Woodland Hills, Los Angeles
||This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. (July 2013)|
|Neighborhood of Los Angeles|
Woodland Hills, California in the foreground, including Warner Center, from the Top of Topanga Overlook
|Time zone||PST (UTC-8)|
|• Summer (DST)||PDT (UTC-7)|
- 1 Geography
- 2 History
- 3 Climate
- 4 Demographics
- 5 Government and infrastructure
- 6 Education
- 7 Parks and recreation
- 8 Notable people
- 9 See also
- 10 References
- 11 External links
Woodland Hills is an affluent neighborhood in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley which is located east of Calabasas and west of Tarzana. On the north it is bordered by West Hills, Canoga Park, and Winnetka, and on the south by the Santa Monica mountains.
Some neighborhoods are in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. Running east–west through the community are U.S. Route 101 (Ventura Freeway) and Ventura Boulevard, whose western terminus is at Valley Circle Boulevard in Woodland Hills.
The area was inhabited for approximately 8,000 years by Native Americans of the Fernandeño-Tataviam and Chumash-Venturaño tribes that lived in the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills and close to the Arroyo Calabasas (Calabasas Creek) tributary of the Los Angeles River in present-day Woodland Hills. The first Europeans to enter the San Fernando Valley were the Portola Expedition in 1769, exploring 'Alta California' for Spanish missions and settlements locations. Seeing it from present-day Sepulveda Pass, the oak savanna inspired them to call the area Santa Catalina de Bononia de Los Encinos (Valley of the Oaks). The Mission San Fernando Rey de España (Mission San Fernando) was established in 1797 and controlled the Valley's land, including future Woodland Hills.
Ownership of the southern half of the Valley, south of present-day Roscoe Boulevard from Toluca Lake to Woodland Hills, by Americans began in the 1860s. First Isaac Lankershim (as the "San Fernando Farm Homestead Association") in 1869, then Isaac Lankershim's son, James Boon Lankershim, and Isaac Newton Van Nuys (as the "Los Angeles Farm & Milling Company") in 1873, and finally in the "biggest land transaction ever recorded in Los Angeles County" a syndicate led by Harry Chandler of the Los Angeles Times with Hobart Johnstone Whitley, Gen. Moses Sherman and others (as the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company) in 1910.
Victor Girard Kleinberger bought 2,886 acres (1,168 ha) in the area from Chandler's group and founded the town of Girard in 1922. He sought to attract residents and businesses by developing an infrastructure, advertising in newspapers, and planting 120,000 trees. His 300 pepper trees formed a canopy over Canoga Ave. between Ventura Boulevard and Saltillo St. became Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #93 in 1972. The community of Girard was eventually incorporated into Los Angeles, and in 1945 it became known as Woodland Hills.
Within the San Fernando Valley, Woodland Hills generally experiences some of the more extreme temperature changes season to season than other regions. During the summer, temperatures are often very hot, while during the winter, overnight temperatures are among the coldest of the region. In July 2006 Woodland Hills recorded the highest temperature ever in Los Angeles County, hitting 119 °F (48 °C) at Pierce College. The climate is classified as a Csa in the Köppen climate classification, which is characterized by mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. This climate is often referred to as a Mediterranean climate. Precipitation in Woodland Hills averages much the same as most other regions of the west San Fernando Valley, although somewhat higher amounts of rainfall occur in the surrounding hills.
|Climate data for Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, CA (1981–2010 normals)|
|Record high °F (°C)||95
|Average high °F (°C)||69.2
|Daily mean °F (°C)||54.2
|Average low °F (°C)||39.7
|Record low °F (°C)||20
|Average precipitation inches (mm)||3.62
In population, it is one of the least dense neighborhoods in Los Angeles, and the percentage of white people is high for the county. The percentage of residents 25 and older with four-year college degrees is high for both the city and the county. The percentage of veterans, 10.7% of the population, was high for the city of Los Angeles and high for the county overall. The percentage of veterans who served during World War II or Korea was among the county's highest.
As of the 2000 Census, and according to the Los Angeles Almanac, there were 67,006 people and 29,119 households residing in Woodland Hills. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 79.90% White, 6.97% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 3.34% African American, 0.33% Native American, 4.80% from other races, and 4.52% from two or more races. 11.94% of the population were Hispanic of any race.
Median household income in 2000 was $72,568. Median home cost in ZIP 91364 was (2007) $944,500 and cost of living in ZIP 91364 was (2007) 76.26% higher than the U.S. average.
The 2008 Los Angeles Times's "Mapping L.A." project supplied these Woodland Hills neighborhood statistics: population: 59,661; median household income: $93,720. The Times said the latter figure was "high for the city of Los Angeles and high for the county."
In 2008 the population of Woodland Hills was approximately 63,000. The median age in 2000 was forty years, old for both the city and the county.
Government and infrastructure
Woodland Hills Warner Center Neighborhood Council is the local elected advisory body to the City of Los Angeles representing stakeholders in the Woodland Hills and Warner Center areas.
Los Angeles Fire Department Station 84 (Woodland Hills) and Station 105 (Woodland Hills) serve the community. Los Angeles Police Department operates the nearby West Valley Community Police Station in Reseda and the newly built Topanga Division station in Canoga Park.
County, state and federal representation
Primary and secondary schools
Elementary schools include:
- Calabash Street Elementary School
- Lockhurst Elementary School
- Serrania Elementary School
- Woodlake Avenue Elementary School
- Woodland Hills Elementary School
- Ivy Academia Entrepreneurial Charter School
- Calvert Street Elementary School
Middle schools include:
- Woodland Hills Academy (formerly known as Parkman Middle School)
- The school opened in 1959 as "Parkman Junior High School." It received its current name in 2006.
- Hale Middle School
High schools include:
- El Camino Real High School
- William Howard Taft High School
- Henry David Thoreau Continuation High School
- West Valley Occuptional Center, 6200 Winnetka Avenue
- El Camino Real High School
- William Howard Taft High School
- Ingenium Charter School – Kindergarten through Sixth Grade
- George Ellery Hale Charter Academy 6–8 grade
- Chime Charter School K-8
- Serrania Charter for Enriched Studies - K-5
- Calvert School for Enriched Studies - K-5
- The Alexandria Academy – secular school serving First through Twelfth Grade
- Chaminade College Preparatory High School – Coed Marianist Catholic High School
- Crespi Carmelite High School All Boys Catholic High School
- Halsey Schools – 6 weeks – 6 years.
- Louisville High School All female Catholic High School
- Pinecrest-elementary and middle school
- St. Bernardine of Siena – preschool through Eighth Grade
- St. Mel – preschool through Eighth Grade
- Woodland Hills Private School – serving Preschool (starting at 2 years old) through Fifth Grade.
Lycée International de Los Angeles previously had a Woodland Hills campus, which had over 140 students as of 2001. This was in a public school building, rented from the Los Angeles Unified School District. In 2001 LAUSD announced that it would not renew the lease.
Colleges and universities
Colleges and universities in Woodland Hills include:
Parks and recreation
Woodland Hills is home to the Woodland Hills Country Club, a private equity golf club. The country club is complete with golf course, fine dining, and entertainment options.
The Woodland Hills Recreation Center (Shoup Park) is a 19-acre (7.7 ha) park in Woodland Hills. The park has a small indoor gymnasium without weights and with a capacity of 300; it may be used as an auditorium. The park also has a lighted baseball diamond, outdoor lighted basketball courts, a children's play area, a lighted football field, picnic tables, a lighted soccer field, and lighted tennis courts. Woodland Hills Pool is an outdoor seasonal unheated swimming pool.
The Warner Center Park, also known as Warner Ranch Park, is located in Woodland Hills. The park, unstaffed and unlocked, has a children's play area and picnic tables. Serrania Park in Woodland Hills is an unstaffed, unlocked pocket park. It has a children's play area, hiking trails, and picnic tables. Alizondo Drive Park in Woodland Hills is an unstaffed, unlocked, and undeveloped park used for brush clearance once per year.
Along the western boundary of Woodland Hills is the large Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, a regional park with a trail network for miles of hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian rides. The trailhead and parking are at the very western end of Victory Boulevard in Woodland Hills. Scheduled walks and programs are offered. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area has various parks nearby to the south of the community. The Top of Topanga Overlook gives panoramic views of the verdant Woodland Hills neighborhoods and the Valley.
Many Hollywood celebrities have spent their final days and died in Woodland Hills because it is the location of the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital, a private retirement, nursing care and acute-care hospital facility founded in the 1940s and reserved exclusively for industry professionals. The linked article includes a substantial but very incomplete list of its former residents. The list below is of notables in various fields who made their homes in Woodland Hills in the usual way rather than at that institution, but there may be instances of overlap or cases of mistaken classification.
- Rick Auerbach, Major League Baseball player
- Orr Barouch, Israeli professional soccer player
- Justine Bateman, actress, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- Roy Campanella, Major League Baseball player
- Helena Carroll, actress
- Mary Carver, actress
- Ted Cassidy, actor; his cremated remains are buried in an unmarked location at his former Woodland Hills residence.
- Larry Drew II, pro basketball player, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- Jordan Farmar, pro basketball player, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- John Feldmann, musician, songwriter, and producer
- America Ferrara, actress, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- Jeff Fisher, NFL head coach, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- Brad Garrett, actor and comedian
- Raymond Greenleaf, actor
- Ryan Hurst, actor, producer, and director 
- Conor Jackson, Major League Baseball player, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- Buster Keaton, actor and director
- Chief Keef, rapper
- Kevin Kennedy, Major League Baseball player, manager and broadcaster, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- Jack Klugman, actor
- Lisa Kudrow, actress, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- John Larch, actor
- Ryan Lavarnway, Major League Baseball player (Baltimore Orioles)
- Christy Lemire, film critic
- Maureen McCormick, actress, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- Serayah McNeill, merican actress, best known for her recurring role as Tiana Brown on the television show Empire
- Charles McPhee, author, nationally syndicated talk show host, "The Dream Doctor Show", Dream Researcher, 1962-2011
- Christopher Mintz-Plasse, actor, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- Janel Moloney, actress
- Dolores Moran, actress
- Sara Paxton, actress
- Joy Picus, City Council member, 1977–91; Ms. magazine Woman of the Year
- Faye Reagan, pornographic actress and American Apparel model. 
- Thomas D. Shepard, City Council member, 1961–67
- Malcolm Smith, linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks, MVP of Super Bowl XLVIII
- Steve Smith, NFL wide receiver, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- Jan Smithers, actress, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- Wilmer Valderrama, actor, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart), musician, singer and composer. Captain Beefheart's definitive album Trout Mask Replica was composed and rehearsed in a communal house in Woodland Hills 1968–1969.
- Quincy Watts, Olympic sprinter, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- Zachary "Kid Yamaka" Wohlman, professional boxer
- Randy Wolf, Major League Baseball player, attended high school in Woodland Hills
- Robin Yount, Hall of Fame baseball player, attended high school in Woodland Hills
-  "Mapping L.A.," San Fernando Valley
- "article". Usatoday.com. March 4, 2006. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- Mercury News article
- Roderick, Kevin, The San Fernando Valley: America's Suburb, Los Angeles Times Books, 2001, ISBN 1-883792-55-X. pp. 20–4
- Leonard Pitt and Dale Pitt, "Woodland Hills," Los Angeles A to Z, University of California Press (1997) ISBN 0520202740, page 556]
- "Thompson v. Los Angeles Farming & Milling Co.'', U.S. Supreme Court, 180 U.S. 72 (1901)". Supreme.justia.com. September 19, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- Roderick 2001, p. 48
- "History (Woodland Hills)". Archived from the original on October 7, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2007.
- "Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments". Preservation.lacity.org. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- Bob Pool; Rong-Gong Lin II (September 27, 2010). "L.A.'s hottest day ever". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
- "World Maps of Köppen-Geiger climate classification". Koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- ""Woodland Hills" entry on the ''Los Angeles Times'' "Mapping L.A." website". Projects.latimes.com. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- http://www.lapdonline.org/west_valley_community_police_station lapdonline.org
- "Post Office Location – WOODLAND HILLS." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.
- Board District 4 Map. Los Angeles Unified School District. Retrieved on November 24, 2008.
- "Calabash Elementary School- Woodland Hills". Calabashelementary.com. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- "Serrania Avenue Elementary School – Welcome to Serrania Avenue". Serraniaavenue.org. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- "You are about to leave the LAUSD network". Lausd.k12.ca.us. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- "Ivy Academia PreK-12 Grade". Ivyacademia.com. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- "Woodland Hills Academy". Whacademy.com. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- "School History." Woodland Hills Academy. Retrieved on October 24, 2011.
- Van Nuys Service Area- West Valley Occuptional Center
- "Infant Center & Preschool in Woodland Hills a.k.a. daycare & childcare". Halseyschools.com. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- "Woodland Hills Private School". Woodland Hills Private School. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- "Woodland Hills (Archive). Lycée International de Los Angeles. Retrieved on June 29, 2015. "5724 Oso Avenue Woodland Hills, CA 91367"
- Ritsch, Massie. "6 Private Campuses in Valley Face Eviction." Los Angeles Times. January 9, 2002. Retrieved on June 29, 2015.
- Lingre, Michele. "Early Linguists : Private Foreign-Language Schools Give Bilingual Education a New Twist." Los Angeles Times. April 28, 1988. p. 2. Retrieved on June 29, 2015. "Le Lycee Francais de Los Angeles (Valley campus), 5345 Wilhemina Avenue, Woodland Hills"
- "SPECIAL CLOSED SESSION MINUTES 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, September 10, 2002" (Archive). Los Angeles Unified School District. Retrieved on June 29, 2015. "Platt School site, located at 5345 Wilhemina Avenue, Woodland Hills"
- "Woodland Hills Branch Library." Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved on March 20, 2010.
- "Platt Branch Library." Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved on March 20, 2010.
- "Woodland Hills Recreation Center." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 20, 2010.
- "Woodland Hills Swimming Pool." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 20, 2010.
- "Warner Center Park." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 20, 2010.
- "Warner Ranch Park." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 20, 2010.
- "Serrania Park." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 20, 2010.
- "Alizondo Drive Park." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 20, 2010.
- "Upper_Las_Virgenes_Cyn.-park". Lamountains.com. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- http://www.lamountains.com/parks.asp?parkid=59 -access date: 6/9/2010
- "Rick Auerbach Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
- Fox, Margalit (April 10, 2013). "Helena Carroll, 84, Actress of Stage and Screen, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
- "Mary Carver". Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. October 27, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- Allan R. Ellenberger (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. Mcfarland. p. 227. ISBN 978-0786409839.
- "Celebrity Real Estate: Music Producer and Musician John Feldmann Lists in Woodland Hills". Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- "Raymond Greenleaf". IMdB. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- Meade, Marion (1997). Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase. Da Capo. p. 284. ISBN 0-306-80802-1.
- "Jack Klugman Died from Prostate Cancer". tmz.com. January 4, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
- Bruce Weber (December 24, 2012). "Jack Klugman, Actor of Everyman Integrity, Dies at 90". The New York Times.
- "Jewish Sports Review Tabs Adam Amar and Joey Lieberman 2007 All-Americans". CSTV. July 17, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
- Ron Kaplan (August 18, 2011). "One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor". New Jersey Jewish News. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
- "Red Sox prospect Ryan Lavarnway gets call-up, will play tonight". Jewish Baseball News. August 16, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
- "Charles McPhee, Host of ‘Dream Doctor’ on Radio, Dies at 49". The New York Times. March 14, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
- "Dolores Moran". Find a Grave. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- "Spotlight on . . . Third District Councilwoman Joy Picus," Civic Center NewSource, June 24, 1991, pages 1 and 2
- Los Angeles Public Library reference file
- "Residence of Faye Reagan is mentioned at the bottom of her IMDB Profile Mini Bio Section".
- "Shepard Appointed," Los Angeles Times, July 5, 1967, page B-2
- Bing map
- "Winner," Los Angeles Times, June 2, 1961, page 8
- "City Council Candidates," Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1961, page SF-A-ll
- "Incumbent Councilman One of Three in 3rd District Race," Los Angeles Times, March 28, 1965, page SF-A-3
- Pauline O'Connor (September 10, 2010). "Captain Beefheart's Cabin in Woodland Hills". Curbed Los Angeles. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- Gabriel Alvarez (November 11, 2013). "Papa Said Knock You Out: Issue 53's Zachary Wohlman Fights This Thursday". Mass Appeal. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.|
- Woodland Hills Warner Center Neighborhood Council
- Woodland Hills-Tarzana Chamber of Commerce
- Chime Institute