Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California
nickname =
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map_caption = Location in the state of California
subdivision_type = County
subdivision_name = Los Angeles
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timezone = PST
utc_offset = -8
timezone_DST = PDT
utc_offset_DST = -7
latd=34 |latm=11 |lats=0 |latNS=N
longd=118 |longm=26 |longs=00 |longEW=W
website =

Van Nuys (pronEng|vænˈnaɪz) is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. The TV show "Beverly Hills 90210" was filmed on a set in Van Nuys.

Geography

Van Nuys is located at coor dms|34|11|00|N|118|26|00|W|city (34.1833, -118.4333).GR|1

Description

Lot sales began at the new town of Van Nuys on February 22, 1911. [ The Valley Observed. (Nov. 24, 2005). " [http://www.americassuburb.com/dates.html San Fernando Valley history and sense of place.] " Obtained Nov. 22, 2006.] The area is named after Isaac Van Nuys, who founded the San Fernando Homestead Association in 1869, a group which purchased much of the land that now makes up the community. He also built the first wood frame house in the San Fernando Valley in 1872.

Van Nuys is in the heart of the San Fernando Valley and home to about 100,000 people; the main thoroughfare, Van Nuys Boulevard, is noted for its car dealerships. It also functions similar to a "county seat" for the Valley, with its Government Center (Erwin Street Mall) containing a branch of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Van Nuys police station, the Van Nuys offices for Los Angeles City Hall, Van Nuys State Office Building and a branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.

Van Nuys used to be the home for a major manufacturing plant for Chevrolet. When the plant was dismantled in 1998, the site was converted into a shopping mall called "The Plant".

Like many central San Fernando Valley neighborhoods, Van Nuys was a middle-class neighborhood as late as the 1970s, but the demographics of the area have changed considerably since then. Income levels have significantly declined (with inflation taken into account)Fact|date=May 2008 and the neighborhood has taken on characteristics of South Los Angeles like the majority of the eastern San Fernando Valley. It is now a largely Latino neighborhood. There are, however, large notable pockets of Armenian Americans, Ugandan Americans, Rwandan Americans, Filipino Americans, African Americans, and Thai Americans as well.

In late 2004, the San Fernando Valley's first historic district was proposed for an area of early 20th Century bungalows north of Victory between Van Nuys Boulevard and Kester. According to the November 23, 2004, Los Angeles Times, "The neighborhood has become a melting pot of ethnic groups and home styles. Nearby stand such historic buildings as Van Nuys High School (1914), St. Elisabeth Catholic Church (1920) and the 12th Church of Christ Scientist (1932)."

Notable locations

*The Japanese Garden
*Sepulveda Dam
*Busch Gardens Theme Park (1964–1979)
*Van Nuys FlyAway Bus service
*Van Nuys Boulevard

Emergency services

Fire service

Los Angeles Fire Department operates [http://lafd.org/fs39.htm Station 39] (Van Nuys), [http://lafd.org/fs90.htm Station 90] (Van Nuys Airport Area), [http://lafd.org/fs100.htm Station 100] (West Van Nuys/Lake Balboa), and [http://lafd.org/fs102.htm Station 102] (South Van Nuys/Valley Glen), serving the community.

Police service

The Los Angeles Police Department operates the nearby Van Nuys Community Police Station at 6420 Sylmar Avenue, 91401, serving the neighborhood [http://www.lapdonline.org/van_nuys_community_police_station] .

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Van Nuys is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

LAUSD-operated schools within the Van Nuys community area include:

Adult schools:
* Van Nuys Community Adult School (on the same campus as Van Nuys High School)6-12 schools:
*Robert Fulton College PreparatoryK-12 school:
*Valley Alternative Magnet SchoolHigh schools:
*Van Nuys High SchoolMiddle schools:
*Van Nuys Middle SchoolElementary schools:
*Columbus Avenue Elementary School
*Hazeltine Avenue Elementary School
* [http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Sylvan_Park_EL/ Sylvan Park Elementary School]
* [http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Van_Nuys_EL/ Van Nuys Elementary School]

In addition Charter High School for the Arts is located in Van Nuys.

Private schools

* [http://www.ccsteaches.com Children's Community School] - an independent, progressive elementary school.
* [http://www.stelisabeth.org St. Elisabeth's School] - Preschool through 8th - Home of the Learning Academies and the Junior High Information Technology Preparatory Academy - Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles
* [http://www.sbos.org St. Bridget of Sweden School] - K thru 8th

Public libraries

The [http://www.lapl.org/branches/23.html Van Nuys Branch Library] of the Los Angeles Public Library serves the community.

Transportation

Van Nuys Airport, the third busiest general aviation airport in the world, the 25th busiest airport in the United States, and among the 20 busiest airports in the world by aircraft movements, is located in Van Nuys.

The closest airport with commercial airline service

Timeline

See [http://www.americassuburb.com/timeline.html timeline] .

* 1872 — Eugene Garnier buys Rancho Encino and erects house of limestone beside de Osa adobe. Isaac Van Nuys builds first wood-frame house in Valley.
* 1911 — Van Nuys was settled by the Los Angeles Suburban Home Company. HJ Whitleythe Father Of Hollywood was the General Manager of the Syndicate. Pacific Electric Red Cars reach Valley from Los Angeles. Burbank and San Fernando officially incorporate.
* 1914 — Universal City opens as a studio-cum-town. Floods inundate Van Nuys and cut off Valley from Los Angeles.
* 1928 — St. Francis Dam break kills more than 400 people and ends career of William Mulholland. Metropolitan Field, the future Van Nuys Airport, opens. Stop signs posted at major intersections.
* 1932 —Van Nuys city hall built.
* 1942 — President Franklin Roosevelt orders all West Coast residents of Japanese heritage — including 3,100 in Valley, many of them Americans — relocated to inland camps. National Guard squadron at Griffith Park moves to new Van Nuys Army Airfield.
* 1943 — Birmingham Army Hospital built for paraplegic wounded at Balboa Blvd. and Vanowen St. in Van Nuys
* 1949 — Standard Airlines crash in Santa Susana Pass kills 35 people. Bethlehem Star Parade tradition begins in Van Nuys. Valley College opens.
*1953- Birmingham Army Hospital becomes Birmingham Jr. & Sr. High School, the third Jr. & Sr. High School in Van Nuys.
* 1960 — Ventura Freeway completed across the Valley. National Guard jets leave Van Nuys Airport over noise complaints. Population of Valley hits 840,000.
* 1965 — Passenger helicopter service begins between Van Nuys and Los Angeles International Airport. Journalist Tom Wolfe writes of Valley car culture in The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby.
* 1966 — Busch Gardens amusement park opens in Van Nuys.
* 1970 —Women join assembly line at Van Nuys GM plant. Bethlehem Star Parade ends due to waning interest.
* 1992 —General Motors plant in Van Nuys closes.

Notable Residents

*Mitch Gaylord gold medalist gymnast at the 1984 Olympics
*Brandon Boyd frontman for rock band Incubus
*Alyssa Diaz
*Five Star 80's pop group, they lived here 1990-2001
*Joseph Gordon-Levitt
*Curt Goetz Swiss-German writer and actor, had a chicken farm here until 1945
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2590465/ Tyler Jacob Moore]
*Nikki Sixx
*Brooke White
*George Aiton, Major League Baseball player who died in Van Nuys
*Don Drysdale, Major League Baseball hall of famer
*Todd Zeile, former Major League Baseball player
*Mike Fetters, former Major League Baseball player
*Jordan Farmar, Los Angeles Lakers, Attended Birmingham High School before transferring to Taft High School
*Rainn Wilson actor, star of "The Office"
*Chris Lappos noted contrarian
*Hobart Johnstone Whitley - Van Nuys Founder, Land Developer, Banker

References

External links

* [http://parc3.lacity.org/done/nc/maps.cfm?ncid=20&nc=VAN%20NUYS%20NEIGHBORHOOD%20COUNCIL Van Nuys Neighborhood Council Map]
* [http://www.getty.edu/vow/TGNFullDisplay?find=van+nuys&place=&nation=&prev_page=1&english=Y&subjectid=7014708 Van Nuys (neighborhood)]