Mt. Olympus, Los Angeles facts for kids
Mt. Olympus is a special neighborhood located in the Hollywood Hills part of Los Angeles, California. It's often seen as a smaller area within Laurel Canyon. This neighborhood covers about 300 acres and is known for its fancy homes and wide streets. You can get to Mt. Olympus by taking Laurel Canyon Blvd. and turning onto Mt. Olympus Drive.
What Makes Mt. Olympus Special?
Mt. Olympus was built in the 1960s. The people who designed it wanted it to feel like ancient Greece or Rome. You can see this theme right away! The entrance gate has decorations that look like old Greek columns. Some street corners have walls or fountains with designs that remind you of ancient times.
Even the street names are inspired by famous figures from Greek and Roman stories! You'll find streets like Apollo Drive, Achilles Drive, Electra Drive, Hercules Drive, Jupiter Drive, Oceanus Drive, Venus Drive, Vulcan Drive, and Zeus Drive. These names come from gods, goddesses, and heroes like Apollo, Achilles, Electra, Hercules, Jupiter, Oceanus, Venus, Vulcan, and Zeus.
Some people have described the style of Mt. Olympus as very unique and bold, almost like a fun, themed park for houses. It has a lot of interesting details like statues and decorative urns.
Neighborhood Features
In Mt. Olympus, there are about three houses for every acre of land. The neighborhood is surrounded by Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Nichols Canyon Road. The trees planted along the streets are often Japanese pines or Italian cypresses, which add to the neighborhood's look. Sometimes, because of the hills, the area can have mudslides, but this is something the community manages.
History of Mt. Olympus
The name "Mt. Olympus" was used for this area even before the houses were built. People talked about "Mt. Olympus" as early as 1888, mentioning it was near Cahuenga Pass and at the start of Laurel Canyon. There's even a story from 1894 about a natural spring being found in Laurel Canyon in 1875, near a place called "Little Mount Olympus."
Before it became a neighborhood with homes, this land was known as "goatland." This meant it was a very steep area with mostly wild plants and scrub.
The building of Mt. Olympus officially began in June 1963. The developers, Russ Vincent and Al Hess, also worked on other housing projects nearby. Russ Vincent had been a Hollywood actor before he started building homes.
Building on these hills was a big job! Early reports said that workers would need to move a huge amount of earth, about 12 million cubic yards, to create flat spots for the houses.
