Ownership of the southern half of the valley, south of present-day Roscoe Boulevard from Toluca Lake to Woodland Hills, by Americans began in the 1860s. First, Isaac Lankershim (as the "San Fernando Farm Homestead Association") in 1869, then Isaac Lankershim's son, James Boon Lankershim, and Isaac Newton Van Nuys (as the "Los Angeles Farm & Milling Company") in 1873,[5] and finally, in the "biggest land transaction ever recorded in Los Angeles County", a syndicate led by Harry Chandler of the Los Angeles Times with Hobart Johnstone Whitley, Gen. Moses Sherman, and others (as the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company) in 1910.[6]
"Country Homes in Girard" Los Angeles Evening Express, November 17, 1923
Victor Girard Kleinberger bought 2,886 acres (1,168 ha) in the area from Chandler's group and founded the town of Girard in 1922.[7] He sought to attract residents and businesses by developing an infrastructure, advertising in newspapers, and planting 120,000 trees.[7] His 300 pepper trees formed a canopy over Canoga Ave. between Ventura Boulevard and Saltillo St. became Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #93 in 1972.[8] Circa 1939 the area was described as "A small business district on Ventura Boulevard at Topanga Canyon Junction. The population is scattered, being found mostly throughout the surrounding agricultural country."[9] The community of Girard was eventually incorporated into Los Angeles, and in 1945, it became known as Woodland Hills.[4] Reference to the founding of Girard is part of the story arc in the first season of Perry Mason (2020).
Running east–west through the community is U.S. Route 101 (the Ventura Freeway) and also Ventura Boulevard, the San Fernando Valley's main thoroughfare, whose western terminus is at Valley Circle Boulevard in Woodland Hills.
Climate
Woodland Hills can experience some of the more extreme temperature changes from season to season than other regions of the San Fernando Valley. During summer days, temperatures in Woodland Hills is often very hot, while overnight winter temperatures can be among the coldest of the Valley. On September 5, 2020, Woodland Hills recorded the highest temperature ever in Los Angeles County, hitting 122 °F (50 °C) at Pierce College,[11] tying with Chino's reading as the highest temperature ever recorded west of the mountains in Southern California.[12] The climate is classified as a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) in the Köppen climate classification, which is characterized by mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers.[13] Precipitation in Woodland Hills averages much the same as most other regions of the west San Fernando Valley, although somewhat higher amounts of rainfall occur in the surrounding hills.[14]
Climate data for Woodland Hills, Los Angeles (Pierce College), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1949–present
In 2008, the population of Woodland Hills was approximately 63,000. The median age in 2000 was 40.[17]
As of the 2000 census, and according to the Los Angeles Almanac, there were 67,006 people and 29,119 households residing in Woodland Hills. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 79.90% White, 6.97% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 3.34% African American, 0.33% Native American, 4.80% from other races, and 4.52% from two or more races. 11.94% of the population were Hispanic of any race.
In population, it is one of the least dense neighborhoods in Los Angeles, and the percentage of white people is high for the county. The percentage of residents 25 and older with four-year college degrees is 47.0%, which was high for both the city and the county. The percentage of veterans, 10.7% of the population, was high for the city of Los Angeles and high for the county overall. The percentage of veterans who served during World War II or Korea was among the county's highest.[17]
The 2008 Los Angeles Times's "Mapping L.A." project supplied these Woodland Hills neighborhood statistics: population: 59,661; median household income: $93,720. The Times said the latter figure was "high for the city of Los Angeles and high for the county."[17]
Woodland Hills is home to the Woodland Hills Country Club, a private equity golf club. The country club is complete with golf course, fine dining, and entertainment options.
The Woodland Hills Recreation Center (Shoup Park) is a 19-acre (7.7 ha) park in Woodland Hills. The park has a small indoor gymnasium without weights and with a capacity of 300; it may be used as an auditorium. The park also has a lighted baseball diamond, outdoor lighted basketball courts, a children's play area, a lighted football field, picnic tables, a lighted soccer field, and lighted tennis courts.[20] Woodland Hills Pool is an outdoor seasonal unheated swimming pool.[20][21]
The Warner Center Park, also known as Warner Ranch Park,[22] is located in Woodland Hills.[23] The park, unstaffed and unlocked, has a children's play area and picnic tables.[22]
Serrania Park in Woodland Hills is an unstaffed, unlocked pocket park. It has a children's play area, hiking trails, and picnic tables.[24] Alizondo Drive Park in Woodland Hills is an unstaffed, unlocked, and undeveloped park used for brush clearance once per year.[25]
Woodland Hills Warner Center Neighborhood Council is the local elected advisory body to the city of Los Angeles representing stakeholders in the Woodland Hills and Warner Center areas.[28]
The Los Angeles Police Department operates the Topanga Division station in Canoga Park[52] which provides service to the Woodland Hills area.
Notable people
The Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital, a private retirement, nursing care and acute-care hospital facility is reserved for industry professionals. The section includes some people who lived and/or died there, among other residents.
^"Russell Thacher, 71, Producer and Writer". The New York Times. October 4, 1990. Retrieved November 25, 2017. Russell Thacher, a film producer and writer, died on Monday at the U.C.L.A. Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 71 years old and lived in Woodland Hills, Calif.
