Glassell Park is a neighborhood of
Northeast Los Angeles
Northeast Los Angeles (abbreviated NELA) is a region of Los Angeles County, comprising seven neighborhoods within the City of Los Angeles. The area is home to Occidental College located in Eagle Rock.
History
The bulk of the area closer to Pu ...
, California, in the
San Rafael Hills
The San Rafael Hills are a mountain range in Los Angeles County, California. They are one of the lower Transverse Ranges, and are parallel to and below the San Gabriel Mountains, adjacent to the San Gabriel Valley overlooking the Los Angeles Bas ...
.
Population
The 2000 U.S. Census counted 23,469 residents in the 2.75-square-mile Glassell Park neighborhood—or 8,524 people per square mile, an average
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
for the city. In 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 24,816. The median age for residents was 30, about average for the city and county.
"Glassell Park," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times''
The neighborhood was considered "moderately diverse" ethnically, with a high percentage of Asians and Latinos.
As of the early 2000s, the breakdown was
Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latinos, 66.1%;
whites
White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.
Description of populations as ...
, 13.7%;
Asians, 17.4%;
blacks
Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...
, 1.4%; and others, 1.4%.
The 2010 Census reported Latinos, 61%; Whites 15.55%; Asians 20.47%; and Blacks, 1.79%.
Mexico (49.3%) and the Philippines (16.2%) were the most common places of birth for the 51.5% of residents who were born abroad, a relatively high percentage compared to the city as a whole.
[
Like its ethnic composition, Glassell Park is inhabited by a wide variety of socioeconomic groups and is experiencing significant demographic change and economic development.] The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $50,098, an average figure for Los Angeles. The percentage of households that earned $20,000 to $40,000 yearly was high for Los Angeles County. The average household size of 3.3 people was high for Los Angeles. Renters occupied 56.2% of the housing stock and house- or apartment owners held 43.8%.[
]
Geography
According to the Mapping L.A. project of the ''Los Angeles Times,'' Glassell Park is bordered on the north by Glendale, on the northeast and east by Eagle Rock, on the southeast by Mount Washington, on the south and southwest by Elysian Valley __NOTOC__
Elysian Valley, commonly known as Frogtown, is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California, adjoining the Los Angeles River. It has two parks, both maintained by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA). The Frog ...
and on the west by Atwater Village.
Colored map, Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times["Northeast L.A.,"]
Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times
The neighborhood is located in a relatively hilly region of the San Rafael Hills
The San Rafael Hills are a mountain range in Los Angeles County, California. They are one of the lower Transverse Ranges, and are parallel to and below the San Gabriel Mountains, adjacent to the San Gabriel Valley overlooking the Los Angeles Bas ...
mountain range. Due to its hilly geography, many Glassell Park homes are built on hillsides with views of the surrounding area. Like many hillside areas in Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
, the LAFD
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides emergency medical services, fire cause determination, fire prevention, fire suppression, hazardous materials mitigation, and technical rescue services to the city of Los Angeles ...
imposes parking restrictions on certain streets during high-fire-danger " red flag" days.
In early 2013, a local artist installed large letters spelling "Glassellland" in the vacant hills above the Glassell Park Recreation Center. The name "Glassellland" is a reference to "Hollywoodland"—a real estate development whose promotional sign still stands as the famous Hollywood Sign.
History
The land that would later become Glassell Park was originally part of Rancho San Rafael
Rancho San Rafael was a Spanish land grant in the San Rafael Hills, bordering the Los Angeles River and the Arroyo Seco in present-day Los Angeles County, southern California, given in 1784 to Jose Maria Verdugo.
Geography
The rancho includes ...
, granted in 1784 to Spanish army corporal José María Verdugo. Attorney Andrew Glassell
Andrew Glassell Jr. (September 30, 1827 – January 28, 1901) was a Los Angeles real estate attorney and investor. He may be best known as one of the founders of the city of Orange, California.
Early life
Glassell was born as Andrew Glas ...
received part of Rancho San Rafael from the lawsuit known as the Great Partition of 1871. Glassell eventually settled in the area with his family, for whom many streets, including Toland Way, Drew St, Andrita and Marguarite Streets are named.
The development of Glassell Park began in the early 20th century, as subdivisions between Verdugo and San Fernando Roads began to be sold in 1907. In 1912, the city of Los Angeles annexed most of Glassell Park, annexing the remainder in 1916. The Glassell family continued to subdivide their land, selling off what is now Forest Lawn Memorial Park in 1905. The growing neighborhood was served by a line of the Los Angeles Railway
The Los Angeles Railway (also known as Yellow Cars, LARy and later Los Angeles Transit Lines) was a system of streetcars that operated in Central Los Angeles and surrounding neighborhoods between 1895 and 1963. The system provided frequent local ...
, which traveled in the median of Eagle Rock Boulevard towards Eagle Rock.
Glassell Park suffered periods of gang activity in the final decades of the 20th century due to the arrival of the Mexican-American Avenues. In 2008 and 2009, the police launched a major raid against The Avenues (gang)
The Avenues, also known as Avenidas or AVE's, is a Mexican/Mexican American criminal street gang mostly in Los Angeles County, California. They originally started as a social club for local Latino youths to protect themselves from other violent y ...
stronghold at 3304 Drew St. and demolished its former neighborhood stronghold, replacing it with the Glassell Park Community Garden. The Glassell Park Community Garden is now a focal point of community life in the area and regularly hosts neighborhood events.
Today, Glassell Park is experiencing significant and steady demographic shifts due to its abundant craftsmen and hillside homes, and convenient location close to Downtown Los Angeles, Silver Lake, and Highland Park.[Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, History of](_blank)
Retrieved June 24, 2010
Retrieved June 24, 2010 Glassell Park's median home price is increasing at a rapid pace, significantly exceeding that of Los Angeles County. In 2016, the median home price in Los Angeles County rose by about 7 percent; in that same period, the median home price in Glassell Park rose 25.3 percent.
Glassell Park stands to benefit greatly from the city's $1.6-billion Los Angeles River revitalization project. The project will restore habitat, widen the river, create wetlands and provide access points and bike trails along an 11-mile stretch of the Los Angeles River that runs from downtown Los Angeles through Glassell Park.
Government
Districts that represent Glassell Park, in part or completely currently are:
* Los Angeles City Council District 1 — Councilmember Gilbert Cedillo
* Los Angeles City Council District 13
Los Angeles City Council District 13 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council, in Central Los Angeles. Hugo Soto-Martinez is the current council member.
Geography Present district
The district flanks the 101 freeway as it pas ...
— Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell
Mitch O'Farrell (born 1960) is an American politician, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 13th district from 2013 to 2022, during which he spent eight days as President of the City Council during the 2022 Los Angeles ...
* Los Angeles City Council District 14
Los Angeles City Council District 14 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council. The district, which has a large Latin American population, includes the neighborhoods of Boyle Heights, Downtown Los Angeles and parts of Northeast L ...
— Councilmember Jose Huizar
* Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States.
History
On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Sessions as their firs ...
, District 1 — Supervisor Hilda L. Solis
* California State Assembly District 51 — Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo
* California State Senate District 24 — State Senator Kevin de León
* U.S. Congressional District 34 — Congressperson Jimmy Gomez
Jimmy Gomez (born November 25, 1974) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2017. His district includes the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Eagle Rock, Boyle Heights, Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, and other com ...
Education
Nineteen percent of Glassell Park residents aged 25 and older had earned a four-year degree by 2000, an average figure for both the city and the county.[
Schools in Glassell Park are:
* ]Washington Irving
Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...
Magnet Middle School, LAUSD, 3010 Estara Avenue
* Fletcher Drive Elementary School, LAUSD, 3350 Fletcher Drive
* Glassell Park Elementary School, LAUSD, 2211 West Avenue 30, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
* Los Angeles River at Sonia Sotomayor Learning Academies, LAUSD, 2050 San Fernando Road
* Alliance Environmental Science and Technology High School, Charter School, 2930 Fletcher Drive
* St. Bernard Catholic Elementary, Private School, 3254 Verdugo Road
* V.O. Eagle Rock Christian Academy, Private School, 4160 Eagle Rock Boulevard
* Ribét Academy, Private School, 2911 San Fernando Road
Recreation
The Glassell Park Recreation Center is near the center of Glassell Park, on Verdugo Road. The Rio de Los Angeles State Park
Rio de Los Angeles State Park is a California State Park along the Los Angeles River north of downtown Los Angeles in the neighborhood of Glassell Park, Los Angeles. The park includes restored wetlands featuring native plants as well as sports fi ...
is along San Fernando Road
San Fernando Road is a major street in the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County. Within the Burbank city limits it is signed as San Fernando Boulevard, and north of Newhall Pass it is signed as The Old Road. It was previously designate ...
and adjacent to the Los Angeles River
, name_etymology =
, image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg
, image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge
, image_size = 300
, map = LARmap.jpg
, map_size ...
. It is on part of the former Taylor Yard, a railway switching facility in Glassell Park and Cypress Park.
Notable people
* Edward L. Thrasher, builder, contractor and decorator who served on the Los Angeles City Council between 1931 and 1942.
* John Cage, composer, lived in Glassell Park between 1925 and 1931Adrian Glick Kudler, "A Map Guide to Composer John Cage's Early Life in Los Angeles," ''Curbed Los Angeles,'' September 5, 2012
/ref>
References
External links
Washington Irving Middle School website
Glassell Park Improvement Association
Glassell Park Neighborhood Council
York Boulevard
Glassell Park crime map and statistics
{{coord, 34, 07, 01, N, 118, 13, 59, W, type:city, display=title
Glassell Park, Los Angeles,
Neighborhoods in Los Angeles
Northeast Los Angeles
1907 establishments in California
Populated places established in 1907