San Fernando Valley

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
San Fernando Valley
View of the valley

View of the valley

location California (USA)
Mountains Santa Susana Mountains , Simi Hills , Santa Monica Mountains , Verdugo Mountains , San Gabriel Mountains
Geographical location 34 ° 14 ′ 19 ″  N , 118 ° 27 ′ 46 ″  W Coordinates: 34 ° 14 ′ 19 ″  N , 118 ° 27 ′ 46 ″  W
San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles Metropolitan Area)
San Fernando Valley
Template: Infobox Glacier / Maintenance / Image description missing

The San Fernando Valley (Valley of Saint Ferdinand ) is a basin on the southern California Pacific coast . It is about 30 km northwest of Downtown Los Angeles , but politically it belongs largely to Los Angeles and the rest of the time to Burbank and San Fernando . The valley is surrounded by the mountain range of the Transverse Ranges .

According to an official estimate from July 1, 2006, the densely populated San Fernando Valley had a population of 1,746,070. With an area of ​​895.6 square kilometers, the population density was 1,950 inhabitants per square kilometer.

geography

Geographical location

Location of the San Fernando Valley

The San Fernando Valley is located in northwest Los Angeles. It's cut off from Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles by Griffith Park and the Santa Monica Mountains . Around a third of the residents live in single-family houses.

The valley has an area of ​​895.6 square kilometers and is bordered by the Santa Susana Mountains in the northwest, the Simi Hills in the west, the Santa Monica Mountains in the south, the Verdugo Mountains in the east and the San Gabriel Mountains in the northeast.

The region covers the municipalities of Burbank , Calabasas , Glendale , Hidden Hills and San Fernando , the unincorporated areas (unincorporated areas) Bell Canyon , Kagel Canyon and Olive View and 40 districts of Los Angeles.

geology

The valley is located in an earthquake- prone region. On February 9, 1971, the San Fernando earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 struck the San Fernando Valley. It caused $ 500 million in damage and claimed 65 lives.

Another major earthquake, the Northridge earthquake , occurred on January 17, 1994 with a magnitude of 6.7. The epicenter was in the Reseda district . 57 people were killed and 12,000 injured. Important transport links and around 100,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), property damage amounted to $ 40 billion.

history

Campo de Cahuenga in the 19th century, with Cahuenga Peak in the background

The foundation stone for European settlement was laid on September 8, 1797 with the foundation of the Spanish Mission "San Fernando Rey de España" by Father Fermín Lasuén . At that time, the valley had been inhabited by the Tongva Indian tribe for about 2000 years .

In Campo de Cahuenga , near the Cahuenga Pass , the Treaty of Cahuenga between Lieutenant Colonel John Charles Frémont and General Andrés Pico was signed on January 13, 1847 , which ended the Mexican-American War in California.

In the early 20th century, land speculators bought the land when they heard of engineer William Mulholland's plans to divert water from Owens Valley to San Fernando Valley via a canal. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913 caused land prices to rise and the city of Los Angeles to grow.

In 1915, the population of the region, with the exception of the communities of Burbank, Glendale and San Fernando, voted to join Los Angeles. In the following years, other places were incorporated:

The area of ​​Los Angeles increased from the original 438 square kilometers to 580 square kilometers.

From the 1970s, the Valleyspeak , a sociolect of the San Fernando youth, influenced the American vernacular. The aftermath of this linguistic development can still be seen today.

Sights, culture and leisure

Museums

Victory Boulevard and Sylmar Avenue in Van Nuys

In the north of the valley, near the intersection of the San Diego Freeway with the Golden State Freeway and the Foothill Freeway , is the "San Fernando Rey de España" mission. The museum was badly damaged in the 1971 earthquake and had to be almost completely rebuilt afterwards.

The Nethercutt Collection is located in nearby Sylmar . You can see organs, pianos, glass art, French furniture and a collection of classic automobiles of international repute. In addition to some very early vehicles, the brands Bugatti , Cadillac , Duesenberg , Franklin , Marmon , Mercedes-Benz , Minerva , Packard , Pierce-Arrow , Rolls-Royce and Voisin are also represented . The "William S. Hart Ranch and Museum" is in Santa Clarita . It houses exhibits on the history of California .

Parks

Castle Peak

In the west of the valley, near the towns of Sherman Oaks and Encino , is the " Los Encinos State Historic Park ". You can see the remains of an Indian settlement and a Mexican hacienda that was built later . There are some oaks (Spanish: “encinos”) near the adobe house, which was completed in 1849. The facility was damaged in the 1994 earthquake and was reopened to the public after renovation.

In Van Nuys the "Tillman Japanese Garden", a park with bonsai trees, small bridges, stone lamps, tea house and several ponds and streams. El Escorpion Park is located south of Bell Canyon Park (also Castle Peak Park ) in West Hills . The Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park and the Hurricane Harbor aqua park with numerous attractions are located near Valencia .

economy

View of part of the San Fernando Valley (Universal City and Burbank)

The San Fernando Valley is home to numerous entertainment companies. These include, in particular, CBS Studio Center, NBC Universal , The Walt Disney Company (with the ABC TV network) and Warner Bros. The valley used to be the seat of many aerospace companies, including Lockheed , Rocketdyne and Marquardt . Most of these companies moved to other regions with a more favorable political climate or cheaper labor.

The San Fernando Valley has been the center of the American porn film industry since the 1970s. The valley is also known under the names "Silicone Valley", "Porn Valley" and "San Pornando Valley". The leading magazine in the industry ( Adult Video News ) with an annual circulation of 40,000 copies is based in Chatsworth in the northwest of the Valley. The valley's share of legally produced porn films in the USA is around 90 percent. Every week around 200 porn films are shot in the San Fernando Valley, around 1,500 porn actors live here. Around 200 film studios and companies in the industry are based in the valley. The approximately 6,000 employees generate annual sales of several billion US dollars.

Representation in film and television

Numerous films describe life in the San Fernando Valley. These include:

The film Alpha Dog is based on a true story that took place in the San Fernando Valley in 2000, but had to be shot in the San Gabriel Valley for legal reasons . The valley was the location of the films: Karate Kid (1984), Karate Kid III - The Final Decision (1989), Pulp Fiction (1994) and Cinderella Story (2004).

The TV series Weeds - Small Deals Among Neighbors is set in the fictional suburb of Agrestic (later Majestic) in the San Fernando Valley. The series often refers to general characteristics of the American suburbs ( suburbs ), but especially to special features in the greater LA - above all density, prefabricated houses, etc. This monotony is flirting with a theme based on Malvina Reynolds ' song Little Boxes .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c San Fernando Valley Statistics and Facts ( Memento of the original dated May 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , California State University @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / library.csun.edu
  2. ↑ Historical Disaster Information ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , County of Los Angeles @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / lacoa.org
  3. ↑ Silicone Valley: Porn Goes Public , The Industry Standard, June 11, 2000
  4. ^ Consider the Lobster , New York Times, March 12, 2006
  5. ↑ Men are short at the moment . In: Der Spiegel . No. 21 , 2004 ( online - May 17, 2004 ).
  6. ↑ Porn is a $ 12 billion industry, but profits leave the Valley ( Memento of the original from May 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Daily News dated June 5, 2007 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dailynews.com

Web links

Commons : San Fernando Valley  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files