Sepulveda Boulevard
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Sepulveda Boulevard is a major street and transportation corridor in the
City of Los Angeles 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' ...
and several other cities in western
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. The street parallels Interstate 405 for much of its route. Portions of Sepulveda Boulevard between Manhattan Beach and
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
(LAX) are designated as part of State Route 1 (SR 1). Since 2018, there have actually been four distinct segments in Los Angeles County signed as Sepulveda Boulevard. The southernmost of the four segments is an east-west route located in the South Bay, and continues west as Camino Real in Torrance and east as Willow Street in
Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...
. The second segment runs from Manhattan Beach north to the southern border of El Segundo. The third segment runs from LAX, through the Westside regions, and over the
Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...
at the
Sepulveda Pass Sepulveda Pass (elevation ) is a low mountain pass through the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles. It is named after the Sepúlveda family of California, a prominent Californio family that owned the land where the pass lies. It connects the ...
into the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
. The northernmost section of Sepulveda Boulevard is in
Sylmar Sylmar is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley and is the northernmost neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles. Historically known for its profusion of sylvan olive orchards, Sylmar can trace its past to the 18th century and th ...
, running from Roxford Street north to
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 ...
. At one point, Sepulveda Boulevard was the longest street in the city and county of Los Angeles, with 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 ...
'' reporting in 2006 that it was around in length. The City of El Segundo has since renamed their portion of SR 1 to Pacific Coast Highway.


History

In 1769, the Spanish
Portola expedition Portola may refer to: * ''Portola'' (album), a 1998 album by Rose Melberg * Portola, California * Portola, San Francisco, California People with the surname * Gaspar de Portolá Gaspar de Portolá y Rovira (January 1, 1716 – October 10, 1 ...
, the first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north through Sepulveda pass on August 5. The party had been travelling west, intending to reach and follow the coast, but were discouraged by the steep coastal cliffs beginning at today's Pacific Palisades and decided to detour inland. They found the pass through the Santa Monica Mountains and followed it into the San Fernando Valley. The pass had originally been a faint footpath used by the native
Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...
people. Sepulveda Boulevard was named in 1925 after 19th century cattle rancher Francisco Xavier de Sepúlveda whose ranch,
Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica 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 Ai ...
, extended from the route to the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. Between the City of Hermosa Beach and Lincoln Boulevard, the road was once signed as U.S. Route 101 Alternate until being replaced by State Route 1; and between Lincoln Boulevard and San Fernando Road (formerly
US 99 U.S. Route 99 (US 99) was a main north–south United States Numbered Highway on the West Coast of the United States until 1964, running from Calexico, California, on the US–Mexico border to Blaine, Washington, on the U.S.-Canada borde ...
), the road was once signed as
State Route 7 The following highways are numbered 7. For roads numbered A7, see list of A7 roads. Route 7, or Highway 7, may refer to: International * AH7, Asian Highway 7 * European route E07 * European route E007 Afghanistan *Kunduz-Khomri Highway (A7) ...
until being replaced by Interstate 405. The part of the route that runs through the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
was a major hub of
prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
. The entertainment industry has also referenced the street. The 1931 comedy film ''
Everything's Rosie ''Everything's Rosie'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code slapstick comedy film directed by Clyde Bruckman, from a screenplay by Ralph Spence, Tim Whelan, and Al Boasberg, based on a story by Boasberg. Although the screenplay was credited as origina ...
'' has a chase scene that goes through the newly built Sepulveda Blvd tunnel. In 1946,
Jay Livingston Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison, March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a song-writing duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote music and Evans t ...
&
Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...
wrote "SEPULVEDA" in tribute to the street. "SEPULVEDA" was recorded by Alvino Rey and his Orchestra with Joanne Ryan, Capitol Records, 262 and The King's Jesters, Vogue Records, 766. Sepulveda Boulevard, along with
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 ...
, is mentioned in the title and lyrics of a novelty song ''
Pico and Sepulveda "Pico and Sepulveda" is a 1947 song by Freddy Martin and his orchestra. Composed by Eddie Maxwell (Eddie Cherkose) and Jule Styne (Ambassador Records, 1947 — b/w "She of the Coffee Brown Eyes"), it features a Latin-style beat, and Martin used th ...
'' composed by Eddie Maxwell (Eddie Cherkose) and
Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became s ...
. The song was recorded by
Freddy Martin Frederick Alfred Martin (December 9, 1906 – September 30, 1983) was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist. Early life Freddy Martin was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Raised largely in an orphanage and by various relatives, ...
and his orchestra in 1947 for a release as a
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
.


Name changes

Portions of Sepulveda Boulevard have had the name changed, especially most of those segments that were designated by state officials as part of State Route 1.
Hermosa Beach Hermosa Beach (''Hermosa'', Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 U.S. Census. The city is located in the South Bay region of th ...
historian John Hales said that the city formally adopted the name of Pacific Coast Highway in 1947 to possibly end a dispute to whether to name the route Sepulveda or Camino Real. In 2018 the city of El Segundo also decided to formally change the name to Pacific Coast Highway to better appeal to visitors as being a coastal community.


Route description

Since 2018, there are four distinct segments in Los Angeles County signed as Sepulveda Boulevard. The southernmost segment is an east-west route located in the South Bay area that continues east as Willow Street near SR 103 in
Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...
, and west as Camino Real before Torrance Boulevard in Torrance. It crosses the Harbor Freeway (I-110) in West Carson. Sepulveda Boulevard then resumes at
Artesia Boulevard Artesia Boulevard is a west-east thoroughfare in Los Angeles County and Orange County. Route description Artesia Boulevard begins at the intersection with Pacific Coast Highway. West of this point, Artesia Boulevard becomes Gould Avenue and l ...
in Manhattan Beach as a continuation of SR 1. In 2018, the city of El Segundo renamed their portion of SR 1 to Pacific Coast Highway from
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 ...
to
Imperial Highway The Imperial Highway is a west-east thoroughfare in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial in California. The main portion of the existing route begins at Vista Del Mar in Los Angeles near the Los Angeles Inter ...
where SR 1 continues again as Sepulveda Boulevard. Past Imperial Highway, it crosses the western terminus of the Century Freeway (I-105), going through the LAX Airport Tunnel to pass under its runways. The road then passes through an interchange with
Century Boulevard Century Boulevard is a major east–west thoroughfare in the southern portion of Los Angeles, California. Century Boulevard acts as a continuation of Tweedy Boulevard at Alameda Street in South Gate in its east end (Tweedy Boulevard in its ea ...
, which provides access to LAX's terminals to the west and the San Diego Freeway (I-405) to the east. At the north end of LAX, SR 1 branches to the west as Lincoln Boulevard while Sepulveda Boulevard continues north to become a primary thoroughfare through the Westside region cities and communities of Westchester,
Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...
,
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 Westwood. In Culver City, north of
Slauson Avenue Slauson Avenue is a major east–west thoroughfare traversing the central part of Los Angeles County, California. It was named for the land developer and Los Angeles Board of Education member J. S. Slauson. It passes through Culver City, Lad ...
, it merges for a few blocks with
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 ...
. From Jefferson, Sepulveda Boulevard runs parallel to I-405 as it goes through West Los Angeles and Westwood, passing the
Los Angeles National Cemetery The Los Angeles National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the Sawtelle unincorporated community of the West Los Angeles neighborhood in Los Angeles County, California. Geography The entrance to the cemetery is located at 950 Sou ...
. After going past Bel Air, it parallels the freeway up the Sepulveda Canyon. At the
Skirball Cultural Center The Skirball Cultural Center, founded in 1996, is a Jewish educational institution in Los Angeles, California. The center, named after philanthropist-couple Jack H. Skirball and Audrey Skirball-Kenis, features a museum with regularly changing e ...
, Sepulveda Boulevard then curves west away from I-405, passes through a tunnel under
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 ...
, and then follows a serpentine route down the north side of the
Sepulveda Pass Sepulveda Pass (elevation ) is a low mountain pass through the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles. It is named after the Sepúlveda family of California, a prominent Californio family that owned the land where the pass lies. It connects the ...
. It then passes under I-405 just before crossing
Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley as it was originally a part o ...
in
Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...
. Sepulveda Boulevard then runs parallel to the east of I-405, crossing the Ventura Freeway (US 101) and the Los Angeles Metro G Line rapid transit route, and through the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
communities of
Van Nuys Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, t ...
and North Hills, to its northern terminus at the Rinaldi Street interchange with I-405 in Mission Hills. The northernmost section of Sepulveda Boulevard is in
Sylmar Sylmar is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley and is the northernmost neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles. Historically known for its profusion of sylvan olive orchards, Sylmar can trace its past to the 18th century and th ...
, running from Roxford Street to
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 ...
, is primarily a
frontage road A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. A frontage road is often used to provide access to private drivew ...
along the Golden State Freeway (I-5). Prior to the construction of the 405 freeway in the 1960s, that disjunct piece and the main section of Sepulveda Boulevard were one continuous street, separated when the 405 freeway interchange with the Golden State Freeway was built atop the section between Rinaldi and Roxford Streets.


Public transportation

Public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
along Sepulveda Boulevard is provided by several different bus lines. The north-south part provides bus service in the San Fernando Valley by
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 ...
line 234, through the
Sepulveda Pass Sepulveda Pass (elevation ) is a low mountain pass through the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles. It is named after the Sepúlveda family of California, a prominent Californio family that owned the land where the pass lies. It connects the ...
by
Metro Rapid Metro Rapid is a local express bus service with bus rapid transit (BRT) characteristics in Los Angeles County, California. At its peak, Metro had dozens of Rapid routes, but , the system has been largely discontinued. Just three Metro operated Rap ...
line 761, through West Los Angeles, Culver City and LAX by Culver City Transit Line 6 and Rapid 6, and from LAX onwards by Metro Local line 232. The west-east portion of Sepulveda Boulevard provides bus service by
Torrance Transit Torrance Transit is a transit agency primarily serving the South Bay region of Los Angeles County. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . History Torrance Transit inaugurated service on January 15, 1940 using thre ...
line 7. Metro Rail has a station at Exposition Blvd on the E Line while Metro Busway has a station of the same name on the G Line. The A Line has a station in Long Beach at Long Beach Blvd within Willow Street.


Major intersections


References


External links


Illustrated tour of Sepulveda BoulevardSepulveda Blvd tunnel under Mulholland history
{{Streets in Los Angeles Streets in Los Angeles Streets in Los Angeles County, California Streets in the San Fernando Valley Los Angeles Harbor Region San Fernando Valley Santa Monica Mountains South Bay, Los Angeles Westside (Los Angeles County) California State Route 1 Red-light districts in California