In the section now renamed Valley Village, on Magnolia east of Whitsett, is an architecturally unique stage set of old retail Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley.
Probably built in the 1920’s, it incorporates European slate tiles and chimneys in a charming attempt to reproduce an English country village.
Imagine North Hollywood at that time. The main shopping area was still along Lankershim, several miles to the east. This tract was agricultural, and builders were subdividing the surrounding lands to create “ranchettes”, those large and gracious non-farm homes marketed to affluent people who wanted to buy a piece of the California dream. The shopping area, a stage set of fantasy, was built for the locals and also told a story.
80 years later, this is a highly desirable neighborhood. Yet the sad condition of these stores is a failure of our modern imagination. Where are the trees, the cafes, the lights, the signage to signify that this is a special place?
We still live in JK Galbraith’s time of “private affluence and public squalor”. Maybe the new city director of planning, Gail Goldberg, will direct her talents to these forgotten gems of LA.
Here in Van Nuys 