Northridge, formerly North Los Angeles, is a 17 square mile neighborhood in the Northwest region of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. The neighborhoods adjacent to Northridge include Winnetka, Chatsworth, Reseda, Granada Hills, Porter Ranch, and North Hills. Some of the major streets in the neighborhood include Roscoe Boulevard, Reseda Boulevard, Nordhoff Street, Devonshire Street, Tampa Avenue, and Corbin Avenue. Northridge food and Northridge catering services are the main attraction of this time.
History of Northridge
Northridge was initially home to the Tongva/Gabrielino Native American tribe and the neighborhood was then called the Totonga village. The first written recorded description of the area was made by Spanish missionaries in 1769. The opening of the Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana saw the beginning of the change in the area’s population make-up.
The mission and large tracts of land in the area covering about 116,858 acres were sold to a Spaniard, Eulogio de Celis and much later his heirs sold the northern part of the land (about 56,000 acres) to Senators George Porter and Charles Maclay. During this time, Porter named his side “Valley of Cumberland” while Maclay named his “Garden of Eden”. Later, the land was bought by the Valley Farms Company for development and subdivision and was named Zelzah Acres. In 1929, the area residents changed the name to North Los Angeles, a name which stuck till 1938 when it was renamed Northridge Village then shortened to Northridge.
Demographics
According to the US National Census of the year 2000, Northridge had 68,469 residents living in the neighborhood’s 24,172 households. The ethnic makeup of the neighborhood was:
White 78.14%
Asian 4.89%
Pacific Islander 0.16%
African-American 2.45%
Native American 0.47%
Mixed Race 5.41%
Others 8.48%
Education
Northridge’s kids attend public schools operated under the Los Angeles Unified School District and these include Alfred B. Nobel, Oliver Wendell Holmes International, Northridge, and William Mulholland Middle Schools. The public high schools are Northridge Academy, Monroe high, Birmingham High, Reseda High, Grover Cleveland High, John F. Kennedy high, and Granada Hills Charter High School. Apart from the public schools there are also some parochial and private schools in the area such as Chatsworth Hills Academy, Los Angeles Baptist, Our Lady of Lourdes, Chaminade, and St. Genevieve.
Higher education institutions include the California State University, Northridge (CSUN), the Los Angeles Valley College, Pierce College, and the Los Angeles Mission College. While the others form part of the Los Angeles Community College District’s nine campuses, the California State University, Northridge is a campus of the California State University system and offers Bachelor’s degrees in 134 different areas and Master’s degrees in about 70 different programs. The campus offers about 24 different teaching credentials and 3 doctoral degrees.
Parks and Recreation Facilities
There is a 400-capacity weightless gym at The Northridge Recreation Center. There is a public park with picnic facilities that include barbecue pits and picnic tables. Sports facilities at the Recreation Center include a lighted baseball diamond, several lighted indoor and outdoor basketball courts, a lighted soccer pitch, and lighted tennis courts. There is also an outdoor heated seasonal swimming pool.
Summary
Unlike living right within the City of Los Angeles, Northridge offers a less congested, more peaceful atmosphere. Crime rates are very low in the area, apart from a few spots such as the Parthena and Vanalden free housing areas but still not comparable to other areas within the city. The CSUN campus is the pride of the neighborhood with its varied education programs.