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The
San Fernando Valley
It's part of
Los Angeles Really
After the Northridge earthquake I was aggravated to hear newscasters
say the San Fernando Valley was 'near Los Angeles'. That's like
saying 'Queens is near New York' or 'The French Quarter is near New
Orleans'. I'd like to try, in my own feeble way to explain the
Valley to the rest of you out there -- especially those of you on the
other
side of The Hill.
Take a city and plop a mountain range down through the middle of
it. It's called 'The Valley' because it is separated from
downtown LA and roughly the southern half of the city by the Santa
Monica Mountains.
Tom Petty sings about long days in Reseda, eccentric residents of
Encino have owned llamas and chimps, and Frank Zappa and daughter Moon
Unit sung about Valley Girls. Yes, I’m a Valley Girl, but you’re
not supposed to call me that because it’s an insult -- like, gag me
with
a spoon, you know! The Valley has been looked down upon by the
Westside,
dismissed as a bedroom community by Downtown, maligned as a long series
of strip malls by... -you know who you are. It has been said the
Valley is to LA what Canada is to the United States. Or even, the
Anti-Los Angeles.
The Real Valley
We are none of these things, except sometimes, maybe a little.
The Valley was annexed by the city of Los Angeles in 1917 and tried to
secede in 1980. There are genteel church socials in Toluca Lake
while porn is a growth industry in Chatsworth. Movie stars eat at
kosher delis in Studio City or you can get the best tacos north of the
border in Van Nuys. These areas - Northridge included - are all
part of the San Fernando Valley and the San Fernando Valley, like it or
not, is part of the city of Los Angeles. No kidding. Look
for us up in the northeast corner of the map.
The Early Years
The Valley was inhabited by members of the Tongva Indians (renamed
Fernandino and
Gabrielino by the Spanish) since pre-history. It was an ancient
Indian footpath that led Spanish explorer Gaspar
de Portola through a mountain range and down into a peaceful valley
covered with oak trees. Ignoring the enormous village of Indians
who had already titled their city, he named the area Los Encinos (The
Oaks).
He promptly forgot about it (figures), because later the area was
rediscovered and called the Lost City of Los Encinos. As if in
penance, Signor Portola’s tortuous journey is memorialized daily by
commuters trapped in traffic on the 405 Freeway.
In 1797, Mission San Fernando Rey de España was founded as a stopping
point for weary travelers on El Camino Real (The King's Road). This
roadway is now called Ventura Boulevard and is the unofficial main drag
of the Valley. It hugs the northern length of the Santa Monica
mountains from the northwest corner in Woodland Hills, then southeast
past Universal City until plunging into the Hollywood Pass where it
changes names to the Cahuenga Pass. Ventura Blvd. is roughly
paralleled by the Ventura Freeway which goes northeast into Ventura
County.
You're Stuck With Us
Yup, the San Fernando Valley, like it or not, is part of the city of
Los Angeles. No kidding. So lets all try to get along
together.
I found this excellent website with more info on the origin of street
names in the San Fernando Valley here: http://www.americassuburb.com/streets.html
For more info on the Los Angeles native Tongva visit the Laurel
Canyon Assoc.
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