Los Feliz

Los Feliz is a large, bohemian community in Los Angeles, just south of the Santa Monica Mountains. It’s considered bohemian because, unlike many area of Los Angeles, it’s a community where many of the landmarks, shopping areas and restaurants are within walking distance and offers a great variety of styles fairly close to each other.

Los Feliz is named for the Feliz family, whose original owner, Corporal Jose Feliz, was granted the land by the Mexican government. The land was originally known as Rancho Los Feliz. It wasn’t until the lands last true owner, Colonel Griffith J. Griffith, who wasn’t really a colonel but had it as his nickname, donated the land to the city of Los Angeles that it began to shape itself into what it’s become now. At the time, it was one of the largest park areas in the city.

Three of the major landmarks in Los Feliz are contained within the fourth. Griffith Park was a condition of Mr. Griffith leaving the land to the city as, in his own words he said “It must be made a place of recreation and rest for the masses, a resort for the rank and file, for the plain people. I consider it my obligation to make Los Angeles a happier, cleaner, and finer city. I wish to pay my debt of duty in this way to the community in which I have prospered.”

One of those landmarks is the Greek Amphitheater, which was built as designed by Griffith, and has 5,874 seats. It is a venue for all types of concerts and some theater productions, and has won multiple awards.

Another landmark is the the Griffith Observatory and Planetarium, which opened in 1935. It offers a view of downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. It offers space and science-related displays, has a 290 seat planetarium, and has lots of underground shops, restaurants, and exhibits including the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater, and the Café at the End of the Universe, which is run by Wolfgang Puck. The observatory has been used in many movies also, including The Terminator, Dragnet, and the first Transformers movie.

The third landmark is The Los Angeles Zoo, which is home to more than 1,100 animals from around the world, including the Komodo Dragon Exhibit, The Children’s Sea Life Cliffs, and the Campo Gorilla Reserve. It also runs the breeding program of the formerly almost extinct California Condor.

Los Feliz is, and has been, home to many celebrities also, including Stevie Wonder, Kirstie Alley, Geena Davis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christina Ricci, Cecil B. DeMille, Al Jolson, Slash, Gwen Stefani and Natasha Bedingfield. The community itself agrees with the eclectic types of celebrities that live in the area, as you might find an old bebop style of restaurant and café next to a French restaurant, upscale dress makers next to health clubs, along with so many other combinations of establishments, all within relative walking distance of each other.

When it comes to housing, you could end up paying as much as $15 million for a large mansion, or around $225,000 for a neighborhood house. The median home price is around $767,000, and leasing will probably cost you between $1,500 to $4,000 a month.