NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – For those looking for a new hotspot or just a place to chill out, the North Hollywood Arts District is a diverse array of interesting restaurants, cool boutiques, modern living, and art, a lot of art.
However, it is all of the different types of people who live here that Paul Storiale, President of the NoHo Arts District Neighborhood Council, loves about his neighborhood.
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“All the diversity is my favorite thing. There's all kinds of different people from all kinds of different places, artists, and business people. They're blue collar workers and white collar workers living here, and people from all walks of life,” said Storiale.
Unlike many drive-through areas of Los Angeles, NoHo has become a true walkable urban village.
“The NoHo Arts District has some of the most interesting and wonderful places in the entire city of L.A. there are a lot of new creative people, but also a lot of history” Storiale said as he walks along Lankershim Boulevard, saying hello to the many people he knows.
Storiale strolled along the Angels Walk NoHo, which is a self-guided walking tour that takes people past some of North Hollywood's local roots and local legacy. North Hollywood was established by the Lankershim Ranch Land and Water Company in 1887. It was first named Toluca before being renamed Lankershim in 1896.
North Hollywood became the name for this area in 1927 because of its close proximity to Hollywood, but the product that North Hollywood produced back then was not films, but fruit. In 1903 it was known as “The Home of the Peach.”
The Lankershim Train Depot was an important part of Las Angeles transportation history. It is one of the San Fernando Valley’s few 19th century landmarks. It is the valleys oldest landmarks, described as a modified railroad structure built in 1896. A nearby little park was recently renovated to its original early 1900’s style.
The Federal bar was a bank back in 1927 and the El Portal Theater has been a destination for almost a century. General Manager, Jay Erwin, gave Spectrum News 1 a tour around the art deco lobby.
“This was where people would come for a weekend in the country. If they were coming from Beverly Hills. You know they come over and take like three or four hours to get here by carriage,” said Erwin.
The theatre has weathered the Jazz Age, the Depression, four wars, and the Northridge earthquake of 1994. Now you can also see some modern artwork in the lobby area from new local artists and of course lots of live concerts and theatrical performances. The NoHo Arts District was established in 1992.
“There are more theaters within a square mile and knowhow than anywhere else west of the Mississippi”, says Storiale as he chats with some actors at one of the theaters on Magnolia Boulevard.
To ensure that people know they are in an entertainment industry hub, there is a 27-foot Emmy Award at The Television Academy headquarters. To top off the NoHo tour, people can touch a bit of old Hollywood in the TV Hall of Fame Plaza. Storiale walks past a bronze statue of Johnny Carson and slaps its hand with a high five.
To find our more about the Angels Walk NoHo visit the website here.