Mar Vista, Los Angeles

Mar Vista is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California. In 1927, Mar Vista became the 70th community to be annexed to Los Angeles. It was designated as an official city neighborhood in 2006. These developments were originally built as basic, low-cost homes in a relatively far-flung region of the city. But as the surrounding areas of Western Los Angeles have developed into major business and tourism centers, property values have rapidly increased to the point where, as of 2020, older homes marketed as tear-downs regularly sell for over $1 million. In 2006, the city designated Mar Vista as an official neighborhood and installed signage. - Circa 1912, Palm Place development laid out north of Washington Boulevard and south of the Venice Short Line, now Venice Boulevard. Related: Just south of the planned Palm Place, land purchased in 1913 for a development to be called Kensington Green. At the time of purchase the land contained an orchard of walnut trees and “one of the oldest eucalyptus groves in Los Angeles,” with of frontage on Washington Boulevard, and the Redondo Beach via Playa Del Rey Line running along the south boundary.

Mormon Hill The area between Walgrove Avenue and Beethoven Street contains schools serving the Venice Community, including Venice High, Mark Twain Junior High, Walgrove Elementary, and Beethoven Elementary. The grounds of these schools are within the Venice Neighborhood Council and overlap areas with the Mar Vista Community Council.

The City of Los Angeles official zoning map ZIMAS also shows Venice High School as included in Venice, and not Mar Vista.

Mapping L.A.

According to the Mapping L.A. project of the Los Angeles Times, Mar Vista's boundaries are: the San Diego Freeway to the Culver City boundary at Venice Boulevard on the northeast, the Culver City line on the southeast, Walgrove Avenue on the southwest, and the Santa Monica city boundary on the northwest. The northern apex of the Mar Vista neighborhood is at the San Diego Freeway and National Boulevard and the southern is at Washington Boulevard and Tivoli Avenue.

Mar Vista is adjoined on the northeast by Palms, on the east, southeast and south by Culver City, on the west by Venice and on the northwest by Santa Monica.

Climate

Demographics

2000

The 2000 U.S. census counted 35,492 residents in the 2.9-square-mile Mar Vista neighborhood—an average of 12,259 people per square mile, about the norm for Los Angeles; in 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 37,447. The median age for residents was 35, considered the average for Los Angeles; the percentage of residents aged 19 through 34 was among the county's highest.

Emergency services

The Los Angeles Fire Department operates Station 62, which serves a portion of Venice as well.

Los Angeles Police Department operates the Pacific Division Police Station, serving the neighborhood.

Community Council

The Mar Vista Community Council is the city-sanctioned neighborhood council for Mar Vista and other small neighborhoods (referred to as "zones"), including Hilltop, Westdale, North Westdale, and others.

Transportation

Mar Vista is served by LAnow, a new on-demand shared-ride service. Service started in May 2019, users can reserve a ride through the LAnow smartphone app, online, or by phone. Once reserved, users can meet the shuttle at the scheduled LAnow pick-up/drop-off point. Within the service area, pick-up/drop-off points are never more than a few blocks (1/4 mile) away.

Public libraries

The neighborhood is served by the Los Angeles Public Library system. There is one branch that serves the neighborhood.

Mar Vista branch - located at 12006 Venice Boulevard, Mar Vista

Education

thumb|[[Venice High School (Los Angeles)|Venice High School]]

The schools within Mar Vista are as follows:

Mar Vista Elementary School, LAUSD, 3330 Granville Avenue
Walgrove Avenue Elementary School, LAUSD, 1630 Walgrove Avenue
Beethoven Street Elementary School, LAUSD, 3711 Beethoven Street
Mark Twain Middle School, LAUSD, 2224 Walgrove Avenue
James J. McBride Special Education Center, LAUSD, 3960 Centinela Avenue
Venice Senior High School, LAUSD, 13000 Venice Boulevard, established in 1910 (then called "Venice Union Polytechnic High School") when classes were held in an old lagoon bathhouse two blocks from the beach. It moved to a new neo-romanesque structure at its present location a decade later.
Venice Community Adult School, LAUSD, 13000 Venice Boulevard
Phoenix Continuation School, LAUSD, 12971 Zanja Street
Grand View Boulevard Elementary in School, LAUSD

File:LAUSD Mar Vista Elementary School 3330 Granville Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90066 01.jpg|Mar Vista Elementary School

File:Walgrove Avenue School 1630 Walgrove Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90066-2299.jpg|Walgrove Avenue Elementary School

File:2014.04.05, Mark Twain Middle School, in Mar Vista, Los Angeles.jpg|Mark Twain Middle School

File:Grand View Boulevard Elementary School, 3951 Grand View Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90066.jpg|Grand View Boulevard Elementary School

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As of 2014, the Wiseburn School District allows parents in Mar Vista to send their children to Wiseburn schools on inter-district transfers.

Parks and recreation

thumb|200px|Mar Vista Recreation Center

The Mar Vista Recreation Center has an auditorium, barbecue pits, an unlighted baseball diamond, lighted indoor basketball courts, lighted outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, an indoor gymnasium without weights, an outdoor roller hockey rink, an outdoor AstroTurf soccer field, picnic tables, a lighted tennis court, an outdoor pool, and a lighted volleyball court.

Notable residents

Fatty Arbuckle - actor