Woodland Hills, CA

Woodland Hills is a wealthy enclave in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The population was estimated to be at 34,000 in 2008. The median household income was $195,000 in 2008.

The area that now comprises Woodland Hills was originally part of the Rancho San Fernando land grant given to José Sepulveda by the Spanish Crown in 1784. In 1827, Colonel James W. Fisk purchased the land and named it Woodland Park after his home country of England. In 1887, he subdivided it into lots and sold them to wealthy Angelenos including Adolph Zukor (founder of Paramount Pictures), Leland Stanford (founder of Stanford University), and Harry Chandler (owner of The Los Angeles Times).

In 1922, Dr. Homer S. Cummings and his wife acquired 1,200 acres which they developed into what is now known as Woodland Hills Village; its first houses were completed in 1923. Dr. Cummings was a pioneer in pediatric surgery who developed methods for reconstructing broken bones that are still used today; he also founded the Children's Hospital Los Angeles and served as its first president from 1928 until his death in 1951.

In 1927-1928, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., son of famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., designed Woodland Hills' original public parks: Warner Park on Topanga Canyon Boulevard between Coldwater Canyon Road and Mulholland Drive; Greenacres Park on Ventura Boulevard between Roscoe Boulevard and Vanowen Street; and Glen Ellen Park on Ventura Boulevard between Glen Ellen Drive and Mulholland Drive (now closed).

In 1942-1943, Olmsted Associates redesigned portions of all three parks using an "open space" concept pioneered by John Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservative government in Canada: all park entrances were placed off street so that cars would have to slow down before entering; trees were planted throughout instead of being concentrated around central features such as lakes or ponds; open spaces were created by removing hills or planting large expanses with grass instead of shrubs or trees; paths were widened to allow pedestrians to walk side-by-side without having to squeeze past parked cars; benches were added so that people could sit down while enjoying their surroundings; playgrounds were built for children near each park's entrance so they wouldn't have to cross busy streets on their way home from school; finally, flower beds were installed along park pathways to provide a more pleasant environment for visitors during hot summer days.[1]

Today there are ten public parks within Woodland Hills Village: Warner Park (formerly known as Central Park); Greenacres Park (formerly known as Upper Greenacres); Glen Ellen Park (formerly known as Eastwood); Topanga Canyon Boulevard Regional Preserve (formerly known as Warner Ranch Regional Preserve); Coldwater Canyon Regional Preserve at Point Mugu State Marine Conservation Area ; Vanowen Street Regional Recreation Area ; Mulholland Drive Recreation Area ; Calabasas Highlands Open Space Preserve ; Calabasas Highlands Community Center District Open Space Preserve ; Calabasas Highlands Neighborhood Services District Open Space Preserve .[2]

Woodland Hills has been ranked one of America's "most expensive ZIP codes" by Forbes magazine nine times since 2002.[3][4][5][6][7][8] [9] [10] [11]