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Laurel Canyon Boulevard is a major street in the city ofLos Angeles. It starts off at Polk Street inSylmar in the northernSan Fernando Valley near the junction of theSan Diego (Interstate 405) and theGolden State (I-5)) freeways. Laurel Canyon Boulevard bypasses thecity of San Fernando to the west, running parallel to I-5 in the vicinity ofPacoima andArleta. The portion throughSun Valley passes throughrock quarries and a great deal of open space.
From the intersection with Webb Avenue, Laurel Canyon Boulevard heads south, traversingNorth Hollywood and following theHollywood Freeway. Laurel Canyon Boulevard passes throughValley Village, one mile (1.6 km) west of theHollywood Split. While in Valley Village, Laurel Canyon Boulevard crosses theLaurel Canyon G Line station at its intersection with Chandler Boulevard.
South ofVentura Boulevard inStudio City, Laurel Canyon Boulevard ascends theSanta Monica Mountains, where it maintains a width of four lanes until the intersection ofMulholland Drive. The road climbs up Lookout Mountain before descending intoWest Hollywood, crossingHollywood Boulevard. Laurel Canyon Boulevard’s southern terminus is at its intersection withSunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights Boulevard.
During rush hour, both Laurel Canyon Boulevard andColdwater Canyon Avenue to the west are popular alternate routes to theHollywood Freeway.
The Laurel Canyon Freeway was to have been a north-southfreeway inCentral Los Angeles. It derived its name from Laurel Canyon, the proposed route by which the freeway would traverse theSanta Monica Mountains.
The freeway would have traversed between theHollywood Split in theSan Fernando Valley andInterstate 405 nearLos Angeles International Airport inwest Los Angeles, traversingLaurel Canyon and crossingcentral Los Angeles andInterstate 10 to do so. The proposed route was along the current routing of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, but local opposition from theLaurel Canyon neighborhood doomed the project.[1] The only portion of the freeway built was a small section ofLa Cienega Boulevard through theBaldwin Hills district of southwestern Los Angeles.[2]
Laurel Canyon itself found counterculture fame in the 1960s as home to many of L.A.'s top rock musicians, such asFrank Zappa. The bohemian spirit endures; every year, residents gather for a group photograph at the country market. Laurel Canyon Boulevard was also immortalized byThe Doors in their 1968 song "Love Street."
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In 1919Harry Houdini rented the cottage[A] at 2435 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, while making movies forLasky Pictures. His wife occupied it for a time after his death. As of 2011 that site was a vacant lot.[9] The main mansion building itself was rebuilt after it was destroyed in the 1959 Laurel Canyon fire,[10] and is now a historic venue.[11] While Houdini did not likely live at the "mansion," there is some probability that his widow did.[12]
