Van Nuys facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Van Nuys
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Valley Municipal Building in Van Nuys
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Boundaries of Van Nuys as drawn by the Los Angeles Times
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 Van Nuys
Location in San Fernando Valley
Van Nuys
Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County |  Los Angeles |
| City |  Los Angeles |
| Named for | Real estate developer Isaac Newton Van Nuys |
| Elevation | 217 m (712 ft) |
| Population
(2000)
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| • Total | 136,443 |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code |
91401, 91405, 91406, 91409, 91411
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| Area codes | 747, 818 |
Van Nuys is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
Contents
History
The town was founded in 1911, and named for Isaac Newton Van Nuys, one of its developers. It was annexed by Los Angeles on May 22, 1915, after completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, providing it with the water required for further growth. Van Nuys was the first new stop on the San Fernando Line of the Pacific Electric Railway red cars system, which boosted its early land sales and commercial success.
Van Nuys became the Valley's satellite Los Angeles municipal civic center, with the 1932 Art Deco Valley Municipal Building (Van Nuys City Hall), a visual landmark and Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument starting the present day Government Center complex of government services buildings.
In 1991 Marvin Braude, a member of the Los Angeles City Council, redesignated a 45-block area from being a part of Van Nuys to being a part of Sherman Oaks. This redesignated area included the community of Magnolia Woods. Some area residents had presented a petition and several original deeds that stated "Sherman Oaks" to Braude. They argued that the area was originally a part of Sherman Oaks until the 1960s, when ZIP codes labeling the area as Van Nuys were established.
In 2014, A "Great Streets" project was introduced by Mayor Eric Garcetti with Van Nuys Blvd. to be redesigned between Victory Blvd. and Oxnard Street. Also, Sepulveda Blvd. was resurfaced between Victory Blvd and Oxnard Street in May 2014. A new Los Angeles County services building is under construction on the southwest corner of Van Nuys Blvd. and Saticoy Street in 2014.
On February 14, 2016, some 170 firefighters battled a fire at the abandoned Voyager Motel at 6500 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Geography
Van Nuys is bordered on the north by North Hills, on the northeast by Panorama City, on the east by Valley Glen, on the south by Sherman Oaks, on the southwest by the Sepulveda Basin, on the west by Lake Balboa and on the northwest by Northridge. Its street and other boundaries are Roscoe Boulevard on the north, Sepulveda Boulevard, the Tujunga Wash, Woodman Avenue and Hazeltine Avenue on the east, Oxnard Street on the south, the Sepulveda Basin on the southwest and Odessa and Hayvenhurst avenues and Balboa Boulevard on the west.
Population
The 2000 U.S. census counted 103,770 residents in the 8.99-square-mile Van Nuys neighborhood—or 11,542 people per square mile, about an average population density for the city. In 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 110,747. In 2000 the median age for residents was 28, considered young for city and county neighborhoods, and the percentages of residents aged 10 or younger and 19 to 34 were among the county's highest.
The neighborhood was considered "moderately diverse" ethnically within Los Angeles. The breakdown was Hispanics, 60.5%; whites, 23.1%; Asians, 6.4%; blacks, 6%; and others, 4%. Mexico (41.5%) and El Salvador (17.3%) were the most common places of birth for the 49.8% of the residents who were born abroad—a high percentage for Los Angeles. There were 4,917 families headed by single parents, or 21.3%, considered high for both the city and the county.
The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $41,134, considered average for the city but low for the county. The percentages of households that earned $40,000 or less were high for the county. Renters occupied 73.9% of the housing stock, and house- or apartment-owners held 26.1%.
Notable places
- Van Nuys Boulevard
- Van Nuys City Hall
- Busch Gardens theme park (1964–1979), demolished.
- Sound City Studios
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Van Nuys Post Office
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Erwin Street Pedestrian Mall in Government Center
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Government Center, Van Nuys Boulevard and Erwin Street
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Marvin Braude San Fernando Valley Constituent Service Center, at Government Center
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Van Nuys State Office Building at Government Center
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Los Angeles Superior Court, Van Nuys Division, at Government Center
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New Van Nuys Branch, Los Angeles Public Library, Sylmar Avenue Mall.
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Van Nuys Community Police Station, 6240 Sylmar Avenue Mall
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Van Nuys Civic Child Development Center
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Van Nuys Boulevard and Delano St.
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Valley Presbyterian Hospital
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Parks
The Van Nuys Recreation Area is in Van Nuys. The area has an auditorium and gymnasium with a capacity of 420 people, and a multipurpose/community room with a capacity of 20–25 people. The area has barbecue pits, lighted baseball diamonds, lighted outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, a community room, lighted handball courts, an indoor gymnasium with no weights, picnic tables, a lighted soccer field, and lighted tennis courts.
Delano Park in Van Nuys has an auditorium, barbecue pits, a lighted baseball diamond, lighted outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, a lighted football field, lighted handball courts, an indoor gymnasium with no weights, picnic tables, and a lighted soccer field.
The Van Nuys adjacent Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area to the west is a large open space park behind Sepulveda Dam. The Metro Orange Line bicycle path connects Van Nuys to it and other valley destinations. It has numerous recreation facilities and natural areas, including a wildlife preserve, cricket complex, and archery range at Woodley Park.
The Van Nuys Sherman Oaks Park is in Sherman Oaks, near Van Nuys. The park has an auditorium, two lighted baseball diamonds, six unlighted baseball diamonds, lighted indoor basketball courts, lighted outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, a 60-person community room, a lighted football field, an indoor gymnasium without weights, picnic tables, a lighted soccer field, and lighted tennis courts. Located in the same place as the park, the Van Nuys Sherman Oaks Pool is a seasonal outdoor heated swimming pool. The Van Nuys Sherman Oaks Senior Citizen Center (a.k.a. Bernardi Center), also on the park grounds, has an auditorium and multi-purpose room. The senior community hall also has two community/meeting rooms, two kitchens, a play area, a shuffle board area, a stage, and two storage rooms. The Van Nuys Sherman Oaks Tennis Courts facility in the Van Nuys Sherman Oaks Park has eight courts.
Transportation
Air
Van Nuys Airport, the 25th busiest airport in the United States, and among the 20 busiest airports in the world by aircraft movements, is located in Van Nuys.
The closest airport with commercial airline service is Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank.
The community includes a terminal for the Van Nuys FlyAway Bus service, which travels from Van Nuys to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Public transit
Van Nuys has two Metro G Line stations: the Van Nuys (Los Angeles Metro station) and the Sepulveda (Los Angeles Metro station) which will be rebuilt on elevated bridges by 2024. The G Line connects to the Metro B Line subway at the North Hollywood (Los Angeles Metro station), for access to Hollywood, Downtown Los Angeles, and other Los Angeles Metro lines. The Metro Busway also uses the Van Nuys station. All stations, and the neighborhood's major streets, are served by Metro Local, Metro Rapid, and/or other bus lines and systems. The Metro G Line bicycle path and pedestrian walkway runs in a landscaped zone alongside the entire route, to Pierce College, Canoga Park, and the Chatsworth Station on the west, and North Hollywood on the east.
The area also has Amtrak and Metrolink service at Van Nuys station. It is served by the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Coast Starlight, and the Metrolink Ventura County Line.
Van Nuys Boulevard is planned to host the East San Fernando Light Rail line by 2027 with construction starting in 2021.
Freeways
Van Nuys is served by the 405 (San Diego Freeway) passing through it.
Other nearby freeways include the Route 101 (Ventura Freeway), the Route 170 (Hollywood Freeway), the Route 118 (Simi Valley Freeway), and the Golden State Freeway section of Interstate 5.
Notable places
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Van Nuys Post Office
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Erwin Street Pedestrian Mall in Government Center
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Government Center, Van Nuys Boulevard and Erwin Street
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Marvin Braude San Fernando Valley Constituent Service Center, at Government Center
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Van Nuys State Office Building at Government Center
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Los Angeles Superior Court, Van Nuys Division, at Government Center
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New Van Nuys Branch, Los Angeles Public Library, Sylmar Avenue Mall.
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Van Nuys Community Police Station, 6240 Sylmar Avenue Mall
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Van Nuys Civic Child Development Center
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Van Nuys Boulevard and Delano St.
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Valley Presbyterian Hospital
Economy
Van Nuys Boulevard has a long and diverse commercial district along it, as do other major streets crossing through Van Nuys.
There are two Target stores in Van Nuys, one on Sepulveda and Hatteras and another on Raymer and Kester.
Van Nuys has two Asian supermarkets, one on Sherman Way and White Oak, and one on Sepulveda and Victory.
From December 1947 until August 1992, General Motors operated an automobile factory called Van Nuys Assembly at Van Nuys Boulevard and Arminta Street to augment production efforts at their South Gate Assembly factory, which opened in 1936. The Van Nuys plant manufactured 6.3 million vehicles, including the Chevrolet Impala, Corvair, and later was the primary location for the Nova, Camaro, and Pontiac Firebird. Other models built were the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Chevelle, the Oldsmobile Omega, and the Pontiac Ventura. Badge engineered versions of the Impala, Nova and Camaro were also manufactured at this location. In October 1989, GM announced that Camaro and Firebird production would be moved to a facility in Sainte-Thérèse. Due to air quality remediation efforts and decreasing market share of GM products, the factory was closed.
In 1999, The Plant shopping center opened on the former factory site, anchored by a Home Depot, OfficeMax & 16-screen Mann movie theater multiplex. Through the following years there were additions to The Plant shopping center the following additions were: In-N-Out Burger,7-Eleven, Gap Outlet, Ono Hawaiian BBQ, Starbucks, Party City, and Old Navy.
Sound City Studios is a well-respected recording studio in Van Nuys.
Grupo TACA operates a Van Nuys-area TACA Center at 6710 Van Nuys Boulevard.
Various parts of the 1984 film The Terminator were filmed in Van Nuys.
Education
Fifteen percent of Van Nuys residents aged 25 and older had earned a four-year degree by 2000, an average figure for both the city and the county, but the percentage of the same-age residents who had less than a high school diploma (43.1%) was high for Los Angeles.
Schools within the Van Nuys boundaries are:
Public
The Los Angeles Unified School District operates neighborhood public schools:
- Kittridge Street Elementary School, 13619 Kittridge Street
- Van Nuys Senior High School, 6535 Cedros Avenue
- Cohasset Street Elementary School, 15810 Saticoy Street
- Robert Fulton College Preparatory School, 7477 Kester Avenue
- Valerio Street Elementary School, 15035 Valerio Street
- Hazeltine Avenue Elementary School, 7150 Hazeltine Avenue
- Columbus Avenue Elementary School, 6700 Columbus Avenue
- Van Nuys Elementary School, 6464 Sylmar Avenue
- Will Rogers Continuation School, 14711 Gilmore Street
- Sylvan Park Elementary School, 6238 Noble Avenue
- Van Nuys Adult School, 6535 Cedros Avenue
- NVOC- Aviation Center, 16550 Saticoy Street
Charter schools include:
- Charter High School of Arts — Multimedia and Performing, 6952 Van Nuys Boulevard
Van Nuys Middle School was in the Van Nuys community until 1991 when its area was moved into Sherman Oaks. The school continued to use the name "Van Nuys" despite the move.
Private
- Pacific Ridge School, 15339 Saticoy Street
- Crossroads School, 6843 Lennox Avenue
- St. Elisabeth School, elementary, 6635 Tobias Avenue
- Grace Christian Academy, 6510 Peach Avenue
- The Crawford Academy, 14530 Sylvan Street
- Children's Community School, 14702 Sylvan Street
- Montclair College Prep, 8071 Sepulveda Boulevard, has closed.
- Lycée International de Los Angeles previously operated a campus in Van Nuys.
Images for kids
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Original Van Nuys Branch Library (1927)
See also
In Spanish: Van Nuys (California) para niños
