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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NEIGHBORHOOD PAGES
Click on the cities and neighborhoods below for descriptions of life in these Los Angeles areas.
The city's original residents were Tonva Indians, a large tribe that lived in many areas of the Southland and were renamed Gabrielinos by the Spanish, after the San Gabriel Mission. Their Arcadia settlement, called Aleupkigna, occupied an area that became part of the Rancho Santa Anita land grant. Eventually the ranch was divided and sold to several owners before Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin, one of the city's most colorful characters, bought 8,000 acres for $200,000 in 1875. A bold real-estate speculator and notorious womanizer, Baldwin became the city's first mayor and oversaw the town's initial subdivision and development, including an early version of the Santa Anita racetrack.
When, in 1934, Santa Anita officially opened, it became the largest tourist attraction in the San Gabriel Valley. One of the track's claims to fame is that the superstar horse Seabiscuit raced there in the late '30s, and the movie "Seabiscuit" was filmed at the track in 2002.
Although there isn't a lot of industry locally, there are many small, service-oriented businesses in Arcadia and a rejuvenating downtown area along 1st Street. The Westfield Santa Anita mall provides acres of shopping. Many residents commute to downtown Los Angeles or other urban centers east of Los Angeles, including Pasadena.The city has a large population, about 60%, of Asian immigrants and second-generation Asian families, who moved to the area in the last 30 years. Many cite the city's highly rated school system as a draw.
The schools and high quality of life in the city have driven up housing prices over the last few years. The median price for a single-family home went from $398,000 in 2002 to $737,000 in March 2007, according to DataQuick Information Systems.
Some of the city's most desirable neighborhoods include Whispering Pine Estates, a guard-gated community in the hilly north Arcadia area. Many of the homes are roomy, new estates (from 2,800 to 10,000 square feet) with stunning views that sell in the $4-million to $6-million range. Upper Rancho is a picturesque neighborhood, developed in the postwar boom of the '40s and '50s. Lots there are large -- 20,000 to 45,000 square feet -- and flat, and most of the homes are ranch-style and sell for about $1.4 million to $3 million.
Areas such as Highland Oaks and Baldwin Stocker are older postwar neighborhoods known for their schools. Lots are smaller, from about 7,000 to 12,000 square feet, and traditional-style ranch homes sell for about $500,000 to $700,000. Homes not located in the Highland Oaks or Baldwin Stocker school areas sell for an average of 10% to 15% less.
There are several pockets of condominiums, which sell from about $300,000 for starter homes to $800,000 at the high end.
