| Eagle Rock | |
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| — Neighborhood of Los Angeles — | |
| Eagle Rock from Yosemite Drive | |
| Nickname(s): The Rock | |
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Eagle Rock
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | County of Los Angeles |
| City | City of Los Angeles |
| Government | |
| • City Council | Jose Huizar |
| • State Assembly | Anthony Portantino (D) |
| • State Senate | Carol Liu (D) |
| • U.S. House | Xavier Becerra (D |
| Area[1] | |
| • Land | 4.25 sq mi (11 km2) |
| Population (2008 (est.))[1] | |
| • Total | 34,466 |
| • Density | 7,644/sq mi (2,951.4/km2) |
| ZIP Code | 90041 |
| Area code(s) | 323 |
| Website | http://www.eaglerockcouncil.org/ |
Eagle Rock is a neighborhood in northeastern Los Angeles, California, United States. According to "Mapping L.A." from the Los Angeles Times, Eagle Rock's median household income (2008 dollars) is $67,253, which is considered above average for the city of Los Angeles and about average for the County of Los Angeles.[2] Eagle Rock was incorporated as a city in 1911,[3][4] and the area was eventually annexed into the City of Los Angeles in 1923.[3][4] Eagle Rock is bordered by the city of Glendale on the north and west, Highland Park on the southeast, Glassell Park on the southwest and the cities of Pasadena and South Pasadena on the east. Major thoroughfares include Eagle Rock Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard, with Figueroa Street along the eastern boundary. The Glendale and Ventura freeways run along the district's western and northern edges, respectively. A massive boulder at the district's northern edge contains an indentation which casts a bird-shaped shadow on the rock at certain times of day, giving the neighborhood its name.[3]
The neighborhood is inhabited by a wide variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups and the creative class.[3][4] Over the past decade the neighborhood has been experiencing gentrification, as young urban professionals have moved from nearby neighborhoods such as Los Feliz and Silver Lake.[4] A core of counter-culture writers, artists and filmmakers has existed in the town since the 1920s.[4] The town was well-known during the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s for its sizable hot rod culture.
Eagle Rock is also the site of Occidental College, designed by famed architect Myron Hunt and founded in 1887.[5][6] The neighborhood is home to many historic and architecturally significant homes, many done in the Craftsman,[3] Georgian, Streamline Moderne,[4] Art Deco and Mission Revival styles.[3]
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Prior to the arrival of European settlers, the secluded valley below the San Rafael Hills that is roughly congruent to Eagle Rock's present boundaries was inhabited by the Tongva tribe, who hunted the game that watered at its springs.[3][4] These aboriginal inhabitants were displaced by Spanish settlers in the late 18th century, with the area incorporated into the Rancho San Rafael.[4] Following court battles, the area known as Rancho San Rafael was divided into 31 parcels in 1870. Benjamin Dreyfus was awarded what is now called Eagle Rock.[4] In the 1880s Eagle Rock existed as a farming community. The arrival of American settlers and the growth of Los Angeles resulted in steadily increasing semi-rural development in the region throughout the late 19th century, culminating in Eagle Rock's establishment as an independent city in 1906 and its incorporation in 1911.[3][4]
| Eagle Rock | |
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| L.A. Historic-Cultural Monument #10 | |
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The Eagle Rock
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| Location: | Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, CA |
| Coordinates: | |
| Area: | Northeast Los Angeles |
| Designated as LAHCM: | November 16, 1962[7] |
In 1909, Hill Avenue, now Hill Drive, was (and still is) one of Eagle Rock's most beautiful streets. Other streets were Royal Drive (now Mt. Royal Drive), Acacia Street (now Laverna Avenue), Kenilworth Avenue (now Hermosa Avenue), Highland Avenue (now Highland View Avenue), and Fairmont Avenue (now Maywood Avenue).[4] In the 1950s, newer streets such as Kincheloe Drive were extended into the hillsides for the building of larger homes with a view of the city. Today these streets are dotted with large and expensive homes on wide lots.
The arrival of Owens Valley water via the Los Angeles Aqueduct and the concurrent depletion of the young city's wells ultimately led the city fathers, after considerable pressure and threats from the City of Los Angeles, to agree to annexation by Los Angeles in 1923.[3][4] Eagle Rock is one of the few cities incorporated by Los Angeles to still have its original pre-annexation City Hall (2035 Colorado Blvd.) and Library (2225 Colorado Blvd.) still standing. The library, a Carnegie Library built in 1915, has since been listed on the National Register of Historic Places and converted into a community center, the Eagle Rock Community Cultural Center.[3]
An early victim of the Hillside Strangler was discovered in an Eagle Rock neighborhood on October 31, 1977. The discovery, along with the successive murders of at least 10 other women in the area over the course of the five months, rocked what was then a small, close-knit community on the outskirts of Los Angeles. In an opinion piece to the Los Angeles Times on December 6, 1977, a resident under the pseudonym Deirdre Blackstone wrote of the fear experienced by the community: "Groups of gum-chewing girls in look-alike hairdos and jeans who used to haunt the Eagle Rock Plaza — they too are keeping close to home ... We are all afraid. For women living alone, ours is an actual visceral fear that starts at the feet. Then it hits the knees — and finally it grips the mind." Two men, Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, were subsequently convicted of the murders.
On the night of March 20, 1985, an 8-year-old girl was abducted from her home in Eagle Rock and sexually assaulted by a man dubbed the "Valley Intruder", "Walk-in Killer" and "The Night Stalker", later identified as Richard Ramirez. This was the seventh in a long string of murders and sexual assaults committed by Ramirez in Los Angeles and San Francisco before he was apprehended.
With an "Anytown, USA" feel to it, and such a close proximity to Hollywood and the major motion picture studios, this community has often been a favored choice as a film location. Cameos include Top Gun, Hunt for Red October, and a second-season episode of The O.C. Star Trek III was partially filmed on the campus of Occidental College. This campus also served as "California University" in the 1990s television series, Beverly Hills, 90210. Quentin Tarantino filmed parts of Reservoir Dogs here and in neighboring Highland Park. Other movies filmed almost entirely in Eagle Rock include; all of the exterior scenes of The Incredible Shrinking Woman[8] (1981) starring Lily Tomlin, Record City[9] (1978) with Ed Begley, Jr. was filmed in its entirety in a defunct auto paint shop, and The Unwed Father[10] (1974) starring Timothy Bottoms had all of its exterior location shots filmed on the Eagle Rock High School campus.[11] Avril Lavigne's music video "Complicated" was mostly shot in the Eagle Rock Mall as well as some scenes from the popular TV show, Glee. One scene from 500 Days of Summer was also shot in one of the streets intersecting Hill Drive.
Some of the architecture of Eagle Rock has been featured as well; a house on the 5200 block of Shearin Avenue was used during the 1984 filming of Teen Wolf, starring Michael J. Fox, and a house on the 4900 block of College View Avenue was used during the 1975 filming of The Day of the Locust, starring Donald Sutherland.
From a story perspective, in the movie Days Of Thunder, Tom Cruise's character was from Eagle Rock, and there have been numerous movies and television shows based on the Hillside Strangler[12] and Richard Ramirez.[13]
Ben Affleck, a former Occidental College student, lived on Hill Drive with then-roommate and co-writer Matt Damon while they wrote the script for Good Will Hunting, which would go on to win them a Best Original Screenplay Academy Award.[14]
Many famous motion picture actors and actresses, along with writers and others involved in the industry, have lived in Eagle Rock over the years; see the Notable Residents section below for more details.
The United States Postal Service Eagle Rock Post Office is located at 7435 North Figueroa Street.[15]
The Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council (ERNC)[16] meets the first Tuesday of every month at 7pm at Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock.[17]
According to estimates by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning in 2008, Eagle Rock had 34,466 residents with a population density of 7,644 people per square mile.[2] Eagle Rock is among one of the most diverse neighborhoods in both the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County.[2] The racial makeup of the neighborhood is 29.8% White (non-Hispanic), 23.9% Asian, 1.9% African American, 40.3% Hispanic or Latino, and 4.1% from other races.
A large portion of the Asian demographic is of Filipino descent, making Eagle Rock noted for its large Filipino community. Eagle Rock is home to large Mexican (27.1%) and Filipino (16.8%) descendent populations. [2]
Eagle Rock residents are zoned to schools in District 4[18] of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
There are four public elementary schools: Eagle Rock Elementary School, Dahlia Heights Elementary, Rockdale Elementary School, and Toland Way Elementary School.
There are two middle/high schools; the LAUSD public school Eagle Rock High School, which also serves as a middle school, and public charter school Renaissance Arts Academy.
Los Angeles Public Library operates the Eagle Rock Branch Library at 5027 Caspar Avenue.[19]
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