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{{short description|Arterial road traversing the entire length of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles}}

factoids

in Van NuysSepulveda Blvd. in Van NuysVan Nuys Blvd. in Van Nuys{{jctCANorth Hollywood, Los Angeles>N. HollywoodVineland Ave. in North Hollywood, Los AngelesW. Burbank Blvd. in Burbank, California>BurbankW. Alameda Ave. in Burbank, CaliforniaWestern Ave. in Glendale, California>Glendale|direction_b=Eaststate=CA134}} at Griffith Park}}Victory Boulevard is a major east–west arterial road that runs for {{convert|25|mi|km|}} traversing the entire length of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California.

Geography

Victory Boulevard is approximately 25 miles (40 km) long, and is notable for several reasons. Victory Boulevard is the street where one will find the West Valley's major malls at Fallbrook Center and Westfield Topanga, through the Warner Center business district, along a section of the Metro G Line and by three of its stations, past Pierce College, through the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Center with Lake Balboa, Pedlow Skate Park and golf courses, then through the communities of Van Nuys, Valley Glen and North Hollywood in the center of the valley, crossing the Tujunga Wash, and continuing past Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery with its Portal of the Folded Wing, through Burbank's entertainment district, passing the Nickelodeon studios at Olive Avenue, then veering southeast to its eastern terminus at Griffith Park near the Los Angeles Zoo and Travel Town Museum (at the intersection of Riverside Drive & Sonora Avenue).Victory Boulevard is one of three Los Angeles boulevards mentioned in Randy Newman's song "I Love L.A.".BOOK,weblink Randy Newman's American Dreams, Courrier, Kevin, 2005, ECW Press, 9781550226904, 246, en,

History

(File:Intersections in Van Nuys in 2002.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Victory Boulevard in Van Nuys, 2002)When Van Nuys was plotted in 1911, Victory Boulevard was called 7th Avenue. Around 1916, the name was changed to Leesdale Avenue when the city of Los Angeles annexed the San Fernando Valley after the Los Angeles Aqueduct was completed. In the mid-1920s, the Leesdale Improvement Association unveiled plans to expand Leesdale Avenue as an {{convert|80|ft|m|adj=on}}-wide "great east-and-west boulevard" through the Valley. At that time, the city also changed the name to Victory Boulevard, in honor of soldiers returning from World War I,BOOK, Roderick, Kevin, The San Fernando Valley: America's Suburb, Los Angeles Times Books, 2001, 188379255X, and paved the boulevard as far west as Balboa Boulevard where it ended. Victory Boulevard did not extend to the West Valley until the 1950s.WEB, The Valley Observed: How Leesdale became Victory Boulevard,weblink 2015-04-01,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20121110043238weblink">weblink 2012-11-10, dead, WEB, How Leesdale became Victory Blvd.,weblink The Valley Observed - archived, 1 April 2015, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20121110043238weblink">weblink November 10, 2012,

Transportation

The Metro Local Lines 96 and 164 runs along Victory Boulevard.

Communities (west to east)

• West Hills – It is west of Shoup Avenue to the Victory Trailhead entrance of Ahmanson Ranch Park in the Simi Hills, Victory Boulevard marks the southern border of West Hills and northern border of adjacent Woodland Hills.
• Woodland Hills – It is between the western city limits, and Corbin Avenue on the east, Victory Boulevard marks the northern border of Woodland Hills, with West Hills, Canoga Park, and Winnetka to the north.
• Canoga Park – Victory Boulevard marks the southern border of Canoga Park between Shoup, and DeSoto, with Woodland Hills to the south
• Winnetka – DeSoto Avenue is the western boundary, Corbin Avenue is the eastern boundary, with the Los Angeles River and Woodland Hills to the south.
• Reseda – Victory Boulevard marks the southern border of Reseda between Corbin Avenue and White Oak Avenue, with Tarzana to the south..
• Tarzana – Victory Boulevard marks the northern border of Tarzana between Corbin Avenue (west) and Lindley Avenue (east)WEB,weblink Tarzana Neighborhood Council: Tarzana Boundary Map, Tarzananc.org, 13 August 2019,
• Lake Balboa – between White Oak and I-405 (the San Diego Freeway)
• Encino – Victory Boulevard marks the northern border of Encino between Lindley Avenue and White Oak
• Van Nuys – between I-405 (the San Diego Freeway) and Hazeltine Avenue
• Valley Glen – between Hazeltine Avenue and CA 170 (the Hollywood Freeway)WEB,weblink Valley Glen Map, Valleyglen.org, 13 August 2019,
• North Hollywood – between CA 170 (the Hollywood Freeway) and Clybourn Avenue
• Burbank – between Clybourn Avenue and Allen Avenue
• Glendale – between Allen Avenue and Riverside Drive/Sonora Avenue

Notable landmarks (west to east)

File:Victory Gateway at Upper Los Virgenes.JPG|thumb|right|275px|The Victory Trailhead, Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space PreserveUpper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve

• Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch)— a {{convert|3000|acre|ha|adj=on}} public nature preserve park of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, located at the western terminus of Victory Boulevard near the West Hills—Woodland Hills boundaryWEB, LA Mountains: Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch),weblink Lamountains.com,
• Fallbrook Center – {{convert|75|acre|m2|adj=on}}, {{convert|1|e6sqft|m2|adj=on}}, open-air shopping center located at Victory Boulevard and Fallbrook Avenue in West Hills.
• Westfield Topanga – opened in 1964 as Topanga Plaza, California's first enclosed shopping mall, and located on Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Victory Boulevard, Westfield Topanga was extensively renovated from 2006 to 2008 and features 230 stores.
• Los Angeles Pierce College – opened in 1947 as an agricultural college and the San Fernando Valley's first institution of higher learning, Pierce College today is a two-year public college with almost 100 disciplines and 20,000 students, located on {{convert|426|acre|ha|}} in the Chalk Hills, with 2,200 trees, thousands of rose bushes, a nature preserve, botanical garden, and a forest area boasting giant redwoods; Pierce still maintains large sections of tillable and range land and a {{convert|226|acre|ha|adj=on}} farm at the west side of campus, with an equestrian center and small herds of cattle, sheep and goatsWEB,weblink Los Angeles Pierce College, Piercecollege.edu, August 13, 2019,
• Reseda High School – a public high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District established in 1955; used as the setting for the high school in The Shield, several episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and in the feature film Grosse Pointe Blank
• Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies – located in Tarzana, SOCES is the largest magnet school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, 1780 students in grades 4–12; 1 High School API test score in LAUSDWEB,weblink Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies, soces.lausd.k12.ca.us, 17 January 2022,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070423024304weblink">weblink 23 April 2007, dead,

File:Pedlow Field Skate Park.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Pedlow Skate Park, in Encino.]]

• Birmingham High School, Lake Balboa – built in 1953 on the site of a U.S. Army hospital; from 1976 to 1979, the San Fernando Valley's first professional sports team, the Los Angeles Skyhawks of the American Soccer League, played their home games at Birmingham Stadium on Victory Boulevard.WEB,weblink 2019-08-13, In May 1967, a rock concert at the football field at Birmingham High featured Jefferson Airplane, the Doors, the Merry-Go-Round, the Peanut Butter Conspiracy, the Sunshine Company, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt BandWEB, Rock Show at Birmingham,weblink 2008-03-18,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080303075945weblink">weblink 2008-03-03, dead,
• Lake Balboa – a {{convert|27|acre|ha|adj=on}} lake south of Victory Boulevard filled with water reclaimed from the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant featuring fishing, boating, remote-control boating and jogging/walkingWEB,weblink Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, www.laparks.org, 17 January 2022,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20041213235623weblink">weblink 13 December 2004, dead,
• Valley Plaza shopping center along Victory and Laurel Canyon Boulevards, opened in 1951 and by 1956 it claimed to cover 100 acres with 1,039,000 square feet of retail space, the third-largest in the nation at that timeNEWS, Esquivel, Ralph, Survey of Sales Reveals Record by Valley Plaza,weblink Valley Times (North Hollywood, CA), May 1, 1956, NEWS, Advertisement for Valley Plaza,weblink Los Angeles Times, April 29, 1960,
• Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery, North Hollywood – cemetery founded in 1923; the Portal of the Folded Wings, a tribute to the pioneers of aviation, is on the National Register of Historic Places
• Griffith Park – located at the eastern terminus of Victory Boulevard, Griffith Park is LA's largest park covering {{convert|4210|acre|ha|}} with attractions including the Autry National Center, Greek Theatre, Griffith Observatory, L.A. Equestrian Center, Los Angeles Zoo, and Travel TownWEB, Griffith Park,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20050216065451weblink">weblink dead, 2005-02-16,

Gallery of landmarks

File:Hills at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon.JPG|Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space PreserveFile:Pierce College Center of Campus.JPG|Pierce College, Woodland HillsFile:Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies.JPG|Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched StudiesFile:Reseda High School.JPG|Reseda High SchoolFile:Los Angeles River at Victory and White Oak.JPG|Los Angeles River at Victory and White OakFile:Sepulveda Off-Leash Dog Park.JPG|Sepulveda Off-Leash Dog ParkFile:Lake Balboa.jpg|Lake BalboaFile:Tonga Hut in North Hollywood.JPG|Tonga Hut in North HollywoodFile:Tujunga Wash.JPG|Tujunga WashFile:Street Scene on Victory Blvd. in Burbank.JPG|Street Scene in BurbankFile:Nickelodeon Studios Burbank.JPG|Nickelodeon Studios, BurbankFile:Cottage Beef Bowl, Burbank.jpg|Corner Cottage Beef Bowl, Burbank

References

{{Reflist}}{{commons category}}{{attached KML|display=inline,title}}{{Streets in Los Angeles}}