Contemporary view of L.A. from behind the Griffith Observatory in Los Feliz.
'Los Feliz', also 'Rancho Los Feliz' ("Feliz Ranch") is a district of the City of
Los Angeles, California, named for its land grantee José Vicente Feliz.
[1]
It lies north of
East Hollywood and just south of the
Santa Monica Mountains, adjacent to the neighborhoods of
Hollywood and
Silver Lake. It is home to the southern face of
Griffith Park, which includes the
Griffith Observatory and the
Greek Theatre. Los Feliz is bordered by
Franklin Avenue on the south, Hyperion Avenue on the southeast, Griffith Park on the north, the
Los Angeles River on the east, and
Western Avenue on the west. It is traversed by Los Feliz Boulevard.
Los Feliz was home to many early movie studios, including the first
Disney studio and
D. W. Griffith's studio; it currently is home to
The Prospect Studios (formally known as ABC Television Center), at the intersection of Prospect Avenue and Talmadge Street. The neighborhood has historically been home to movie stars, musicians, and the Hollywood elite. It boasts some of the best known residential architecture in the city, including two homes designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright,
Ennis House and the
Hollyhock House, and
Richard Neutra's
Lovell House.
The 'Rancho Los Feliz', one of the first land grants in California, was granted to Corporal
José Vicente Feliz. An old
adobe house built in the 1830s by his heirs still stands on Crystal Springs Drive in Griffith Park, named for Colonel Griffith J. Griffith, who donated over half of the rancho to the city of Los Angeles, which became one of the largest city owned parks in the country. Other sections of the rancho were developed and became the communities of Los Feliz and Silver Lake.
The Hollywood Hills
Ennis House
The Hollywood Hills area is considered home to elite and wealthy residents of Los Angeles. Most of the mansions and private estates (dating back to the 1920s) are located among the hills overlooking Griffith Park. Between Hollywood Hills and the heart of Los Feliz, it's nearly impossible to get through a month without seeing a taping of a popular TV series or major motion picture.
Notable residents
Nightlife
Los Feliz village is home or in close proximity to numerous restaurants and bars. They are mostly located on Hillhurst between Los Feliz Blvd. & Prospect Ave., and on Vermont between Franklin Ave. & Hollywood Blvd.
Below are listed a few of these establishments. Many are actually located in Silverlake and East Hollywood, but are patronized by Los Feliz residents. Some of these were classic dives in their hey-day, frequented by the likes of Charles Bukowski, Lawrence Tierney, sundry working class drunks, poets, artists , writers and other creative types, but have now all been taken over by the massive influx of young yuppies and scenesters, the old-timers driven out and replaced by chi-chi doormen and velvet ropes.
The Derby, at Hillhurst and Los Feliz, the last remaining location of the historic The Brown Derby chain, was featured in the movie Swingers and is a traditional favorite, with swing dancing on select nights and live music almost every other night of the week, and comedy on Monday.
Tangier bar and restaurant, across the street, sports a trendy decor with a back room that supports live music and VIP events.
Ye Rustic Inn, a few blocks down on Hillhurst, has a friendly pub-like atmosphere with a questionable jukebox and flat screen TVs on which to watch games on Sundays.This bar is actually located in East Hollywood, two blocks south of Los Feliz. Used to be a great dive, perhaps one of the best, but is now a hipster hangout, complete with doorman.
The Drawing Room, was a small dive bar which is now a scenester hangout (doorman) that offers the popular Sunday night karaoke. This is another bar that is within East Hollywood.
Hyperion Tavern, [1] is a small neighborhood bar on Hyperion Avenue. This bar is actually located across the street from Los Feliz in Silverlake. Chandeliers, a law library, a stage, and glory hole. Formerly the notorious leather gay bar, Cuff's, now open to anyone Tuesday to Saturday, 10 to 2am.
The Good Luck Bar is a Chinese themed bar at Hillhurst & Hollywood that offers Polynesian specialty drinks and Chinese whiskey. It also has a lounge area in the back that
offers comfortable chairs and couches. There is also a remarkably great jukebox hidden in the corner.This bar is located several blocks south of Los Feliz in East Hollywood.
The Tiki Ti Bar, located at the edge of Sunset junction was founded in 1961. It is one of the oldest (and smallest) bars in the Silverlake area, and only a few blocks south of Los Feliz. Verify their hours, as it is closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
The Dresden Room on Vermont, also featured in the film Swingers, has live entertainment 6 nights a week by the world (in)famous Marty & Elayne.This bar/restaurant is only a few blocks south of Los Feliz in downtown East Hollywood.
Fred 62 on Vermont is notable for its 24 hour diner fusion style menu.
Recreation
There is much to do in Los Feliz, which is bordered by Griffith Park, home to the Los Angeles Zoo, along with a merry-go-round, two 18 hole golf courses, a driving range, baseball field several tennis courts, athletic fields, hiking, and equestrian trails in the mountains away from the residential district. At Traveltown there is a miniature railroad operated by the Los Angeles Live Steamers and a collection of railroad locomotives, passenger cars and street cars.
At the Greek Theatre, which was built to resemble a Greek ampitheatre, visitors can attend concerts under the stars. The newly renovated Griffith Observatory and planetarium is right up the hill from Los Feliz.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, it is estimated that there were 40,573 people residing in the Griffith Park/Los Feliz area. The ethnic or racial makeup of the area was 70.54% non-Hispanic White, 3.77% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 8.61% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 2.37% from other races, and 6.45% from two or more races. 16.48% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The median income for a household in Los Feliz was approx $97,104.
Rancho Los Feliz
The rugged, chaparral covered mountains of Griffith Park rise just a few miles north and west of downtown Los Angeles. An oasis in a major metropolis, much of the park's land remains in its natural state. One of the earliest leaders and protectors of the pueblo received this land as a token of appreciation by the Spanish government. This area was once the Rancho Los Feliz, one of the first land grants in California, given to Corporal Jose Vicente Feliz. An old adobe house built in the 1830s by heirs of Feliz still stands in Griffith Park on Crystal Springs Drive.
Rancho Los Feliz had a succession of owners after the Feliz family. One owner, Colonel Griffith J. Griffith, donated over half of the ranch to the city of Los Angeles, which became one of the largest city owned parks in the country.
Long before the Spanish settlers arrived to settle near the banks of the Los Angeles River, Indians were the only inhabitants. The Indians established villages known as rancherias throughout the countryside. One of these settlements was located within the boundaries of what was to become Rancho Los Feliz. Archeological surveys have found evidence of a substantial rancheria that existed in the mouth of Fern Dell Canyon in Griffith Park. It is estimated that the Indians first came to this area approximately 10,000 years ago. The traditional name of this village is not known, but the inhabitants were Gabrielinos. This name was given by the Spanish because of the Indians' association with the San Gabriel Mission. When Gaspar de Portola traveled through the vicinity in 1769 his expedition encountered members of this village.
In 1882, Colonel Griffith Jenkins Griffith acquired of Rancho Los Feliz. The Lick estate still owned the southwest portion of the rancho and there developed the Lick Tract, which later became a part of Hollywood. Griffith never served in any branch of armed forces in the United States, but he was given a courtesy title of "Colonel" from influential friends in the California National Guard. The title remained a permanent fixture to his name.
Griffith died on July 6, 1919 at the age of 67. Griffith bequeathed $700,000 and his Los Feliz area to the city of Los Angeles to be used for additions to Griffith Park. The park's area was increased to over . In 1930 the Greek Amphitheater was built as designed by Griffith himself. Funds from the Griffith estate were used to build an observatory at the peak of Mount Hollywood. In 1935 the Griffith Observatory and Planetarium was completed and opened to the public. Griffith's will also included a provision for a permanent endowment to maintain the theater and park grounds.
May 2007 Fire
On May 8-9, 2007, about of uninhabited terrain in Los Feliz and Griffith Park, including the famous Dante's View, were destroyed in a wildfire. In light of the event, Los Angeles city officials have pledged millions of dollars in aid to reconstruct the parts damaged by the fire over the coming years. [2].
Education
Residents in Los Feliz are assigned to the Los Angeles Unified School District which includes the local John Marshall High School. Private schools include the Lycee International de Los Angeles, a bilingual (French/English) school founded in 1978, and Immaculate Heart High School, a Private all girl Catholic High School, established in 1906.
Los Feliz Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library is located in Los Feliz Village.
Notes
1. ''Feliz'' ("happy" in Spanish) is pronounced ; however, the local English pronunciation is roughly .
2. Reuters. ''Wildfire continues to burn in heart of Los Angeles''. Both published and accessed May 9, 2007.
External links
★ Los Feliz Village Online
★ Los Feliz Village Street Fair Website
★ Lycee Francais de Los Angeles (LILA): lycee francais, french american school[2]
★ Los Feliz neighborhood site
★ Los Feliz Branch Library
★ Los Angeles Zoo
★ Griffith Park Observatory
★ Los Angeles River
★ The Greek Theatre
★ Gene Autry museum
★ Discover los Feliz
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