Reseda, Los Angeles

Reseda /rəˈsiːdə/ is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1912, and its central business district started developing in 1915. The neighborhood was devoted to agriculture for many years. Earthquakes struck the area in 1971 San Fernando earthquake and 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Reseda
Neighborhood of Los Angeles
Boundaries of Reseda as drawn by the Los Angeles Times
Reseda Location within Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley Show map of San Fernando Valley Reseda Reseda (the Los Angeles metropolitan area) Show map of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Coordinates: 34°12′4″N 118°32′8″W / 34.20111°N 118.53556°W / 34.20111; -118.53556
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
City	Los Angeles
Population  (2010)
• Total	74,363

The neighborhood has 15 public and five private schools. The community includes public parks, a senior center and a regional branch library.

History

Founding and growth

The area now known as Reseda was inhabited by Native Americans of the Tongva tribe who lived close to the Los Angeles River.^[1]

In 1909 the Suburban Homes Company, a syndicate led by H.J. Whitley, general manager of the Board of Control, Harry Chandler, H.G. Otis, M.H. Sherman and O.F. Brandt purchased 48,000 acres of the Farming and Milling Company for $2,500,000.^[2] Henry E. Huntington extended his Pacific Electric Railway (Red Cars) through the Valley to Owensmouth (now Canoga Park). The Suburban Home Company laid out plans for roads and the towns of Van Nuys, Reseda (Marian) and Canoga Park (Owensmouth). Los Angeles annexed the rural areas in 1915.^[3][4]

On land that was originally part of the San Fernando Mission, Reseda originated in 1912 as the town of Marian. It was named after Marian Otis Chandler, the daughter of Los Angeles Times publisher Harrison Gray Otis and wife of Harry Chandler.^[5] The name Reseda refers to the fragrant plant Reseda odorata (mignonette)^[6] which was commonly found in gardens of the time and is native to many areas with a Mediterranean climate.

The geographic name "Reseda" was first used for a siding on a branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which ran between the cities of Burbank and Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley. In the 1920s, the name was transferred from the Southern Pacific Railroad to the Western Division of the Pacific Electric Railway "Red Cars Line", which had expedited development after the building of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Later, it was used as the name of a stop on the Pacific Electric interurban railway along Sherman Way.^[7][8]

Throughout this time, the town's name of Marian remained; then in 1921, when a Fourth Class Post Office was found to be necessary, the town's name had to be changed. As the Zelzah Tribune reported:

The Marian territory has made application for a post office to serve that district. To avoid confusion in mail distribution it is necessary that the name of the town be changed and the people of that community have decided upon the name Reseda, and if the application is granted it will be the only post office in the United States by that name. Mrs. Turner, we are told, who has taken an active interest in the canvass and to create a sentiment for post office advantages, will possibly be the postmistress.^[9]

Ninety-two residents convened and agreed to rename the town Reseda.^[10] The new post office bearing the name was established on May 9, 1922, although local records show that the post office was dedicated on May 26.^[6] The post office officially opened on July 1, with receipts of $1.59.^[6]

The central business district began in 1915, at what is now the intersection of Reseda Boulevard and Sherman Way, with the construction of a hardware store. Soon a blacksmith shop and an auto repair garage were built nearby, followed by a grocery store and a drug store. There were no sidewalks or pavement yet; most were added between 1918 and the early 1920s. On the southwest corner of Sherman Way a wooden building housed the volunteer fire department until 1922, when the present brick building was erected, as was the Reseda Bank. The wooden building housing the fire department was then moved to the southeast side of Sherman Way, where it remained until 1933.^[10] In May 1929, the city's namesake roadway, Reseda Avenue, was renamed Reseda Boulevard by a Los Angeles City ordinance.^[11] Parts of the original 1920s and 1930s residential neighborhood remain southwest of Sherman Way and Reseda Boulevard as well as in Reseda Ranch near Grover Cleveland High School.

Reseda grew slowly, with the stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent Great Depression further slowing expansion.

During the late 1920s and 1930s, the area's reputation developed for its production of lettuce, lima beans, sugar beets, and walnuts, becoming known as one of the nation's largest producers of lettuce by the late ‘30s. The Southern Pacific Railroad trains came up the middle of Sherman Way to pick up freight cars of lettuce daily during the lettuce harvest season. Around that time, manufacturing roof tile, canning poultry products, and processing walnuts began to emerge as viable businesses as well.^[10]

Postwar suburb

 

Facing west on Sherman Way

Reseda remained primarily an agricultural community, with a population of 1,805 in 1930. By 1940 the population had increased to 4,147.^[12] The mid- to late 1940s saw a large increase in the numbers of single-family dwellings and the loss of numerous acres of agriculture, and the addition of First Class Postal Service.^[10] Reseda was one of the early suburbs in the San Fernando Valley. The large ranches were subdivided, and the area was developed by realtors just as World War II veterans were returning home. The familiar orange groves were successively plowed under in favor of housing. At the time, most jobs were in the Los Angeles Basin and to the south, over the Santa Monica mountains.

By 1950, Reseda had over 16,000 residents, and in the early 1950s a population explosion took place, making Reseda one of the most popular and populated Valley communities. Because of this, Reseda's merchants provided bus service to transport shoppers throughout the busy downtown Reseda areas.^[10]

In the early 1950s, the Valley's population reached 400,000. The average new Valley home, in 1949, cost $9,000. By 1955, that same house could go for nearly $15,000. Even at that price, though, a household income was about $6,000 per year, making Valley incomes higher than the national average. By 1960, the average market value of a Valley home reached $18,850.

During the 1970s, the above-average residential real estate values and income patterns began to decline. Land and housing costs shot upward, while most incomes only crept. By the beginning of the 1980s, the average price of a home in the Valley reached $110,000. According to a 2004 study by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, it has tripled that of the early 1980s.

Northridge earthquake

The 1994 Northridge earthquake struck at 4:31 a.m. on January 17 and measured 6.7 on the moment magnitude scale. It remains the only large earthquake to originate directly under a major U.S. city in modern times as well as the most damaging earthquake to strike the U.S. since the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Its epicenter was between Arminta Street and Ingomar Street, just west of Reseda Boulevard.^[13][14][15]

This was the second time in 23 years the area had been affected by a strong earthquake. On February 9, 1971, the San Fernando earthquake (also known as the Sylmar earthquake) struck the area with a magnitude of 6.5.^[16]

Geography

 

Aerial view of Reseda (2019)

Reseda is flanked on the north by Northridge, on the east by Lake Balboa, on the south by Tarzana and Encino, on the southwest by Woodland Hills, and on the west by Winnetka.^[17][18] Its street boundaries are Roscoe Boulevard on the north, White Oak Avenue on the east, Victory Boulevard on the south and Corbin Avenue on the west.^[19]

Climate data for Reseda, Los Angeles
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °F (°C)	67 (19)	69 (21)	71 (22)	77 (25)	80 (27)	87 (31)	93 (34)	95 (35)	90 (32)	83 (28)	74 (23)	68 (20)	80 (27)
Average low °F (°C)	42 (6)	43 (6)	44 (7)	46 (8)	50 (10)	54 (12)	58 (14)	59 (15)	56 (13)	51 (11)	44 (7)	41 (5)	49 (9)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	3.95 (100)	4.16 (106)	3.53 (90)	0.83 (21)	0.29 (7.4)	0.06 (1.5)	0.01 (0.25)	0.16 (4.1)	0.27 (6.9)	0.57 (14)	1.38 (35)	2.14 (54)	17.37 (441)
Source: ^[20]

Demographics

The 2010 U.S. census counted 74,363 residents in Reseda's 91335 ZIP code. The median age was 35.5, and the median yearly household income was $53,842.^[21]

In 2008, the Los Angeles Times, Mapping L.A. project described Reseda as "highly diverse" ethnically within Los Angeles. The breakdown of the population using the 2000 census was 43.5% Latino; 37.2% non-Hispanic white; 11.2% Asian; 4.2% black; and 3.9% other. Mexico (33.7%) and El Salvador (12.4%) were the most common birthplaces of the 43.1% of the residents who were born abroad.^[19]

In 2010, renters occupied 48.5% of the housing stock, and house or apartment-owners held 51.5%.^[21]

Government and infrastructure

Local government

Los Angeles Fire Department Station 73 (Reseda) and Station 100 (West Van Nuys/Lake Balboa) serve the community.

The Los Angeles Police Department operates the nearby West Valley Community Police Station.^[22]

County, state, and federal

Mail services are provided by the United States Postal Service's branch post office at 7320 Reseda Boulevard.^[23] On October 14, 2006, the branch office was renamed the Coach John Wooden Post Office on Wooden's 96th birthday. Wooden lived in nearby Encino and his daughter lived in Reseda.^[24]

Education

 

Reseda High School

 

Grover Cleveland High School

Nineteen percent of Reseda residents 25 and older had earned a four-year degree by 2000, an average figure for both the city and the county. The proportion of residents with a high school diploma was high for the county.^[19]

Schools within the Reseda boundaries are:^[25]

Public

• Reseda High School, 18320 Kittridge Street^[26]
• Grover Cleveland High School, 8140 Vanalden Avenue
• Miller Career and Transition Center, special education, 8218 Vanalden Center
• Cantara Street Elementary School, 17950 Cantara Street
• Blythe Street Elementary School, 18730 Blythe Street
• John R. Wooden High School, continuation, 18741 Elkwood Street
• Melvin Avenue Elementary School, 7700 Melvin Avenue
• Garden Grove Elementary School, 18141 Valerio Street
• Sven Lokrantz Special Education Center, 19541 Wyandotte Street
• Reseda Elementary School, 7265 Amigo Avenue
• Magnolia Science Academy 5, 18230 Kittridge Street^[27]
• Diane S. Leichman Special Education Center, 19034 Gault Street
• Bertrand Avenue Elementary School, 7021 Bertrand Avenue
• Reseda Community Adult School, 18230 Kittridge Street
• Newcastle Elementary School, 6520 Newcastle Avenue
• Shirley Avenue Elementary School, 19452 Hart Street

Private

• Applied Scholastics Academy Valley, 19000-A Saticoy Street
• Saint Catherine of Siena, 18125 Sherman Way
• Heart of the Valley Christian School, elementary, 18644 Sherman Way
• Kirk o' the Valley (Elementary) School, 19620 Vanowen Street
• Trinity Lutheran High School, 7357 Jordan Avenue

School closings

In 1982, the board considered closing Garden Grove Elementary School. In April 1983, an advisory committee of the Los Angeles Unified School District recommended closing eight schools, including Garden Grove School and Newcastle Avenue School.^[28] In August 1983, the board publicly considered closing Garden Grove, which had 176 students at the time, and Newcastle Avenue, which had 314 students.^[29] In 1984, the board voted to close the Garden Grove and Newcastle Avenue schools.^[30]

A decade after the schools closed, which occurred due to thousands of parents withdrawing their children from the Los Angeles Unified School District in the wake of mandatory busing, they were reopened. With the advent of class-size reduction becoming the priority, many parents began returning their children to the city's schools, and the number of newly arrived immigrants was boosting enrollments, officials said.^[31]

Featured sites

 

Reseda Theatre, March 2010

The Reseda Country Club was a well-known concert venue during the Los Angeles punk rock and new wave scenes of the 1980s. At the intersection of Canby Avenue and Sherman Way, the Country Club hosted bands, including Oingo Boingo, U2, Culture Club, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and Roxy Music, from 1980 to 1982.^[32] The site began in the 1950s as one of the first Sav-On Drug stores in the San Fernando Valley, then became a nightclub, and remained a dancehall and music venue during the 1990s; it was also used as a boxing venue.^[33] It later became and remains a Spanish-language Christian church.^[34]

The Reseda Theater, at 18443 Sherman Way, was built in 1948 and closed in 1988. The exterior was briefly seen at the beginning of the film Boogie Nights.^[35]

Parks and recreation

• Reseda Park and Recreation Center has barbecue pits, a baseball diamond, basketball courts, a children's play area, a community room, picnic tables, an outdoor unheated pool, table tennis, tennis courts, and volleyball courts.^[36] The Recreation Center offers a variety of sports programs and classes.^[37] Reseda Park also hosts an ornamental lake for fishing and a large duck pond.^[38] During the 1950s and 1960s, the duck pond also had a boathouse, where one could rent electric boats by the hour.^[12]
• Reseda Senior Multipurpose Center.^[39]
• West Valley Family YMCA offers classes and has a soccer field, playground, daycare center, and swimming pool.^[40]

Public libraries

 

West Valley Regional Branch of Los Angeles Public Library, at 19036 Vanowen Street

The West Valley Regional Branch is operated by the Los Angeles Public Library.

In popular culture

Films

A number of movies have been filmed or set in Reseda:^[12]

• Targets (1968) features the Reseda Drive-In Theatre (demolished in the mid-1970s) in a long sequence in which a deranged gunman hiding behind its screen goes on a killing spree, randomly shooting audience members as they sit in their cars. Other scenes offer various glimpses of Reseda and environs as they were in 1967, the year the film was made.
• In The Karate Kid (1984), Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) moves from Newark, New Jersey, to Reseda.
• Tuff Turf (1985), Morgan Hiller (James Spader) is an intelligent but bullied teenager from Connecticut who relocates to Los Angeles with his strict mother and his father after his father's business goes under.
• In Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) when the T-1000 searches the computer in the squad car, John Connor's address appears as 19828 Almond Ave., Reseda.
• Some scenes in Falling Down (1993) were filmed in Reseda as William Foster (Michael Douglas) makes his way through the Valley.
• A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995) places the home of the main character in Reseda. Both the beginning and ending scenes of the movie ostensibly take place on a Reseda baseball field.
• In Boogie Nights (1997), the nightclub scenes were filmed at The Country Club building.
• Several prominent scenes from Magnolia (1999) were filmed in Reseda.
• Erin Brockovich (2000) contains a number of scenes filmed in Reseda.

Music

Reseda is mentioned in numerous songs, including:

• Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'"^[12]
• Shivaree's "Reseda Casino". The band's lead singer Ambrosia Parsley was born in Reseda.
• Soul Coughing's "Screenwriter's Blues"
• The Mountain Goats' "High Doses #2".^[12]
• "Errol Flynn", written by Amanda McBroom and performed by Barbara Cook on Cook's 1994 album Live from London, contains a reference to Reseda as the hometown of the singer and her actor father.^[12]
• Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention's "Dummy Up" (1974) contains a reference to the city.^[12]
• Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band's "Hair Pie: Bake 1" contains a reference to the city.^[12]
• In 2012, Fernando Perdomo released "Postcards From Reseda". The album includes 10 instrumental songs named after Reseda streets.
• In 2019, Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties released "Rosa & Reseda".

Television

Television shows filmed in Reseda include:^{[citation needed]}

• The show 10 Items or Less was filmed in Jons Marketplace, an actual grocery store in Reseda, and often used real customers as extras.^[12]
• The same store is the setting of the notable scene where Eleanor Shellstrop dies in The Good Place.
• The series American Dad! mentions Reseda in an episode titled Surro-Gate. The lesbian couple in the episode explain that the reason why they left Reseda was supposedly to change the minds of people who disagreed with their beliefs.
• In a season-three episode of Angel, titled "Birthday", Cordelia's vision leads her to visit a girl who lives in Reseda.
• The show My Name Is Earl often was filmed in Reseda, captured to look like rural small-town America.^[12]
• In the season-seven episode of The X-Files titled "First Person Shooter", Mulder and Scully question a suspect who was picked up "outside a strip club in Reseda".
• In the HBO series Entourage, Terrance McQuewick refers to the town when firing Ari Gold during the second season. "That's what Arthur Jansen said in 1973. He was the first conspirator that I ever dealt with. Try finding him now Ari, he's selling auto insurance in Reseda".^{[This quote needs a citation]}
• In the web series Cobra Kai (a follow-up to The Karate Kid), Johnny Lawrence's dojo is located at a strip mall in Reseda.

Sporting events

• Between February 2008 and May 2018, professional wrestling company Pro Wrestling Guerrilla held all but three of their events in American Legion Post #308 in Reseda.^[41]

Notable people

 

Gabe Kapler

• Perry Caravello (born 1963), comedian
• Martin Donovan (born 1957), film, stage, and television actor^[42]
• Gabe Kapler (born 1976), Major League Baseball outfielder, and manager (San Francisco Giants)^[43]
• Kyle (born 1993), rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor
• Donald D. Lorenzen (1920–80), Los Angeles City Council member, 1969–77^[44]
• Jim Robinson (1946–1995), racing driver^[45]
• Fredo Santana (1990–2018), rapper^[46]
• Zachary "Kid Yamaka" Wohlman (born 1988), professional boxer^[47]
• Ana Kasparian (born 1986), progressive political commentator

See also

References

1. Culver, Lawrence (2010). The Frontier of Leisure: Southern California and the Shaping of Modern America. ISBN 9780195382631.
2. Mulholland, Catherine. The Owensmouth Baby - The Making of the San Fernando Valley Santa Susana Press, California, 1987; p. 18-20.
3. George L. Henderson (February 1, 2003). California and the Fictions of Capital. Temple University Press. p. 199. ISBN 978-1-59213-198-3. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
4. Judith R. Raftery (1992). Land of Fair Promise: Politics and Reform in Los Angeles Schools 1885 – 1941. Stanford University Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-8047-1930-8. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
5. Mcdougal, Dennis. Privileged Son: Otis Chandler and the Rise and Fall of the L.A. Times Dynasty.
6. Salley, Harold E. (1977). History of California Post Offices, 1849-1976. The Depot. ISBN 0-9601558-1-3.
7. Gudde, Erwin Gustav. California Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary. p. 267.
8. Coscia, David (2011). Pacific Electric and the Growth of the San Fernando Valley, 240 pages. Bellflower, CA: Shade Tree Books. ISBN 978-1-57864-735-4.
9. Van Nuys News, December 1, 1921
10. "Reseda Chamber of Commerce-History of Reseda".
11. "Copy of street name change record". Department of Public Works-City of Los Angeles.
12. . City of Los Angeles. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
13. National Geophysical Data Center [1]"January 17, 1994 NORTHRIDGE EARTHQUAKE"
14. . Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2014. Southern California Earthquake Data Center. Significant Earthquakes and Faults, Northridge Earthquake. Retrieved December 6, 2013
15. "The January 17, 1994 Northridge, CA Earthquake". www.lafire.com.
16. . Southern California Earthquake Data Center. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
17. [2] Colored map, Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
18. "San Fernando Valley," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
19. [3] "Reseda," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
20. "Zipcode 91335". www.plantmaps.com. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
21. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 20, 2013. "Community Facts" American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau
22. "West Valley Community Police Station – official website of THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT". Lapdonline.org. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
23. "Post Office Location – Reseda." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.
24. . Uclabruins.cstv.com. October 14, 2006. Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
25. [4] "Reseda: Schools," Mapping L.A., Los Angeles Times
26. "Reseda High School". www.resedahs.net.
27. "Magnolia Science Academy 5". msa5.magnoliapublicschools.org.
28. Faris, Gerald. "Closing of 8 Schools Recommended, One Near Airport". Los Angeles Times. April 17, 1983. South Bay SB2. Retrieved on January 16, 2012.
29. Pool. Bob. "Board to Consider Closing 4 More Valley Schools." August 7, 1983. Valley V2. Retrieved on January 16, 2012.
30. Savage, David G. "L.A. Board to Close 5 More Schools". Los Angeles Times. February 7, 1984. Part II C2. Retrieved on January 16, 2012.
31. Helfand, Duke (October 21, 1997). "2 Closed Valley Schools Ordered Reopened". Los Angeles Times.
32. Locey, Bill (June 10, 1999). "Time Warp: '80s Rock On at Reseda Country Club". Los Angeles Times.
33. Vince Kowalick (November 6, 1996). "Renovated Reseda Country Club Fights Back". Los Angeles Times.
34. "Nuestro Inicio". Restauracion Reseda. Archived from the original on March 8, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
35. "Reseda Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
36. "Reseda Park." City of Los Angeles. Retrieved on March 19, 2010.
37. "Reseda Recreation Center". City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
38. "City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks". Laparks.org. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
39. . City of Los Angeles Department of Aging. Archived from the original on May 6, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
40. "About Us". www.ymcala.org. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
41. "Pro Wrestling Guerrilla". www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com.
42. "Martin Donovan profile at". Filmreference.com. August 19, 1957.
43. Inside the Brilliant, Baffling, and Utterly Fascinating Baseball Mind of Gabe Kapler – Philadelphia Magazine
44. "Los Angeles Public Library reference file" (PDF).
45. "Robinson Hopes To Drive New Car To Western Title". Daily News of Los Angeles. Los Angeles, CA. November 14, 1985. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
46. "Rapper Fredo Santana Dead from Fatal Seizure". TMZ. January 20, 2018.
47. Gabriel Alvarez (November 11, 2013). "Papa Said Knock You Out: Issue 53's Zachary Wohlman Fights This Thursday". Mass Appeal. Retrieved March 31, 2014.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reseda, Los Angeles.

• The Reseda Neighborhood Council
• CSUN Oviatt Library online historical Photo Archives – Reseda collection
• Bike Travel in the SFV - Reseda

Coordinates: 34°12′4″N 118°32′8″W / 34.20111°N 118.53556°W / 34.20111; -118.53556