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Lankershim Boulevard is a major north-south thoroughfare in the eastern San Fernando Valley, primarily within the City of Los Angeles, in Los Angeles County, California.
Contents
Map of Lankershim Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Geography
Lankershim Boulevard starts off at San Fernando Road in the Sun Valley portion of the San Fernando Valley. In addition to Sun Valley, it runs through North Hollywood and Universal City. It runs for about 7.3 miles (11.8 kilometers) before ending directly south of Ventura Boulevard. It crosses intersection with Interstate 5, State Route 134, and US Route 101. From a 5-way intersection at Victory Boulevard it runs diagonally to the southeast, creating 6-way intersections at the crossings of Burbank Boulevard and Tujunga Avenue, as well as Vineland Avenue and Camarillo Street.
At its busy southern end, Lankershim crosses the Los Angeles River as it briefly merges with Cahuenga Boulevard before passing the historic Campo de Cahuenga and the Universal City/Studio City Metro Station, then crossing the Hollywood Freeway and Ventura Boulevard, all within the space of about 0.5 miles (0.80 km).
Transportation
Metro Local line 224 serves Lankershim Boulevard. It is also briefly served by Metro Local lines 154, 162, and 353.
It passes two Metro Rail stations, North Hollywood and Universal City/Studio City. Both of which are served by the Red Line, and the North Hollywood Station is also served by the Orange Line.
History
Named for one of the area's founding families, Lankershim Blvd. is one of the oldest streets in the area surrounding what is now the neighborhood of North Hollywood. It was a major thoroughfare for the town of Toluca (which was itself renamed "Lankershim" in 1896), connecting it to Los Angeles by way of the Cahuenga Pass. In the center of Toluca it crossed the Southern Pacific Railroad, with a depot near the current location of the North Hollywood Metro Station at Chandler Boulevard. The foundations of the original Campo de Cahuenga adobe were unearthed beneath Lankershim Boulevard during construction of the Metro Red Line subway. The parts of the foundations within the park are preserved as an exhibit, and the "footprint" of the foundations under the street and sidewalk is marked by decorative pavement.
In 2015 Lankershim Boulevard, along with Ventura Boulevard, was the site of CicLAvia, an event sponsored by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority in which major roads are temporarily closed to motorized vehicle traffic and used for recreational human-powered transport.