Tujunga, Los Angeles, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tujunga is a district in the far northern reaches of the City of Los Angeles, California.
Some outsiders consider it to be the northeasternmost portion of the San Fernando Valley, but it actually is in the Crescenta Valley. It is bounded by the cities of Burbank to the southwest, Glendale to the south and La Crescenta to the east, the Los Angeles district of Sunland to the west, and the San Gabriel Mountains to the north. Mount Gleason Avenue separates it from Sunland. It is served by the Foothill Freeway, which connects it to central Los Angeles (via the Glendale Freeway) and the San Gabriel Valley.
Originally a home to the Tongva tribe, and later a ranching area, the City of Tujunga was settled around 1913 by Utopians of the "Little Landers" cooperative farm movement founded by Willam E. Smythe ("a little land and a living"). A clubhouse built from local river rock, Bolton Hall (named after author Bolton Hall), was dedicated in August, 1913, and still stands as an historical monument and museum operated by the Little Landers Historical Society. The cooperative ended by 1920, and the city was annexed by the City of Los Angeles in 1932.
Tujunga's suburban development began in earnest in the 1950s with the construction of large numbers of modestly sized, affordable single-family detached homes. Its geographic isolation from the San Fernando Valley and the Los Angeles Basin frees it from the air pollution that is a problem in many other parts of Greater Los Angeles. Some of the scenes of the film E.T. were shot in one area of Tujunga, making particularly effective the movie's focus on a suburban residential lifestyle in contrast to mountain scenery.
Tujunga is known for its abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities. A number of equestrian trails wind along the foothills of the San Gabriels and the Verdugo Mountains, and hiking in neighboring Big Tujunga and Little Tujunga canyons is quite popular.
Many employees from nearby JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) reside in Tujunga.
[edit] Education
Tujunga is within the Los Angeles Unified School District
Elementary schools that serve sections of Tujunga include:
- Mountain View Elementary School
- Pinewood Avenue Elementary School
- Plainview Avenue Elementary School
Residents are also zoned to:
- Mount Gleason Middle School
- Verdugo Hills High School
Los Angeles Public Library operates the Sunland-Tujunga Branch.
[edit] References
- Pitt, Leonard and Dale (2000). Los Angeles A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the City and County. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
- Los Angeles Times, Real Estate section, Neighborly Advice column: "Hidden treasures rediscovered in Tujunga" (14 Sept 2003)
[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
