Van Nuys is a district in the northern Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California.
The area is named after Isaac Van Nuys, who founded the San Fernando Homestead Association in 1869, a group which purchased much of land that now makes up the community. He also built the first wood frame house in the San Fernando Valley in 1872.
Van Nuys is in the heart of the San Fernando Valley and home to about 100,000 people; the main thoroughfare, Van Nuys Boulevard, is noted for its car dealerships and the Government Center (Erwin Street Mall) containing a branch of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Van Nuys police station, the Van Nuys offices for Los Angeles City Hall, and a branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.
Van Nuys used to be the home for a major manufacturing plant for Chevrolet. When the plant was dismantled the site was converted into a shopping mall called The Plant.
Like many central Valley neighborhoods, Van Nuys was a white, middle-class neighborhood as late as the 1970s, but the demographics of the area changed considerably due to white flight. It is now a predominantly Latino neighborhood.
In late 2004, the San Fernando Valley's first historic district was proposed for an area of early 20th Century bungalows north of Victory between Van Nuys Boulevard and Kester. According to the November 23, 2004 Los Angeles Times, "The neighborhood has become a melting pot of ethnic groups and home styles. Many of the surviving prewar gems are fronted by Old Glory and valued at more than $400,000. Nearby stand such historic buildings as Van Nuys High School (1914), St. Elizabeth Catholic Church (1920) and the 12th Church of Christ Scientist (1932)."
Van Nuys is also known as "the Pornography capital of the world".
|
