Toluca Lake
Neighborhood of Los Angeles
Toluca Lake sign
Toluca Lake boundaries as drawn by theLos Angeles Times
Toluca Lake Location within the state of California
Coordinates:34°8′51″N118°21′5″W / 34.14750°N 118.35139°W /34.14750; -118.35139
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
City	Los Angeles andBurbank
Established	1923
Population  (2009)[1]
• Total	7,782
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP Code	91602
Area code	818

Toluca Lake is aneighborhood in the city ofLos Angeles, California, located in theSan Fernando Valley 12 miles (19 km) northwest ofdowntown. The name is also given to a privatenatural lake fed by wells and maintained by neighboring property owners. Prior to the paving of the Los Angeles River in 1938 and L.A. well extraction in the late 19th and 20th century which lowered the water table, Toluca Lake was fed by artesian springs.

The history of Toluca Lake can be traced to the days of theTongva Indians, followed bySpanish colonization andMexican independence. Toluca Lake was part of the earlyrancho system. The original Toluca Lake was divided, with the neighborhood being known as Forman Toluca Ranch. In 1923, investors bought and developed the land as "Toluca Lake Park".

The neighborhood has had notable residents. ComedianBob Hope was a longtime resident of Toluca Lake, as wereAudie Murphy andJonathan Winters. Legendary film composerErich Wolfgang Korngold lived there from 1938 to 1957, right on the lake. Famed actressBette Davis built a house there.Bing Crosby had a house later owned byAndy Griffith andJerry Van Dyke.Phil Everly,Mary Astor,Roy Disney,Amelia Earhart, andFrank Sinatra also had houses there. More recently, it has been the home of entertainers such asHilary Duff,Joseph Campanella,Steve Carell,Wayne Knight,Joe Mantegna,Andy Garcia,Richard Zanuck,Ray Romano,Rick Dees,Patricia Heaton,Melissa McCarthy,Macaulay Culkin andPeter Bogdanovich.

TheTongva people have lived in theSan Fernando Valley and theLos Angeles basin for 8,000 years.^[2] The Tongvan settlementCahuenga used the springs and marsh in the Toluca Lake locale for water, fishing, hunting, harvesting, and building supplies (tule plants).^[3]

After the Spanish conquest in the 1790s ofLas Californias, theSan Fernando Valley, including the "Toluca Lake locale", became the extended property of theMission San Fernando Rey de España. After the 1823Independence of Mexico, thesecularization of missions inAlta California included the issuing of aMexican land grant forRancho Ex-Mission San Fernando.^[4] The extreme eastern end of the lake was within the 1843Rancho Providencia grant to Vincente de la Osa.^[5] In 1862,Pío Pico sold his share of the Ex-San Fernando Mission land, the entire southern half of the Valley below Roscoe Boulevard, toIsaac Lankershim (operating as the San Fernando Farm Homestead Association) in 1869. In 1873, Isaac Lankershim's son,James Boon Lankershim, and future son-in-law,Isaac Newton Van Nuys, took over management of the property, including the lake at Toluca. During the 1880s, the San Fernando Farm Homestead Association was succeeded by the Los Angeles Farm & Milling Company.^{[citation needed]}

In 1893, a petition was filed with theU.S. Postal Service for the area's firstpost office, to be named "Toluca Post Office". General Charles Forman, a wealthy local landowner and one of the proponents of the petition, later stated that he had chosen the name "Toluca" from aPaiute word meaning "fertile" or "beautiful" valley. Though part of a larger area traditionally called "Lankershim" after a colonel of the same name—and with aSouthern Pacific Railroad train station named "Lankershim" that also opened in 1893 across from the post office—Forman called his own ranch and the surrounding land "Toluca".^[6][7]

One of the wealthiest men inNevada, Forman had made his fortune starting from nothing, first in mining, then cattle ranching, and then lumber. Falling in love with and marrying Los Angeles native Mary Agnes Gray, he soon moved to the area in the late 1880s and started the Kern River Company, a power company which delivered electricity from generators at theKern River to Los Angeles. He also bought a large parcel of rich farm land, which included much of modern-day Toluca Lake and at least the western portion of the "ancient and historical" marshy pond now called Toluca Lake.^[7] By 1923, the Forman Toluca Lake Ranch was a flourishing producer of peaches, apples, and walnuts.^[8][9]

In 1923, investors bought and developed the land as Toluca Lake Park. This initial venture failed, but a new group soon took over, renaming the firm as the Toluca Lake Company. With a "vision of creating a first 'bedroom community' for Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley", the company formally changed the name of the community to simply Toluca Lake and adopted as their logo the "swan on rippled water" image associated with the community today.^[7] The name Lankershim also was considered for the town. Colonel J. B. Lankershim established the town site of Toluca at the eastern edge of the family's vast holdings in 1888. The town name was changed from Toluca to Lankershim in 1896.^[10] By 1927, the lure of Hollywood inspired local merchants to launch a campaign to change the community's name to North Hollywood.^[11] The original town site of Toluca is now part of Toluca Lake.

The Lakeside golf course was designed in 1924 by Max Behr. This attracted actorRichard Arlen, who became one of Toluca Lake's first residents, and eventually its honorary mayor.^[6]

AviatorAmelia Earhart lived in Toluca Lake on Valley Spring Lane after marrying publishing magnateGeorge P. Putnam in 1931. The Spanish colonial-style home, which exists today, features a front-yard tree under which she signed her round-the-world flight plan. She made her home in Toluca Lake because the best aircraft were being designed and built at theLockheed plant in Burbank.^[6][12]

EntertainerBob Hope moved to Toluca Lake in the late 1930s, and lived there until his death in 2003 at the age of 100.^[13][14] In the 1938Little Rascals filmThree Men in a Tub, the kids hold a regatta on the lake, which was largely surrounded by open country at that time.^{[citation needed]} ActorsBette Davis,W. C. Fields,Dorothy Lamour,Billie Dove,Dick Powell, andBing Crosby also moved into the community.^[6] In 1943, Crosby's mansion was almost completely destroyed by fire.^[6]Frank Sinatra moved into the home featured player and screen iconMary Astor built on Toluca Lake in the 1940s.^[6] Former actor and 40thPresident of the United StatesRonald Reagan had his wedding reception with second wifeNancy Reagan at the Toluca Lake home of actor (and best man)William Holden on March 4, 1952.^[15]

Notable residents have includedSteve Carell,^[16]Miley Cyrus,^[16]Viola Davis,^[17]Kirsten Dunst,^[18]Melissa McCarthy,^[19] andOctavia Spencer.^[17] In June 2018,Ron Burkle purchased the 5.2 acre Bob Hope estate for $15 million, with the proceeds going to the Bob and Dolores Hope Foundation.^[20] In 2021,Kelly Clarkson purchased an original 1936 colonial-style mansion on a Toluca Lake property.^[21]

The Toluca Lake neighborhood is situated on 1.22 square miles^[1] of the southeasternSan Fernando Valley. TheMapping L.A. section of theLos Angeles Times website describes it as bounded on the south byUniversal City, on the west byStudio City, on the north byNorth Hollywood and on the east by the city ofBurbank.^[22]

The Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce website states that the district is not only a neighborhood in Los Angeles but that it "spills over into Burbank" and "Political entities and others, such as the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council each draw their own boundaries to suit specific needs. For example, the Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce serves the entire community in Burbank and Los Angeles, while the City of Los Angeles considers its neighborhood called Toluca Lake to be entirely within its city boundaries"^[23]

The geologic Toluca Lake is a 6-acre (2.4 ha) body of water located near the district's southeastern boundaries. The historicnatural lake was fed bysprings of upwellinggroundwater from the Los Angeles River and San Fernando Valleysubterraneanaquifers. Late 19th and 20th centuryL. A. DWP well extraction and 1930sconcrete river channelization lowered the water table, and currently community wells at the lake's edges maintain the water level.^[8] The bottom of the lake is surfaced with four inches (102 mm) ofasphalt concrete to prevent seepage.^[8] Owned by the surrounding homeowners, the lake has been maintained by the Toluca Lake Property Owners Association, anon-profit corporation established in 1934.^[8] The lake, encircled by private residences and the Lakeside Golf Club, is completely inaccessible to and hidden from the public.^[24]

The Toluca Lake neighborhood had a population of 7,782 in the 2000 census and an estimated population of 8,563 in 2008. At 6,393 people per square mile, its density was among the lowest in the city of Los Angeles. According to theLos Angeles Times, its percentage of white people, 71.9%, was high for the county; with black and Asian residents accounting for only 5.3% and 5% of the population, respectively. Principal ethnicities were Latino (14%), German (9.2%) and Irish (8.7%). Only 17.7% of its residents were foreign-born, a low figure compared to the city as a whole; of those, Mexico at 14.7% and the Philippines at 6.9% were the most common foreign places of birth.^[1]

The median household income level of its residents was $73,111 in 2008, and 48.4% of its residents 25 and older had a four-year degree, both of which were high for the city. The average household size was 1.9 people, low for both the city and the county. Of its housing units 62.2% were occupied by renters and 37.8% by owners.^[1]

Residents' median age was 37, which was old for the city of Los Angeles and old for the county. Only 9.7% of residents were headed by single parents, a low figure for both the city and the county.^[1]

Toluca Lake is represented by the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council^[26] led by Neighborhood Council President Colby Jensen,^[27] as well asAdrin Nazarian in theLos Angeles City Council andJesse Gabriel in theCalifornia State Assembly.NBC-4weathermanFritz Coleman is the honorary mayor of Toluca Lake.

In 2006, Toluca Lake homeowner groups mobilized against a proposed development in North Hollywood byNBCUniversal and Thomas Properties Group. The Metro Studio Project involves upwards of 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m²) of space and would house employees leaving NBC's Burbank facility. The project also proposesTimes Square-style supergraphics and digital illuminated billboards. It would be built partly on land for which NBCUniversal has a lease agreement from theLos Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.^[28] TheLos Angeles County Board of Supervisors has yet to act on the proposal, and Environmental Impact Reports are not finalized.^{[citation needed]}

The 2000 census found that 48.4% of Toluca Lake residents within Los Angeles had earned afour-year degree, a high figure for both the city and the county. The percentage of those residents with amaster's degree or higher was large for the county.^[1]

The Los Angeles section of Toluca Lake is a part of theLos Angeles Unified School District. The Burbank section is within theBurbank Unified School District.

Schools within Toluca Lake are:^[29]

• Toluca Lake Elementary School, LAUSD, 4840 Cahuenga Boulevard
• Toluca Crossroads School, private elementary, 4814 Cahuenga Boulevard

Toluca Lake is the setting of "The Bonnie Situation" chapter in Quentin Tarantino's filmPulp Fiction (1994).^[30]

The fictional town ofSilent Hill, central to the eponymousvideo game series, is built on the shores of a fictional body of water called Toluca Lake. It first appeared in the1999 video game of the same name.

In theNick Cave and the Bad Seeds's song "Higgs Boson Blues" (2013),Miley Cyrus is described as floating in a swimming pool in Toluca Lake.^[31]

Several episodes ofT.J. Hooker were filmed in Toluca Lake.

• History of the San Fernando Valley
• Los Angeles River

• Toluca Lake crime map and statistics

• Toluca Lake, Los Angeles
• 1923 establishments in California
• Communities in the San Fernando Valley
• Lakes of Southern California
• Neighborhoods in Los Angeles
• Populated places established in 1893

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