If someone from, say, Barcelona, or Baton Rouge, or Cleveland asks me where I live, I'll probably say Los Angeles. And indeed, I live in Los Angeles County, and just about 14 miles from the center of the City of Los Angeles - there are lots of people who live in the Los Angeles city limits who are farther from the center than that.
If you live around L.A., I might say I'm from Glendale, which is my mailing address and the city that I live in. Glendale is one of the larger cities in L.A. County, and most people around here have a vague idea where it is, although most have never had a reason to come here so they are not really sure. "Is Glendale in the valley?" they ask? Well, it sort of it... it lies right between the San Gabriel Valley and the San Fernando Valley and just above Dodger Stadium.
But the part of Glendale that I live in is about 5 miles from the part of Glendale that people know if they know Glendale. So for people who know the area, I tell them I'm just west of Montrose. Montrose is known mostly for its old-fashioned shopping district, with a few sort-of-trendy restaurants that draw people from the surrounding area.
The neighborhood I live in is just a block from the crossroads of Honolulu Ave and La Crescenta Ave, and back in the 1930's some optimistic real estate developer (is there any other kind?) decided that this land should bear the name Verdugo City. We're at the base of the Verdugo Mountains, on the old Verdugo Spanish land grant. But there never was a city here, just the quiet, pleasant, and semi-rural suburb in which I live. Nonetheless, the California Department of Transportation recognizes Verdugo City, and there's a post office and a zip code (but no houses bearing that zip code, just post office boxes).I would say that you can't find Verdugo City on a map, but of course if you type it into Google Maps it will point you right at the intersection of Honolulu and La Crescenta.
So I live in Verdugo City and I figure I'll be here for a while. It's a good place to live.
Posts
Mike: Thanks for verifying my confusion about what is and isn't in LA. Coming from the East Coast, know exactly what is LA and what isn't is a big quagmire for me.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, hope you are well.
Billy Malamon
Sorry. Made a typo. Know should be knowing.
ReplyDelete-Billy
yay, a new blog! Now I want to snake around the various towns in your area and explore.
ReplyDeleteReading your post gave me a sense of Verdugo... ok, that was bad, but someone had to say it.
ReplyDeleteOne of my goals is to give readers some sense of "This Beautiful Narcotic Place I Reside", as the band I See Hawks in L.A. calls it.
ReplyDeleteMike
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the new blog!
Clare