Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

Woodland Hills is a community within the City of Los Angeles. It is located in the southwestern area of the San Fernando Valley, northeast of Calabasas and west of Tarzana. To the north Woodland Hills is bordered by West Hills, Canoga Park, and Winnetka. Running east-west through the community is U.S. Highway 101 (Ventura Freeway) and Ventura Boulevard, which starts in Woodland Hills.

Related Topics:
City of Los Angeles - San Fernando Valley - Calabasas - Tarzana - West Hills - Canoga Park - Winnetka - U.S. Highway 101 - Ventura Freeway - Ventura Boulevard

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Victor Girard Kleinberger (later known as simply Victor Girard) bought 2,886 acres (12 km²) in the area and founded Girard in 1922. He sought to attract residents and businesses by developing the land, advertising in newspapers, and planting 120,000 trees. Although much of his development provided a dubious facade of economic activity in Girard (local lore has it that in order to attract development he erected false store fronts on Ventura Blvd., for which he spent time in jail), the Girard Golf Course completed in 1925 continues to operate today as the Woodland Hills Country Club, and his scheme was successful in attracting interest in the community.

Related Topics:
Acre - 1922

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The town suffered through the Great Depression yet survived. In 1941, the community was renamed Woodland Hills, an appropriate name owing to all the trees that Girard had planted years earlier. Harry Warner came along in the 1940s and bought 1,100 acres (4.5 km²) in the area for a horse ranch. The modern Warner Center commercial zone is named for Harry and features several high-rise buildings, hotels, and shopping centers in Woodland Hills. A major transit hub is being constructed here.

Related Topics:
Great Depression - 1941 - Harry Warner - 1940s - Acre - Warner Center

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The population living in Woodland Hills nears 70,000.

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