Welcome to Sherman Oaks!
We hope the information on this site helps you to get acquainted quickly with our fine city.
The
community from Ventura Boulevard south falls within the 5th Council
District, represented by Jack Weiss. The commercial sector on both
sides of Ventura Boulevard is included in the 5th District. Councilman
Weiss maintains an office right here in Sherman Oaks, located at 14310
Ventura Boulevard, telephone 818-756-8083.
The
2nd Council District begins at the alley behind commercial shops on the
north side of Ventura Boulevard and goes north to Van Nuys. Council
Member Wendy Greuel serves the 2nd District. She maintains an office at
6350 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Suite 201, corner of Victory Boulevard in
North Hollywood. The telephone number there is 818-755-7676.
We
are served by the Van Nuys Division, Los Angeles Police Department and
by fire stations located on Coldwater Canyon near Ventura and on
Sepulveda near Magnolia.
Our
annual Sherman Oaks Street Fair and Carnival will take place in
October. On the designated Sunday, Ventura Blvd. will be closed to
vehicular traffic from Van Nuys Blvd. to Kester while we all party in
the street.
There is also a
Spring Festival, sponsored by The Village at Sherman Oaks, Inc. BID
(Business Improvement District). Location of the Festival is the same -
on Ventura Blvd. Like Street Fair, it is designed for family enjoyment.
Los
Angeles Unified School District has a regional office in Van Nuys
through which you can check school boundaries. Community colleges are
located in Van Nuys and in Woodland Hills with California State
University Northridge located in Northridge.
Our office is located near Ventura and Kester. Please stop by if you have any questions.
Again, we extend a hearty welcome - we're glad you are here.
About Sherman Oaks
Sherman Oaks, close to two major freeways, serves as a gateway to
the San Fernando Valley. The community is perhaps
best known as the home of the Sherman Oaks Galleria,
considered by many to be the undisputed residence of the Valley Girl, a cultural label popularized by the song
and 1983 movie of the same name. Two large shopping malls in the area, numerous smaller boutiques and plazas line
Ventura Boulevard, providing residents and visitors with endless window-shopping opportunities.
Summer concerts at the Sherman Oaks Galleria.
Many members of the financial industry, including banks and brokerage houses,
are located in the area. And Sunkist Growers, one of the country's oldest and largest agricultural cooperatives,
has been rooted in Sherman Oaks for almost 30 years.
This community was one of the hardest hit by the
1994 Northridge earthquake and has had to put itself back together. As the last of the major earthquake repair projects
nears completion, Sherman Oaks now turns its attention to improving what has always been its "Main Street" --
Ventura Boulevard.
Recreation and Parks Department
One of the amenities of life in Sherman Oaks is the Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks War Memorial Park located at 14201 Huston Street, Sherman Oaks. Grounds can be accessed from Van Nuys Boulevard and from Hazeltine Avenue. The ball fields accessed from Magnolia Boulevard are also within the boundaries of this large facility. Huston Street is just north of the Ventura Freeway.
The park is operated by the Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks and offers a great variety of activities year-round for pre-school age children to retired adults. One building on the west side of the property is devoted to activities for senior citizens.
For program details, please call the park office at 818-783-5121. Be sure to let it ring as staff may be outside directing activities.
Sherman Oaks Boundaries
Our southern boundary has always been Mulholland Drive. The western boundary is Firmament as it crosses Ventura Blvd. The current northern boundary is Burbank Blvd. and the eastern boundary is Coldwater Canyon Ave. from Burbank south to Magnolia where it jogs west so as to reach Fulton Ave. at Ventura Blvd. The line then follows Longridge south to Mulholland.
Caution: The area between Magnolia and Burbank Boulevards was approved by a Los Angeles City Council Member, but was not approved by the U.S. Post Office, so it is necessary to use a Van Nuys area zip code - probably either 91401 or 91411. We suggest that you check with the Post Office.
There is a small area near Coldwater and Riverside, which may be called Sherman Village because it was left off of other maps.
Why do we have this confusion? Almost all of the San Fernando Valley is actually City of Los Angeles. However, real estate companies and dissatisfied citizens decided that a name makes a difference during the late 1980s and early 1990s. They began circulating petitions in order to upgrade a neighborhood. Wishing to help their constituents, members of the city council said okay, and the community had a new name! Property Deeds were not changed, tax bills, council districts and city service districts weren't changed. But many people have felt better about themselves and their neighborhood.
Realtors probably need to be careful to explain the situation to their clients to avoid liability. The full city council did not vote on the changes, they were informal agreements between the petitioners and the sitting council member.
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A Quick Guide to Sherman Oaks:
Sherman Oaks Galleria as it appears today.
Did you know?
- Sherman Oaks is home to Fire Station #88, the first Urban Search & Rescue Task Force to respond following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York?
- Marilyn Monroe's first home as 16-year-old newlywed was on Vista del Monte in Sherman Oaks?
- The famous musician Liberace lived on Valley Vista Boulevard in Sherman Oaks and had a piano-shaped pool complete with black keys?
- The term "Valley Girls" was popularized by musician Frank Zappa and his daughter, Moon Unit, and was inspired by Moon's dinner table mocking of schoolmates' syntax and incessant shopping at the Sherman Oaks Galleria?
A Brief Look Back:
Sherman Oaks was one of the first Valley communities to experience intensive real estate development.
Anticipating the development of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, Los Angeles Suburban Homes Co.
purchased 47,500 acres of the southeast Valley in 1910. In 1911, a subdivision map called Tract
1000 was filed with the county. From that parcel, one of the partners in the company, Gen. Moses
Hazeltine Sherman, bought 1,000 acres for himself.
In 1927, Sherman subdivided the property and sold the land for $780 an acre. Over the years, many
celebrities have lived in Sherman Oaks, including Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Lou Costello, Marsha
Hunt, Burt Kennedy and Hector Elizondo.
Historic photos:
Photos of Sherman Oaks from Cal State Northridge's Digital Library
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