Hancock Park

For many, Hancock Park is a very influential and historic residential neighborhood within the central area of Los Angeles, California. It is actually built around the grounds of a private golf club. Hancock Park was developed during the 1920s and the neighborhood actually has very architecturally distinctive residences.

This is a low density neighborhood with a population of over 10,000 people while 70% of them are highly educated, white, older aged population. Most of the residents are actually home owners, and there are 2 public school and 4 private schools located in the area.

As stated before, Hancock Park was developed within the 1920s and it was developed by the Hancock family who had profits from oil drilling in Rancho La Brea. The area was named after the developer and philanthropist George A. Hancock, who would subdivide the property. Hancock was raised within the La Brea Tar Pits. He inherited 4400 acres, which was acquired by Major Hancock, his father from the family of Jose Jorge Rocha.

The activists in Hancock Park were also very instrumental in the passing of the 1986 congressional ban for tunneling through Hancock Park. The pan which was sponsored by Henry Waxman who was a congressman. They stopped the Red Line Subway from being built along Wilshire Blvd and through their whole neighborhood.

According to the project of Mapping LA for the Los Angeles Times, it is interesting to know that Hancock Park is surrounded by Koreatown, Mid-Wilshire, Fairfax, Windsor Square, Larchmont and Hollywood. The street boundaries are Melrose Ave, Arden Blvd, Wilshire Blvd, and La Brea Ave. The whole neighborhood surrounds the grounds of the Wilshire Country Club.

Now, Hancock Park Home Owners Association states that Melrose Ave, and Wilshire Blvd are the two boundary streets for Hancock Park. The houses that are on both Rossmore Ave and Highland Ave which are also considered boundary streets. According to the Home Owners Association, there are over 1200 homes in Hancock Park alone.

Starting in 1957, the residence of Los Angeles British Consuls-General resides in Hancock Park and was designed by Wallace Neff and completed in 1928. The address is located on the back side of Wilshire Country Club on June Street. The residence is where Prince William and Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stayed during the first visit to the United States after their wedding in July of 2011.

Another interesting fact is that Nat King Cole, a singer purchased a home from Col. Harry Gantz, who was the husband of Lois Weber who was a silent film actress in 1948. This home resided in the all white area of the neighborhood. The Ku Klux Klan was very much still active in the 1950s and responded by placing and burning a cross in his front yard. Members of the home owner’s association was stated telling Cole that they didn’t want undesirables moving into their neighborhood. Cole responded by stating “neither do I. And if I see any undesirables coming in here, I will be the first to complain.”