Outpost Estates is a neighborhood in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, consisting of about 450 homes. It is bordered by

Mulholland Drive Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is nam ...

to the north, Franklin Avenue to the south,

Runyon Canyon Park Runyon Canyon Park is a park in Los Angeles, California, at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, managed by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. The southern entrance to the park is located at the north end of Fuller Av ...

to the west, and Hollywood Heights and the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

to the east.

History

The area was the site of the first building in what is now Hollywood, a three-room

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...

house built in 1853 by Don Tomas Urquidez, near what is now the intersection of Outpost Drive and Hillside Avenue. General Harrison Grey Otis, the owner of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', acquired the estate from Don Tomás through legal wrangling associated with California's joining the United States in 1850. Near Casa Don Tomás, Otis built a clubhouse on the property for entertaining, which he called "The Outpost." Outpost Estates Brochure

In 1924,

Charles E. Toberman Charles Edward Toberman (February 23, 1880 – November 10, 1981) was a real estate developer and stenographer who developed landmarks in Hollywood, California, including the Hollywood Bowl, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, El Capitan Theatre, the ...

acquired the property. He kept the Outpost name and developed the property as one of several 1920s Hollywood luxury residential neighborhoods. The area became known as an affluent area with many rich and famous residents. "Homes had to be designed in Spanish, Mediterranean or California modern style, have red tile roofs, plenty of patios for "outdoor living," and be approved by architectural committee before being built." Most of the original houses have been preserved, and Lower Outpost looks much like it did in the 1920s. In the 1920s, in the hills above the development, a large sign spelled out "Outpost" in red neon letters 30 feet high. It was intended to compete with the Hollywoodland sign, (which later became the

Hollywood sign The Hollywood Sign is an American landmark and cultural icon overlooking Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Originally the Hollywoodland Sign, it is situated on Mount Lee, in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Spelling ...

). At the time, it was the largest neon sign in the United States. The Outpost sign was dismantled during World War II, and the wreckage of the sign was left in place, buried in the weeds. Even the original foundation and electrical junction boxes survived. The twisted remains were identified by hikers in 2002. In 1967, a homeowners association was formed to combat what residents considered to be inappropriate development. In the 1980s, the group helped to prevent the development of Runyon Canyon. The Outpost Estates development was one of the first neighborhoods in the country to offer all-underground utilities. The neighborhood is featured in Episode 14018 of ''

California's Gold ''California's Gold'' is a public television human interest program that explores the natural, cultural, and historical features of California. The series ran for 24 seasons beginning in 1991, and was produced and hosted by Huell Howser in colla ...

'' with

Huell Howser Huell Burnley Howser (October 18, 1945 – January 7, 2013) was an American television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, and voice artist, best known for hosting, producing, and writing ''California's Gold'' and his human interest sh ...

Education

Residents are zoned to three elementary schools, depending upon address: Gardner Street Elementary School, Selma Elementary School, and Valley View Elementary School. All residents are zoned to Bancroft Middle School and

Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. Histo ...

References

External links

Outpost Estates Homeowners Association website
{{Greater Hollywood Neighborhoods in Los Angeles Neighborhoods in Hollywood, Los Angeles Hollywood Hills Populated places in the Santa Monica Mountains 1924 establishments in California