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Larchmont Village is a quaint and friendly shopping district
in the center of a bustling city. It is located in one of
the oldest and most historically significant neighborhoods
in Los Angeles and is bordered by some of the most well
preserved older homes in the city, ranging from 1920's California
bungalows to grand old estates. Larchmont Village serves
as a Main Street retail district to Hancock Park, Windsor
Square and nearby Paramount Studios. Larchmont maintains
a small town feel and serves as a lovely community gathering
place. Enjoy the charm of a day spent on Larchmont experiencing
a variety of wonderful ethnic restaurants, sidewalk cafes
and upscale boutiques.
NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY
Windsor Square
Sometime between 1900 and 1910 a gentleman named George
A.G. Howard envisioned a beautiful tranquil park as a setting
for family homes such as one sees in the English countryside.
He pushed the early city fathers to make his vision come
true, and in 1911, Mr. Robert A. Rowan initiated a unique
residential development and called it Windsor Square.
The original "Square" ran from Wilshire Blvd. to Third Street,
and from Plymouth Blvd. to Irving Blvd. The English flavor
was enhanced by street names: Irving, Windsor and Plymouth.
Lorraine Boulevard took its name from the developer's daughter
Lorraine Rowan. Nurseryman Paul J. Howard designed and planted
most of the magnificent gardens of Windsor Square and supervised
tree planting.
Windsor Square was later expanded to the north, east, and
west. Today, Windsor Square runs from Wilshire to Beverly
Boulevards, and from Arden Boulevard to Van Ness Avenue.
This is inclusive of the one-block strip of Larchmont Village,
between First Street and Beverly Boulevard. Windsor Square
is often mistakenly called "Hancock Park," even by long-time
residents. But in fact, Hancock Park is the neighborhood
immediately to the west.
Windsor Square consists of approximately 1,100 homes, and
it is one of the oldest - most well preserved neighborhoods
in Los Angeles. With its broad lawns, mature trees and central
location five miles west of downtown, Windsor Square is
a garden oasis in the heart of a world-class city, with
Larchmont Village as its community gathering place.
Hancock Park
Hancock Park, directly to the west of Windsor Square, owes
its name to developer-philanthropist G. Allan Hancock, who
subdivided the property in the 1920s. Hancock, born and
raised in a home at the La Brea tar pits, inherited 440
acres, which his father, Major Henry Hancock had acquired
from the Rancho La Brea property owned by the family of
Jose Jorge Rocha.
Some 71 oil wells were operating at capacity on the land
from 1905 to 1910. Nine years later Hancock subdivided the
property into residential lots. He leased 105 acres to the
Wilshire Country Club with an option to buy. The Hancock
Park development was started on Rossmore Avenue and moved
west to Highland Avenue in 1921.
Architects such as Paul Williams, A. C. Chisholm and John
Austin were hired to design homes for many of the city's
pioneer families. The list of families who moved into Hancock
Park's first homes reads like a "Who's Who" of California-Doheny,
Chandler, Huntington, Van Nuys, Crocker, Banning, Newmark,
Van de Kamp and Duque, were some of the early residents.
Hancock Park is approximately 2.2 square miles and consists
of about 1,200 homes. Its boundaries are Rossmore to Highland
Avenues, and Melrose Avenue to Wilshire Boulevard.
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