Park La Brea, Los Angeles facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Park La Brea
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Two types of housing at Park La Brea
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 Park La Brea
Location in Western Los Angeles
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Los Angeles |
| City | Los Angeles |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (PDT) |
Park La Brea is a huge apartment complex in Los Angeles, California. Its name, La Brea, means "The tar" in Spanish. It is named after the famous La Brea Tar Pits nearby.
It has 4,255 homes, spread across eighteen tall 13-story buildings and thirty-one smaller two-story buildings. This makes it one of the biggest apartment complexes in the United States! It covers a large area of about 160 acres (0.65 square kilometers).
Contents
Location and Getting Around
Park La Brea is located in the Miracle Mile District of Los Angeles. It is bordered by 3rd Street to the north and 6th Street to the south. Cochran Avenue is on its east side, and Fairfax Avenue is on its west side.
Unique Street Layout
The complex is special because of its unique street design. Many of its inner roads are angled differently from the main city streets around it. This creates an interesting octagonal (eight-sided) pattern.
Future Transportation Options
Soon, it will be even easier to get around from Park La Brea. In 2025, a new subway station, the Wilshire/Fairfax station, will open. This station is part of the D Line subway. It will be only a 5-minute walk from Park La Brea. This means residents can easily travel to Downtown Los Angeles by train. By 2028, the D Line will even reach UCLA and the Westwood neighborhood.
History of the Area
When the Spanish arrived in the 1780s, much of the land that is now Park La Brea became part of a large area called Rancho La Brea. For many years, this land was used for farming and for getting petroleum (oil) from the ground.
Building the Community
In the 1920s, areas like Hollywood and the Miracle Mile became popular places to live. This made the land around them good for building homes. The tall apartment towers of Park La Brea were built later, between 1944 and 1948.
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company built the complex during and after World War II. The streets were laid out in a special pattern. This pattern was a nod to the company's connection to Freemasonry.
Architectural Design
The homes at Park La Brea were designed by Leonard Schultze & Associates from New York. They worked with architect Earl T. Heitschmidt in 1941. The style of the buildings is called Modern Colonial. The buildings are set back from the main roads. This design was inspired by ideas from architect Le Corbusier.
Schools for Residents
Students living in Park La Brea attend schools that are part of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Elementary Schools
Different parts of the neighborhood are served by three elementary schools:
- Carthay Center Elementary School
- Hancock Park Elementary School
- Wilshire Crest Elementary School
Middle and High Schools
All students in Park La Brea go to the same middle and high schools:
- John Burroughs Middle School
- Fairfax High School
