Sherman Oaks, CA - Relocation Information

Posted by Nick Niesen on November 8th, 2010

Sherman Oaks

Sherman Oaks is a 8.1-square-mile district of Los Angeles in the southern San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood is roughly bounded by Studio City to the east, Van Nuys to the north, Encino to the west and the Santa Monica Mountains to the south.

Sherman Oaks is part of the city of Los Angeles.

Sherman Oaks is a fairly affluent area, with several high-end fashion boutiques in the area, and features many upscale houses and restaurants.

Attractions

Sherman Oaks' main claim to fame is as home of the Sherman Oaks Galleria, a shopping mall identified as a meet-up place for the Valley girls, a 1980s cultural label which became widely known because of the 1983 movie Valley Girl and a song of the same name by Frank Zappa. As time went on though, the Galleria became less prominent, and was closed in 2002 to be re-developed into an office complex. Today, many go shop at two other malls in the area, including the Westfield Fashion Square, as well as an assortment of boutiques and restaurants located throughout Ventura Boulevard.

Economy

Many financial corporations, including banks and brokerage houses, are located in the area.

Sunkist Growers, one of the country's oldest and largest agricultural cooperatives, has been rooted in Sherman Oaks for almost 30 years.

History

Sherman Oaks was one of the first Valley communities to experience intensive real estate development.

Anticipating the development of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, Los Angeles Suburban Homes Co. purchased 47,500 acres (192 km²) of the southeast Valley in 1910. In 1911, a subdivision map called Tract 1000 was filed with Los Angeles County. From that parcel, one of the partners in the company, General Moses Hazeltine Sherman, bought 1,000 acres (4 km²) for himself. In 1927, Sherman subdivided the property and sold the land for $780 an acre ($0.19/m²).

Notable residents

Over the years, many notable people have lived in Sherman Oaks, including:

? actress Jennifer Aniston

? actress Natalie Wood

? actress Marsha Hunt

? actress Lily Tomlin

? actress Marilyn Monroe

? actresses Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

? actor David Sherrill

? actress Jillian Barberie

? actor James Dean

? actor John Ritter

? actor Matthew McGrory

? actor Hector Elizondo

? actor David Caruso

? comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy

? comedian Lou Costello

? singer/choreographer Paula Abdul

? singer P!nk

? musician Dave Navarro

? actress Rachel Bilson

? actress Kirsten Dunst

? actor Jerry Mathers - Beaver in Leave It to Beaver

? actress Michelle Trachtenberg

? bassist Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue

? political pundit Michael Reagan

? poker player Steve Badger

? novelist Bret Easton Ellis

? actor Tony Danza

? pianist Ruby Fradkin

? singer Katharine McPhee

Trivia

? Sherman Oaks is home to Fire Station #88, the first Urban Search and Rescue Task Force to respond following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

? Marilyn Monroe's first home as a 16-year-old newly-wed was on Vista del Monte

? Liberace lived on Valley Vista Boulevard and had a piano-shaped pool complete with black keys

? The term "Valley Girls" was popularized by musician Frank Zappa and his daughter, Moon Unit, and was inspired by Moon's dinner table mocking of schoolmates' syntax and incessant shopping at the Sherman Oaks Galleria shopping center.

Actress Lisa Rinna and her husband, actor Harry Hamlin, own a clothing boutique on Ventura Boulevard called "Belle Gray" and are also residents of the neighborhood.