Mar Vista, Los Angeles, California

Mar Vista is a district on the West Side of Los Angeles, California.

Geography and transportation

Mar Vista is near the center of LA's West Side. The city of Santa Monica lies to the northwest, West Los Angeles to the north, Palms to the northeast, Culver City to the east, Del Rey to the southwest, and Venice to the west. Its approximate boundaries are the city limits of Culver City and the San Diego Freeway (I-405) on the northeast and southeast, Walgrove Avenue on the southwest, and the Santa Monica Municipal Airport and National Boulevard on the northwest. Major thoroughfares through the district include Washington Place; Palms, Venice, Sawtelle, Inglewood, and Grand View Boulevards; McLaughlin, Barrington, Short, and Centinela Avenues; and Beethoven Street. The district uses the 90066 ZIP code.

The Westdale area of northern Mar Vista — the area bounded by Sawtelle Boulevard, National Boulevard, Bundy Drive, and Palms Boulevard — is a neighborhood within the bounds of the Mar Vista Community Council.

Neighborhood

Mar Vista is an economically diverse neighborhood of apartment buildings and single-family homes. The hilly areas near its border with Santa Monica, whose spectacular ocean views give Mar Vista its name, hold some of the most expensive land in the community.

Mar Vista is considerably less densely populated than neighboring Palms, as its homeowners' associations successfully fended off the 1950s up-zoning that changed much of Palms and West Los Angeles from suburban areas to renter-dominated urban neighborhoods. It should be noted, though, that some 60 percent of the district's residents live in rental housing, owing to the density of apartment buildings on thoroughfares like Venice Boulevard and Barrington Avenue.

In recent years, the escalating cost of real estate (even a 1,500 square foot (140 m²) 1940s tract house may go for upwards of $800,000) has led to a rise in the number of newly constructed Mediterranean Revival-inspired McMansions and "Persian palaces" on Mar Vista Hill. Nearby UCLA maintains a large graduate student housing complex along Sawtelle Boulevard near National Boulevard, as well as a smaller housing block along the north side of Venice Boulevard between Inglewood and McLaughlin Avenues.

Current Los Angeles City Council member Bill Rosendahl resides in Mar Vista. He was elected in 2005 on a slow growth platform, motivated in large part by the concerns of Mar Vista residents over traffic congestion and lost views resulting from the Playa Vista project.

The Pacific Electric Railway "Red Car" streetcars ran along Venice and Culver Boulevards during the neighborhood's early years, but were shut down after World War II.

Gregory Ain Mar Vista Tract

A portion of north-central Mar Vista, the Gregory Ain Mar Vista Tract, is designated as a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone by the city of Los Angeles. This area, built immediately after World War II, contains an abundance of excellently preserved mid-century modern architecture. [ [http://cityplanning.lacity.org/complan/othrplan/pdf/AinMarVistaHPOZ.pdf Gregory Ain Mar Vista Tract Historical Preservation Overlay Zone (City of Los Angeles)] ]

Demographics

Including the small portion of Culver City within its boundaries, ZIP 90066 had a population of 55,194 as of the U.S. Census of 2000. Racial composition was...

Attractions

*North Venice Little League
*Mar Vista Park and Recreation Center
*Mar Vista Farmers' Market
* [http://www.lapl.org/branches/Branch.php?bID=38 Mar Vista Branch Library]

Emergency services

Fire service

The Los Angeles Fire Department operates [http://lafd.org/fs62.htm Station 62] , which serves a portion of Venice as well.

Police service

Los Angeles Police Department operates the Pacific Division Police Station at 12312 Culver Boulevard, 90066, serving the neighborhood [http://www.lapdonline.org/pacific_community_police_station] .

Education

Residents are zoned to schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Elementary schools in the area include:
* [http://www.lausd.net/Beethoven_EL Beethoven Elementary School]
*Mar Vista Elementary School
*Walgrove Elementary School

All residents are zoned to:
* [http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Mark_Twain_MS/ Mark Twain Middle School]
*Daniel Webster Middle School
*Venice High School

Los Angeles Public Library operates the Mar Vista Branch.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/news/communities/la-re-guide30oct30,0,7375971.story?coll=la-realestate-communities "Los Angeles Times", Real Estate section, Neighborly Advice column: " [Mar Vista:] More family-friendly than Westside-trendy" (30 Oct 2005)]
* [http://www.laconservancy.org/events/events_awards.php4 Gregory Ain-Mar Vista Homes and Park Planned Homes photo tour]
* [http://www.marvista.org Information about the neighborhood]
* [http://www.openmarvista.net Open Mar Vista Neighborhood Social Network]