West Los Angeles

For the "Westside" region in Greater Los Angeles, see Westside (Los Angeles County).

West Los Angeles
Neighborhood of Los Angeles
West Los Angeles Location within Western Los Angeles
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
City	Los Angeles

West Los Angeles is a term for two residential and commercial areas in the city of Los Angeles, California, mapped differently by different sources and on opposite sides of the Interstate 5 Freeway. Each of them lies within the larger Westside region of Los Angeles County.

Geography

West Los Angeles as defined by the Los Angeles Times

According to the Mapping L.A. website of the Los Angeles Times, West Los Angeles lies south of Santa Monica Boulevard, west of Beverly Glen Boulevard, north of Pico Boulevard and east of Sepulveda Boulevard, but the Automobile Club of Southern California does not mark boundaries on its map but centers the neighborhood south of Santa Monica Boulevard, west of Interstate 405, north of Olympic Boulevard and east of Barrington Avenue.

In 2003, a Los Angeles Times correspondent noted that:

The meaning of the term West Los Angeles varies widely. Some use it to describe the entire Westside including Santa Monica, Venice and stretching east to Western Avenue. More precisely, though, it is the portion of incorporated Los Angeles between the Santa Monica city limits on the west, Wilshire Boulevard on the north, Century City to the east and extending just beyond National Boulevard on the south. Sections of West L.A. run the gamut from stylish Cheviot Hills to a cluster of generic homes east of Bundy Drive.

Her report on the meaning of West Los Angeles also included Rancho Park and the Westdale Trousdale area near National Boulevard and Barrington Avenue.

Population

Mapping L.A. gives the population of its 1.05-square-mile neighborhood as 12,659 according to the 2000 U.S. census, with a rise to 13,582 in 2008 as estimated by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning. Its density of 12,061 people was about average for the city of Los Angeles. It had an especially high percentage of white people compared with the county at large, 76.7%, and the neighborhood was not especially diverse for the county. Others ethnicities were Asian, 11.4%; Latino, 5.3%; black, 2.3%, and other, 4.1%.

The median household income in Mapping L.A. area was $86,403 in 2008 dollars, which was considered high for both the city and the county. The percentage of households earning $125,000 and up was high for the county. Median age of residents was 38, old compared with other locality in the city and the county. The average household size was 1.9, low for both the city and the county. 51% of residents rented their living quarters, and 49% owned them. The percentage of widowed men adn women was among the county's highest. Iranian and Russian were the most common ancestries.

The Mapping L.A. area was highly educated, with 60.4% of residents 25 and older holding a four-year degree, a higher ratio than found in the rest of the city or the county.

Government and infrastructure

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services SPA 5 West Area Health Office serves West Los Angeles.

Emergency services

Los Angeles Police Department operates the West Los Angeles Community Police Station at 1663 Butler Avenue. Los Angeles Fire Department Station 59 at 11505 W. Olympic Boulevard serves the area.

Education

University High School

Daniel Webster Middle School

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

West Los Angeles is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Neighborhood elementary schools are Brockton Avenue, Canfield Elementary School, Castle Heights Elementary School, Cheviot Hills Continuation School, Clover Elementary School, Crescent Heights Boulevard Elementary School, Nora Sterry Elementary School, Overland Elementary School, Shenandoah Street Elementary School and Warner Avenue. Middle schools are Emerson and Webster. High schools are Hamilton High School, Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, University High School and Indian Springs Continuation, both on the same site.

Private schools

YULA Boys High School, Yeshivat Ohr Chanoch Boys High School, Yeshiva of Los Angeles Girls High School, Vista School, Temple Issiah Preschool and Kindergarten, Saint Sebastian School, St. Mary Magdalen Elementary School, Rabbi Jacob Pressman Academy, Lycee Francais de Los Angeles, Bais Chaya Mushka Chabad, West Los Angeles Baptist School and First Lutheran School of Venice are nearby private schools. Pacific States University in the Harvard Heights area is a graduate and undergraduate college.

Public libraries

The Los Angeles Public Library operates the West Los Angeles Regional Library.

Parks and recreation

The Stoner Recreation Center is situated in the area. The center includes a waterpark, barbecue pits, a lighted baseball diamond, lighted outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, a lighted football field, an indoor gymnasium without weights and a capacity of 300 people, picnic tables, a lighted soccer field, lighted tennis courts, and lighted volleyball courts. The Annual Cherry Blossom Festival, co-sponsored by the West Los Angeles Japanese American Community Center, is held at the park. Other parks and recreations in the area are Cheviot Hills Park, Rancho Park Golf Course and Reynier Park.

Notable residents

Juliet Landau, actress

Mitchell Schwartz, NFL football player

• David Avadon, illusionist
• Juliet Landau, actress
• Geoff Schwartz, NFL football player
• Mitchell Schwartz, NFL football player