Tall prairie grass swaying in the wind and beds of lima beans
aren’t pictures the average student would paint of UCLA or
Westwood Village. Yet that is what today’s well-known images
of Royce Hall and Diddy Riese cookie wrappers emanate from.
Having been shaped and molded by a variety of political,
economic and social forces, both the campus and the Village started
off as the Rancho San José de Buenos Ayres, a vast tract of
land spanning over 4,400 acres where black-tail deer once
grazed.
Since then, the demographic, geographical and social landscapes
have changed, but local historians and business owners say
pioneering developers have remained integral in shaping the
Westwood students associate with today.
Often criticized as lacking an identity, today’s Westwood
is a conglomeration of establishments ranging from the imposing
Oppenheimer Towers to popular student eatery U Dog to the iconic
Fox Tower. So it can be hard to imagine that the Village was first
envisioned and guided under one defining principle: creating the
perfect college town.
“They knew that a university would bring culture and
vitality to an area that was populated by jack rabbits,” said
Steven Sann, owner of the 930 restaurant at the W Hotel in Westwood
and local historian.
The university, which was originally the Southern Branch of the
University of California, was first situated on Vermont Avenue and
began holding classes in 1919 before it grew too large and moved to
its current location in 1927.
The first to follow through on plans to develop Westwood were
Edwin and Harold Janss, two brothers who in the early 1920s bought
the land that now includes UCLA and Westwood.
The Jansses began grading streets and planning the town of
Westwood, a community that included a bowling alley and malt shop,
both of which served as escapes from the one library on the newly
constructed campus.
“They really designed a “˜town for the
gown,'” Sann said, adding that the Janss brothers
marketed the community with this slogan, which referred to a
centuries-old tradition of faculty donning gowns to class.
The brothers believed every building and store should serve the
needs and wants of the university population, Sann said, so even
the second floor of their headquarters, which today houses the
upscale restaurant Eurochow, was furnished and used as a
men’s dormitory.
One of the first businesses to come to Westwood that year was
Oakley’s, a family-owned barber shop that still operates
today under Larry Oakley.
Oakley tells the story of how his uncle Burt was cutting Harold
Janss’ hair one day in a shop on Vermont Avenue and Janss
gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“He told Burt, “˜If you come out to Westwood and open
up a barber shop, we’ll give you six months free rent.’
… We’ve been here ever since,” Oakley said.
The Village also once boasted one of the world’s only
year-round outdoor ice skating rinks, called the Tropical Ice
Gardens, complete with a Swiss chalet and bleacher seating for
10,000.
As more developers arrived in Westwood, they brought along their
own ideas, ultimately helping to change the Village into what it is
today, an amalgam of sights and experiences.
One of the major trends to hit Westwood arrived on the heels of
the 1960s, when a developer named Manuel Borenstein played a
significant role in the Village.
“By the 1970s, the Village drifted and morphed into a
regional entertainment zone for Southern California. Manny
Borenstein strongly fueled this,” Sann said.
According to longtime residents, the 1950s and ’60s
witnessed the flourishing of foreign and independent films in
Westwood.
One of the first art houses in Los Angeles was the Landmark
Regent Theater, built in 1966 on Broxton Avenue, where a French
film by director Claude Lelouch played to a full house for 96
consecutive weeks.
Soon movie theaters began to open all over Westwood, and from
1965 to 1975 the number of theaters in the Village went from three
to 18. The increase also altered the type of movies that would come
to play on the big screen.
“Back then, people would stand in line forever. When
“˜The Godfather’ played, people were waiting in line for
hours. It was the dawning of street entertainment culture. …
There became this carnival atmosphere in Westwood,” Sann
said.
The constantly evolving nature of the Village has resulted in a
variety of developers touting distinctive ideas about how to better
the area. At one time, developer Larry Taylor said he would entice
high-end stores like Gucci, Versace and Armani to the area.
“He talked big and talked about several Rodeo Drives. That
was the way he sold his concept,” said Sandy Brown, president
of the Holmby-Westwood Property Association, a group of
single-family homeowners that is heavily involved in
Westwood’s developments.
Westwood’s current situation has attracted a wealth of
developers amid talk of a dwindling economic situation.
Many say the Village is often synonymous with empty storefronts,
a dismal parking situation and an overconcentration of
pharmacies.
Today’s developers, including Jeff Katofsky, who plans to
build a multiplex behind Jerry’s Famous Deli, and Alan
Casden, who is in the process of building Palazzo Westwood, a $100
million retail and residential complex, have now congregated in the
Village and talk about a new course of action.
“Westwood has evolved over the years. It went from being a
town built around the university to an entertainment center. Now it
has no identity,” said Howard Katz, vice president of
community development for Casden Properties.
While many developers agree revitalization is necessary, Katz
said his company will focus on supporting Westwood’s
permanent living population, as opposed to transient visitors.
“If you go to Westwood for lunch, it’s busy. If you
go there for dinner, it’s busy. But if you go any other time,
you don’t see many people. You have a community that’s
not served well by Village uses,” Katz said.
Currently, the development company has begun the first stage of
excavation on its Glendon Avenue lot, which is slated to take about
four to six months. Like many other developers before them, Casden
Properties has come to Westwood with grand plans to redirect and
redefine the area.
Local business owners and residents now say the changing
dynamics of the Village have become a constant, and as much as
developers have played their part, the area has also been a product
of the times.
“More than by the individual developers, Westwood has been
a sign of the times and the economy. … In general, people
developed a more casual style and fancier stores went out of
business,” Brown said.
Yet as a result of the Village’s close proximity to UCLA,
a business’ attention to the university population may be
vital to its functioning, something Oakley can attest to.
“Over 40 percent of our customers come from UCLA proper,
and I do the entire medical staff. We’ve done the deans of
the medical school and the law schools. We know what’s going
on,” Oakley said.