La Cienega Boulevard is a major north–south

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector ro ...

that runs between El Segundo Boulevard in

Hawthorne, California Hawthorne is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. It is part of a seventeen-city region commonly called the South Bay. As of the 2020 US census, Hawthorne had a population of 88, ...

on the south and the

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

to the north. It was named for

Rancho Las Cienegas Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad * Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos * Ranchos, Buenos ...

, literally "The Ranch Of The Swamps," an area of marshland south of

Rancho La Brea Rancho La Brea was a Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California, given in 1828 to Antonio Jose Rocha and Nemisio Dominguez by José Antonio Carrillo, the alcalde of Los Angeles. Rancho La Brea consisted of one square leagu ...

Route description

From south of Fairview Boulevard and from north of Obama Boulevard (formerly Rodeo Road) La Cienega Boulevard is a regular surface street and one of Hollywood's major thoroughfares. Offices for

A&E Network A&E is an American basic cable network, the flagship television property of A&E Networks. The network was originally founded in 1984 as the Arts & Entertainment Network, initially focusing on fine arts, documentaries, television drama, dramas, and ...

The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

and the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

are located on La Cienega as were the studios of

Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country. Only iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media ...

flagships KABC and

KLOS Klos or KLOS may refer to: * Klos (surname) * Klos, Dibër, a town in eastern Albania ** Harketari Klos KF, a defunct football club based in Klos, Dibër * Klos, Elbasan, a village in central Albania * Klos, Mallakastër, a village in south-central ...

, two of Los Angeles' biggest radio stations, which were demolished for an apartment and shopping complex, currently under construction. A portion of La Cienega in and adjacent to

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

is known as "Restaurant Row" for its large number of upscale restaurants. South of Olympic, La Cienega through between the

Pico-Robertson Pico-Robertson is a relatively densely-populated neighborhood in the Westside of Los Angeles, California, flanked on the north, northeast, and west by Beverly Hills, on the east by Carthay and Mid-City, on the south by Mid-City, Beverlywood and ...

and

South Carthay South Carthay is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. Located south of Carthay Circle,''The Thomas Guide,'' 2008, page 633 South Carthay was developed in the 1930s by Spyros George Ponty. Geography The neighborhood is bounded by O ...

neighborhoods in

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by di ...

and through the Crestview neighborhood in

into Culver City and is known for its large number of automotive-related business including several used car dealerships and many body shops and auto mechanics. It continues south passing Interstate 10, and the Metro Expo Line. It is unusual among

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, 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 po ...

roadways to be built to freeway standards. South of Interstate 10, La Cienega was built to

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

standards in the late 1940s as part of the proposed ''

Laurel Canyon Freeway Laurel Canyon Boulevard is a major street in the city of Los Angeles. It starts off at Polk Street in Sylmar in the northern San Fernando Valley near the junction of the San Diego ( Interstate 405) and the Golden State (I-5)) freeways. Laurel Ca ...

'', part of State Route 170. The SR 170 freeway was never completed south of

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

, and the stretch of La Cienega from just north of Fairview Blvd in Inglewood, through Baldwin Hills and along the

Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, or Kenneth Hahn Park, is a state park unit of California in the Baldwin Hills Mountains of Los Angeles. The park is managed by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. As one of the largest ...

Obama Boulevard President Barack Obama Boulevard, or commonly Obama Boulevard, is a major thoroughfare in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw area of the city of Los Angeles. It stretches from Baldwin Hills (past Baldwin Village and Crenshaw) to Leimert Park. Histor ...

in Los Angeles is a divided, limited access highway with few

traffic signals Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic light ...

. As such, emergency call boxes like those found along the area's

s were installed along that stretch in the early 1970s. South of Fairview Blvd, La Cienega runs parallel to the

405 freeway Interstate 405 (I-405) is a major north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in Southern California. The entire route is known as the northern segment of the San Diego Freeway. I-405 is a bypass auxiliary route of I-5, running along the s ...

and terminates at El Segundo Boulevard in

Del Aire Del Aire () (Spanish language, Spanish for "Of The Air") is a census-designated place (CDP) in the inland South Bay, Los Angeles County, California, United States, between El Segundo, California, El Segundo and Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne. Th ...

along the west side of the freeway. A non-contiguous segment also named La Cienega Blvd runs along the East side of the 405 freeway roughly between El Segundo Blvd and

Rosecrans Avenue Rosecrans Avenue is a major west-east thoroughfare in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California, USA. It has a total length of 27.5 miles (44.3 km). The street is named after U.S. Union General William S. Rosecrans, who purchased of ...

in the section of Hawthorne also known as Wiseburn, another unincorporated area adjacent to Del Aire. If you look where it curves into 142nd street, the street sign is mislabeled E 142nd street, which is one block north of Rosecrans Many years ago, the south end of La Cienega was Anza Avenue.

La Cienega Design Quarter

The area of La Cienega Boulevard, from Beverly Boulevard to Santa Monica Boulevard, and its satellite streets is known as the La Cienega Design Quarter. Its shops and galleries house many antiques, furniture, rugs, accessories and art. Art dealer

Felix Landau Felix Landau (May 21, 1910 – April 4, 1983) was an SS Hauptscharführer, a member of an Einsatzkommando during World War II, based first in Lwów, Poland (today Lviv, Ukraine), and later in Drohobycz. Landau was a participant in numerous mas ...

operated his trend-setting gallery there in the 1960s.

Restaurant Row

La Cienega in Beverly Hills, north of

Wilshire Boulevard Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal ...

, is known as Restaurant Row because it features many upscale restaurants. From Wilshire in Beverly Hills traveling north the best known establishments include Benihana, The Stinking Rose, Darioush, the original

Lawry's the Prime Rib Lawry's is an upscale gourmet restaurant chain specializing in prime rib and the brand name of a seasoned salt blend spun off by the restaurant founders that evolved into a food products company today owned by McCormick & Company. The original ...

, Hakobe, Tokyo Table - Tokyo City Cuisine, Matsuhisa,

Fogo de Chão Fogo de Chão () is a Brazilian all-you-can-eat steakhouse ('' churrascaria)'' with locations throughout the world. The restaurant specializes in barbecued meats and sides. The restaurant was founded by two brothers, Arri and Jair Coser, with ...

Gyu-Kaku is a chain of Japanese yakiniku restaurants History First entered yakiniku restaurant business in 1996 and opened its first franchised restaurant in 1997 after changing to the current name. The first overseas restaurant was opened in the U.S ...

, Woo Lae Oak, The Bazaar by

José Andrés José Ramón Andrés Puerta (born 13 July 1969) is a Spanish chef, and founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a non-profit devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. A Spanish-born and raised cook, he is often credited with b ...

, and

Morton's Morton's The Steakhouse is a chain of steak restaurants with locations in the United States and franchised abroad, founded in Chicago in 1978. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Landry's. History Morton's was co-founded in 1978 by Arnold J. Mo ...

Etymology

La Cienega Boulevard is named after

Mexican land grant roughly in the region now called "

." The Spanish phrase ''la ciénaga'' translates into English as "the

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

" and the area named "Las Ciénegas" was a continual marshland due to the course of 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 ...

through that area prior to a massive southerly shift in 1825 to roughly its present course. The difference in spelling in Los Angeles between the Castilian Spanish word ''ciénaga'' and the name of the thoroughfare, which is common in other Iberian languages like Extremaduran, originated with the name of the ranch.

Transportation

Metro Local Los Angeles Metro Bus is the transit bus service in Los Angeles County, California operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . , there ar ...

lines 105 runs on La Cienega Boulevard. An elevated light rail station for the

Metro E Line The Metro E Line is a planned bus rapid transit route in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Edina. The route will operate from Southdale Center Transit Center in Edina, Minnesota to Westgate station in St. Paul. Running mostly on France Avenue, Hennepi ...

is located at

Jefferson Boulevard Jefferson Boulevard is a street in Los Angeles and Culver City, California. Its eastern terminus is at Central Avenue east of Exposition Park. At its entrance to Culver City, it splits with National Boulevard. North of Sawtelle Boulevard, it ...

. An underground station for the

Metro D Line The Metro D Line is a bus rapid transit line in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota. The route primarily operates on Fremont and Chicago Avenues from Brooklyn Center through Minneapolis to the Mall of America in Bloomington. As part of BRT ser ...

is currently under construction and is due to open in 2023.

Major intersections

References

External links

Southern California Unsigned Freeways – La Cienega BoulevardLa Cienega Design Quarter
{{Streets in Los Angeles Streets in Los Angeles Streets in Los Angeles County, California Boulevards in the United States Southern California freeways Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles Baldwin Hills (mountain range) Inglewood, California Streets in West Hollywood, California Restaurant districts and streets in the United States West Los Angeles Westside (Los Angeles County)