield Shoppingtown Fashion Square", dropping the "Shoppingtown" name in June 2005.*^

Historical Notes

When citrus marketing company Sunkist moved into its new Sherman Oaks building in 1970, it left an Art Deco office tower in downtown Los Angeles for a homecoming of sorts; the San Fernando Valley was once partially covered with citrus groves, which were removed to make way for housing tracts after World War II. No matter that the orange trees were no more at the time of its construction—the building looks a little bit like an orange crate, inverted and set upon angled concrete columns. ^++

Click HERE to see the Sunkist downtown headquarters between 1935 and 1970.

Historical Notes

The Sunkist Building was designed by A. C. Martin and Associates, a firm with a long and storied history in Los Angeles. In the late 1960s, the firm was busy changing the look of downtown with its Corporate International-style skyscrapers. For Sunkist, A. C. Martin created a low-rise but unquestionably monumental Late Modern-style building of reinforced concrete with recessed windows. It is shaped somewhat like an inverted pyramid, colossally wide at the top and tapering in at the base so it appears to balance on concrete legs.

Historical Notes

For 35 years the building was headquarters for the giant Sunkist growers' cooperative that was organized 100 years ago. Pioneer William Wolfskill planted the seeds of what was to become Sunkist Growers in the 1840s. Many of the fortune-seekers who flocked to California during the Gold Rush developed scurvy because fresh fruit was not widely available. As word spread that citrus fruits could prevent the disease, demand skyrocketed. Soon lemons sold for $1 each.

When the arrival of the railroad in Los Angeles in the 1890s made possible the fast shipment of perishable fruit to the East, the orange industry became firmly established. During the depression of 1893, a group of 60 local growers formed a cooperative to advertise and market their crops. That group reorganized in 1905 to become the California Fruit Growers' Exchange.

In 1908, when growers began casting about for a trademark to set their fruit apart, admen came up with "Sunkissed." It was quickly shortened to "Sunkist." A few years later, the slogan, "California for Wealth, Oranges for Health," was coined. ^^^

In September 2014, Sunkist relocated its headquarters to the Valencia neighborhood of Santa Clarita.

As of 2014 there has been a plan for a massive development to be built around the Sunkist Building which would add residential, commercial and retail space to the iconic structure.

Historical Notes

Built in 1957, Coffee Dan's in Van Nuys was designed by Architect William Krisel of the firm Palmer and Krisel.

The history of Coffee Dan's dates back to 1935 when it was founded by Dan Evans in Pasadena. The restaurant quickly gained popularity for its cozy atmosphere, friendly service, and delicious food.

Historical Notes

Coffee Dan's Restaurants became known for its all-day breakfast menu, offering a wide variety of breakfast dishes, including pancakes, waffles, omelets, and freshly brewed coffee. The chain also served lunch and dinner options, featuring American comfort food classics such as burgers, sandwiches, salads, and hearty entrees.

Today, the SE corner of Van Nuys and Kittridge is occupied by a mini mall with a 7-11 and an El Pollo Loco. Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Over the years, Coffee Dan's expanded its presence, opening several locations throughout California and other states. The restaurants were often designed with a distinctive mid-century modern aesthetic, featuring retro decor and cozy booths, creating a welcoming environment for families and friends to gather.

Historical Notes

Kinney Shoes was the largest family chain shoe retailer in the United States at the beginning of 1936, with 335 stores operating nationwide.  In 1963, the G.R. Kinney Company was sold to F.W. Woolworth.  The firm was renamed the Kinney Shoe Corporation and continued as a fully owned subsidiary of Woolworth.  The company continued operating throughout the 1960s and 1970s with divisions named Stylco (1967), Susie Casuals (1968), and Foot Locker (1974).   In 1998, the Venator Group, Woolworth's successor, announced that Kinney's 467 shoe stores and 103 Footquarters stores would close. The Foot Locker division, started in 1974, continues to this day, with Venator changing its name in 2001 to Foot Locker.  Foot Locker also maintains the trademarks of the Kinney and Woolworth brands.*^

Historical Notes

The 1960s saw further expansion of Van Nuys' residential areas, with more tract housing and apartment complexes being built to accommodate the increasing population. The architectural styles of the homes ranged from traditional to modern, reflecting the changing tastes and trends of the time.

The community remained family-oriented, with a strong emphasis on education and a sense of community pride. Schools in Van Nuys continued to play a central role in the lives of residents, and families were actively involved in school-related activities and events.

Historical Notes

The advent of three new industries in the early 20th century – motion pictures, automobiles, and aircraft spurred urbanization and population growth. World War II production and the subsequent postwar boom accelerated this growth so that by 1960, the valley had a population of well over one million. Los Angeles continued to consolidate its territories in the San Fernando Valley by annexing the former Rancho El Escorpión for Canoga Park-West Hills in 1959, and the huge historic "Porter Ranch" at the foot of the Santa Susana Mountains for the new planned developments in Porter Ranch in 1965.*^

Van Nuys Boulevard was renamed from North Sherman Way as the main boulevard in the town of Van Nuys, which got its name from longtime Valley wheat farmer Isaac Newton Van Nuys.

Vanowen Street - coined because it was the direct route across the Valley between the towns of Van Nuys and Owensmouth.^*

Historical Notes

During the 1960s, the commercial district along Van Nuys Boulevard continued to thrive. The boulevard was bustling with activity, with a wide range of shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Shopping centers, such as the Van Nuys Fashion Square, provided residents with convenient access to various retail options.

Historical Notes

The automobile culture remained strong in Van Nuys during the 1960s. The community's wide streets and ample parking continued to accommodate the growing number of cars owned by residents. Car ownership was seen as a symbol of status and freedom, and cruising along Van Nuys Boulevard remained a popular pastime.

Historical Notes

During the 1960s, Van Nuys, like many other areas in Los Angeles, experienced significant traffic congestion. The population was growing rapidly, leading to an increase in the number of vehicles on the road and subsequently contributing to traffic congestion.

Historical Notes

Van Nuys experienced occasional flooding in the streets during the 1960s.  It was susceptible to flooding due to heavy rainstorms and the region's limited drainage infrastructure.

On November 2, 2007, the City Council of Los Angeles approved a motion renaming a larger portion of Van Nuys to Lake Balboa, including this intersection.

Click HERE for contemporary view of the NE corner of Vanowen and Louise.

Historical Notes

Schlitz opened its state-of-the-art 35-acre brewery at 7321 Woodman Avenue in Van Nuys in 1954.^^^^*

The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and once the largest producer of beer in the United States. Its namesake beer, Schlitz, was known as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" and was advertised with the slogan "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer". Schlitz first became the largest beer producer in the US in 1902 and enjoyed that status at several points during the first half of the twentieth century, exchanging the title with Anheuser-Busch multiple times during the 1950s.*^

Historical Notes

The company was founded by August Krug in 1849 but acquired by Joseph Schlitz in 1858.

Schlitz was bought by Stroh Brewery Company in 1982 and subsequently sold along with the rest of Stroh's assets to the Pabst Brewing Company in 1999. Pabst now produces Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company's former flagship brands including Old Milwaukee and Schlitz beer.^^^^*

Intense competition within the beer industry and a declining share of the Western market helped force the closure of the Van Nuys brewery in 1990.^^^

Historical Notes

Today, the 36-story 10 Universal City Plaza Building in Universal City (built in 1980) is the Valley’s tallest building.

Historical Notes

In 1949, restaurateur Sidney Hoedemaker of the Pig 'n' Whistle - Melody Lane chain founded Hody's Restaurant Inc.  Hoedemaker's restaurants were all about service, efficiency, cheerfully and courtesy. One was always greeted with a smile. Hody's was a family restaurant. Kid's would get a kid's clown menu that could be worn on their face.

Historical Notes

By 1969 there were 8 Hody restaurants in Southern California. The most famous Hody's was located on the N/W corner of Hollywood and Vine. Click HERE to see more.

Historical Notes

Packard Bell was founded in 1933, in Los Angeles.  It had a reputation for making excellent radios and supplied electrical equipment to the government during World War-II.  It got into the television marketplace in 1948 and remained there until the company was sold in 1974.*

The first national color broadcast (the 1954 Tournament of Roses Parade) occurred on January 1, 1954.

Historical Notes

Established in 1947, this restaurant, owned by brothers Tommy and Bill Seletos stood the test of time, and stayed here for a few decades. It was a popular local spot, remembered for steak & potatoes, and its Red Carpet Cocktail Room, which was added in 1962.

The building today is occupied by a car rental agency.  Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

The Emmanuel Lutheran Church’s Summer Sunday Drive-In Service started around 1948 and was touted by the church as the first of its kind in the U.S. Over the span of a couple of decades, the service started at 8:15 a.m. The average number of attendees were around 200 with many children still clad in their pajamas and adults wearing casual clothes. Ushers would go from car-to-car with their offering baskets.^

Historical Notes

The bank building on the northwest corner is on property that was once the Fred Weddington homestead. The Weddington family established the Bank of Lankershim in 1910 which later became part of the Security Pacific chain. The same bank building is now occupied by the Federal Bar restaurant.

Historical Notes

Opened in 1949, the Victory Drive-in was designed by William Glenn Balch also known for several other drive-ins in the late 1940s including the one located in Van Nuys. The Victory had a capacity for 650 cars and was operated by Pacific Theatres. Many of the Drive-ins that Balch’s firm designed had large murals painted on the screen towers.

Victory Drive-in was torn down and replaced with the Victory Plaza Shopping Center. Today the center includes LA Fitness, Vallarta Market, CVS Pharmacy, and Subway Restaurant.

Historical Notes

The Reseda Drive-In was opened on April 7, 1949 by Pacific Drive-In Theatres. It was located just north of Vanowen and east of Reseda Blvd. The theater lasted till the mid-1970’s when it was torn down.  The site today is occupied by the Mid-Valley Athletic Club and an industrial park.

In 1968, the Reseda Drive-In played host for the location of Peter Bogdanovich’s movie “Target”, staring Boris Karloff.^**^

(n.d.)^##* - Window-mounted drive-in speakers...one for your car...one for the car on the other side of you. Later systems would transmit the signal through your AM radio.

Historical Notes

The outdoor theaters reached the zenith of their popularity during the 1950s.  Piling the kids in the car made for a cheap family night out, and drive-ins were a favorite hangout for teens who'd recently gotten driver's licenses.

The activities of the teenagers prompted another nickname for drive-in theaters — "passion pits." *#^^

Historical Notes

In early 1945, Roy Harlow opened a restaurant at 14445 Ventura Blvd, near Van Nuys Blvd, which he named the Pump Room, inspired by the Pump Room in Bath, England. In 1948, Harlow moved the restaurant to 13003 Ventura Blvd, just west of Coldwater Cyn Blvd. For many years, the Pump Room was a popular Valley restaurant, patronized by local residents for parties and meetings. Celebrities and sports stars were often seen here. In a quote from a 1953 news article, “hardly a day goes by without seeing a flock of Rams football players, Hollywood Stars and Los Angeles Angels baseball players in the café."

In 1954, Harlow sold the business, leased the premises to the purchaser for ten years, and granted to the purchaser the right to use the name "Pump Room" during the term of the lease. In 1956, this purchaser sold the business and another party operated the business until either late 1956 or early 1957 when the premises were abandoned and closed for a short period of time. Harlow, as landlord, repossessed the premises early in 1957. About this time Harlow found some partners named Bob Waterfield, Bob Kelley, and Don Paul (all sports stars) and re-opened the restaurant in April of 1957.

The Pump Room appears to have closed around 1978.  In June of 1979, Ali Rabbani opened the Marrakesh at this location. #^*^

(1948)^ – View showing the intersection of Greenleaf Street and Van Nuys Boulevard in Sherman Oaks after a snow storm.  The large snow-covered tree stands on the SW corner.  Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Click HERE to see more views of Snow in the San Fernando Valley.

Historical Notes

When Ralphs opened this store in 1941, it was the company’s 31st location in Los Angeles County. They still operate in this space today, but the building photographed was irreparably damaged in the Northridge earthquake in 1994, and rebuilt soon after. That version was then torn down around 2013 and rebuilt as the larger, more state-of-the-art Ralphs that stands today.

Historical Notes

The slogan 'It's Heavenly!' defined the chain of Wil Wright's fancy, old-style ice cream parlors. The Sherman Oaks location on Ventura Boulevard was a '60s legend.

Wil Wright’s was a chain of ice cream parlors that dotted the Southern California landscape up until the mid-seventies.  In addition to the Sherman Oaks location, they could be found in Beverly Hills (corner of Beverly Drive and Charleville), Westwood Village (corner of Glendon and Lindbrook), West Hollywood (Sunset Strip), Pacific Palisades (San Vicente), among other spots.  They were the perfect place to take a date after the movie.  The delicate pink and red decor and little marble tables and wire-frame chairs made you feel like you were seated inside a Valentine’s Day card.

Historical Notes

Sometime in the early '70s, after Wil Wright's tried to add a full menu to compete with the success of Farrell's Ice Old Time Ice Cream Parlors—which were popular with kids and families and had a similar theme to Wil Wright's—the high-end parlor closed, leaving a legacy of rich, buttery tasting ice cream and marvelous macaroons in its wake.^

Historical Notes

Casa de Cadillac, a car dealership that has been in continuous operation on Ventura Boulevard since 1949, is a well-known landmark of San Fernando Valley Modernism.

The building was designed by Randall Duell and Phillip A. Conklin to be Don Lee Cadillac's Valley dealer, and the name soon changed to Casa de Cadillac. Its corner once boasted four other "Casa" businesses, from gas station Casa de Petrol to roadside stand Casa Burger, but today only the dealership remains. Duell was a Hollywood set designer as well as an architect, and his Casa design is certainly cinematic: the showroom's double-height glass windows beckon passers-by to come check out a Cadillac, while the interior's polished terrazzo floor glistens in welcome and a massive vertical stucco slab rises above the roof to announce its brand in white neon block letters.^

Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

This was where James Dean filled up his Porsche before later meeting his maker in a fatal car accident in 1955. Click HERE to see contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Photograph caption dated November 29, 1962 reads "Re-opens 'Stick.'" The article partially reads "The king of the Twist, handsome Chubby Checker, helped re-open the redecorated 'young adults' night club, The Peppermint Stick, in Sherman Oaks."

Historical Notes

A Hughes Market was on the east side of the street in the Sherman Oaks Center. It later became a Ralphs and is now Gelson's.

Historical Notes

Hughes Markets was privately owned and family-operated for 45 years.  In the mid-1990s the company was acquired by Quality Food Centers, Inc., a Seattle, Washington-based supermarket chain (but kept the Hughes name). By the late-1990s, many Hughes store locations were sold to Ralphs, which soon was sold to Fred Meyer, before going to Kroger.*^

Historical Notes

“Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye, four and twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie.” So goes the popular English nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Sixpence.” From this rhyme came the name for a small chain of late 1960s restaurants called Four’n 20 Restaurant & Pie Shop.

Like Marie Callendars, Four’n 20 featured pie, with a limited menu of soup, sandwiches, hamburgers, and salads.  The chain was created by United Fruit Company in 1969, and was overseen by its Baskin-Robbins division. There were four restaurants in Los Angeles (Encino, Northridge, Sherman Oaks, and Valley Village), two in San Jose, and three in New York.

Historical Notes

None of the four original Los Angeles Four ‘n 20 buildings remain, though two of the restaurants relocated and each has incorporated original signage into their new locations: (1) 5530 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks; (2) 4723 Laurel Canyon, Valley Village.

Historical Notes

The history of the Encino Velodrome began in 1953 when cycling enthusiasts George Garner, Bob Hansing, Jack Kemp and Charlie Morton started talking about building a new velodrome. Their original idea grew and through the help of friends, local businesses and the Corps of Engineers. Money and materials gradually came together allowing the track to be completed in time for the 1961 racing season. In 1963 the original asphalt surface was replaced with concrete and has remained as such to this day.

Historical Notes

The Encino Velodrome was selected to host the National Track Championships in 1965. The success of that single event paid for all prior construction costs. #+#

Historical Notes

The oval track is 250 meters in length, has 28 degree banked turns and 15 degree straights. #+#

Historical Notes

The Valley Ice Skating Center was owned and operated by Ron and Sheila Priestly, both remarkable figure skaters and show performers of their time.

Built in 1960, it was designed by Carl Maston mostly with the help of engineer Richard Bradshaw and had a dome shaped "clamshell" exterior. Maston had never done a project quite like a skating rink before but was knowledgeable of Bradshaw's previous work designing structures to span large spaces. The total construction cost for the completed building was $104,000. Bradshaw, not one to choose a box design when something more exciting could be done for the same price, came up with the creative design and construction process while Maston worked on the more straight-forward front and back elevations.

The Tarzana Ice Rink went on to win a Los Angeles Chapter AIA Merit Award. ("Honor Awards Given by A.I.A." Los Angeles Times, October 16, 1960). ^

Historical Notes

Owner and skating legend Ron Priestley served as president of the Tarzana Chamber of Commerce and he was an influential figure in the Ice Skating Institute of America (ISIA) which had been founded in 1959 to promote recreational skating.

The Valley Ice Skating Center was demolished in the 1970s to make room for new development. Today, the land is occupied by the Tarzana Square Shopping Center.

Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Known as the Freeway Flyers. They used suped-up Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles on the city freeways until the CHP took over patrol duties around 1968.

The 101 Freeway from Ventura to its intersection with the Hollywood Freeway in the southeastern San Fernando Valley (the Hollywood Split) was built in the late 1950s and opened on April 5, 1960. East of the Hollywood Freeway intersection, it is signed as State Route 134 which was built by 1971.

Historical Notes

The above photo appeard in the Valley Times in 1962 with this caption:  “The combination of country living and city convenience at Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley is demonstrated by this view of Ventura Boulevard on June 22, 1962. The view looks east from Topanga Canyon Boulevard.”

Historical Notes

Franklin's Ace Hardware has been a staple in the Woodland Hills community since 1952. It is a family-owned and operated hardware store, currently led by the third generation of the Kurzeka family.

Historical Notes

LABS permit records indicate that the building on the right at 21936 Ventura Blvd started being used as a hardware store in 1968. Beauty products, a bar, TV Repair, Health foods and even a real estate office have all set up shop here prior to that time. Franklin Hardware likely started in another location and moved here. It was probably close to this one, because people have long associated the name with Ventura and Topanga.

Historical Notes

Gemco was first established in Anaheim in October 1959. A year later, the company was purchased by Lucky Stores, which added the supermarket element and expanded Gemco into a chain. Business and profitability continued to be healthy for over 20 years until a series of unsuccessful leveraged takeover attempts from other companies were made on its parent company, Lucky Stores. Lucky, to avoid such hostile takeover attempts, eventually decided it was best to liquidate Gemco entirely. This liquidation occurred from September 1986 to November 1986. Target reopened in most of the former Gemco locations by the fall of 1987, having remodeled many of Gemco's former prime business locations into Target's bright red-and-white trade dress.*^

Click HERE to see more early views of Chalk Hill.

Historical Notes

Ridgewood Military Academy opened in 1942 and closed in 1981.

Historical Notes

Photograph caption dated May 30, 1963 reads:

“Here, on the south side of Ventura Blvd. between Winnetka and Canoga Aves., in Woodland Hills, is where the $1,000,000 theater-in-the-round will be built -- in time, it's hoped, for a 1964 start for the 20-week summer season of musical comedies with such already-committed stars as Miss Blair, Gordon and Sheila MacRae and John Raitt."* 

Historical Notes

The Valley Music Theater was built in 1963, as a concrete shell structure, by pouring a concrete 'dome' over a rounded hill of soil, then excavating the soil away. The theater project was backed by entertainers Bob Hope and Art Linkletter, along with Cy Warner. *^

Historical Notes

The little girl is Melody Holland, the daughter of David Holland, who was the Director of Public Relations for the theater. This photo was taken in 1964 before the opening of "The Sound of Music." Mr. Keaton's last home was in Woodland Hills at 22612 Sylvan Street. **#^

Historical Notes

The 2865-seat facility opened July 6, 1964 with The Sound of Music. The first year saw the theater mount 18 musicals, three comedies, a drama, as well as concerts with a combined audience of over 600,000.*^

Historical Notes

Among the performers who appeared at the Valley Music Theater were Sammy Davis Jr., Johnny Carson, Don Rickles, Woody Allen, Ray Charles, Art Linkletter, Robert Goulet, Mitzi Gaynor, Ike & Tina Turner, Peter, Paul & Mary, B.B. King, Lou Rawls, Three Dog Night, Jim Croce, and the Spiral Staircase. The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and The Doors appeared there together on February 22, 1967.*^

Historical Notes

By 1966 the theater began to fall on hard times. Over the years, the fare changed from legitimate theater, to rock concerts, to boxing matches, until in 1980 it became a Jehovah's Witness Regional Assembly Hall. By 2004, the church had outgrown the facility and sold the property, which it had bought for $1 million. *^

Historical Notes

The Valley Music Center site at 20600 Ventura Blvd. now consists of an apartment complex and live + work lofts called "The Boulevard".

Historical Notes

Two Hughes engineers, Simon Ramo and Dean Wooldridge, had new ideas on the packaging of electronics to make complete fire control systems. Ramo and Wooldridge, having failed to reach an agreement with Howard Hughes regarding management problems, resigned in September 1953. They founded the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation, later to join Thompson Products to form the Thompson-Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation based in Canoga Park (present day West Hills) with Hughes leasing space for nuclear research programs. The company became TRW in 1965, another aerospace company and a major competitor to Hughes Aircraft.^

Historical Notes

Dean Wooldridge retired in January 1962 to become a professor at California Institute of Technology. Simon Ramo became president of the Bunker-Ramo Corporation in January 1964, jointly owned by TRW and Martin Marietta for the production of computers and monitors. Thompson Ramo Wooldridge officially became TRW Inc. in July 1965.^

Historical Notes

West Hills was originally part of Owensmouth (founded 1912) and renamed Canoga Park (1930). West Hills was formed in 1987 after homeowners on the western side of Canoga Park launched a petition drive a year earlier to form a new community. In an unusual move, the area's L.A. City Councilwoman, Joy Picus, polled Canoga Park residents, asking them if they would like to join the new community, to determine West Hills' boundaries.  Today, West Hills is flanked on the north by the Chatsworth Reservoir, on the east by Canoga Park, on the south by Woodland Hills, on the southwest by Hidden Hills and on the west by Bell Canyon in Ventura County.*^

Click HERE to see more Early views of the Chatsworth Reservoir.

Historical Notes

Today, Corporate Pointe business park is located on the property originally developed in 1959 as the Thompson-Ramo-Wooldridge aerospace corporation's new headquarters and later used by Atomics International, Hughes Aircraft, and Raytheon for aerospace development advancements and nuclear research.

Historical Notes

Since 1947 the Santa Susana Field Laboratory location has been used by a number of companies and agencies. The first was Rocketdyne, originally a division of North American Aviation-NAA, which developed a variety of pioneering, successful and reliable liquid rocket engines.  Some were those used in the Navaho cruise missile, the Redstone rocket, the Thor and Jupiter ballistic missiles, early versions of the Delta and Atlas rockets, the Saturn rocket family and the Space Shuttle Main Engine.

The Atomics International division of North American Aviation utilized a separate and dedicated portion of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory to build and operate the first commercial nuclear power plant in the United States and for the testing and development of compact nuclear reactors including the first and only known nuclear reactor launched into Low Earth Orbit by the United States, the SNAP-10A. Atomics International also operated the Energy Technology Engineering Center for the U.S. Department of Energy at the site. The Santa Susana Field Laboratory includes sites identified as historic by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and by the American Nuclear Society.*

Historical Notes

During its years of operation widespread use occurred of highly toxic chemical additives to power over 30,000 rocket engine tests and to clean the rocket test-stands afterwards, as well as considerable nuclear research and at least four nuclear accidents, which has resulted in the site becoming seriously contaminated. A long process has been and is still ongoing to determine the site contamination levels and locations, cleanup standards to meet, methods to use, timelines and costs, and completion requirements - all still being defined, debated, and litigated.*

Historical Notes

In 1996, The Boeing Company became the primary owner and operator of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory and later closed the site. In 2005, Pratt & Whitney purchased Boeing's Rocketdyne division, but declined to acquire Santa Susana Field Laboratory site as part of the sale.*

There are still many unresolved issues regarding cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site. Boeing, NASA and DOE are in the process of moving forward on their cleanup plan.

Historical Notes

This excellent example of a Mid-Century Modern ecclesiastical structure, designed by architect Edward Davies, with a soaring A-frame chapel sits south of Elkwood St, and is surrounded by the Green Thumb growing grounds.

Epiphany Lutheran Church held its first service Dec 5, 1959 in the Canoga Park Elementary School auditorium. Five months later, the congregation moved to the Canoga Park Women's Club auditorium at 7401 Jordan Avenue. Ground was broken in May 1958 for the church’s own building, and the first service was held April 12, 1959.

Over the years, the congregation grew, until the 1990’s, when membership began to decline. In 2000, a decision was made to merge Epiphany Lutheran with Evangelical Church of the Resurrection, also in Canoga Park. After the merger, the combined church was renamed Faith Lutheran, with church services being held at the Evangelical Church site. The Epiphany Lutheran site was renamed The Garden Chapel, and is used for weddings and other special events. #^*^

Click HERE to see contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Pappy's started out as a pancake house and was a chain restaurant with 8 other locations stretching from Yuma, AZ to Portland, OR. The original Pappy's was opened in Santa Maria, CA in 1959. Jack Linkletter, son of TV personality Art Linkletter, helped set up the franchise.

Eventually the owners felt the chain was stretched too far apart and they sold all but two of the restaurants, both of which are in Santa Maria.

Today, it's a “2 Die For Sushi Restaurant" and “Super 8 Motel”.  Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

The Holiday Theater opened at Topanga & Roscoe in Canoga Park around 1961 and was a single screen theater. It became a Spanish theater and then a dollar theater before being closed in the 70's and turned into a hardware store. The architect was William N. Bonham and the contractor who built it was John P. Gilbert. #^*^

Historical Notes

Today you will find a Lowe's Home Improvement store where the theatre once stood.

Historical Notes

Valley Times photo caption dated May 17, 1962 reads "Break ground - Richard Wolfe, foreground, vice president and general manager of Zodys Quality Discount department Store, receives expert help from 2-year-old Janet Benson, Canoga Park, at groundbreaking ceremonies for new Zodys at Roscoe and Topanga Canyon Blvds., Canoga Park. Also participating are, from left, Howard Speer, Canoga Park Chamber of Commerce president; Mrs. Francis Lederer; Bonnie Gear, Miss Canoga Park; Francis Lederer, honorary Canoga Park mayor; James Liebman, Zodys developer, and Lee Freedman, Zodys vice president of store operations."

Zodys was a chain of discount retail stores that operated from 1960 to 1986. The chain operated locations in California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Michigan.  By 1969 there were 19 stores.

Historical Notes

Photograph caption reads "Radio wave opens doors of Zodys in Canoga Park -Crowd surges at Zodys discount store at Topanga Canyon and Roscoe Blvds., in Canoga Park as doors swing open Thursday morning by means of a radio wave bounced off Mt. Wilson by a helicopter. Another Zodys in West Covina was opened simultaneously by the radio wave. The stores opened Thursday mark the fifth and sixth stores in the chain. A seventh Zodys will be opened in Burbank in December." Photo by Bob Martin/Valley Times Collection

Bankrupt in the early 1980s, the parent company, then known as HRT Industries, began closing stores in 1984. The remaining Zodys stores in California were shuttered in March 1986 with many locations being sold to Federated Stores, the parent company of Ralphs supermarket chain, while other locations were purchased by HomeClub, a home improvement store chain.

Historical Notes

In 1966, Chili Olé, a short-lived eatery near the corner of Roscoe and Topanga in Canoga Park, possibly one of L.A.'s first sports bars, opened specializing in chili. Its investors were from the sports world, including Pete Rozelle, then the Commissioner of Football. Despite its unique concept, Chili Olé didn't last the decade and was renamed The Jailhouse, then San Marcos, followed by a series of pizza joints, before the building eventually sat empty for many years. Giamela's was supposed to open in 2009 but the "opening" was "delayed" until about 2019. It never opened.

Historical Notes

Mr. Walker wasn't around for 20 years, but the Dodge dealership was. It became Dependable Dodge in 1970, and is still there today.

Behind the Dodge dealership was “The Big A” grocery store and catty corner was White Front.

Historical Notes

The Canoga-Chrysler Plymouth dealership, a Googie-style structure, was built in 1964. The building underwent renovation in 2013 and the curved concrete arches in the front of the building were removed.

Historical Notes

The Canoga Park Drive-In, located at 21430 Strathern Street in Canoga Park, opened on April 13, 1960, with a capacity for 1,200 cars. Operated by Pacific Theatres, it featured its inaugural films "On the Beach" and "Noose for a Gunman." The drive-in thrived during the peak of outdoor movie theaters in the San Fernando Valley but ultimately closed its doors on September 18, 1977, with its final showings being "Final Chapter: Walking Tall" and "The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington." Following its closure, the drive-in was demolished and the site redeveloped into an industrial complex.

Lanark Park: In 1930, Mary Logan Orcutt, wife of wealthy Union Oil executive William Warren Orcutt, advocated for changing the name of her West Valley neighborhood from Owensmouth to Canoga Park. Most government agencies agreed, but the Post Office initially held out. A letter to President Hoover helped resolve the issue, and the name officially changed on March 1, 1931. Mary Orcutt also played a key role in securing the land for Orcutt Park, named after her family. The Orcutt family's ranch, Rancho Sombra del Roble, built in 1926, was purchased by L.A.'s Department of Recreation and Parks in 1966. They renamed it Orcutt Ranch Park, which necessitated changing Orcutt Park's name to Lanark Park, after the street bordering the north.

Historical Notes

Throughout the 1960s, the Canoga Park Drive-In thrived, becoming a social hub for moviegoers. Drive-ins offered a relaxed atmosphere that appealed to audiences looking for an alternative to traditional indoor theatres. They became popular date spots and family outings, reflecting the lifestyle of suburban America during this era. The drive-in experience was characterized by its blend of entertainment and social interaction, making it a cherished part of American pop culture.

Historical Notes

Like many drive-ins across the country, the Canoga Park Drive-In Theatre faced challenges that led to its closure on September 18, 1977. The rise of multiplex cinemas, increasing land values, and shifting entertainment preferences contributed to the decline of drive-in theatres. The closure of Canoga Park marked the end of an era for this iconic venue, encapsulating the broader story of drive-in theatres in mid-20th century America.

The site is now an industrial complex housing a variety of businesses.

Historical Notes

The Chatsworth Reservoir, constructed in 1919 as part of Los Angeles' water management system, played a crucial role in supplying water to the western San Fernando Valley for several decades. Initially developed under the supervision of William Mulholland, it was expanded in the 1930s but was ultimately decommissioned in 1972 after being deemed seismically unsafe following the San Fernando earthquake. In the 1990s, the area was transformed into the Chatsworth Nature Preserve, which was established to protect its diverse natural habitats and historical significance, including evidence of Native American use and a historic lime kiln. Today, the preserve serves as an important ecological site, supporting migratory birds and preserving a vital piece of Los Angeles' cultural and natural heritage.

Click HERE to see more early views of the construction of the Chatsworth Reservoir.

Historical Notes

Francis Parkman Middle School first opened its doors as a junior high school in 1959. Situated on a twenty-four acre site, the school was named for an American historian, Francis Parkman(1823-1893).

In 2006, the school changed its name to Woodland Hills Academy.

Historical Notes

In 2006, Parkman Junior High School underwent a major transformation and was reborn as Woodland Hills Academy. This change was part of a school reform initiative aimed at addressing several challenges the school faced:

Declining enrollment: By 2005-2006, the student population had dropped to around 800 students, down from nearly 1,500 in 2000.

Low morale and academic performance: The school had a low API (Academic Performance Index) score.

Loss of faculty and programs: The school was losing teachers and educational programs, including music.

Competition: The school faced competition from nearby charter schools and high-performing LAUSD middle schools.

Historical Notes

In 2019 most of the above buildings were razed to make room for a new shopping center ('Gateway').

MASON AVENUE was named for Azubeth H. Mason in 1917.

LASSEN STREET was named for the Northern California county where Lassen National Park is located.

Click HERE to see more in Street Name Origins – SFV.

Historical Notes

This long-defunct venue was once the key occupant of a shopping center on the southeast corner of Devonshire Street and Mason Avenue.

It was opened as the Cinema Chatsworth on June 29, 1966 with Gregory Peck in “Arabesque”. It was operated by a variety of franchises throughout its lifetime—including the Century Theatres, Loews and General Cinema chains.

By the early-1990’s, it was shut down and converted into retail space.

Historical Notes

In the 1960s, the area that is now known as Warner Center in Woodland Hills was primarily the private horse ranch of Harry Warner, one of the Warner Brothers of Warner Bros. Pictures. The ranch encompassed around 1,100 acres of land.

Some key events and developments in the 1960s:

In 1967, the Harry Warner family donated 20 acres of land from the ranch that became Warner Center Park (also known as Warner Ranch Park).

In 1968, 630 acres of the ranch land was sold to Aetna Life and Casualty for $30 million for long-term investment and development purposes. Aetna later brought in Kaiser as a joint venture partner.

Initial development of the Warner Ranch land began in the Canoga Park portion between Victory Boulevard and Vanowen Avenue, with the opening of Topanga Plaza in 1964 as the first enclosed shopping mall in California. Aerospace companies like Rocketdyne and Litton Industries also built facilities on the land.

Historical Notes

A 1982 account in "The History of Woodland Hills and Girard" by Richard Cacioppo details how the original 1920s community of Girard came to be renamed Woodland Hills because of trees planted by developer Victor Girard.

Girard marketed the arid 2,886-acre West Valley ranchland south of Ventura Boulevard as a weekend retreat for Los Angeles residents through his Boulevard Land Co. He realized it needed trees to have a real country look for potential buyers.

Under Girard's plan, pepper trees were lined up along Canoga Avenue between Victory Boulevard on the north and Mulholland Drive on the south. When Warner Center was developed in the 1970s, the pepper trees between Victory and Ventura boulevards were chopped down to widen the two-lane street. ^^^

Historical Notes

Named after inventor Charles Litton, Sr., Litton Industries was a large defense contractor. It started in 1953 as an electronics company building navigation, communications and electronic warfare equipment. They diversified and became a much bigger business, with major shipyards, etc., and even manufacturing microwave ovens. In 2001, Litton Industries was bought by Northrop Grumman Corporation.

Historical Notes

Note the light traffic on the Ventura Freeway and the lack of any development between the freeway and Ventura Blvd., which itself was lightly developed back then along the south side and little more than a four-lane country highway.

To the immediate left of the Litton property on the west side of Canoga Ave. stood the old Warner Ranch, often used in making movies.

There were new housing developments on the east side of De Soto.  Pierce College is to the north of the development and east of where De Soto eventually was put through, following the wash.  Included on the Pierce property was the Warner House – on the knoll by the bend along the culvert east of where De Soto now runs. 
Burbank Blvd. along the northern part of Litton property did not continue west at Canoga Ave.  The large open area on the south side of Burbank Blvd. west of De Soto now houses the Woodland Hills Kaiser Permanente Hospital complex.

Historical Notes

By 1990, Litton Industries was a primary builder of large surface multi-mission combat ships for the US Navy. They were also providing much of the Navys overhaul, repair, modernization, ship design, and engineering as well, all for surface ships.

By the early 1990s, Litton Industries was too large to manage as one unit. It split into separate military and commercial companies. The military arm continued to be called Litton Industries. The commercial business, which included oilfield services, business and automated assembly line operations, was renamed Western Atlas Inc.

In April 2001, Northrop Grumman Corporation acquired Litton Industries for about 3.6 billion dollars. ##++

Historical Notes

Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour was started in Portland, Oregon, by Bob Farrell and Ken McCarthy in 1963.  Farrell's became known for their offer of a free ice cream sundae to children on their birthday. The parlors had an early 1900s theme, with employees wearing period dress and straw boater hats, and each location featured a player piano.*^

(ca. 1970s)^ - View looking north on Canoga Avenue showing a young man standing in front of the Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour's parking lot with the 101 Freeway on-ramp in the distance.

Today, a Burger King stands near this location. Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

In 1972, the Farrell's chain was purchased by the Marriott Corporation.  By 1975, there were 120 Farrell's nationwide. Thereafter, sales dropped and most of the parlors were sold off in the 1980s. In 1982, Marriott sold the chain to a group of private investors. By 1990 almost all Farrell's locations had closed.*^

Seven Farrell's Restaurants still exist today, 6 in California and 1 in Hawaii. The closest one to the San Fernando Valley is located in Santa Clarita.

Historical Notes

In 1942, Henry Kaiser built a steel mill in Fontana to supply steel for the ships he was building to help America win the war. When he learned that his workers couldn’t get adequate health care, he built a hospital and medical offices right on the steel mill grounds. It was the first Kaiser Permanente facility in Southern California.

The name Permanente came from Permanente Creek, which ran by Henry Kaiser's first cement plant on Black Mountain in Cupertino, California.

Historical Notes

The Panorama City Kaiser Hospital was completed in 1962 and featured two circular towers. Within the towers, the concept of "circles of service" was born. Later Kaiser Permanente hospitals retained the basic design but the "binocular" towers were enclosed in rectangles.

Historical Notes

In 2008, the 1962-built Kaiser Permanent Hopsital was razed and a new Hospital and Medical Center built. Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Built on a small plot of land in Van Nuys, Valley Presbyterian Hospital first opened to the community in 1958 with only 63 beds in a building designed by architect William Pereira.The facility specializes in maternal and child health, cardiac care, orthopedics, and critical care services.*

Historical Notes

In 1968, the hospital's seven-story Circle Tower was constructed, adding 180 beds. Today, the hospital has 350 beds and is one of the largest independent, nonprofit community hospitals in the San Fernando Valley.*

Historical Notes

The Valley Presbyterian Hospital specializes in maternal and child health, cardiac care, orthopedics, and critical care services.

Between 2006 – 2014, the Hospital was voted the "Best Medical Center" by the readers of the LA Daily News.*

Historical Notes

In 1954 Anheuser-Busch opened a brewery in Van Nuys, California, followed by an updated version of Busch Gardens in 1966. By this time, the Busch Entertainment Corporation had already opened their Tampa Bay gardens in 1959, which was an admission free hospitality facility with a beer garden and bird sanctuary. In a similar fashion, Busch transformed a cabbage patch adjacent to the Van Nuys brewery into a tropical beer garden and bird sanctuary.

Historical Notes

On May 16, 1966, the first pair of cars, containing Busch and other dignitaries, snapped a ribbon as it began moving, and the dedication was official. In total, there were seven pairs of cars that would carry passengers on a 3,500-foot loop around the 17-acre Anheuser-Busch facility.

Historical Notes

The Busch Gardens theme park featured a monorail that snaked around the facility and passed windows that gave passengers a look at the brewing process.

Historical Notes

Amongst the many activities provided for visitors were boat rides across a lagoon, a monorail, a log-flume ride, and a suspended trolley tour through the brewery; but perhaps the most popular attraction was the free beer. Once the park admission was paid, anyone of drinking age was allowed “two 10-ounce glasses of beer at each of the five pavilions.”

Historical Notes

In 1972 Busch Gardens would go through an expensive expansion that saw the addition of the log ride and other attractions of the like, and necessitated the construction of a pedestrian bridge and another monorail line to adjoin the original brewery property to the new section of the park.

Historical Notes

By the mid-seventies attendance began to slow down and August Busch III decided to close the park in December of 1976.

Busch Gardens reopened on January 5, 1977 as a bird sanctuary and boasted "1500 birds of some 180 different species,". Many wandered freely and some were viewable from the boat ride. Guests began their trip with a 15-minute tour of the brewing facility, with audio narration provided by Ed McMahon. But, that didn't last long.

Historical Notes

The Van Nuys park closed permanently in 1979. Two other Busch Gardens, in Tampa, Fla., and Williamsburg, Va., are currently open.

The company was liberal with its "free beer" policy, which extended to the brewery's employees. This, curiously enough, wasn't a problem until 1982, when one employee who imbibed on his break wound up hitting and killing a 16-year-old pedestrian when he drove off the lot. It took several years of discussions between the workers' unions and the brewery, but the free beer finally came to an end on May 1, 1986, and employees had to settle for two free cases a month instead of "beer breaks" they initially had in their contracts.

Historical Notes

Construction of the 405 Freeway began in 1957 with the first section, mostly north of LAX Airport being completed in 1961.  The section of the 405 that would connect western Los Angeles to the San Fernando Valley was part of a 12-mile, $20 million project, then the most expensive California highway project to date.*^

Historical Notes

This Mullholland Dr. Bridge was constructed like no other, from the top down. The bridge was completed over two years before the freeway that connected West L.A. to the San Fernando Valley would open.^*^*

Historical Notes

On Monday, April 4, 1960, the same day the 1959 Academy Awards were held at RKO's Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, Peter Kiewit Sons Co. completed the Mulholland Drive Bridge across the Sepulveda Pass.^*^*

Historical Notes

In 2012, 52 years after it was originally built, the Mulholland Dr. Bridge was demolished and reconstructed to accommodate the widening of the I-405 freeway. The new bridge was widened by approximately 10 feet and designed to the latest seismic standards.^*^*

Historical Notes

The freeway's congestion problems are legendary, leading to jokes that the road was numbered 405 because traffic moves at "four or five" miles per hour, or because drivers need "four or five" hours to get anywhere. Indeed, average speeds as low as 5 mph are routinely recorded during morning and afternoon commutes, and its interchanges with the Ventura Freeway (U.S. Route 101) and with the Santa Monica Freeway (Interstate 10) each consistently rank among the five most congested freeway interchanges in the United States.*^

Historical Notes

Construction of the 101 Freeway (Ventura Freeway) progressed in segments, beginning with the section linking Sepulveda Boulevard and Encino Avenue that opened in 1958.*

Historical Notes

Note the signage for SR-7 instead of I-405, which changed only a few years later.

Historical Notes

The Cahuenga Pass has long been a convenient shortcut between the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles Basin. The first Southern Californians likely blazed a foot-trail millennia ago, and by the late 18th century the villagers of Cabueg-na or Kaweenga (the origin of the name "Cahuenga") near Universal Studios regularly trekked through the pass. In 1852, a steep wagon road replaced the old trail, and in 1911 the Pacific Electric stretched its interurban railway tracks through the pass. Any remnants of the pass' rustic character vanished in 1940, when the Cahuenga Pass Freeway -- one of L.A.'s first – opened.

Historical Notes

The first segment of the Hollywood Freeway built was a one and a half mile stretch through the Cahuenga Pass. That segment opened on June 15, 1940. It was then known as the "Cahuenga Pass Freeway." Pacific Electric Railway trolleys ran down the center of this freeway until 1952.

Historical Notes

The second section of the Hollywood Freeway that stretched from the San Fernando Valley to Downtown Los Angeles opened on April 16, 1954 at a cost of $55 million.

Historical Notes

The 101 Freeway from Ventura to its intersection with the Hollywood Freeway in the southeastern San Fernando Valley (the Hollywood Split) was built in the late 1950s and opened on April 5, 1960. East of the Hollywood Freeway intersection, it is signed as State Route 134 which was built by 1971.

The Hollywood Freeway (Route 170) between the Ventura Freeway and the Golden State Freeway (Interstate 5) was completed in 1958.

Historical Notes

Since 1957, Universal City has experienced significant growth, primarily centered around the expansion of Universal Studios Hollywood. The establishment of the modern Universal Studios tour in 1964 marked the beginning of its transformation into a theme park. Additionally, the success of the theme park spurred commercial growth in the surrounding area, resulting in the development of hotels, restaurants, and retail spaces.

Historical Notes

Known as the Freeway Flyers. They used suped-up Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles on the city freeways until the CHP took over patrol duties around 1968.

The 101 Freeway from Ventura to its intersection with the Hollywood Freeway in the southeastern San Fernando Valley (the Hollywood Split) was built in the late 1950s and opened on April 5, 1960. East of the Hollywood Freeway intersection, it is signed as State Route 134 which was built by 1971.

Historical Notes

In 1887, Jouett Allen purchased under contract 1,000 acres of land between the Pacoima Wash and the Tujunga Wash. He chose the name that had long been applied to the beautiful canyon on the north and the “river” that flowed down from it. The land was purchased from the Maclay Rancho Water Co. which had taken over Senator Charles Maclay’s holdings in the Valley. Allen retained 500 acres for himself and subdivided the remainder in 1-acre tracts. From this the town of Pacoima was born.

Pacoima was renamed 'Mulholland' in 1912 to take advantage of William Mulholland's popularity. It was hoped that the name change would give a boost to the area's development. But that only lasted for one year before the name reverted back to Pacoima. Click HERE to see more.

By the 1950s, the rapid suburbanization of the San Fernando Valley arrived in Pacoima, and the area changed almost overnight from a dusty farming area to a bedroom community for the fast-growing industries in Los Angeles and nearby Burbank and Glendale, with transportation to and from Pacoima made easy by the Golden State Freeway.

Pacoima 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.*^

Historical Notes

Pacoima Wash is a major tributary of the Tujunga Wash, itself a tributary of the Los Angeles River, in the San Fernando Valley.  The stream begins at Mount Gleason, 6,502 ft, in the western San Gabriel Mountains of the Angeles National Forest. The upper reaches, sometimes known as Pacoima Creek, flow through Pacoima Canyon as a rapid mountain stream. It then reaches the Pacoima Dam Reservoir in the western San Gabriel Mountains of the Angeles National Forest and proceeds south in a free-flowing stream alongside Pacoima Trail Road. Below the dam, it is generally known as the Pacoima Wash. From there, it joins several other unnamed streams that drain the nearby mountains, collecting at Lopez Dam. South of that dam, Pacoima Wash is encased in a concrete flood control channel, and travels south from Kagel Canyon in Sylmar though San Fernando, Pacoima, Mission Hills, Panorama City, and Van Nuys.*^

Historical Notes

Whiteman Airport was founded as "Whiteman Air Park" in 1946 on a farm by pilot Marvin Whiteman Sr. as a non-tower controlled, private airport. Later Whiteman Manufacturing Co. was built on the airport's west side. In 1970 the airport was purchased by the County of Los Angeles. During the 1980s the name was changed to "Whiteman Airport", but it is still commonly referred to as "Whiteman Airpark" by old-time local pilots to this day.*^

Historical Notes

In 1988, an FAA-approved and funded control tower was installed in Whiteman Airport.

Historical Notes

Golden Valley Gun Club, established in 1958, opened on May 7th 1960. It was located on the north corner of San Fernando Rd & Osborne St, adjacent to Whitman Airport.  It had 14 trap and 9 skeet fields, with rifle and pistol range.*

Historical Notes

Jessup Park was named after Roger Wolcott Jessup.  Roger and Marguerite Jessup founded Jessup Farms Dairy in 1919. It was located just north of Glendale. The dairy farm became the largest privately owned dairy in the United States at the time.*

Historical Notes

The Valley Times photo caption reads "People who prefer a rural way of life fled thickly-populated areas to develop canyons for home sites, only to discover their efforts to seek isolation were in vain.

Agricultural acreage in the San Fernando Valley and nearby Santa Clara Valley dropped from 61,300 in 1945 to 35,000 in 1957."

The Fritz Burns Ranch in the foreground has a colorful past that includes a reindeer herd, German POWs and silent films. Starting in the 1950s, the Burns Ranch was home to a reindeer herd that spent the Christmas season at Southern California shopping centers, including Panorama City. Dayle Hunter's family managed and lived at the ranch in the 1960's and '70s. The ranch is also known to have been a camp for a few of the 400,000 Axis prisoners of war held in the United States during World War II. Much of Sylmar was formerly known as San Fernando. The San Fernando prisoners are said to have been used as citrus workers. #^*^

D.W. Griffith owned the ranch before Burns and shot films there. The site of the Griffith Ranch is California Historical Landmark No. 716.

Historical Notes

Stetson sold the estate to the Mormon Church in 1958. Damaged by the 1971 earthquake, the house was razed and the church sold the property to a developer in 1978. A portion of the estates land was turned into Stetson Ranch Park. However, most of the land was developed into the Oakridge Mobile Home Park. The mobile home park was ravaged by the Sayre fire in November 2008 and 482 of the 600 homes burned to the ground.^

(1955)^ - Laurel Drive-In Theatre, located at 10770 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Pacoima. Now showing a double feature:  Square Jungle starring Tony Curtis and Pat Cowley and Sudden Danger starring Bill Elliott and Tom Drake. Photo: Cinema Treasures

Historical Notes

The Laurel Drive-in was operating by 1955. It was demolished in the early-1970’s to make way for the 118-Fwy.

Historical Notes

In the 1990s Richard Alarcon, a Los Angeles City Council member who represented Pacoima, proposed changing the name of Paxton Park to honor Ritchie Valens. Hugo Martin of the Los Angeles Times said in 1994 that Alarcon proposed the rename so Pacoima residents will "remember Valens's humble background and emulate his accomplishments." The annual Ritchie Valens Fest, a festival, was created in 1994 to honor the renaming of the park.*^

Historical Notes

In the late 1940s, Charley Atkins, a Recreation and Parks employee, along with a handful of rail enthusiast friends, had the idea that a steam locomotive would make an attractive addition at the Griffith Park miniature railroad ride. The original intention of the Museum was to be a "railroad petting zoo," an opportunity for the children of Los Angeles to "imagineer" themselves as engineers. The City of Los Angeles Harbor Department had two little engines destined for scrap that seemed to fit the bill. The idea escalated as Atkins, with the enthusiastic support of former Recreation and Parks Department General Manager George Hjelte and Superintendent of Recreation William Frederickson, initiated contacts with major railroads in California to determine what equipment they might be willing to donate. At that time, the steam locomotive era was drawing to a close, and Atkins found a good response. Travel Town was formally dedicated on December 14, 1952. The concept of a combined transportation museum and recreation center blossomed, and wishes for donations were generously fulfilled. In 1965, Travel Town's exhibits were re-grouped, and the park re-dedicated.*

Historical Notes

A new high voltage power line (34,500 Volts) was installed on the north side of Devonshire in the early 1960s to provide for the load growth in the NW San Fernando Valley.

Historical Notes

Owned and operated by Buck Barker and family, The Munch Box is one of Chatsworth’s Historic-Cultural Landmarks.  Buck’s Uncle John and Aunt Linda owned The Munch Box for the first 30 years, with Buck and his wife, Claire following in their footsteps. It has remained a family owned operation since its opening in 1956.^

Historical Notes

In 2003, The Munch Box became the first fast-food stand to be placed on the list of Historic-Cultural Monuments (No. 750).

Historical Notes

Opened in 1956, the menu has remained basically the same with hickory burgers, mushroom burgers and chili dogs to name a few. Some things have changed over the years--root beer is no longer made on the premises and sold for 10 cents, but the root beer float is still the popular drink. The hitching post to tie up your horse used to be directly behind the building and is now gone.^

Historical Notes

Huell Howser was invited to The Munch Box to see what sites Chatsworth has to offer. His program included an interview with Buck and his wife Claire discussing the history of the family. 

Still a meeting place and favorite place to drop by, The Munch Box also has been known to have antique car collectors gather to show off their 50’s style rides.*

Historical Notes

Click HERE for More Early Views of Stoney Point.

Historical Notes

Construction of the Simi Valley Freeway (118) began in 1968 and the last section of freeway opened in 1979. The segment of freeway between Balboa Boulevard and Tampa Avenue was one of the last freeway segments to be built in the Los Angeles area.

Before the freeway was built, the route went through Simi Valley on Los Angeles Avenue and Keuhner Drive, then crossed into the San Fernando Valley on Santa Susana Pass Road. The eastern segment used Devonshire Street through the San Fernando Valley. During the 1932 Summer Olympics, it hosted part of the road cycling event.

In December 1994, the portion of Route 118 constructed to freeway standards was renamed the Ronald Reagan freeway.*

Historical Notes

Prior to the freeway completion, westbound traffic had to get off the 118 at Balboa, drive down Rinaldi to Corbin, to Devonshire, to Desoto, and then North to the 118. When they closed the gap from Balboa to De Soto, most, if not all, of those bridges were built on the ground and the dirt excavated from underneath. 

Historical Notes

A total collapse of the southbound Interstate 5 to northbound State Route 14 overpass occurred as a result of the February 9, 1971 Sylmar earthquake. This collapse resulted in the additional collapse of the intersecting southbound State Route 14 to southbound I-5 overpass (as this connector bridge was directly beneath the 5/14 overpass). Both bridges fell directly onto the southbound I-5 truck bypass. The interchange was rebuilt in 1973, with additional steel rebar reinforcement.

The January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake caused the southbound State Route 14 to northbound I-5 connector to collapse. It also caused the south 14 to south I-5 overpass to collapse directly onto the main I-5 freeway and the southbound I-5 truck bypass, nearly exactly as had happened in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. The latter collapse caused the death of Los Angeles Police Department motorcycle officer Clarence Wayne Dean, who, while reporting to work, fell from a partially collapsed bridge when he was unable to stop in time. The interchange was later dedicated the Clarence Wayne Dean Memorial Interchange in his honor. The collapse also closed the Metrolink's Antelope Valley Line, which began operation to Lancaster soon after. The interchange was partially reopened on July 8, and completed in 1995 with additional reinforcing on the overpass support columns.

Historical Notes

Fotomat was a retail chain of photo development drive-through kiosks located in shopping center parking lots. Fotomat Corporation was founded by Preston Fleet in San Diego in the 1960s, with the first kiosk opening in Point Loma, California in 1965. At its peak around 1980 there were over 4,000 Fotomats throughout the United States, primarily in suburban areas. Fotomats were distinctive for their pyramid-shaped gold-colored roofs and signs with red lettering, usually positioned in a large parking area such as a supermarket or strip mall, as the Fotomat huts required a minimal amount of land and were able to accommodate cars driving up to drop off or pick up film.

Historical Notes

Photomat sold Kodak-brand film and other photography-related products, and offered one day photo finishing. They often hired female employees to work in the small buildings and called them "Fotomates." The Fotomate uniform was a royal blue and yellow smock top. Male employees were called "Fotomacs" and their uniform was a light blue polo shirt.

The company's main product, overnight film development, was rendered noncompetitive by the late 1980s development of the minilab, which provided one-hour photo development and could be installed on-site without a large capital investment.

Historical Notes

Northridge Fashion Center had been in the early stages of construction when the Sylmar quake hit on February 9, 1971. There was damage to structures being built, such as the Bullock's store. However, all compromised construction was soon rebuilt, with work proceeding as planned.

Unfortunately, the Northridge temblor of January 17, 1994 caused severe damage to the mall. The Bullock's and Penney's stores collapsed, The Broadway and Sears suffered significant structural damage and two parking garages were leveled. However, the bulk of the mall proper was left fairly intact.

The mall was closed for well over a year while repairs were made. Bullock's was rebuilt from the ground up and expanded to 200,000 square feet. The Broadway, Penney's and Sears were gutted and reconstructed.

Historical Notes

A second expansion of the Northridge Fashion Center was undertaken in 1997, with the north end of the structure completely reconfigured. The vacant Robinson's-Robinsons-May North was demolished and the empty Broadway building opened-up and made part of an outdoor concourse and plaza. New stores in the "Entertainment Expansion" included Borders, Cost Plus World Market, Bally's Health Club and On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina.

The focus of the expansion was the Pacific Theatres Northridge 10 multiplex, built on the site of the old Robinson's. The addition was formally dedicated in November 1998, increasing the GLA of the mall to 1,512,700 square feet. The retail roster now listed over one hundred and seventy stores and services.

Dallas-based MEPC American Properties had the misfortune of acquiring Northridge Fashion Center just one month before it was nearly leveled by the 1994 earthquake. After investing over one hundred million dollars into its reconstruction and renovation, they sold the mall to Chicago-based General Growth Properties, in April 1998.

(2009)* – View of the front of the Kmart Store located on the southeast corner of Corbin and Plummer in Northridge.

Sign reads: "Store Closing"

Historical Notes

In 2011, the Kmart building was demolished to make room for a housing complex (Terrena Apartments) after standing on the corner of Corbin and Plummer for over 40 years.

The Mulholland Orchard Co. occupied at least the area immediately west of the Northridge Mall to Corbin, between Nordhoff and Plummer.  The Mulholland Home was the site of the late K-Mart, presently the Terrena Apartments.  The grapefruit groves that were recently destroyed for Northridge Toyota's temporary lots and to the north, at the southwest corner of Shirley Ave and Prairie St, were planted by the Chief's son, Perry, circa 1916.

The San Fernando Valley's last groves are at CSUN, O'Melviny Park and south to the Blvd, off Corbin.

Historical Notes

This was Pacific’s biggest drive-in for most of its life. It was built to cater for the expanding suburbs in the West San Fernando Valley. The Winnetka 4 (as it was in the 1970's) replaced the old Canoga Park drive-in on Canoga near Roscoe. By the 1980's Winnetka had expanded to 6 screens and was the drive-in powerhouse in the San Fernando Valley. If not for Pacific moving to more indoor multiplexes, the drive-in would still be open. The Pacific Stadium 21 now draws the same audience and more to hotdogs every night......indoors! #^*#

Historical Notes

The Winnetka Drive-In was the last drive-in to be built (1976) and the last to close (1996) in the San Fernando Valley.
The Pacific Winnetka 21 multiplex has occupied the site of the former drive-in since 1998.^**^

Historical Notes

There was an elevated projection room at the center of the lot with a snack bar alongside. The staff used motorized golf carts to move around the site since it was so large. #^*#

Historical Notes

You guessed it, six screens so six ticket booths! Boom gates helped ensure "runners" did not get in without paying. When big films played here all six boxes were open.#^*#

Historical Notes

George K. Porter owned a third of the northern valley west from the railroad line to Aliso Canyon (Zelzah Avenue from Granada Hills to Northridge). He was the first to initiate large-scale citrus growing in the valley, having planted a navel orange grove that reportedly stretched nearly three miles long. His cousin Benjamin owned 20,000 acres in the valley’s northwestern area. Because it was far removed from the railroad line, it was the least desirable section, and remained relatively undeveloped.

Historical Notes

Benjamin Porter’s descendants decided to hold onto the ranch until the early 1960s. But this area was definitely still thought of as ranch land. During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s the unofficial entrance to Porter Ranch was even marked with two horse and rider statues. One was at the northwest corner of Tampa and Devonshire and the other was located at the northeast corner on Devonshire and Tunney. Rumor has it that many years later, one of the statues was found in a local trash dumpster.

(1970s)^ - Annual October Ritual, a pumpkin on head of the Porter Ranch welcome statue. Photo courtesy of Will Markland

Historical Notes

The Porter Ranch area eventually garnered the reputation of housing horse ranches for numerous celebrities and also served as a filming location for several major movie studios. In cinema history, Porter Ranch was most notable as the location of large portions of the famous film, E.T. the Extra-terrestrial, in 1982. There were a number of shots from the Steven Spielberg blockbuster where they featured views looking down on the Porter Ranch neighborhood that sits beneath the ridge in Palisades Park. Porter Ridge Park is also the sight of the park scene at the end of the movie.

Historical Notes

In the late 80s, there was an attempt to connect Sesnon Boulevard, the road that flanks the north side of the neighborhood, to its counterpart across the Aliso Canyon, also named Sesnon, via a bridge to be named simply, the "Aliso Canyon Bridge". This plan never came to fruition due to demonstrations from the residents of Porter Ranch, the primary opponents of the bridge, who believed that connecting the road to the neighborhood across the canyon would bring "crime...drag racing, and drug dealing". Residents were also afraid of Sesnon becoming "a [highway] 118 alternate route", which would "send many cars through Porter Ranch".

The bridge was never built.  However, there is still evidence of the bridge seen from Sesnon heading east towards the canyon, the road (which is now closed off behind multiple guard rails) is visible heading towards the canyon just short of the bridge, and the counterpart is still visible on the west-bound side.^

Historical Notes

New home building that eventually took place in the Porter Ranch area in the 1990s–2000s, including the Renaissance Summit development, was mired in controversy and Los Angeles politics in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Existing residents of the Porter Ranch area feared the increased traffic that would be brought by the planned building of an area commercial complex to service the new homes being built. Developments were also criticized for destroying the natural beauty of the brush and wild areas that inhabited the space before the houses were built.

In 1990, the new 1,300-acre Porter Ranch development was approved by the City Council and became known as one of the biggest housing and commercial projects in Los Angeles’ history.*^

Historical Notes

To the north of Porter Ranch, just outside the city limits, there existed an abandoned oil field with 115 wells called Aliso Canyon storage facility.  This became the second largest storage facility in the nation when it was re-purposed in the 1970s, with a capacity to hold 86 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

On October 23, 2015, Southern California Gas Company workers discovered a leak in one of the wells at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, about three miles north of homes in Porter Ranch. The gas blowout began spewing 110,000 pounds of methane per hour. The blowout involved gas stored under pressure in an underground reservoir.

By order of the Los Angeles County Dept of Health, the company relocated thousands of families from the Porter Ranch area; the Federal Aviation Administration established a temporary flight restriction over the leak site until March 2016. On December 15, the county of Los Angeles declared a state of emergency, and two days later it approved a plan to close two schools in the area. Officials estimated that the leak would take months to repair.

On February 18, 2016, state officials announced that the leak was permanently plugged.  The gas leak has been cited by experts and independent researchers as the largest in U.S. History.

It was thought that residents had filed as many as 1,000 lawsuits. Los Angeles County filed criminal charges against SoCalGas for its failure to report the leak immediately.  In 2018 SoCalGas agreed to payments of $119.5 million to several government entities over the incident.

Historical Notes

Fifty-one percent of Porter Ranch residents aged 25 and older had earned a four-year degree by 2000, a high percentage for the city.  Also, Porter Ranch is rated the wealthiest neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley, with Encino ranked second.

Historical Notes

Click HERE to see more Early Views of LA Gas Stations.

Historical Notes

The Mobil station is now a mini-mart and the Union station is now a Walgreens, but that liquor sign near the SE corner still stands!

Historical Notes

The restaurant opened in early 1965, and was in business for almost 20 years. In 1984, a new sign was erected, with the owner being PCH burgers. The building was razed sometime between 1989 and 1994, and is now part of the car wash property.

Historical Notes

Francis Lederer was a Czech-born film and stage actor with a successful career, first in Europe, then in the United States. Lederer has more than seventy credits on the IMDb. During the 1950s, he served as honorary mayor of Canoga Park.

In 1934, Francis Lederer began design and construction, with the help of artisan builder John R. Litke, of his landmark residence and stables on the hilltop of a large 300-acre rancho at the west end of Sherman Way. The house is a blending of Mediterranean Revival style with Mission Revival style architecture in which the interior and exterior integral design, artisan work, and construction details are in a refined landmark quality. The rich building materials were chosen to make the finished buildings appear centuries old. The interior has imported original 14th and 15th century Italian Renaissance and Spanish Renaissance museum-quality art pieces, decorative arts elements, and furnishings.

Historical Notes

In 1978, the Lederer Residence and immediate environment was declared LA Historic Cultural Monument No. 204.

A big factor in the residence’s historic monument declaration was the decorative and antique furnishings throughout the home. The city called the Lederer Residence “a distinguished example of Mission Style architecture in which interior and exterior detailing is of museum quality. The Spanish and Italian furnishings are of particular interest, dating back from the 14th century.”

Historical Notes

Lederer also owned the stables across the street (now the Canoga Mission Gallery) which was also declared a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument in 1974. Both sites comprised a 300 acre ranch owned by Lederer. He was also the Honorary Mayor of Canoga Park during a good portion of his life prior to his death in 2000 at the age of 100. Lederer was a promoter of the West Valley especially Canoga Park where he helped establish the sister city program between Taxco, Mexico and Canoga Park in 1963.

Historical Notes

The stables are in pure Mission Revival style and was designed by Francis Lederer with John R. Litke in the 1930s.  It was built beside Bell Creek. Marion Lederer, his wife, transformed them into the Canoga Mission Gallery in the 1970s, which continues to the present day.

In his later life, Lederer, who had become very wealthy, invested in real estate, especially in the Canoga Park community (renamed West Hills in 1987). He was active in local and Los Angeles civic affairs, philanthropy and politics. He served as Recreation and Parks Commissioner for the city of Los Angeles, received awards for his efforts to beautify the city and was the honorary mayor of Canoga Park for quite a time. He became involved with peace movements, taught acting, and was one of the founders of the American National Academy of Performing Arts in Los Angeles, and the International Academy of Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. In 2000, he was honored by the Austrian government with the Cross of Honor for Science and Arts, First Class.

Lederer Avenue was named in his honor.

Historical Notes

In 1967, the stables were transformed into a Mexican art gallery known as the Canoga Mission Gallery.

In 1974, the Mission Revival-style building was declared LA Historic-Cultural Monument No. 135.

Historical Notes

Today the former stables, built in 1936 by actor Francis Lederer, houses an antique shop and hosts events.

Historical Notes

Shoup Avenue was named after Paul Shoup, a vice president of the Southern Pacific Railroad and president of the Pacific Electric Railway Co.

Oxnard Street was named for Henry T. Oxnard, sugar beet magnate in the Ventura County area. The name dates from 1916, when the Valley was developing into a major beet producer.

Click HERE to see more SFV Street Name Origins.

Historical Notes

On the right, where Carlson Circle merges with Shoup Avenue, you can see a gas station. This station lasted until the mid-70's when it became a 'Naugles' and about 1988 became a Del Taco.

The reason Carlson Circle is curved is that Pacific Electric had plans for a streetcar line that would run from Topanga and Sherman Way all the way up to Shoup and Ventura Blvd. The line never went in.

Just east of the Hughes Market (upper-left) is where the Roller Dome eventually was and later a health fitness center (Racquetball World then Spectrum and currently the Bay Club).

Historical Notes

Harry Warner, the eldest of the Warner Brothers, owned this land since the 1940s which he used as a horse ranch. In 1968, 630 acres of the land was sold to Aetna Life and Casualty for $30 million. Aetna acquired the land for long-term investment and development purposes, and later brought in Kaiser as a joint venture partner. Initially, tracts of the Warner Ranch land had been developed in pieces, such as the Topanga Plaza which opened in 1964 as the first enclosed shopping mall in California, or sold to users such as aerospace companies Rocketdyne and Litton Industries which built their facilities there.

The Harry Warner family donated 20 acres of land in 1967 that became the Warner Center Park (also known as the Warner Ranch Park), located east of Topanga Canyon Boulevard between Califa Street and Marylee Street.*^

Historical Notes

The 47-acre facility at 6633 Canoga Avenue, opened by North American Aviation in November 1955, helped propel America’s vaunted space program. The Aerojet Rocketdyne division is now located at 8900 De Soto Avenue in Chatsworth, which opened five years later.

At its height in the mid-1960s, the Rocketdyne division employed more than 23,000 rocket scientists in Canoga Park, Chatsworth and its Santa Susana Field Laboratory above Simi Valley, site of booming rocket engine tests.*

Historical Notes

For more than 50 years, the massive Canoga Park manufacturing facility has played a central role to the U.S. space program. Workers there designed and built the engines used on the Saturn V rocket in the Apollo program, and then the main engines used on the Space Shuttle. *

Historical Notes

A press release attached to the photo reads: 'High-thrust rocket engines for the arrived forces are designed, developed, and manufactured in this ultra-modern main plant of Rocketdyne, a division of North American Aviator, above. Located at Canoga Park in California's San Fernando Valley, the plant contains in addition to 316,000 square feet, engineering and warehousing facilities nearby. In the Santa Susana Mountains near Canoga Park is Rocketdyne's propulsion field laboratory, where the large, liquid-propellant rocket engines are static-fired in huge steel test stands. It is the free world's most extensive and advanced rocket research center.' ^^

Historical Notes

A related press release explains that the mechanics are making: "the final adjustments on an engine which will be used in the U.S. Army Jupiter intermediate range ballistic missile. The Jupiter IRBM will be deployed in operational use by units of the Strategic Air Command. It was an engine of the type shown which was called upon to furnish the powerful first-stage boost of the Army's space probe."

Historical Notes

Rocket engines for aerospace and weapons were developed and manufactured by Rocketdyne (1955-2005), Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (2005-2013), and Aerojet Rocketdyne (2013-present) at the Canoga Park facility. At its loudest was its colossal F-1 liquid propellant rocket engine (seen above), the largest, most powerful single-nozzle, liquid fueled rocket ever made, according to NASA.*^

Of its 13 Apollo missions from 1967 to 1973, 24 astronauts escaped Earth’s orbit without a hitch, including a dozen who walked on the moon, using the Canoga Park built rocket engine.

Some 98 F-1s were produced, including some 65 engines flown, according to NASA. One of them was the unused engine on Canoga Avenue resembling the Terminator in an antebellum hooped skirt, now owned by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. *

Historical Notes

In 2014, the entire Canoga Park Rocketdyne facility was sold to developers. Shortly after the sale, it was announced that a $3 billion project would be constructed on the 47-acre Rocketdyne site that will include a mix of commercial, residential and high-rise buildings forming almost their own mini-city.

Historical Notes

Devolopment of the Rocketdyne Canoga Park plant site have been stalled.  Community activism and legal actions have played a significant role in addressing the issues surrounding the site. Local residents and environmental organizations have been advocating for a thorough cleanup of the site and increased transparency in the process. Lawsuits have been filed against the responsible parties to ensure accountability and adequate remediation efforts.

Efforts to address the environmental concerns and protect public health are ongoing, with continued monitoring, cleanup activities, and engagement from community stakeholders, government agencies, and environmental organizations.

Historical Notes

Ground was broken for the TOPANGA PLAZA project in February 1963.

Topanga Plaza was conceived as one of California's first major enclosed shopping malls. This design approach was revolutionary at the time, as it provided a climate-controlled environment for shopping, protecting visitors from the elements and creating a more comfortable experience year-round.

Historical Notes

Looking west on Victory, Desoto is the first street at the bottom of the picture going left to right. The curving road going off to the right is the railroad tracks that paralleled Victory (E & W) then curved up and paralleled Canoga (N & S) - now the Orange Line Busway. The road in the middle with trees along it going left to right is Canoga Ave. The trees in the upper right is Shadow Ranch Park and beyond that is where Fallbrook Square is going to be built....if you look at the hill on the upper-left side of this picture it’s the back of Woodland Hills Park on Shoup.

The construction near the top middle-right is the Topanga Plaza Mall being built and the street just beyond it is Topanga Canyon Blvd.

Historical Notes

Topanga Plaza was conceived as one of California's first major enclosed shopping malls. This design approach was revolutionary at the time, as it provided a climate-controlled environment for shopping, protecting visitors from the elements and creating a more comfortable experience year-round.

Historical Notes

The original design incorporated three major anchor stores - May Company, Montgomery Ward, and The Broadway. These large department stores were strategically placed to draw customers and create foot traffic throughout the mall.

Historical Notes

The Topanga Plaza Mall would open on February 10, 1964 and become California's first enclosed shopping mall and also the first enclosed mall west of the Mississippi. It was originally anchored by The Broadway, May Company and Montgomery Ward. Nordstrom was added in 1983.

Historical Notes

Completed in 1964, Victor Gruen Associates provided planning, architecture, engineering and interior design services for Topanga Plaza.

Historical Notes

As the first enclosed shopping mall to open in southern California, Topanga Plaza was developed by Saint Louis-based May Centers, Inc. and built in the San Fernando Valley on a 58-acre tract, 25 miles northwest of the city center. The land parcel had been part of the Harry Warner Ranch.

Historical Notes

The photo above was taken just north of Califa St headed toward Oxnard St with a clear view of The Broadway and Topanga Plaza. Today, the Marriott Hotel would be on the right and the Promenade after that. Note the sign for the T intersection -- that's for Oxnard St, the paved section ended at Topanga.

Historical Notes

The original mall enveloped 727,100 leasable SF on two levels and housed 83 retailers. The first stores in business were the May Company, Montgomery Ward and The Broadway, serving as anchor stores for several decades. Charter tenants included Joseph Magnin apparel, Mullen & Bluett ladies’ apparel, Silverwood’s men’s and boys’ apparel, Lane Bryant, Kay Jewelers, Florsheim Shoes, Hardy Shoes, Frederick’s of Hollywood, Hudson’s Jewelers and Sutton Brothers Home Decorating. Topanga Plaza is now the modern-day Westfield’s Topanga shopping center.^

Historical Notes

In 1964, Wallich's famed Music City invited stars and the general public to the June 5 "star-packed party" celebrating the debut of the Music City at Topanga Plaza. Present were emcee Bill Ballance of KFWB, Bonanza's Lorne Greene, and Don Grady of "My Three Sons." Giveaways galore included a Magnavox *color* TV, Magnavox stereo, Audion home organ, a guitar, hundreds of record albums, and tickets to Jungleland.

The original Wallichs Music City was located on the northwest corner of Sunset & Vine and operated from 1940 to 1978. Owner Glenn E. Wallichs had started Capitol Records, along with Tin Pan Alley songsmith Johnny Mercer and ex-Paramount movie producer Buddy De Sylva from a small office a little further south down Vine Street in 1942 and moved to larger offices above the store in 1946. After Capitol Records moved into The Capitol Tower in 1956 the offices become the home of Dot Records.

Wallichs Music City was one of the first-known music stores to seal record albums in cellophane and put them in display racks for customers to browse. The racks were tabletop height trapezoid-shaped browser boxes (designed by Capitol Records' Frederick Rice) that allowed the covers they contained to be viewed like a card index without damaging the sleeves. The store was also the first to have demonstration booths for listening to records.

Historical Notes

From the 3-story ceiling, "raindrops" cascaded down columns of nylon monofilaments straight into a garden area and pond. It was located at the south end of, at the time, the world's largest two-level all-enclosed and air-conditioned mall shopping center.^

Historical Notes

Deep sea diver, Merchant Marine officer, stuntman, and designer Vic Chatten of Torrance created the “Rain Forest” fountain. Unveiled in May 1964, the 55-foot spectacle featured 6 columns totaling half a million "raindrops" (65 gallons of glycerin) silently descending over 15 miles of monofilm. The “rain” would then go through receivers which, in turn, channeled to a pump where the fluid traveled up 3-stories to the top of the fountain. Each monofilm wire was fastened at the ceiling and kept taut with an 8-ounce weight below the base of the fountain. Chatten spent three decades perfecting his fountain system. A successful inventor, he created many other contraptions, including a reusable beer keg bung that was ultimately used by a major U.S. brewery.

Historical Notes

The Topanga Plaza Ice Arena opened in March 1965, about a year after the mall's inauguration. It was located on the mall's lower level, at the southeast corner of the structure, adjacent to the original food court.

The ice skating rink quickly became a popular attraction, especially for younger people during hot summer days, drawing visitors from as far away as Hollywood. The rink was part of a larger entertainment complex within the mall, which also included features like the "Rain Fountain" ("Wonderfall") in the adjacent South Court, bird aviaries and a gazebo in the North Court, and the Terrace Restaurant overlooking the area from atop the May Company store.

In 1966, Ice Capades, a traveling entertainment show on ice, purchased the skating rink at Topanga Plaza as part of their expansion into owning and operating permanent ice rinks, establishing their Chalet Division. The ice skating rink remained a fixture of the mall throughout the late 1960s and most of the 1970s. However, it closed in the late 1970s.

Historical Notes

After its closure, the space was initially used for five inline stores in the early 1980s. Later, as part of a $16 million renovation in 1984, the space was transformed into the 15-bay Plaza Cafes Food Court.

Historical Notes

Located at the corner of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Kittridge Street, the 12,400 square foot contemporary design structure faced the recently-completed Topanga Plaza Shopping Center.

The new building replaced the office located at Variel and Independence avenues which was opened in 1960.

Historical Notes

The structure is a two-story concrete and glass pavilion with a roof supported by two massive concrete girders which, in turn, are supported by eight sculptured concrete columns of cruciform section.

Historical Notes

Sierra's Restaurant started as "Ed Sierra's Spanish Cafe" in 1932 at 500 San Fernando Mission Blvd. During the 1930's Hollywood filmed many movies in the San Fernando Valley and for the most part the place to eat was Ed Sierra's Spanish Cafe. From the 1930's to the 60' many movie stars moved to the San Fernando Valley, so you never know who you might run into at Ed's Cafe.

In the mid 60's Mr. Sierra sold the Cafe to his son-in-law, Gil Jaramillo. Mr. Jaramillo is the founder of Mission Brand Tortillas, which he later sold in the late 1970's, to pursue a new chapter in his life, serving the Valley with the finest quality Mexican cuisine at an affordable price. He changed the name to "Sierra's" and opened his second, larger restaurant in Canoga Park, which was previously the "Old Vic's" restaurant, just off the corner of Vanowen and Canoga Avenue.*

Historical Notes

Because Sierra’s was run by two generations including Mr. Sierra’s grandchildren, it claimed to be the oldest restaurant in the San Fernando Valley continuously operated by one family.

Sierra's in Canoga Park was so successful it needed to be expanded three times since it's opening in 1969.

Historical Notes

With the success of Sierra's, Gil and his wife Fay, realized the area was in need of a fast food restaurant, so in 1973, the Jaramillo's purchased "Gus's Chicken Shack" on the corner of Alabama and Vanowen Street. He ran this for about a year as a sandwich shop specializing in "dip" style sandwiches. The demand for Sierra's style Mexican food was so great and Sierra's had already reached its full capacity, that he then created "Mission Burrito", and the rest is history.*

Historical Notes

In 2013, Sierra's, the oldest family run restaurant in the San Fernando Valley, closed its doors as well as the doors of their adjacent Mission Burrito.

Mission Burrito would soon be reincarniated in West Hills at 22744 Roscoe Blvd near Fallbrook Ave. There are currently several other Mission Burritos locations including: Woodland Hills, Simi Valley, and Moorpark.

Historical Notes

The Promenade Shopping Mall originally opened in 1973 as a high-fashion shopping center, anchored by stores like J.W. Robinson's, Bullock's Wilshire, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Over the years, many of the anchor stores closed or left, including Robinson's, Bullock's, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
The mall struggled after the 1994 Northridge earthquake and the opening of the nearby Westfield Topanga mall.

By the 2010s, the Promenade had fewer than 10 stores remaining and was considered a "dead mall".
The AMC movie theater was one of the last remaining tenants, but it closed in June 2022 when it relocated to the nearby Westfield Topanga mall.

In 2020, the Los Angeles City Council approved a plan by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield to redevelop the Promenade site into a mixed-use development with hotels, offices, and over 1,400 new apartments.

In 2022, the Promenade property was sold to an investor group led by Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke, who is expected to redevelop the site as part of a larger mixed-use project in the area.

Historical Notes

Warner Center in Woodland Hills, experienced significant development in the 1970s and 1980s:

The area was originally the private horse ranch of Harry Warner, one of the Warner Brothers. In 1968, 630 acres of the land were sold to Aetna Life and Casualty for $30 million for long-term investment and development purposes. Aetna later brought in Kaiser as a joint venture partner.

Initial development in the 1970s included the 34-acre Promenade Mall, which opened in 1973, as well as engineering facilities and headquarters for aerospace companies like Rocketdyne and Litton Industries. The 1.1 million square foot Warner Center Business Park and the 1.8 million square foot Warner Center Plaza, with its signature high-rise office buildings, were also built out during this period.

In the 1980s, the Trillium office project consisting of twin 17-story towers was constructed. Real estate developer Robert Voit, in partnership with Robert Allison and New England Life Insurance Company, led much of the commercial development in Warner Center during this time.