Sherman Oaks is an 8.1-square-mile district in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The neighborhood is roughly bounded by Studio City to the east, Van Nuys to the north, Encino to the west and the Santa Monica Mountains to the south. Sherman Oaks is situated along the Los Angeles River, Ventura Freeway, San Diego Freeway, Beverly Glen Boulevard, and Sepulveda Boulevard.
Sherman Oaks was one of the first Valley communities to experience intensive real estate development. Anticipating the development of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, Los Angeles Suburban Homes Co. purchased 47,500 acres of the southeast Valley in 1910. In 1911, a subdivision map called Tract 1000 was filed with Los Angeles County. From that parcel, one of the partners in the company, General Moses Hazeltine Sherman, bought 1,000 acres for himself. In 1927, Sherman subdivided the property and sold the land for $780 an acre.
Sherman Oaks is an affluent neighborhood, with several high-end fashion boutiques, and features many upscale houses and restaurants. One of the city's main claims to fame is the presence of the Sherman Oaks Galleria, a shopping mall identified as a meet-up place for the Valley girls, a 1980s cultural label which became widely known because of the 1983 movie Valley Girl and a song of the same name by Frank Zappa. In addition, a portion of the 1982 movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High was filmed there. After being damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the Galleria eventually was torn down and replaced by an open-air retail and office complex that bears little resemblance to the original mall.
Other local shopping options include the Westfield Fashion Square (formerly known as Sherman Oaks Fashion Square), and an assortment of boutiques and restaurants located along Ventura Boulevard. Aerobics and Fitness Association of America operates in Sherman Oaks.
Annually in October, the Chamber of Commerce produces a popular Street Fair, closing down a half-mile stretch of busy Ventura Boulevard for booths, food, and entertainment (including rides for the kids). Upwards of 100,000 visitors stop by each year.
About The Valley
The San Fernando Valley has no American counterpart. Encircled by five ranges of mountains and hills, the basin could hold all of San Francisco, Boston and Washington, D.C. combined. The population of 1.7 million is more people than live in a dozen states.
The Valley has a story all its own that dates back two centuries. Vaqueros, outlaws and battling armies are part of the lore, as are Lucy and Desi, Gable and Lombard and Marilyn Monroe. It's the birthplace of Valley Girls, the subtext for Chinatown and Boogie Nights, the home turf of Disney, ABC, Universal & Warner Bros. The Valley today is the multi-cultural melting pot for Los Angeles?and growing all the time.
