Hancock Park, Los Angeles

History

Hancock Park was developed in the 1920s by the Hancock family with profits earned from oil drilling in the former Rancho La Brea. The area owes its name to developer-philanthropist George Allan Hancock, who subdivided the property in the 1920s. Hancock, born and raised in a home at what is now the La Brea tar pits, inherited 4,400 acres (18 km²), which his father, Major Henry Hancock had acquired from the Rancho La Brea property owned by the family of Jose Jorge Rocha.

Hancock Park activists were also instrumental in the passage of a 1986 Congressional ban on tunneling through the neighborhood. The ban, sponsored by Congressman Henry Waxman, prevented the Red Line Subway from being routed along Wilshire Boulevard through the neighborhood.

Description

According to the Mapping L.A. project of the Los Angeles Times, Hancock Park is flanked by Hollywood to the north, Larchmont and Windsor Square to the east, Koreatown to the southeast, Mid-Wilshire to the south and southwest and Fairfax to the west. Street boundaries are Melrose Avenue on the north, Arden Boulevard on the east, Wilshire Boulevard on the south and La Brea Avenue on the west. The neighborhood surrounds the grounds of the Wilshire Country Club.

Today, the Hancock Park Homeowners Assn. counts about 1,200 homes within the boundaries of Melrose Avenue, Wilshire Boulevard and both sides of Highland and Rossmore avenues.

The Hancock Park Homeowners Association defines Melrose Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard as two of the boundary streets of Hancock Park. The houses on both sides of Highland Avenue and Rossmore Avenue, the other boundary streets, are defined as a part of Hancock Park. The homeowners association counted 1,200 houses within Hancock Park.

Population

The 2000 U.S. census counted 9,804 residents in the 1.59-square-mile neighborhood—an average of 6,459 people per square mile, including the expanse of the Wilshire Country Club. That figure gave Hancock Park one of the lowest densities in Los Angeles. In 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 10,671. The median age for residents was 37, considered old when compared with the city as a whole; the percentages of residents aged 35 and above were among the county's highest.

Hancock Park was moderately diverse ethnically. The breakdown was whites, 70.7%; Asians, 13.1%; Latinos, 8.5%; blacks, 3.8%, and others, 3.9%. Korea and the Philippines were the most common places of birth for the 26.3% of the residents who were born abroad, a figure that was considered low compared to rest of the city.

The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $85,277, a relatively high figure for Los Angeles, and a high percentage of households earned $125,000 or more. The average household size of 2.1 people was low for the city of Los Angeles. Renters occupied 52.7% of the housing units, and house- or apartment owners 47.3%.

The percentages of never-married men and women, 41.3% and 34.4%, respectively, were among the county's highest. The 2000 census found 203 families headed by single parents, a low rate for both the city and he county. The percentage of military veterans who served during World War II or Korea was among the county's highest.

Orthodox Jews

Hancock Park has a population of Orthodox Jews. Teresa Watanabe of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "Although there are no clear figures on the Orthodox community's size in Hancock Park, estimates have ranged from 20% by the Jewish Journal to 50% by some real estate agents." Hancock Park is home to nearly all subsections of Orthodox Judaism; of particular note is the large population of Chasidic Jews. The Chasidic Jewish population is growing at a phenomenal rate due to high birth rates within the community.

Orthodox Jews are required to be in walking distance to their synagogues, and Hancock Park is in walking distance to the La Brea Avenue-area synagogues. Watanabe stated some Orthodox families cited the large size of houses as a reason for moving there, others cited a higher housing value compared to Beverly Hills, and other cited a proximity to the Yavneh Hebrew Academy. As of 2007 there are six Jews on the board of directors of the Hancock Park Homeowners Association. As of 2007 the number of Orthodox Jews in Hancock Park is increasing. As of that year there had been disputes between Orthodox Jews and their neighbors.

Education

Hancock Park residents were considered highly educated, 56.2% of those aged 25 and older having earned a four-year degree. The percentage of residents with a master's degree was high for the county.

The schools operating within the Hancock Park borders are:

Residences of consuls general

Multiple residences of consuls general are within Hancock Park.

Since 1957, the residence of the Los Angeles British Consuls-General has been in a home designed by the renowned architect Wallace Neff and completed in 1928. The residence is at the Hancock Park address of 450 S. June St., Los Angeles, CA 90004, and backs the Wilshire Country Club. The residence was where Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge stayed in July 2011 on their first visit to the United States after their wedding.

Nat King Cole

In August 1948, singer Nat King Cole purchased a house from Col. Harry Gantz, the former husband of silent film actress Lois Weber, in the all-white Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Ku Klux Klan, still active in Los Angeles well into the 1950s, responded by placing a burning cross on his front lawn. Members of the property-owners association told Cole they did not want any undesirables moving into the neighborhood. Cole famously retorted, "Neither do I. And if I see anybody undesirable coming in here, I'll be the first to complain."

Notable people