Atwater Village, Los Angeles, California

Atwater Village is a neighborhood in North East Los Angeles.

Geography

Atwater Village lies between the Los Angeles River to the west and Glendale to the north and east. In addition, the neighborhood shares borders with the neighborhoods of Silver Lake to the south, Elysian Valley to the southeast, Glassell Park to the northeast, and Los Feliz and Griffith Park across the river to the west.

Principal thoroughfares include San Fernando Road, Fletcher Drive, and Los Feliz and Glendale Boulevards. The Golden State and Glendale Freeways run along the district's western and southeastern borders, respectively.

History

What is now Atwater Village began originally as a part of Rancho San Rafael, which covered much of what is now Glendale and northeastern Los Angeles. In 1868, W.C.B. Richardson purchased a portion of the rancho and renamed it Rancho Santa Eulalia. This land eventually fell into the family of Harriet Atwater Paramore, for whom the neighborhood was originally named as "Atwater Park", which was a poppy field at the time it was first subdivided in 1912. [http://www.laconservancy.org/initiatives/atwater.pdf LA Conservancy Atwater Village Historic Profile]

In subsequent decades, residents began to settle in the area. Many new residents were newly prosperous workers, including many working at the nearby DWP substation. Growth was aided by the construction of a line of the Pacific Electric Railway with its distinctive "red cars", which ran down Glendale Boulevard. The line, along with the rest of the streetcar system, however, was dismantled in favor of freeways and buses. [http://www.laconservancy.org/initiatives/atwater.pdf LA Conservancy Atwater Village Historic Profile]

The Tam O'Shanter Inn is one of the oldest restaurants in Los Angeles County. Walt Disney was a frequent patron there.Fact|date=May 2008

Franciscan Pottery, a well-known manufacter pottery and dinnerware, was located in Atwater. The company moved the plant to China in 1978 and the large property is now occupied by Costco, Best Buy, and Toys R Us.

Before Interstate 5 there was a drive-in movie theatre at the corner of Riverside Dr. and Los Feliz for a brief period in the late 1950s.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 8,042 people in the neighborhood. The racial makeup of the neighborhood is 48.01% White, 2.15% African American, 0.66% Native American, 19.09% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 23.84% from other races, and 6.06% from two or more races. 47.90% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Education

Los Angeles Unified School District operates the following public schools:
* Atwater Avenue Elementary School
* Glenfeliz Boulevard Elementary School
* Washington Irving Middle School
* John Marshall High School

National Catholic Educational Association operates the following schools:
* Holy Trinity School

Los Angeles Public Library operates the Atwater Village Branch.

References

External links

* [http://www.atwatervillagenews.org/ Atwater Village News - blog]
* [http://atwater-village.blogspot.com Atwater Village Newbie - blog]
* [http://www.friendsofatwatervillage.org/ Friends of Atwater Village]
* [http://www.atwatervillage.org/ Atwater Village Neighborhood Council]
* [http://www.lacity.org/council/cd13/ Councilman Eric Garcetti's website, 13th district]
* [http://www.atwaterchamber.org/ Atwater Griffith Park Chamber of Commerce]