Tarzana, Los Angeles, California
Encyclopedia
Tarzana is a district in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...

 region of the city of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The neighborhood is located on the site of a former ranch owned by author Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...

, who named it Tarzana after his jungle hero character Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...

.

Geography

Tarzana, a district of Los Angeles, is surrounded by Reseda to the north, Woodland Hills to the west, Encino to the east, and the Santa Monica Mountains
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains are a Transverse Range in Southern California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States.-Geography:...

 (also a part of Los Angeles) to the south. Major roads in Tarzana include Reseda Boulevard, Tampa Avenue, Wilbur Avenue, Burbank Boulevard, and Ventura Boulevard
Ventura Boulevard
Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley, USA; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real , Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S...

.

Most of Tarzana's inhabitants live in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains south of Ventura Boulevard. South of Ventura Boulevard also contains two golf courses: El Caballero Country Club and Braemar Country Club.

North of the Ventura Boulevard, where a smaller portion of the population lives, there are fewer houses and more apartment buildings. Tarzana extends north to Victory Boulevard, encompassing a wide swath of medium-density housing
Medium-density housing
Medium density housing is a term used in Australia to describe residential developments that are at higher densities than standard low-density, suburban subdivisions, but not so high that they might be regarded as high density housing. The density of standard suburban residential areas has...

.

Early history

The area now known as Tarzana was originally part of the San Fernando Mission, which was established in 1797 by Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 settlers and missionaries. Later on the area became part of Mexico and then, following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...

, the United States, at which point the area came to be part of a sequential order of large cattle ranches owned by local elites. Beginning in the 1870s, the area was purchased by investors who transformed it into a large-scale wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

 farm operation.

In 1909 the surrounding area was purchased by the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company. General Harrison Gray Otis, the founder and publisher of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

, had invested in the company, while also purchasing 550 acres (2.2 km²) in the center of modern-day Tarzana.

In 1915 or 1919, Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...

, author of the Tarzan stories
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...

, purchased Otis’s land and built a large home on it, which he called the Tarzana Ranch. Burroughs subdivided and sold the land for residential development, and the neighboring small farms composing Tarzana were converted to residential areas. In 1927 or 1928, local residents renamed the town Tarzana in honor of Burroughs and his famous storybook character. Burroughs also planted a large forest of various trees on his property located south of Ventura Blvd., and just East of Reseda Blvd. A development has since been built in the forest's prior location.. Thus Tarzana lost a large hunk of its history to development, a common theme in the Los Angeles area.

Residents

There are approximately 28,484 residents. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the racial composition was predominantly White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...


(78.9%), followed by Asian (5.6%), and Black or African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 (3.8%). Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 or Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

n Native and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...

 each constituted less than one percent (0.3% and 0.1% respectively) of the population. 13.1% identified themselves as Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...

 or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...

. About 35.2% of the population in 2000 was foreign-born, including 21.9% that were born in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 and 10.6% in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

.

In 2009, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

s "Mapping L.A." project supplied these Tarzana neighborhood statistics: population: 35,502; median household income: $73,195.

Tarzana features a burgeoning Iranian-American
Iranian-American
Iranian-Americans are Americans of Iranian ancestry or people possessing Iranian and American dual citizenship.Iranian-Americans are amongst the most highly educated groups in the United States...

 population, and the community is well known for its Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...

 restaurants
Iranian cuisine
Iranian cuisine is diverse, with each province featuring dishes, culinary traditions and styles distinct to its region.It includes a wide variety of foods ranging from chelo kabab , khoresht Iranian cuisine is diverse, with each province featuring dishes, culinary traditions and styles distinct to...

, booksellers, and language training institutes. A thriving and long-established Jewish community attends four synagogues and provides the customer base for the second branch of the Hebrew language
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

 bookselling chain Steimatzky constructed outside of Israel. A number of popular and well-regarded delicatessen
Delicatessen
Delicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....

s can be found in Tarzana, such as the Tarzana Armenian Grocery and Mort's Deli. Historic recording studio Can-Am Studios resides in Tarzana.

Notable residents include actors Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx
Eric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...

, Chris Tucker
Chris Tucker
Christopher "Chris" Tucker is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing the role of Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour film series.-Early life:...

, Wilmer Valderrama
Wilmer Valderrama
Wilmer Eduardo Valderrama is an American actor and television personality, known for the role of Fez in the sitcom That '70s Show, hosting the MTV series Yo Momma, and voicing the character of Manny in the children's show Handy Manny.-Early life:Valderrama was born in Miami, Florida the son of...

, Kendra Wilkinson
Kendra Wilkinson
Kendra Leigh Baskett , professionally known by her maiden name, is an American television personality and glamour model...

 and Hank Baskett
Hank Baskett
Henry Randall "Hank" Baskett III is a wide receiver who is currently a free agent. Baskett has played for three NFL teams, the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts....

, Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...

, actresses Blake Lively
Blake Lively
Blake Christina Lively is an American actress and model who stars as Serena van der Woodsen in the television teen drama series Gossip Girl...

, Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards...

, and Maya Rudolph
Maya Rudolph
Maya Khabira Rudolph is an American actress, comedienne and singer known for her comedic roles as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2000 to 2007, and for appearing in films such as Away We Go, Bridesmaids, Grown Ups, A Prairie Home Companion and MacGruber...

, tennis player Meilen Tu
Meilen Tu
Meilen Tu is a former American professional female tennis player...

, musician Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...

, filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has written and directed five feature films: Hard Eight , Boogie Nights , Magnolia , Punch-Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood...

, jazz musician Abraham Laboriel
Abraham Laboriel
Abraham Laboriel, Sr. is a Mexican bassist of Garifuna descent who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. Guitar Player Magazine described him as "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the father of drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and of producer, songwriter, and...

, dancer Kevin Federline
Kevin Federline
Kevin Earl Federline is an American dancer, rapper, fashion model, and actor. Previously engaged to actress Shar Jackson, Federline is best known for his two-year marriage to pop singer Britney Spears...

, actor Ron Masak
Ron Masak
Ron Masak is an American actor. He began on stage and much of his work is in theater. His first screen role was as the Harmonica Man in "The Purple Testament," an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1960...

, KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...

's Kevin Ryder
Kevin and Bean
Kevin and Bean is the morning show on KROQ-FM, an alternative rock-format radio station in Los Angeles, California. It is hosted by Kevin Ryder and Gene "Bean" Baxter. The show has been on the air since 1990 and intersperses music and news with comedy bits, celebrity interviews, listener call-ins,...

, pornstar Crystal Ray
Crystal Ray
Crystal Ray is an American pornographic actress.Ray has appeared in adult films since around 2002 such as Throat Gaggers 4. In 2004, she shared an AVN award for The Violation of Jessica Darlin with fellow porn stars Jessica Darlin, Brandi Lyons, Lana Moore, Holly Stevens, Flick Shagwell, and...

, comedian Carlos Mencia
Carlos Mencia
Carlos Mencia , born Ned Arnel Mencia, is a Honduran-born American comedian, writer, and actor. His style of comedy is often political and involves issues of race, culture, criminal justice, and social class...

, actress Eva Longoria
Eva Longoria
Eva Jacqueline Longoria is an American actress, best known for portraying Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...

, comedian Jeff Dunham
Jeff Dunham
Jeff Dunham is an American ventriloquist and stand-up comedian who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show and Sonny With a Chance...

, basketball player Lamar Odom
Lamar Odom
Lamar Joseph Odom is an American professional basketball forward with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association.-Early life:...

, reality television personality Khloé Kardashian
Khloe Kardashian
Khloé Kardashian Odom is an American businesswoman, television personality, radio host, socialite, and model...

, Persian singer Dariush Eghbali
Dariush Eghbali
Dariush Eghbali better known by his stage name Dariush is a famous Iranian pop singer best known for his warm and plaintive bass voice heard in both ballads and political songs. He is also a social activist who directs a recovery center.-Early life:...

. Major League baseball player Troy Glaus
Troy Glaus
Troy Edward Glaus is a Major League Baseball first baseman and third baseman who is currently a free agent. Previously, Glaus played with the Anaheim Angels , Arizona Diamondbacks , Toronto Blue Jays , St. Louis Cardinals , and the Atlanta Braves . Glaus lettered in baseball while attending UCLA...

 was born in Tarzana. Mountain bicycle pioneer Jacquie Phelan
Jacquie Phelan
Jacquie "Alice B. Toeclips" Phelan was the NORBA Champion three consecutive years - 1983, 1984, and 1985.She is married to inventor Charlie Cunningham, the pioneering bicycle framebuilder whose aluminum bikes and patented brakes allowed Phelan to race unbeaten for six years...

 attended two Tarzana schools: Wilbur and Portola. He attended W.H. Taft high, which is in Woodland Hills, to the West. Hall of Fame Radio Personality Charlie Tuna
Charlie Tuna
Charlie Tuna is the stage name of Art Ferguson , a radio personality based in Los Angeles, California currently working at KRTH-FM....

 serves as honorary mayor of Tarzana. Jim Rome
Jim Rome
Jim Rome is an American sports radio talk show host syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications....

 Sports radio host and host of Jim Rome is Burning was born in Tarzana.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

 practitioner Jean Jacques Machado
Jean Jacques Machado
Jean Jacques Machado is one of the five Machado brothers, including Carlos, Roger, Rigan and John, renowned for their Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills...

 runs an academy in Tarzana, where his top student, Eddie Bravo
Eddie Bravo
Eddie Bravo is a Mexican-American practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu who holds a second degree black belt under Jean-Jacques Machado...

, trained.

Public schools

Tarzana residents are zoned to schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in California. It is the 2nd largest public school district in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population...

. The area is within Board District 4. As of 2011, Steve Zimmer represents the district. Zimmer's current term ends in 2013.

Zoned elementary schools include:

Zoned middle schools include:

Zoned high schools serving Tarzana include:
  • Birmingham High School
    Birmingham High School
    Birmingham Community Charter High School is a public coeducational high school in the neighborhood/district of Lake Balboa in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles, California, United States...

     in (Lake Balboa
    Lake Balboa, Los Angeles, California
    Lake Balboa is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California.It is bordered by the following Los Angeles communities: Encino to the south, Van Nuys to the east, Reseda to the west, and Northridge and North Hills to the north.There was debate about the official...

     area)
  • Reseda High School
    Reseda High School
    Reseda High School, established in 1955, is located in the Reseda section of the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.The school currently is home to the Reseda High School Science Magnet HS and the Reseda Police Academy Magnet HS, in addition to Reseda High's four small learning...

     (in Reseda
    Reseda, Los Angeles, California
    Reseda is a San Fernando Valley district in the city of Los Angeles, California.-History:The area now known as Reseda was originally inhabited by Native Americans of the Tongva tribe that lived close to the Los Angeles River....

     area)
  • Taft High School (in Woodland Hills
    Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
    Woodland Hills is a district in the city of Los Angeles, California.Woodland Hills is located in the southwestern area of the San Fernando Valley, east of Calabasas and west of Tarzana, with Warner Center in its northern section...

     area)

Private schools

Woodcrest Elementary School is a private preschool-5th grade school in Tarzana.

Public libraries

The Los Angeles Public Library
Los Angeles Public Library
The Los Angeles Public Library system serves the residents of Los Angeles, California, United States. With over 6 million volumes, LAPL is one of the largest publicly funded library systems in the world. The system is overseen by a Board of Library Commissioners with five members appointed by the...

 operates the Encino-Tarzana Branch along Ventura Boulevard
Ventura Boulevard
Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley, USA; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real , Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S...

 in Tarzana.

Parks and recreation

The Tarzana Recreation Center is in Tarzana. The center has a gymnasium that also is used as an auditorium; the building's capacity is 600. The park also has barbecue pits, a lighted baseball diamond, lighted outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, a community room, an indoor gymnasium without weights, picnic tables, and lighted volleyball courts.

Filming location

  • Portola Middle School
    Portola Middle School
    Portola Middle School is a public middle school in Orange, California, USA. The school was built in 1958 and has almost 2,000 students, consisting of students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, all following the traditional schedule...

     in Tarzana was used as a location for the films Thirteen
    Thirteen (film)
    Thirteen is a 2003 American drama film directed by Catherine Hardwicke, and written by Hardwicke and Nikki Reed, the film's co-star. The film also stars Evan Rachel Wood and Holly Hunter. It is a semi-autobiographical film inspired by Reed's life at age 12 and 13 with Wood's character "Tracy" being...

    , The Karate Kid and Akeelah and the Bee
    Akeelah and the Bee
    Akeelah and the Bee is a 2006 American drama film written and directed by Doug Atchison. It tells the story of Akeelah Anderson, portrayed by Keke Palmer, an 11-year-old girl who participates in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, her mother, portrayed by Angela Bassett, schoolmates, and also her...

    .
  • Rocko's Modern Life
    Rocko's Modern Life
    Rocko's Modern Life is an animated series created by Joe Murray. The show aired for four seasons between 1993 and 1996 on Nickelodeon. Rocko's Modern Life is based around the surreal, parodic adventures of an anthropomorphic wallaby named Rocko, and his life in the city of O-Town...

     was animated in Tarzana.
  • Tarzana Armenian Deli in Tarzana was used as a location for the HBO TV show Six Feet Under. David and Keith have coffee, sandwiches and frank conversation at the eatery.
  • Tarzana was the home of John Denver
    John Denver
    Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...

    's character (Jerry Landers) in the 1977
    1977 in film
    The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....

     film Oh, God!
    Oh, God!
    Oh, God! is a 1977 comedy film starring George Burns and John Denver. Based on a novel by Avery Corman, the film was directed by Carl Reiner from a screenplay written by Larry Gelbart...

  • Season 2 of The Bad Girls Club
    The Bad Girls Club
    Bad Girls Club is an American reality television series created by Jonathan Murray for Oxygen. The show centers on seven mischievous and rebellious women from different backgrounds and personalities who have a number of psychological and behavioral problems. They are introduced to the show to...

     was filmed in Tarzana.
  • Some episodes of A&Es Intervention TV Series
    Intervention (TV series)
    Intervention is an American television program about the realities facing addicts of many kinds.Each program follows one or two participants, each of whom has an addiction or other mentally and/or physically damaging problem and believes that they are being filmed for a documentary on their problem...

     featured Tarzana Treatment Centers
    Tarzana Treatment Centers
    Tarzana Treatment Centers is a community-based, non-profit organization providing integrated healthcare that includes behavioral health, primary medical care, mental health and addiction treatment. TTC was incorporated in 1972 as Free Men, Inc., and later changed its name to Tarzana Treatment...

    .

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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