The San Fernando Valley is a large urban area of about 260 square miles North of the LA Basin. “The Valley” is home to nearly two million people and billions of dollars of economic output. If the San Fernando Valley was its own city it would be the 5th largest in the USA, ahead of Philadelphia. The San Fernando Valley encompasses almost 40 different neighborhoods among them: Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, Hidden Hills, Universal City, Arleta, Cahuenga Pass, Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Encino, Granada Hills, Kagel Canyon, La Tuna Canyon, Lake Balboa, Lakeview Terrace, Mission Hills, North Hills, North Hollywood, Noho, Northridge, Pacoima, Panorama City, Porter Ranch, Reseda, Shadow Hills, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Sun Valley, Sunland, Sylmar, Tarzana, Toluca Lake, Tujunga, Valley Glen, Valley Village, Van Nuys, Warner Center, West Hills, Winnetka and Woodland Hills. In “The Valley” possibilities are endless and there are homes to suit every price point from the very bottom to the very top.
1950's California Ranch House. Ubiquitous in the San Fernando Valley.
Multimillion dollar estate in the Studio City hills.
The San Fernando Valley’s modern history began with the creation of the Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana by the Spanish in 1797. In 1847 the treaty ending the Mexican-American War was signed in the San Fernando Valley at Campo de Cahuenga in what is today Studio City. This treaty ended fighting in the war and led to the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 in which vast Mexican land holdings including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and parts of Colorado were sold to the United States for $15,000,000.
Issac Lankershim was an early land developer who converted the southeastern part of the Valley into irrigated mini-farms circa 1888. These land plots sold quickly and the Valley became a huge citrus and peach producer into the 20th century. The farmers tried to buy water rights to the Los Angeles River which could have irrigated their lands for 100 years. They hit a snag when a restriction stated that water use of the river could only go to the City of Los Angeles. A drought hit in the early 1900s which stifled fruit production and threw farmers into money troubles. Land developers from nearby Los Angeles saw potential in this fertile area above LA through the Cahuenga Pass and moved to capitalize on the farmers' problems by buying them out of their large farm land tracts. The farmers resisted as much as they could but the developers eventually won and suburban San Fernando Valley was born. This conflict between farmers and developers was immortalized in the Classic Jack Nicholson movie Chinatown.