Hancock Park is a residential neighborhood in the Wilshire area of Los Angeles, California. Developed in the 1920s, the neighborhood features architecturally distinctive residences, many of which were constructed in the early 20th century. Hancock Park is covered by a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ).

History

The area owes its name to developer-philanthropist George Allan Hancock, who subdivided the property in the 1920s. The Hancock family donated the land for the park proper in 1916 in order to preserve the tar pits; at the time the "Santa Monica electric line" was the major means of access. Hancock, born and raised in a home at what is now the La Brea tar pits, inherited , which his father, Major Henry Hancock had acquired from the Rancho La Brea property owned by the family of Jose Jorge Rocha. Residential development under the "Hancock Park" name began around 1919, allegedly because "his oil derricks were running dry."

thumb|220x220px|Hancock Park Addition advertisement, 1921

thumb|220x220px|Hancock Park in Baist's Atlas, 1921

In 1948, Nat King Cole and his family purchased a $65,000 Tudor mansion in Hancock Park, becoming the first African American family to do so. This started a series of protests, where the Hancock Park Property Owners Association tried, but failed, to prevent him from buying the house. Waxman came to soften his opposition to the ban by 2004, looking to commission a study to see if changing circumstances warranted construction of the line.

Geography

thumb|left|[[Los Angeles Neighborhood Signs|Neighborhood sign at <br />Highland Avenue and<br /> Melrose Avenue]]

Hancock Park has about 1,200 homes within the boundaries of Wilshire Boulevard on the south, Melrose Avenue on the north, both sides of Highland Avenue on the west and both sides of Rossmore Avenue on the east.

In 2009, The Mapping L.A. project of the Los Angeles Times redefined the area as Wilshire Boulevard on the south, Melrose Avenue on the north, but widened the neighborhood and extended it west to La Brea Avenue, and one block east to Arden Boulevard. The Hancock Park Homeowners Association, which was established in 1948, has tried to get the Times to correct its boundaries.

Neighboring communities are Hollywood to the northeast, Melrose to the northwest, Citrus Square and La Brea–Hancock to the west, Brookside to the southwest, Fremont Place to the southeast, and Larchmont and Windsor Square to the east.

The neighborhood surrounds the grounds of the Wilshire Country Club.

Historic Preservation Overlay Zone

right|thumb|150px|HPOZ signage at <br />Rossmore and Melrose Avenues

The Hancock Park HPOZ was adopted by the City Council in 2008. The area is "generally bounded by Melrose Avenue on the north, Highland Avenue on the west, Rossmore Avenue on the east, and the rear property lines of the commercial properties along Wilshire Boulevard on the south". HPOZ signage is posted in the neighborhood.

It is largely within the Wilshire Community Plan area, though a small portion in the northwest (north of Rosewood Avenue and west of June Street) is in the Hollywood Community Plan area.

Demographics

The following data applies to the boundaries set by Mapping L.A.:

2000

The 2000 U.S. census counted 9,804 residents in the neighborhood—an average of 6,459 people per , including the expanse of the Wilshire Country Club. That figure gave Hancock Park one of the lowest densities in Los Angeles. In 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 10,671. The median age for residents was 37, considered old when compared with the city as a whole; the percentages of residents aged 35 and above were among the county's highest. Orthodox Jews are required to be within walking distance to their synagogues, and Hancock Park is within walking distance to the La Brea Avenue–area synagogues. Teresa Watanabe stated some Orthodox families cited the large size of houses as a reason for moving there, others cited a better housing value compared to Beverly Hills, and others cited a proximity to the Yavneh Hebrew Academy. , there were six Jews on the 16-member board of directors of the Hancock Park Homeowners Association.

Historic cultural monuments

left|thumb|[[El Royale Apts. in Hancock Park]]

The following Historic-Cultural Monuments are located in Hancock Park:

  • Queen and Washingtonia Robusta Palm Trees and Median Strip - Palm trees planted in 1928. Historic Cultural Monument 94, designated January 26, 1972.
  • La Casa de las Campanas - 350–354 N. June Street. Historic Cultural Monument 239, designated April 9, 1981.
  • The El Royale - An apartment building built in 1929. Historic Cultural Monument 309, designated September 2, 1986.
  • Wolff-Fifield House - 111 N. June Street. Historic Cultural Monument 619, designated June 21, 1996.
  • The Ravenswood - An apartment building built in 1930. Historic Cultural Monument 768, designated November 7, 2003.

Education

thumb|John Burroughs Middle School

LAUSD operates the public schools within the Hancock Park borders.

  • Third Street Elementary School, 201 South June Street
  • John Burroughs Middle School, 600 South McCadden Place
  • Marlborough School, private school for young women established in 1889, 250 South Rossmore Avenue

Consuls general

  • The Consulate General of Belize is located at 4801 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 250.

Additionally, many residences of consuls general are within Hancock Park.

  • Official Residence of the British Consul General - 450 S. June Street. Since 1957, the residence of the British Consul General in Los Angeles has been in a home designed by the renowned architect Wallace Neff and completed in 1928. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, stayed there in July 2011 on their first visit to the United States after their wedding.
  • Official Residence of the Consul General of Canada - 165 S Muirfield Road.
  • Official Residence of the Consul General of Japan - Hudson Avenue. On May 21, 2019, the Government of Japan presented Dr. Henry H. Takei the Order of the Rising Sun at the Hancock Park home of the Consul General.
  • 172 S. McCadden Place - the home of "Baby Jane" Hudson in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. According to Variety, "its appearance in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? has secured its place in the annals of Hollywood history".

Notable people

  • Muhammad Ali, boxer
  • Mara Brock Akil & Salim Akil, producers
  • Antonio Banderas, actor
  • Nat King Cole, singer and first black resident
  • Natalie Cole, singer
  • Jan Crull Jr., attorney
  • Alexandra Daddario, actress
  • Eric Eisner, producer
  • Melanie Griffith, actress
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal, actress
  • Sean Hayes, actor
  • Leonard Hill, television executive and real estate developer
  • Howard Hughes, businessman and film producer
  • Mindy Kaling, actress
  • Meghan Markle, actress and wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
  • Walter O'Malley, baseball executive and owner of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers
  • Ozzy Osbourne, singer
  • Lou Rawls, singer
  • Shonda Rhimes, producer and screenwriter
  • Ted Sarandos, CEO of Netflix
  • Fred Savage, actor
  • Lewis Stone, actor
  • Catherine Stubblefield Wilson, convicted child pornographer

See also

  • List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles
  • Salt Lake Oil Field

References

Sources

  • Windsor Square, Hancock Park Historical Society
  • Los Angeles Times profile of Hancock Park
  • Hancock Park crime map and statistics
  • Burroughs Middle School
  • Third Street Elementary School