Windsor Square, Los Angeles

Windsor Square is a small, historic and wealthy urban neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. It is highly diverse in ethnic makeup, with a population older and better-educated than the city norm. Many notable Los Angeles residents have lived in Windsor Square, and it is the site of the official residence of the mayor of the city. It is served by a vest-pocket public park.

Windsor Square boundaries, from the Los Angeles Times
Windsor Square advertisement, 1911

Population

In 2008, the neighborhood had an estimated population of 6,197.[1] According to the 2000 census, Windsor Square was highly diverse, with the percentage of Asian people being high for the county. The racial breakdown was 41.6% Asian, 37.7% white, 14.8% Latino, 4.3% black, and 1.6% other. About a third (33.5%) of the residents were born outside the United States, considered a high ratio for Los Angeles, the most common country being Korea at 57.7%.[2]

The median household income was average for both the city and the county, while the percentage of households earning more than $125,000 was high for the county. The median age was 38, considered old in both the city and the county, the percentages of residents aged 35 to 64 being among the county's highest. The percentages of both widowed men and widowed women were among the county's highest, but the percentage of families headed by single parents was notably small. The percentage of veterans who served during the Vietnam War was among the county's highest.[2]

Geography

The tree-lined neighborhood, 0.68 mile in area, is sometimes used as background in crime films because of its multimillion-dollar homes and its "film noir-era look."[2][3]

Boundaries

Windsor Square is bounded on the west by Arden Avenue, on the north by Beverly Boulevard, on the east by South Wilton Place and on the south by Wilshire Boulevard.[2]

Nearby areas

Relation of Windsor Square to nearby places:[2]

Education

Windsor Park residents are highly educated. According to the 2000 census, 46.1% of the residents had a four-year degree, high compared to the city or the county as a whole. There are no schools within the boundaries of Windsor Park.[4]

Recreation

Robert L. Burns Park, on the southwest corner of North Van Ness Avenue and Beverly Boulevard,[5] is an unstaffed pocket park.[6] Beginning in 1980, resident Barbara McRae, who was tired of noise, litter, drugs and prostitution around the park, began writing letters to city officials, and the next year she presented petitions with 2,248 signatures supporting the idea of private security patrols for the city facility. The city responded by building a 12-foot masonry wall and a chain-link fence between the park and neighboring homes. By 1989, though, criminal activity had spread throughout the surrounding neighborhood, and the Windsor Square Property Owners Association requested that the park be closed at sunset and that it be fenced, gated and locked. On December 3, 1990, an $85,000 tubular steel perimeter fence was officially installed and put into use.[7]

Police and crime

Windsor Square is covered by two Los Angeles Police Department jurisdictions, Olympic, at 1130 South Vermont Avenue, and Wilshire, at 4861 Venice Boulevard.[8]

In December 2014 the neighborhood was stunned when Antonia Yager, 86, was found stabbed to death in her Beachwood Drive home. An active member of the Assistance League of Los Angeles who was known as the "great dame" of Larchmont Village, she was the widow of Superior Court Judge Thomas Yager. They were prominent people who were said to have donated $100,000 for mathematics and science school scholarships. It was the first homicide in the area since 2001. The case was never solved despite the offer of a $50,000 award.[3]

Notable residents

Getty House, 2008

Getty House at 605 South Irving Boulevard is the official residence of the Mayor of Los Angeles.[9] The mayors who have lived there include:

Other notable Windsor Square residents have been:

References

  1. ↑ "Windsor Square". Mapping L.A. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Windsor Square: Profile," Mapping L.A.
  3. 1 2 Veronica Rocha, "'A Lovely Woman' Is Killed: The Brutal Stabbing of Antonia Yager, 86, a Beloved Cat Fancier of Windsor Square, Stuns Neighbors," Los Angeles Times, December 24, 2014, page AA-3
  4. ↑ "Windsor Square: Schools," Mapping L.A.
  5. ↑ Google maps
  6. ↑ Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
  7. ↑ "A Forum for Community Issues: Making Difference: One Neighborhood's Approach: A Decade's Work Saves a Park," Los Angeles Times, October 5, 1992, page 4
  8. ↑ Mapping L.A., Windsor Square: Crime
  9. 1 2 "Hot Property: NBA Star Keeping Up With Disick," Los Angeles Times, December 13, page C-8
  10. ↑ "Hot Property: Demon Hunting Keeps Him on the Road," Los Angeles Times, March 9, 2014, page B-1
  11. ↑ "Hot Property: Chris Brown Left Mark on Home," Los Angeles Times, June 29, 2014
  12. ↑ "California Briefing: Los Angeles: Chandler Home Claimant Dies," Los Angeles Times,';' July 28, 2012, page AA-4
  13. ↑ "Councilman Harold A. Henry, 70, Dies After Long Illness," Los Angeles Times, May 2, 1966, page 3
  14. ↑ Location of the Henry home on Mapping L.A.
  15. ↑ "Hot Property: Saldana Explores New Worlds," Los Angeles Times, December 22, 2013, page B-1
  16. ↑ "Purchase Six Adjoining Lots" Theatrical Magnate and Banker to Build Homes in Windsor Square," Los Angeles Times, July 12, 1914, page V-1
  17. ↑ "All in the Family," Los Angeles Times, October 6, 1912, page VI-1
  18. ↑ "West End House Italian in Type," Los Angeles Times, December 29, 1912, page VI-1
  19. ↑ "Society," San Francisco Call, September 17, 1913, page 56, column 4

Coordinates: 34°04′09″N 118°19′14″W / 34.0692°N 118.3206°W / 34.0692; -118.3206

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