Olympic Boulevard
Encyclopedia
Arterial road
An arterial road, or arterial thoroughfare, is a high-capacity urban road. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roads to freeways, and between urban centres at the highest level of service possible. As such, many arteries are limited-access roads, or feature...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. It stretches from 4th Street on the western end of Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
to East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles, California
East Los Angeles is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States...
—farther than Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
and most other streets.
Its path runs parallel to and north of Pico Boulevard
Pico Boulevard
Pico Boulevard is a major Los Angeles street that runs from the Pacific Ocean at Appian Way in Santa Monica to Central Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California, USA...
from Santa Monica to Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
, and parallel to and south of Santa Monica Boulevard on its western end and Wilshire Boulevard past Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
.
Like other major Los Angeles streets, Olympic is at least four lanes in width. Unlike other east-west arterial roads such as Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
, Santa Monica Boulevard, and Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
, it does not cross major attractions and sites and therefore contains far less traffic. While Wilshire crosses through the heart of Los Angeles, Olympic runs through the southern end of principal areas such as West Los Angeles
West Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
West Los Angeles is a district in Los Angeles, California, within a larger region known as the "Westside."-Geography and transportation:...
, Westwood
Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Westwood is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles .-History:...
, Century City
Century City, Los Angeles, California
Century City is a 176-acre commercial and residential district on the Westside of the city of Los Angeles. It is bounded by Westwood on the west, Rancho Park on the southwest, Cheviot Hills and Beverlywood on the southeast, and the city of Beverly Hills on the northeast...
, Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, Hancock Park
Hancock Park, Los Angeles, California
Hancock Park is a historic and affluent urban neighborhood in Los Angeles, California roughly bounded by Van Ness Avenue to the East, Melrose Avenue to the North, La Brea Avenue to the West, and Wilshire Boulevard to the South.-History:...
, Koreatown
Koreatown, Los Angeles, California
Koreatown is a neighborhood in the Mid-Wilshire district of the city of Los Angeles, California known for its concentration of Korean American people and institutions...
, Westlake
Westlake, Los Angeles, California
Westlake is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. It should not be confused with Westlake Village, an independent municipality in Los Angeles County near Thousand Oaks and close to the Ventura County line....
and Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
. Little Ethiopia is east of Fairfax Avenue
Fairfax Avenue
Fairfax Avenue is a street on north central Los Angeles, California. It runs from La Cienega Boulevard with Culver City at its southern end to Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood on its northern end.Fairfax Avenue forms the western boundary of Hancock Park as well as Park La Brea, an 160 acre ,...
and Olympic. Proceeding east on Olympic, it breaks off in Downtown LA's Fashion District but continues on from there, passing the southern areas of Boyle Heights
Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California
Boyle Heights is a neighborhood east of Downtown Los Angeles on the East Side of Los Angeles. For much of the twentieth century, Boyle Heights was a gateway for new immigrants. This resulted in diverse demographics, including Jewish American, Japanese American and Mexican American populations,...
, East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles, California
East Los Angeles is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States...
and Montebello
Montebello, California
Montebello is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the southwestern part of the San Gabriel Valley. It is located on of land just east of downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities, and the city is a member of the Gateway Cities Council of...
with an eastern terminus in Montebello as a small neighborhood street.
Olympic Boulevard is primarily a commercial, urban street. There is a grass divider with trees in the Santa Monica portion. Around Carthay, Olympic passes through residential neighborhoods. The intersection at La Brea Avenue
La Brea Avenue
La Brea Avenue is a prominent north/south thoroughfare in Los Angeles. Several museums are located along La Brea, and it is known for having many stores and eateries.-Description:...
is under extensive construction. A number of schools are located on Olympic as well. Crossroads School
Crossroads School (Santa Monica, California)
Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences is a K-12 independent, college preparatory school in Santa Monica, California, United States. The school is a member of the G20 Schools Group.-History:...
is located at Olympic and 20th in Santa Monica, New Roads School is located at Centinela Avenue
Centinela Avenue
Centinela Avenue is a street in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It generally runs north/south, but also east/west, and is the prime thoroughfare for West Los Angeles, Mar Vista, and Culver City. Centinela Avenue is also a major road in Santa Monica, Ladera Heights, Baldwin Hills, and...
in Santa Monica. and Wildwood School
Wildwood School
Wildwood School is an independent K-12 school located in Los Angeles. Wildwood was founded as an elementary school in 1971, by a group of parents led by a young lawyer named Belle Mason. The secondary campus opened in 2000. Wildwood School is dedicated to focusing on teaching independent learning...
is located in between Bundy and Barrington. Los Angeles High School
Los Angeles High School
Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are blue and white and the teams are called the Romans....
is located slightly to the east of Olympic and Highland Avenue.
Olympic expands to six lanes starting east of Santa Monica and generally maintains a speed limit of 45 mi/h. Even so, due to Los Angeles traffic, Olympic often becomes congested.
It was originally named 10th Street, but was renamed Olympic Boulevard for the 1932 Summer Olympics
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
, as that was the occasion of the tenth modern event. Tenth Street School, at Olympic and Grattan, was founded in 1888 and has kept the original name. Parts of the old 10th Street exist as smaller streets near Hancock Park, in Westlake, and in the Central City East area southeast of Downtown.
Transportation
Bus service throughout Olympic Boulevard is served between Santa Monica and Century City by Santa Monica Transit line 5, between Century City and Downtown LA by Metro LocalMetro Local
Metro Local is a bus system in Los Angeles County operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority . This retronym designation was placed to differentiate it from the Metro Rapid service...
line 28 and Metro Rapid
Metro Rapid
Metro Rapid is a bus rapid transit service in Los Angeles County, California that operates in mixed traffic environments and has fewer stops than the Metro Local service. The system is mainly operated by LACMTA. Two routes are operated by Santa Monica Transit and one by Culver City Transit...
line 728, and from The Fashion District east by Metro Local lines 62 and 66.
Notable landmarks
- Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Los Angeles BranchFederal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Los Angeles BranchThe Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Los Angeles Branch is the Southern California branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco located on Grand Avenue and Olympic Blvd. in Los Angeles. Its original building is a historic-cultural monument, built in 1929 on Olympic Boulevard and Olive...
- LA Live
- Loyola Law SchoolLoyola Law SchoolLoyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions, in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Like Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Loyola University New Orleans College of Law , it...
- Sammy LeeSammy Lee (diver)Dr. Samuel Lee is the first Asian American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States and the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in Olympic platform diving...
Square, at the corner of Normandie AvenueNormandie AvenueNormandie Avenue is one of Los Angeles County's longest north-south streets. With a stretch of about 22.5 miles , it lies between Vermont Avenue and Western Avenue, starting off north of Franklin Avenue. At Wilshire Boulevard, the Metro Purple Line intersects at an underground subway station. ... - Los Angeles High SchoolLos Angeles High SchoolLos Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are blue and white and the teams are called the Romans....
See also
- Byron B. BrainardByron B. BrainardByron B. Brainard was an electrician, auto mechanic, auto salesman, real estate broker and community newspaper editor who was also a Los Angeles City Council member between 1933 and 1939.-Biography:Byron B...
(1894–1940), Los Angeles City Council member who accessed state money for the widening of the boulevard.