Del Rey, Los Angeles, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Del Rey (Spanish for "Of the King") is a small district in the Westside of Los Angeles.
[edit] Geography and Transportation
Del Rey takes its name from the nearby Del Rey salt marshes, and sits on low ground on the banks of Ballona Creek. Del Rey's boundaries are approximately Culver Boulevard on the northwest, Lincoln Boulevard on the southwest, Jefferson Boulevard on the southeast, and the city limits of Culver City on the northeast. Adjoining the district are Marina del Rey and Playa Vista on the southwest, Mar Vista on the northwest, Culver City on the northeast, and Westchester on the southeast. The San Diego Freeway (I-405) runs through the northeast corner of the district, and the Marina Freeway (CA-90) runs through its southern portions. Although it is part of the city of Los Angeles, most of Del Rey is in Culver City's 90230 ZIP code. Del Rey is about one mile from the beach, which is easily accessed by bicycle and walking.
[edit] The Neighborhood
Del Rey is a largely residential area of 1950s single-story California Bungalows, build during the post war boom by the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as some apartments and small industrial concerns. Del Rey was strongly influenced by the industrialist Howard Hughes, whose tool and die company, as well as his laboratory employed large numbers of Del Rey residents. Del Rey has a sizable Japanese American population that moved to the area after WWII internment and from Hawaii during the 1950s. There is a Japanese Community Center in Del Rey as well as a Buddhist Church and Japanese Methodist. It is generally one of the more affordable neighborhoods on the West Side with homes in 2006 selling under $800,000. Del Rey is prominently Hispanic, but it also contains a diverse mix of Japanese, East Indian, Fijian, Hawaiian, Italian, Jewish and Anglo residents. The Mar Vista Gardens public housing project is located in the neighborhood, just north of Ballona Creek adjacent to Culver City.
There are two bicycle paths that transverse Del Rey; the Culver City Median bicycle path runs along Culver Boulevard, featuring a drought-tolerant, landscaped bike path and pedestrian walkway. It starts at McConnell Blvd. and ends in Culver City at Overland Blvd, near Sony Pictures Studios and various Culver City recreation facilities, including a public pool and Senior Center. The other bicycle path, the Ballona Creek bicycle path runs along Ballona Creek from Culver City to the waterfront in Marina Del Rey and connects to the South Bay bicycle path, which runs along the beach and provides access other beach communities, including Venice Beach and Santa Monica to the north, and Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach to the south.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Del Rey Homeowners & Neighbors Association