Westdale is a neighborhood in the Westside region 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' ...

, California. It is represented by and has representatives on the

Mar Vista Community Council The Mar Vista Community Council is a city-sanctioned neighborhood council of the City of Los Angeles serving six districts or "zones," collectively referred to as Mar Vista. It is in the Westside region of Los Angeles. Geography The Community Coun ...

Geography

Westdale is roughly bounded on the north by Gateway Boulevard, on the south by Palms Boulevard, on the east by Sawtelle Boulevard and the west by Bundy Drive.Molly Selvin
Facades May Change but Sense of Place Remains the Same
''The Los Angeles Times'', October 11, 1997

History

Originally known as Stephen's Ranch, with

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

orchards and bean fields, Westdale was developed in 1947 by real estate developer

Paul Trousdale Paul Whitney Trousdale Jr. (1915 – April 9, 1990) was an American real estate developer. He is best known for developing the Trousdale Estates in Beverly Hills, California. He built over 25,000 homes in Southern California. Early life Paul Whi ...

(1915-1990). He hired architect

Allen Siple Allen Siple (1900–1973) was an American architect, working in Southern California from the 1930s to 1960s. Early life Allen George Siple was born on July 9, 1900 in Otsego, Michigan.Alan Hess, ''Forgotten modern: California houses 1940-1970', L ...

(1900-1973) to design the homes. He worked with Siple on two other new neighborhoods he developed, the earlier 1940s Tahquitz River Estates in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

, and the later 1950s

Trousdale Estates Trousdale Estates is a neighborhood of Beverly Hills, California, located in the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains. It was developed in the 1950s and 1960s and is named after Paul Trousdale, a real estate developer. , the average sale price ...

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 ...

.Alan Hess, ''Forgotten modern: California houses 1940-1970', Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 2007, pp. 262-26

/ref> Trousdale built 450 single-story Tract housing, tract homes in the original development.Philipp Gollner
Tiny Community of Westdale Marks 40 Years as Oasis of Small-Town Life
''The Los Angeles Times'', November 22, 1987Helene Lesel
Small-town living on the Westside
''The Los Angeles Times'', September 26, 2004Philipp Gollner
Birthday for Community of Westdale : Oasis of Small-Town Life Celebrates 40 Years
''The Los Angeles Times'', November 26, 1987Molly Selvin
Facades May Change but Sense of Place Remains the Same
''The Los Angeles Times'', October 11, 1997 Early residents were soldiers back from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

using the

GI Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

, who moved to

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 ...

after serving in the

Pacific Theater 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 ...

. Over time, two additional tracts were added to Westdale.

Present day

There are now 900 homes in Westdale. Most were built in the 1940s, and many gardens have old citrus trees dating back to the original orchard. The architecture styles include Ranch-style,

American Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

, Monterey Colonial Revival, and Regency Revival. The Westdale Homeowners' Association publishes a quarterly newsletter, ''The Westdale Villager''.Jennifer W. Linden
Houses Change but Neighbors Don't : Westdale: Remodeling and renovation is widespread in this community that has 3,500 homeowners and 500 are original owners.
''The Los Angeles Times'', June 17, 1990

References

{{coord missing, Los Angeles County, California Neighborhoods in Los Angeles Mar Vista, Los Angeles Westside (Los Angeles County)