Picfair Village is a neighborhood in the Central area of the city of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California.

Geography

Picfair Village's boundaries are

Pico Boulevard Pico may refer to: Places The Moon * Mons Pico, a lunar mountain in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium basin Portugal * Pico, a civil parish in the municipality of Vila Verde * Pico da Pedra, a civil parish in the municipality of Ribeir ...

on the north, Hauser Boulevard on the east,

Venice Boulevard Venice Boulevard is a major east–west thoroughfare in Los Angeles, running from the ocean in the Venice district, past the I-10 intersection, into downtown Los Angeles. It was originally known as West 16th Street under the Los Angeles numbered ...

on the south, and

Fairfax Avenue Fairfax Avenue is a street in the north central area of the city of Los Angeles, California. It runs from La Cienega Boulevard in Culver City at its southern end to Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood on its northern end. From La Cienega Boulevard (be ...

on the west. Wilshire Vista lies to the north, as does the

Miracle Mile Miracle Mile may refer to: Places in the United States * Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, a district of Los Angeles * Miracle Mile (Coral Gables), a shopping area in Coral Gables, Florida * Miracle Mile (Manhasset), New York, a premium sh ...

. Little Ethiopia lies to the northwest and Faircrest Heights is to the west.

History

Picfair Village takes its name from the Picfair movie theatre that stood at the corner of Pico and Fairfax until the early 1980s. Initially hailed as "the New Wilshire... nda delightful place for a home," what is now Picfair Village was part of the Santa Monica Land and Water Co.'s 1922 development called Pico Boulevard Heights. They offered "choice lots on Genesee Street" starting at $1,250. On Pico, a few blocks east of Fairfax, a street

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

by Los Angeles artist

Retna RETNA (born Marquis Lewis 1979) is a contemporary artist, primarily recognized for graffiti art. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and started his career in the early 1990s. He developed a distinctive constructed script which is ...

can be seen. It is noted for its portrait of a chicana with a combination of script-like symbols in the background. The area was once home to crime fiction author

Walter Mosley Walter Ellis Mosley (born January 12, 1952) is an American novelist, most widely recognized for his crime fiction. He has written a series of best-selling historical mysteries featuring the hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins, a black private inv ...

(one of his characters lived on Stanley). The neighborhood has been active since 1998 and has a Picfair Village Neighborhood Association. The neighborhood was once home to the historic Picfair Theater, which opened in 1941 but was burnt down during the 1992 LA riots. In November 2004, Picfair Village was named as one of ''Los Angeles'' magazine's "10 Most Overlooked Neighborhoods in Los Angeles." In January 2007, the ''Los Angeles Times'' said Picfair Village is "on its way to becoming L.A.'s next trendy place to live and play.""The Scout: What's New on Pico Boulevard"
''Los Angeles Times'', July 13, 2012 Picfair Village is part of the P.I.C.O. Neighborhood Council.

Neighborhood composition

The housing stock is predominantly Spanish Colonial and Art Deco one- and two-family homes (the neighborhood is zoned R-1 and R-2), with some multi-unit dwellings (mostly north of Saturn Street). The latter tend to be Mid-Century architecture. The main street of the "Village" is Pico Boulevard between Fairfax and Hauser, and is dotted to with cafes, restaurants and boutiques. The area south of Pico and north of Saturn Street has a mix of houses and two- and four-plexes. South of Pickford are mostly single family residential homes. Homes on the north/south streets tend to be full-size lots (5,000 - 6000 sq. ft.), while homes on the east/west streets tend to be bungalow (smaller) sized lots.

References

{{Wilshire Neighborhoods in Los Angeles Central Los Angeles West Los Angeles Westside (Los Angeles County)