Sawtelle Boulevard is a north/south street in the Westside region of the city of

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' ...

. For most of its length, it parallels the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405), one block to the east. The street has important

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

cultural and historical significance.

Route

Sawtelle Boulevard’s northern end is north of Dowlen Drive within the Los Angeles Veterans Administration complex (which it enters at Ohio Avenue), and its southern end is at Overland Avenue, a few blocks east of

Sepulveda Boulevard Sepulveda Boulevard is a major street and transportation corridor in the City of Los Angeles and several other cities in western Los Angeles County, California. The street parallels Interstate 405 for much of its route. Portions of Sepulveda Bou ...

. Sawtelle Boulevard is a major thoroughfare for the Sawtelle community and

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 ...

neighborhood. The portion of Sawtelle Boulevard from

Santa Monica Boulevard Santa Monica Boulevard is a major west–east thoroughfare in Los Angeles County. It runs from Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica near the Pacific Ocean to Sunset Boulevard at Sunset Junction in Los Angeles. It passes through Beverly Hills and West ...

to Olympic Boulevard is a trendy spot for the newer

community in Los Angeles,. Officially named Sawtelle Japantown, but often called simply Sawtelle or Little Osaka - not to be confused with downtown Los Angeles’ older, larger Little Tokyo, or

Japantown, San Francisco, California (also known as J-Town or historically as ''Japanese Town'', or "Nihonmachi" ("Japan town", in Japanese)) is a neighborhood in the Western Addition district of San Francisco, California. Japantown comprises about 6 city blocks and is considere ...

, Sawtelle is relatively near

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

, and

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 ...

."Sawtelle Gets Official ‘Japantown’ Designation" Rafu Shimpo, February 27, 2015
/ref> As of 2012, businesses found on this street include Japanese fast food (

curry A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...

and

ramen is a Japanese dish, Japanese noodle dish. It consists of served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese ...

), two Japanese supermarkets, upscale

sushi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...

bars, a holistic and medical office, hair salons, neighborhood Japanese grocery stores, a

Boba tea Bubble tea (also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, tapioca milk tea, boba tea, or boba; , ) is a tea-based drink that originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s. Taiwanese immigrants brought it to the United States in the 1990s, initially i ...

shop,

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

shops, Japanese artisan stores, temples, and a few historic nurseries. In recent years, the businesses have expanded to Korean and Chinese cuisines with popular restaurants including Seoul Tofu and ROC Kitchen. The neighborhood appeals to a wide demographic with cheap eat as well as upscale restaurants and a banquet center on the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Sawtelle Boulevard. One interesting site was the consulate of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, prior to relocated to Wilshire Blvd location, being next to a ramen restaurant and an esoteric Japanese magazine store. Saudi Arabia LA Consulate-General bldg

Homes south of this portion of Sawtelle Boulevard are inhabited by a large Japanese American population. Many of the homes exhibit gardens and landscapes true to Japanese tradition. After passing Olympic Boulevard, Sawtelle Boulevard continues as a four-lane boulevard running parallel to the

San Diego Freeway The San Diego Freeway is one of the named principal Southern California freeways. It consists of the following two segments: *Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United S ...

and

. After entering Culver City, Sawtelle Boulevard swerves east, crosses

and ends at Overland Avenue in Culver City.

In popular culture

* In

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

's ''

The Door into Summer ''The Door into Summer'' is a science fiction novel by American science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (October, November, December 1956, with covers and interior illustr ...

'', the main character visits a

cryogenics In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures. The 13th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration (held in Washington DC in 1971) endorsed a universal definition of “cryogenics” and “cr ...

facility located on Sawtelle Boulevard.

References

External links

{{coord missing, Los Angeles County, California Streets in Los Angeles Streets in Los Angeles County, California Culver City, California Mar Vista, Los Angeles Sawtelle, Los Angeles West Los Angeles Westside (Los Angeles County) Japanese-American culture in Los Angeles

Route

See also

In popular culture

References

External links