Tag: “Here in Van Nuys”

The Changing Valley (2005-2014)

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When I began “Here in Van Nuys” in March 2005, I was not on a mission to document the soon-to-be-demolished parts of the San Fernando Valley.

But through time, some of the buildings I photographed and wrote of are now gone.

Below are some of these.

These buildings stood on the west side of the Van Nuys Airport along Balboa Blvd. They evoked, especially in fog, the WWII era. They were functional and plain and were bulldozed in 2013 to make way for new development.

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The intersection of Burbank and Van Nuys Boulevard presented an opportunity to create a new, cohesive, architecturally significant corner. Alas, CVS, Chipotle and Chase Bank were all designed in vastly different styles and the area, upgraded, looks newer but without distinction.

Dec 11 Burbank:VNB:CVS

A community organizer from Chicago ran for President in 2008 and attracted these followers.

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The LA River in Encino near the Woodley Avenue Bridge was a river of plastic in February 2010 before the sweeping plastic bag ban was put into effect.

Feb 2010 LA River Near Balboa

In May 2010, the “Russians” came to Studio City and transformed a Brady Bunch era commercial shop into a twin onion domed monstrosity.

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Future home of “The Federal Bar” in North Hollywood before. (Circa 2008)

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Many lovely homes from the 1920s and 30s were demolished along La Maida St. in North Hollywood to make way for pre-crash condos. (July 2006)

LaMaida St. NH July06

October 2007 along Redford St. in Studio City: more condos across from CBS.

Oct 2007 Radford

Valerio at Van Nuys Boulevard

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A few weeks ago I posted a two-part photo essay about my walk around Van Nuys Boulevard north of Sherman Way:

Part 1

Part 2

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I’m posting a few more images here, of buildings and businesses at the corner of Valerio and Van Nuys Boulevard.

I caught them at dusk, which was close to 8pm on August 4th.

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Ugly during the day, the strip malls and the small businesses mellow out as the sun goes down.  Hard working people come home. Some stop off for grilled chicken, fried plantains, cool and delicious aguas frescos, roasted peppers and yellow rice at Ay Papa Que Rico.

Some climb to the top of a second story mall to smoke a cigarette in an open air parking lot.

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And dwellers from Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras live at English West, 14436 Valerio, a building whose name, perhaps, sounds foreign to their ears.

All photos were shot by me: Andrew B.Hurvitz.

Southern California Home Prices are down 35%

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Mini Cooper on Gilmore

Mini-Cooper on Gilmore., originally uploaded by Here in Van Nuys.

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fi-housing20-2009jan20,0,3078806.story?track=rss
From the Los Angeles Times

Southern California home prices close out 2008 down 35%
The December median sales price falls to $278,000, remaining at 2003 levels, a real estate research firm reports.

By Peter Y. Hong

10:35 AM PST, January 19, 2009

Southern California home prices continued their decline at the end of 2008, closing the year at 2003 price levels, a real estate research firm reported today.

The December median sales price for all Southern California homes fell to $278,000, a 35% drop from the same month a year prior, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick.

The falling prices were again driven by sales of foreclosed properties, which comprised 56% of all homes sold in the region. Consequently, the lowest median sales prices were reported in San Bernardino County ($180,000) and Riverside County ($209,000), where foreclosures have been rampant.

Los Angeles County’s median sales price of $320,000 was down 32% from December 2007, while Orange County’s median price fell 30% to $397,000. San Diego’s median price dropped 30% from December 2007, to $300,000. Ventura County’s $338,000 median December sales price was down 36% from the prior year.

Low prices drove the number of Southern California homes sold in December up by 51% over the previous year.

“It does look like the spigot is being opened a little bit, at least for low-cost home purchases,” said John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Southland buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,239 last month, down from a revised $1,380 for the previous month, and down from a revised $2,060 for December year ago. Adjusted for inflation, current payments were 43.9% below typical payments in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. They were 54.0% below the current cycle’s peak in July 2007.

peter.hong@latimes.com

Rex Hoss and Daniel Shilleci as Bomb Squad detectives.

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Rex Hoss and Daniel Shilleci as LAPD Bomb Squad Detectives.
Rex Hoss and Daniel Shilleci as LAPD Bomb Squad Detectives.
Rex Hoss and Daniel Shilleci as Bomb Squad detectives., originally uploaded by hereinvannuys.

Rex Hoss has just started his own blog.

By coincidence, my neighbor Daniel is a Lieutenant in the US Army now serving in Iraq or somewhere in that part of the world. His expertise is in explosives.

Volunteers in Van Nuys.

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A great group! Support their work by giving you know what…..

I Support the Surge of 20,000.

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Shopping Cart on Sepulveda January 10, 2007
Shopping Cart on Sepulveda
January 10, 2007

I fully support the idea of adding an additional 20,000 cops to the streets of LA to combat the surge of violence caused by insurgents here. Just yesterday, there was a shooting at Grant High School, and last year in Los Angeles, there were 402 murders.

I think it would be an absolutely splendid idea to have an additional 20,000 LAPD cops on the streets of Los Angeles. Some of them could investigate and possibly prevent murders, while others could walk the streets to insure quality of life. They would ticket people who dump baskets, sofas, mattresses and trash along the road. They would stop taggers, drug dealers, and gang bangers from fouling up neighborhoods.

Since we all pay taxes, and the government by the people, for the people and of the people is our government…shouldn’t we ask of it to spend billions right here in Los Angeles to bring police protection, law and order and a better quality of life to the City of Angels?