The
Fairfax District is an area of neighborhoods in the
Mid-City WestMid-City West is a subregion located in the Wilshire area of the City of Los Angeles, California. While it may be confused with the Mid-Wilshire area, the city designates it as a separate area, encompassing the area south of Santa Monica Blvd, west of Fairfax Avenue, and north of Pico or Venice...
area of
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
.
It is roughly bordered by
West HollywoodWest Hollywood, a city in Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984. The latest residential population estimate was 34,675. The city is well-known for its nightlife, celebrity culture, and diverse atmosphere. The city has large gay, Jewish and eastern European populations...
on the north, Highland Avenue on the east,
West HollywoodWest Hollywood, a city in Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984. The latest residential population estimate was 34,675. The city is well-known for its nightlife, celebrity culture, and diverse atmosphere. The city has large gay, Jewish and eastern European populations...
and
Beverly HillsBeverly Hills is a city in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together entirely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles. The area's "Platinum Triangle" of wealthy neighborhoods is formed by Beverly Hills and...
on the west and
Wilshire BoulevardWilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining...
on the south. The Fairfax District is sometimes confused with
Park La BreaPark La Brea is a sprawling apartment complex in the Miracle Mile District of Los Angeles, California...
, which is a real estate development within the District, and the curious Beverly Hills Adjacent, particularly on housing rental advertisements.
The
Fairfax District is an area of neighborhoods in the
Mid-City WestMid-City West is a subregion located in the Wilshire area of the City of Los Angeles, California. While it may be confused with the Mid-Wilshire area, the city designates it as a separate area, encompassing the area south of Santa Monica Blvd, west of Fairfax Avenue, and north of Pico or Venice...
area of
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
.
Geography
It is roughly bordered by
West HollywoodWest Hollywood, a city in Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984. The latest residential population estimate was 34,675. The city is well-known for its nightlife, celebrity culture, and diverse atmosphere. The city has large gay, Jewish and eastern European populations...
on the north, Highland Avenue on the east,
West HollywoodWest Hollywood, a city in Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984. The latest residential population estimate was 34,675. The city is well-known for its nightlife, celebrity culture, and diverse atmosphere. The city has large gay, Jewish and eastern European populations...
and
Beverly HillsBeverly Hills is a city in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together entirely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles. The area's "Platinum Triangle" of wealthy neighborhoods is formed by Beverly Hills and...
on the west and
Wilshire BoulevardWilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining...
on the south. The Fairfax District is sometimes confused with
Park La BreaPark La Brea is a sprawling apartment complex in the Miracle Mile District of Los Angeles, California...
, which is a real estate development within the District, and the curious Beverly Hills Adjacent, particularly on housing rental advertisements. The section of Fairfax Avenue filled with traditionally
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish businesses is sometimes referred to by Angelenos as
Kosher Canyon or "The Bagel District." Beginning around 2005, real estate listings began to define the western part of the area as Beverly Grove when listing homes for sale.
History
Historically, the Fairfax District has been a center of the city's Jewish community. In the early 20th century, with an expanding population and more young families, many began looking for new housing. As a result of this, many
middle classThe middle class are any class in the middle of a social schema. In Weberian socio-economic terms they are the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socioeconomically between the working class and upper class. In Marxist terms, middle class commonly refers to either the...
Jewish families moved west from
Boyle HeightsBoyle Heights is a district east of Downtown Los Angeles on the East Side of Los Angeles, California, USA. The Heights are on the East side of the Los Angeles River. For much of the twentieth century, Boyle Heights was a gateway for new immigrants...
, City Terrace,
East Los AngelesEast Los Angeles is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the area had a total population of 124,283. The CDP area includes the separate community of City Terrace...
and
MontebelloMontebello is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 62,150.-History:...
to the area around
Fairfax AvenueFairfax Avenue is a street on north central Los Angeles, California. It runs from La Cienega Boulevard with Culver City at its southern end to Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood on its northern end.Fairfax Avenue forms the western boundary of Hancock Park as well as Park La Brea, an 160 acre ,...
, a street they lined with
KosherKashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit"...
delisDelicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
,
restaurantA restaurant prepares and serves food and drink to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s,
butcher'sA butcher is someone who prepares various cuts of meat and other related goods for sale. Many butchers sell their goods in specialized stores, although in the Western world today most meat is sold through supermarkets.-Duties:...
and
baker'sA baker bakes and sells bread. Cakes and similar and foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades. The place where a baker works is called a bakehouse, bakeshop, or bakery...
shops and fish markets, creating a unique village in the heart of the city.
In 1935, there were four
synagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer....
s in the Fairfax District; by 1945, there were twelve. After
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, many more Jews, a lot of them
HolocaustThe Holocaust , also known as The Shoah is the term generally used to describe the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a program of systematic state-sponsored extermination by Nazi Germany,...
survivors, began to populate the area. As more families moved in, religious schools and a Jewish Community Center sprang up. In 1974,
Bet Tzedek Legal Services - The House of JusticeBet Tzedek is a non-profit human and poverty rights organization, internationally recognized for its work in providing unique advocacy and support for people living in poverty, and for communities victimized by discrimination and civil rights abuses....
, a legal aid charity, opened its doors across from the Farmers Market. From the 1950s to the 1970s, the Fairfax District was the center of Jewish life in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
. Recently arrived Jewish immigrants from
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
and
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
gave the area a more cosmopolitan air.
As the next generation of Jews grew up and went off to college they favored white-collar careers to ownership of the traditional shops. While this area of
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
is still home to a vibrant Jewish community, the center of Jewish life has shifted southwest to nearby Pico and Robertson Boulevards. The Farmers Market at Fairfax Avenue and 3rd Street still retained an Old World atmosphere until 2001 when construction of
The GroveThe Grove can refer to:Canada* Lakefield College School , a boarding schoolUnited Kingdom* The Emirates Stadium, sometimes called "The Grove" in reference to its pre-sponsorship name, "Ashburton Grove"...
began, with open-air vegetable stalls and cafes, and many Jewish residents of the area continue to frequent the market as part of their shopping or kibbitzing routine, which retains an attraction for many seniors and immigrants; but the addition of The Grove, an outdoor mall built on the former parking lot for the market, has brought new crowds and new visitors, including many tourists and chain-store shoppers as well as severe parking problems to the Farmers Market daily. Fairfax Avenue, once lined with kosher delis and shops, now holds only a few storefronts reminiscent of the old days, including the famous deli/restaurant
Canter'sCanter's Deli is a famous Jewish delicatessen in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California, near the border of West Hollywood.The Canter family originally opened up a delicatessen in Jersey City in 1924....
. There also still exist many Jewish-owned shops, markets, and bakeries.
CBS Television CityCBS Television City is a television studio located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Beverly and Fairfax Avenue...
was built in 1952 on the former site of
Gilmore StadiumGilmore Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Los Angeles, California. It was opened in May 1934 and demolished in 1952, when the land was used to build CBS Television City. The stadium held 18,000. It was located next to Gilmore Field...
at Fairfax Avenue and
Beverly BoulevardBeverly Boulevard is one of the main east-west thoroughfares in Los Angeles, California. It begins off Santa Monica Boulevard in the Beverly Hills and West Hollywood border and ends on Lucas Avenue near Downtown Los Angeles...
. This is where
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
tapes
The Young and the RestlessThe Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional version of Genoa City, Wisconsin. First broadcast on March 26, 1973, The Young and the Restless was originally broadcast as half-hour episodes,...
, the
Late Late ShowThe Late Late Show is an American late-night television talk and variety show on CBS hosted by Craig Ferguson since 2005. It immediately follows Late Show with David Letterman and is produced by Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated. It originates from CBS Television City and is shot in High...
, and
The Price is Right.
Other shows over the years filmed at Television City included
All in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971 to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, the show was revamped, and given a new title, Archie Bunker's Place...
,
The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964 and remains syndicated to this day. The show consisted of unrelated vignettes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events, usually...
(with Rod Serling),
The Smothers Brothers, The Glen Campbell Goodtime HourThe Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour was an American network television music and comedy variety show hosted by country singer Glen Campbell from January 1969 through June 1972. He was offered the show after he hosted a 1968 summer replacement for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour...
, The Carol Burnett ShowThe Carol Burnett Show is a sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, and Lyle Waggoner...
, The Sonny & Cher Comedy HourThe Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour was a variety show based on the married couple of American pop-singer Cher and her husband Sonny Bono. The show ran on CBS in the United States when it premiered in August 1971. The show was canceled May 1974 due to the couple's divorce.-The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour :In...
, Tony Orlando & Dawn and The Jacksons,
House Party,
The Dinah Shore ShowDinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality. She was most popular during the Big Band era of the 1940s and 1950s....
,
The Mike Douglas ShowThe Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982.-Format and production: A former big band singer, Douglas moved to television in the 1950s...
,
The Merv Griffin ShowThe Merv Griffin Show was an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to September 26, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in...
and many television specials.
In the late 1970s, after then-governor
Jerry BrownEdmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. is an American politician. He is a former governor of the State of California and the current Attorney General...
canceled the
Beverly Hills FreewayThe Beverly Hills Freeway was the name for a never-built freeway intended to link the Los Angeles districts of Westwood and Echo Park along the route of Santa Monica Boulevard. It was to have taken the designation of State Route 2, combining with the Glendale Freeway to provide a direct freeway...
that would have razed the entire length of
Melrose AvenueMelrose Avenue is a well-known Los Angeles street that starts from Santa Monica Boulevard at the border between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood and ends at Lucille Avenue in Silver Lake...
, that avenue became known as a street of funky shops, restaurants and galleries. The early 1980s brought media attention and a new revitalized look to the area. Today,
Melrose AvenueMelrose Avenue is a well-known Los Angeles street that starts from Santa Monica Boulevard at the border between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood and ends at Lucille Avenue in Silver Lake...
remains a fashion district. It is perhaps similar to parts of
SoHoSoHo is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Originally associated with the arts, it has since become famous for both destination shopping and its downtown scene...
and
Greenwich VillageGreenwich Village , often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families. Greenwich Village, however, was known in the late 19th – earlier to mid 20th...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, as well as The Haight and Upper Fillmore districts of San Francisco.
Education
Residents are zoned to
Los Angeles Unified School DistrictLos Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in California. It is the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. During the 2007-2008 school year, LAUSD served 694,288 students, and had 45,473...
schools:
- Fairfax High School
Fairfax High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located in Los Angeles, California, USA, near the border of West Hollywood in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles...
- Melrose Avenue Elementary School
- Laurel Avenue Elementary School
- Rosewood Avenue Elementary School
The
Los Angeles Public LibraryThe Los Angeles Public Library system serves the residents of Los Angeles, California, United States. With over 6 million volumes, LAPL is one of the largest publicly funded library systems in the world. The system is overseen by a Board of Library Commissioners with five members appointed by the...
operates the Fairfax Branch.
Fire service
Los Angeles Fire DepartmentThe Los Angeles Fire Department is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Los Angeles....
operates
Fire Station 61, serving the community.
Police service
Fairfax is served by two separate
Los Angeles Police DepartmentThe Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With nearly 9,900 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 3.8 million people, it is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the United...
stations
http://www.lapdonline.org/our_communities/content_basic_view/23934.
Landmarks
- Canter's
Canter's Deli is a famous Jewish delicatessen in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California, near the border of West Hollywood.The Canter family originally opened up a delicatessen in Jersey City in 1924....
- CBS Television City
CBS Television City is a television studio located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Beverly and Fairfax Avenue...
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a hospital located in Los Angeles, California, USA.-History:From 1906 to 1910, Dr. Sarah Vasen, the first woman doctor in Los Angeles acted as superintendent of what was then the Kaspare Cohn Hospital....
- Fairfax High School
Fairfax High School can refer to:*Fairfax High School *Fairfax High School *Fairfax High School *Fairfax High School *Betty H. Fairfax High School...
- Farmers Market
- Fred Segal
Fred Segal is an upscale and trendy Los Angeles, California based clothing retailer. There are currently two Fred Segal stores: one in Hollywood and the other in Santa Monica....
- Johnny Rockets
- The Beverly Center
The Beverly Center is a shopping center in Los Angeles, California, United States.-Description:The Beverly Center is a monolithic eight-story structure located at the edge of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, California, between La Cienega and San Vicente boulevards. Anchor tenants include Macy's,...
- The Grove
- The Improv
The Improv is a comedy club founded in 1963 in New York City. A second location was opened in 1974 at 8162 Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California....
- Pan-Pacific Park
The Pan-Pacific Auditorium was a landmark structure in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California which once stood at 7600 West Beverly Boulevard near the site of Gilmore Field, an early Los Angeles baseball venue predating Dodger Stadium...
- Pink's Hot Dogs
Pink's Hot Dogs is a landmark hot dog restaurant in the Hollywood district of the city of Los Angeles.-History:Pink's was founded by Paul and Betty Pink in 1939 as a pushcart near the corner of La Brea and Melrose. The Great Depression was still having an impact on the country, and money was scarce...
- The Silent Movie Theatre, the only theater in the USA dedicated to silent movies
External links