Westchester is a neighborhood in western
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...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is home to
Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving Los Angeles, California, the second-most populated metropolitan area of the United States. It is often referred to by its airport code LAX, with the letters usually pronounced individually...
(LAX),
Loyola Marymount UniversityLoyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic Jesuit university in Los Angeles, California, United States. The University is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and one of five Marymount institutions of higher...
(LMU), and
Otis College of Art and DesignOtis College of Art and Design is an art and design college. It is located in Los Angeles, California.The school's programs, accredited by WASC and National Association of Schools of Art and Design, include four-year BFA degrees in illustration, fine arts, graphic design, architecture, landscape...
.
Geography
Westchester is located in the eastern part of the Del Rey Hills AKA the Westchester Bluffs. The Westchester community is separated from the Pacific Ocean by
Playa del ReyPlaya del Rey is a beachside community within the city of Los Angeles, California. It has a ZIP code of 90293 and area codes of 310 and 424...
on the west. Its northern border is defined by and includes the area now know as Playa Vista, as well as
Culver CityCulver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 38,816. The community is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also has a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County...
, and the unincorporated area of
Ladera HeightsLadera Heights is a census-designated place and unincorporated area in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. The population was 6,568 at the 2000 census...
. The
Playa VistaPlaya Vista is a neighborhood located on in western Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Westside and has its own ZIP Code: 90094.-Location and facilities:...
community is located with the northern portion of Westchester. The city of
InglewoodInglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. In 2006, its population was estimated at 129,900. The city is in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area...
is to the east, and the city of
El SegundoEl Segundo is a city in Los Angeles County, California on the Santa Monica Bay, incorporated on January 18, 1917. It is one of the Beach Cities of Los Angeles County and part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments...
is to the south. The southern portion of the neighborhood is taken up by the
Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving Los Angeles, California, the second-most populated metropolitan area of the United States. It is often referred to by its airport code LAX, with the letters usually pronounced individually...
(a.k.a. LAX). The
San Diego FreewayInterstate 405 is a major north-south Interstate Highway in Southern California. It is a bypass of Interstate 5, running along the western areas of the Greater Los Angeles Area from Irvine to near San Fernando...
runs through the eastern portion of the area. The Westchester Neighbors Association defines its boundaries as "the area within the City of Los Angeles: east of Sepulveda Boulevard, north of Manchester Avenue and west of the I/S 405 Freeway (San Diego Fwy)."
History
Like most of what is now southern Los Angeles County, Westchester began the 20th century as an agricultural area, growing a wide variety of crops in the dry farming-friendly climate. The rapid development of the aerospace industry near Mines Field (as LAX was then known), the move of
then Loyola UniversityLoyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic Jesuit university in Los Angeles, California, United States. The University is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and one of five Marymount institutions of higher...
to the area in 1928, and population growth in Los Angeles as a whole, created a demand for housing in the area. In the late 1930s, real estate magnate Fritz Burns developed a tract of inexpensive prefabricated single-family homes on the site of a former hog farm at the intersection of Manchester and Sepulveda Boulevards. This community, dubbed "Westchester", grew by leaps and bounds as the aerospace industry boomed in World War II and afterward.
Howard HughesHoward Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American aviator, engineer, industrialist, film producer, film director, philanthropist, and one of the wealthiest people in the world. He gained fame in the late 1920s as a maverick film producer, making big budget and often controversial films like Hell's Angels,...
, the famous aviator, movie director, and tool company owner, operated a large manufacturing plant north of Westchester in the area now known as
Playa VistaPlaya Vista is a neighborhood located on in western Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Westside and has its own ZIP Code: 90094.-Location and facilities:...
. Hughes Airport (IATA: CVR), a private airport, was part of the manufacturing plant. The street named Runway Drive is laid out in the approximate location of the former Hughes Airport runway.
The Hughes facilities were commonly called "Hughes's Culver City" facilities, even though this area has never been part of the
City of Culver CityCulver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 38,816. The community is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also has a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County...
. This appellation continues today in any number of publications that discuss Howard Hughes himself, or his companies. The Hughes facilities were owned by Hughes Tool Company, operated by
Hughes AircraftHughes Aircraft Company was a major American defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Culver City, California as a division of Hughes Tool Company...
, a company that specialized in building aviation navigation and communication systems, and the profits went to the
Howard Hughes Medical InstituteHoward Hughes Medical Institute is a United States non-profit medical research institute based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded by the American businessman Howard Hughes in 1953. It is one of the largest private funding organizations for biological and medical research in the United States...
.
Hughes's nearly
spruceA spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from 20–60 m tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and...
-free "Spruce Goose" wood-bodied transport airplane was built in the Hughes facilities. The plane was disassembled into major components in 1947, transported to
Long BeachLong Beach is a large city located in southern California, USA, on the Pacific coast. It is situated in Los Angeles County, about south of downtown Los Angeles. Long Beach borders Orange County on its southeast edge....
on then-rural roads, and reassembled. Howard Hughes himself flew the H4 for little over one mile (1.6 km), but the plane was never flown again.
The 1960s saw the introduction of airliners that could make trans-Pacific flights without refueling, causing a massive increase in air traffic at LAX. While Westchester residents successfully blocked a northward expansion of the airport, the increase in noise from jet takeoffs greatly decreased the desirability of the residential areas adjoining LAX. In response, the city of Los Angeles began a longstanding program of purchasing houses from noise-weary homeowners; as a result, a number of streets just north of the airport have been decommissioned, and the homes along those streets have either been demolished or moved to other locations. The 18-hole Westchester golf course became a 15-hole course. A local elementary school, the Westchester Neighborhood School, relocated out of the area in 2005, in part due to airport noise, and renamed itself the
Westside Neighborhood SchoolWestside Neighborhood School is a private independent school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, located in the west side of Los Angeles, California...
. With this experience fresh in mind, local opposition to an expansion of LAX first proposed in the late 1990s rose to fever pitch. As of 2006, no alterations to LAX have taken place, and expansion of the City of Los Angeles-owned airports in the distant cities of
OntarioOntario is a city located in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 170,373. It is the home of LA/Ontario International Airport and the Ontario Mills. It is also the former home of the Ontario Motor Speedway...
and
PalmdalePalmdale is a city located in the northeast reaches of Los Angeles County, California, United States.The first community within the Antelope Valley to incorporate as a city , Palmdale is separated from Los Angeles by the San Gabriel Mountain range...
appears more likely.
As part of the 1960s expansion and modernization of LAX, the now famous landmark "Jet Age" style
Theme BuildingThe Theme Building is a landmark structure at the Los Angeles International Airport within the Westchester neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles. It opened in 1961, and is an example of the Mid-Century modern influenced design school known as "Googie" or "Populuxe."The distinctive white building...
opened. This iconic building has itself been modernized and most recently contained the
Encounter Restaurant.
In the late 1990s,
Otis College of Art and DesignOtis College of Art and Design is an art and design college. It is located in Los Angeles, California.The school's programs, accredited by WASC and National Association of Schools of Art and Design, include four-year BFA degrees in illustration, fine arts, graphic design, architecture, landscape...
, with approximately 1000 full-time and 3000 part-time students, moved to Westchester from its previous location near downtown Los Angeles. What is now named the Kathleen Ahmanson Hall was designed by architect
Eliot NoyesEliot Fette Noyes was an American-born, Harvard-trained architect and industrial designer, who worked on projects for IBM, most famously the IBM Selectric typewriter and the IBM Aerospace Research Center in Los Angeles, California...
in 1963 to house an IBM research center. This well known local landmark, a seven story, building, has a distinctive "punch card" window design. The two story Galef Fine Arts Center, designed by Frederick Fisher Architects, opened on the campus in 2001. The complex geometry and corrugated metal forms contrast with the "punch card" vocabulary of Ahmanson Hall. Together, these buildings comprise the Elaine and Bram Goldsmith Campus. Ironically, the Otis building has Westinghouse brand elevators.
With
Loyola Marymount UniversityLoyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic Jesuit university in Los Angeles, California, United States. The University is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and one of five Marymount institutions of higher...
and Otis only blocks from one another, Westchester has undergone a subtle shift away from defense/aviation related industries (which have declined significantly since the end of the
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
) and has become something of a college town. In addition, the
Intercontinental University, with approximately 1800 full time students, is located on Jefferson Blvd. north of Westchester. In 2004, a Graduate School of
Pepperdine University relocated to the north-east quadrant of Westchester. The private college/university students, paying tuition typically well in excess of $30,000.00 per year, are a boon to local merchants. Adding living expenses to tuition, merchants gladly count the $45,000.00 - $55,000.00 per student, per year, dropped into the local economy.
During the beginning of the fall 2008 semester, Westchester residents became more concerned with the off-campus parties hosted by
Loyola Marymount UniversityLoyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic Jesuit university in Los Angeles, California, United States. The University is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and one of five Marymount institutions of higher...
students. Los Angeles-based
KNBC 4KNBC, channel 4, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, licensed to Los Angeles, California. Its studios and offices are located within the NBC Studios complex in Burbank, California and its transmitter is based on Mount Wilson...
interviewed approximately 12 Westchester homeowners over their concerns with LMU. The piece aired on Friday, September 5, 2008. It was met with criticism by LMU students because KNBC did not interview a student in the piece.
Demographics
Approximately 50% of the local housing stock consists of single-family detached homes, most of which are modestly sized ranches and bungalows on small lots.
In 2009, the
Los Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California since 1881. It is distributed throughout the Western United States. It is the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States and the fourth-most widely distributed newspaper in the United States...
s "Mapping L.A." project supplied these Westchester neighborhood statistics: population: 41,500; median household income: $77,473.
According to data from the Los Angeles Times's "Mapping L.A." project, the demographics are White (52.3%),
AsianAsian people or Asiatic people is a demonym for people from Asia. However, the use of the term varies by country and person, often referring to people from a particular region or subregion of Asia...
(9.2%),
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
(16.6%),
LatinoThe demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American or Spanish-speaking descent."* "A Latin American."...
(16.5%) and Other (5.3%).
Economy
In 1975
Continental AirlinesContinental Airlines is a United States certificated air carrier. Based in Downtown Houston, Texas, it is the fourth-largest airline in the US based on revenue passenger miles. Since 1998, Continental's marketing slogan has been "Work Hard, Fly Right."Continental operates flights to destinations...
had its headquarters on the grounds of LAX. Prior to its dissolution
Western AirlinesWestern Airlines was a large airline based in California, with operations throughout the Western United States, and hubs at Los Angeles International Airport, Salt Lake City International Airport, and the former Stapleton International Airport in Denver...
had its headquarters at LAX. Prior to its dissolution, regional airline
Air L.A.Air L.A. , a wholly owned subsidiary of Air L.A. Inc was an American regional airline headquartered in the Westchester area of Los Angeles, California. It was founded by Wayne Schoenfeld, Ken Dickey and Bill Wolf. It ceased all operations in September 1995.- 1980s :Air LA started life as a...
was headquartered in Westchester. Prior to its dissolution cargo airline
Flying Tiger LineFlying Tiger Line, also known as Flying Tigers, was the first scheduled cargo airline in the United States and a major military charter operator during the Cold War era for both cargo and personnel . The company was started by Robert William Prescott...
had its headquarters at LAX.
Local government
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....
Station 5 is in Westchester.
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...
operates the Pacific Community Police Station at 12312 Culver Boulevard, 90066, serving the neighborhood.
County, federal, and state representation
The
United States Postal ServiceThe United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. Within the United States, it is commonly...
Westchester Post Office is located at 7381 La Tijera Boulevard.
Public schools
Westchester is served by six zoned public elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school operated by the
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...
. The area is within Board District 4. As of 2009 Steve Zimmer represents the district.
Zoned elementary schools:
- Kentwood Elementary School
- Westport Heights Elementary School
- Cowan Avenue Elementary School
- Paseo Del Rey Elementary School
- Loyola Village Elementary School
Zoned middle schools:
- Orville Wright Middle School
Orville Wright Middle School is a middle school that is located in Westchester in Los Angeles, California.The campus, built in 1948, was originally the campus of Westchester High School.It is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District....
Zoned high schools:
- Westchester High School
Westchester High School is a high school located in Westchester , USA.The school's mascot name is The Comets. It is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District.The high school is located in an oceanside community...
LAUSD-affiliated charter elementary schools:
Private schools
Westchester has several private K-8 schools and one high school, including:
- Westchester Lutheran School (also has a preschool called Westchester Lutheran Preschool)
- St. Anastasia School (K-8)
- St. Jerome School
- Visitation School (K-8)
- Westside Neighborhood School
Westside Neighborhood School is a private independent school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, located in the west side of Los Angeles, California...
(K-8)
- St. Bernard High School
St. Bernard High School is a four year , co-instructional, Catholic high school located in Playa Del Rey, California, which is in the West Los Angeles area. Its mission is "to send forth faith-filled, principled and knowledgeable young men and women by providing an exemplary college preparatory...
Colleges and Universities
- Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic Jesuit university in Los Angeles, California, United States. The University is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and one of five Marymount institutions of higher...
- Otis College of Art and Design
Otis College of Art and Design is an art and design college. It is located in Los Angeles, California.The school's programs, accredited by WASC and National Association of Schools of Art and Design, include four-year BFA degrees in illustration, fine arts, graphic design, architecture, landscape...
External links