Woodland Hills

The area was subdivided in the 1920s by developer Victor Girard as Girard, and renamed Woodland Hills in 1941 after the town failed and was re-planned. The thousands of trees Girard planted along Canoga Avenue and Ventura Boulevard still shape the look of the older streets.

Woodland Hills covers a large area. The northern section around Warner Center is flat and dense, with office towers, the Westfield Topanga mall and newer apartment and condo projects. South of the 101 the streets run through older residential tracts to Ventura Boulevard, and south of the boulevard they climb into the hills toward Mulholland Drive and Topanga.

The hills south of Ventura Boulevard are the heart of the single-family market: mid-century and contemporary homes on winding streets off Topanga Canyon, Canoga Avenue and Mulholland, many with Valley views, plus a few gated enclaves on the upper streets. Lot sizes and privacy increase with elevation and so do prices.

Between the 101 and Ventura Boulevard, and around Warner Center, the tracts are flatter and more uniform, with ranch and traditional houses from the 1950s and 1960s. Warner Center and the Ventura Boulevard corridor hold most of the condos and townhomes in the neighborhood, including the newest construction in this part of the Valley.

Los Angeles Unified School District serves the neighborhood, with elementary, middle and high schools inside Woodland Hills. Pierce College sits on the neighborhood’s north-east edge. Attendance boundaries follow streets, so check a specific address with the district.

The 101 crosses the neighborhood with exits at Topanga Canyon, De Soto, Winnetka and Canoga, and Topanga Canyon Boulevard runs south over the mountains to Malibu and the coast. Warner Center is the largest employment center in the west Valley, and the Orange Line busway ends there. The Santa Monica Mountains trails at Topanga State Park and Serrania Park are minutes from the hillside streets.