thumb|300px|Map of Larchmont, Los Angeles, as delineated by the Los Angeles Times

thumb|upright|Larchmont village with farmers market|left

Larchmont is a half-square-mile neighborhood in the central region of the City of Los Angeles, California. It has three schools and one small park. It has been the site of early and recent motion picture shoots.

Geography

According to the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council and the Larchmont Village Neighborhood Association, Larchmont's boundaries are Melrose Avenue on the north, Wilton Place on the east, Beverly Boulevard on the south, and Arden Boulevard on the west. Adjacent neighborhoods are Hollywood to the north, Wilshire Center to the east, Windsor Square to the south, and Hancock Park to the west.

According to the Mapping L.A. project of the Los Angeles Times, Larchmont is flanked by Hollywood to the north, East Hollywood to the east, Koreatown to the southeast, Windsor Square to the south and Hancock Park to the west. Street boundaries are Melrose Avenue on the north, Western Avenue on the east, Beverly Boulevard on the south and North Arden Boulevard on the west.

History

thumb|Larchmont Blvd., looking south (circa 1920–25)

Larchmont Village was developed in the late 1800s. By 1920, it had become a streetcar suburb of Los Angeles. Julius LaBonte (1879–1968), a developer from the midwest, is credited as the visionary who made Larchmont Village what it is today.

Larchmont was originally named Glenwood. The name was changed to Larchmont in 1912, most likely after Larchmont, New York on the Long Island Sound. In the early 1920s, Larchmont, New York (a village in the Town of Mamaroneck) was a center of movie making. According to the New York Times, "In those days, the area was less the"East Coast Hollywood" than Hollywood was “the West Coast Mamaroneck.”"

  • Christ the King School, private, 617 North Arden Boulevard (Opened 1959, TK–8)
  • Frances Blend Special Education Center, public, 5210 Clinton Street (Opened 1926, merged with Van Ness in 2013)
  • Van Ness Avenue Elementary School, LAUSD, 501 North Van Ness Avenue

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Recreation and parks

  • Robert L. Burns Park, 4900 Beverly Boulevard, unstaffed pocket park with a play area and picnic tables.

Businesses

left|thumb|210x210px|Signage for Chevalier's Books

Chevalier's Books, the oldest independent bookstore in Los Angeles, is on its main boulevard.

Page Academy, which sits on the largest continuous parcel of property on Larchmont Blvd.

The Larchmont Chronicle is the print newspaper for the local community, founded by Jane Gilman and Dawne Goodwin in 1963. It is now being published by the Hutcheson Publishing Group.

Notable residents

  • Ernest L. Webster, Los Angeles City Council member, 1927–31
  • Judy Greer, actress
  • Mindy Kaling, writer, producer, actress, comedian
  • Adriana Caselotti, actress and singer, original voice of Snow White in the iconic 1937 Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  • Kumail Nanjiani, actor, writer, and stand-up comedian
  • Emily Gordon, writer, producer, and podcast host

See also

  • Radium Sulphur Springs

References

  • Larchmont Village Neighborhood Association (LVNA)
  • Larchmont crime map and statistics
  • Larchmont Boulevard Online/Larchmont Boulevard Association (LBA)
  • Updates daily on events in Larchmont Village
  • LarchmontBuzz.com Updates daily on news and events in Larchmont Village
  • Larchmont Chronicle—monthly neighborhood newspaper for Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, Windsor Square, Fremont Place, Park La Brea and Miracle Mile