Sherman Oaks is an district in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. In contrast to much of the Valley, the area is relatively urbanized, with commercial skyscrapers along Ventura Boulevard as well as scattered throughout. In addition, residential densities are highly mixed, with apartment and condominium neighborhoods alongside single-story residential ones. The area is a hub for regional transportation, business, and shopping.

Geography

The neighborhood is roughly bounded by Studio City to the east, Van Nuys to the north, Encino to the west, Bel Air and Beverly Hills Post Office to the south.

Sherman Oaks is situated along the Los Angeles River, Ventura Freeway, San Diego Freeway, Beverly Glen Boulevard, and Sepulveda Boulevard.

The southern boundary has always been Mulholland Drive. The western boundary is Firmament as it crosses Ventura Blvd. The current northern boundary is Oxnard and the eastern boundary is Coldwater Canyon Avenue from Burbank south to Magnolia where it jogs west so as to reach Fulton Avenue at Ventura Boulevard The line then follows Longridge south to Mulholland.

On July 14, 2009, the Los Angeles City Council approved a request to extend the northern boundary of Sherman Oaks to Oxnard St.

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, and according to the San Fernando Valley Almanac, Sherman Oaks has a population of 52,677 people and 25,255 households. The racial makeup of the neighborhood is 3% African American, 5% Asian American, 11% Latino, and 82% White. Other races make up less than 1%. The median single family housing value as of August 2009 is $575,000.

In 2009, the Los Angeles Times's "Mapping L.A." project supplied these Sherman Oaks neighborhood statistics: population: 61,166; median household income: $69,651.

History

Sherman Oaks was one of the first Valley communities to experience intensive real estate development. Anticipating the development of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, Los Angeles Suburban Homes Co. purchased 47,500 acres (192 km²) of the southeast Valley in 1910. In 1911, a subdivision map called Tract 1000 was filed with Los Angeles County. From that parcel, one of the partners in the company, General Moses Hazeltine Sherman, bought 1,000 acres (4 km²) for himself. In 1927, Sherman subdivided the property and sold the land for $780 an acre ($0.19/m²).

Government

Sherman Oaks is part of the city of Los Angeles and is represented in the Los Angeles City Council by Second District City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel and Fifth District City Councilman Jack Weiss. The local neighborhood council is the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council. For county, Sherman Oaks is represented by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Third District county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. For state, representatives of Sherman Oaks are California State Assembly 40th District state Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, 42nd District state Assemblyman Michael Feuer, 21st District state Senator Carol Liu, and 23rd District state Senator Fran Pavley. For the Federal level, Sherman Oaks is represented by United State House of Representatives 27th District U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman and United State House of Representatives 28th District U.S. Rep. Howard Berman. Representing all of California, including Sherman Oaks, in the U.S. Senate are U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein.

Economy

Many financial corporations, including banks and brokerage houses, are located in the area. Sunkist Growers, one of the country's oldest and largest agricultural cooperatives, has been rooted in Sherman Oaks for almost 30 years.

Government and infrastructure

Local government

Los Angeles Fire Department operates Station 88 Sherman Oaks and Station 102 South Van Nuys/Valley Glen in Sherman Oaks. In addition the department operates Fire Station 78, which serves Sherman Oaks, in Studio City.

The Los Angeles Police Department operates the nearby Van Nuys Community Police Station at 6240 Sylmar Avenue, 91401, serving the community.

County, state, and federal representation

The United States Postal Service Sherman Oaks Post Office is located at 14900 Magnolia Boulevard.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Sherman Oaks' primary and secondary public schools are part of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Public elementary schools in the area are:

• Chandler Elementary School
• Dixie Canyon Elementary School
• Kester Avenue Elementary School
• Riverside Drive Elementary School
• Sherman Oaks Elementary School

Public secondary schools in the area are:

• Millikan Middle School (Sherman Oaks)
• Van Nuys Middle School (Sherman Oaks)
• U. S. Grant High School (Valley Glen)
• Van Nuys High School (Van Nuys)

The Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies is located west of Sherman Oaks.

Private schools

Private and parochial schools in the area are:

• The Buckley School
• Church of the Chimes
• Notre Dame High School
• Emek Hebrew Academy
• St. Francis DeSales
• Sherman Oaks Lutheran
• Sherman Oaks Presbyterian
• The Nurtury
• Armenian Evangelical Schools of California
• Bridges Academy
• Cambridge School
• Ferrahian Armenian High School
• St.Cyril of Jerusalem

Colleges and universities

Also located in Sherman Oaks is a learning center campus for the National University.Devry University has a campus in the Sherman Oaks Galleria.

LAVC or Los Angeles Valley College is also located in Sherman Oaks.

Libraries

Los Angeles Public Library operates the Sherman Oaks Branch.

Culture

Sherman Oaks is an affluent neighborhood, with several high-end fashion boutiques, and features many upscale houses and restaurants. One of the city's main claims to fame is the presence of the Sherman Oaks Galleria, a shopping mall identified as a meet-up place for the Valley girls, a 1980s cultural label which became widely known because of the 1983 movie Valley Girl and a song of the same name by Frank Zappa. In addition, a portion of the 1982 movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High was filmed there. After being damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the Galleria eventually was torn down and replaced by an open-air retail and office complex that bears little resemblance to the original mall. Other local shopping options include the Westfield Fashion Square (formerly known as Sherman Oaks Fashion Square), and an assortment of boutiques and restaurants located along Ventura Boulevard. Aerobics and Fitness Association of America operates in Sherman Oaks.

Every April and October, the Chamber of Commerce produces a popular Street Fair, closing down a half-mile stretch of busy Ventura Boulevard for booths, food, and entertainment (including rides for the kids). Upwards of 100,000 visitors stop by each year. Grand Marshals have included Coach John Wooden and actor/child-safety advocate Bryan Cranston (KidSmartz).

Media

Sherman Oaks Sun is a local community newspaper.

Sherman Oaks has significant references in television.

• The short-lived 1990s sitcom, Sherman Oaks, centered on a wealthy plastic surgeon living with his family in Sherman Oaks.
• Parts of the television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer were filmed at the Sherman Oaks Galleria.
• Scenes from the popular show Desperate Housewives are periodically filmed in Sherman Oaks, most often at Van Nuys Sherman Oaks Park and Maxson's Drug Store.
• The final scenes of the film Escape from New York were filmed in Sherman Oaks.
• On several occasions Scrubs has filmed throughout Sherman Oaks.
• Video game developer Spark Unlimited is based in Sherman Oaks.
• Premiere Radio is based out of Sherman Oaks.
• Sherman Oaks is also the home of Fox Sports Radio.
• A flower shop on Ventura Blvd. was filmed frequently for the HBO hit Six Feet Under.
• Sherman Oaks is where Alan Harper's ex-wife Judith and son Jake live in the sitcom Two and a Half Men.
• Virtual Instruments Magazine is published and edited in Sherman Oaks.
• The mall scenes from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" were filmed at the Sherman Oaks Galleria.
• Scenes from Crash were filmed in Sherman Oaks.
• The character Jazz in Michael Bay's movie Transformers drops down from the roof of the Casa De Cadillac dealership, located on Ventura and Tyrone/Beverly Glen.
• Richard Pryor stayed at the Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks in 1980, after lighting himself on fire when he was freebasing cocaine.

Trivia

• Sherman Oaks is home to Fire Station #88, the first out of town Urban Search and Rescue Task Force to respond following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
• Marilyn Monroe's first home as a 16-year-old newly-wed was on Vista del Monte.
• Liberace lived on Valley Vista Boulevard and had a piano-shaped pool complete with black keys.
• Britney Spears got a tattoo in Body and Soul, a Sherman Oaks Tattoo parlor, after shaving her head in Tarzana on February 17, 2007.
• The FOX network is currently developing a serial drama entitled "The Sherm". It will be patterned after "The OC" in an attempt to reclaim viewers that were lost due to the show's early demise.
• Chris Broderick (jag panzer, nevermore, megadeth) has his house in this town
• American singer Pink and her husband motocross star Carey Hart have a house in Sherman Oaks.
• Actress Melissa Joan Hart opened a candy shop called SweetHarts in Sherman Oaks in March 2009.
• John Gabriel Beckman, the Hollywood Art Director and Production Designer, lived here frequently throughout his career until his death in 1989.

References

1. Goodbye Van Nuys, hello Sherman Oaks: L.A. Council OKs neighborhood switch
2. [1]
3. "Sherman Oaks" entry on the Los Angeles Times "Mapping L.A." website
4. [2]
5. " Fire Station 88." Los Angeles Fire Department. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.
6. " Fire Station 102." Los Angeles Fire Department. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.
7. " Fire Station 78." Los Angeles Fire Department. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.
8. " Van Nuys Community Police Station." Los Angeles Police Department. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.
9. " Post Office Location - SHERMAN OAKS." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.
10. Valley Girl reputation, community activist at heart, May 22, 2005.
11. ""Internet Movie Database". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0065805/.

External links

• Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council
• Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce
• The Neighborhood Project: Sherman Oaks