Atwater Village | |
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 Aerial view of recently constructed Golden State Freeway (I-5) with Atwater Village in the background, separated by the Los Angeles River (1957) | |
 Boundaries of Atwater Village as drawn by theLos Angeles Times | |
  Atwater Village Location in Northeast Los Angeles | |
| Coordinates:34°06′59″N118°15′23″W / 34.11639°N 118.25639°W /34.11639; -118.25639 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Los Angeles |
| City | Los Angeles |
| Named after | Atwater Tract, the original railroad tract beside (or at) the water of theLos Angeles River |
| Elevation | 410 ft (120 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP Code | 90039 |
| Area codes | 213,323 |
Atwater Village is a neighborhood in the13th district ofLos Angeles, California. Much of Atwater Village lies in the fertileLos Angeles River flood plain. Located in thenortheast region of the city, Atwater Village bordersGriffith Park andSilver Lake to the west,Glendale to the north and east andGlassell Park to the south. The eastern boundary is essentially the railroad tracks (originally, the Southern Pacific). The area has three elementary schools—two public and one private. Almost half the residents were born abroad, a high percentage for the city of Los Angeles.
Much of Northeastern Los Angeles was part ofRancho San Rafael, until 1868, when parts of it were purchased by W.C.B. Richardson, who renamed it Rancho Santa Eulalia. The entire region was subdivided and sold to home builders in 1902, with the Atwater Village portion being named as such due to its proximity to the Los Angeles River. The area was initially named "Atwater," while the "Village" was added in 1986.[2]
Initial residents included the newly created middle-class workers employed at the nearbyDWP substation. The location between the Los Angeles and Glendale city cores made it a highly sought after residential neighborhood beginning in the 1920s. The majority of homes and structures in Atwater Village have never been demolished (although many have changed in use or have been renovated), resulting in the neighborhood having one of the highest number of structures built before 1939 in Los Angeles County.[3]
In recent years, the neighborhood has seen an increase ingentrification.[4]
Census tracts 1883, 1881 and 1871.01 lie wholly within Atwater Village boundaries, and a large portion of census tract 1871.02 is also within Atwater Village.[5] Here are the five-year findings as reported by American Community Survey in 2013:
Census tract 1883 had a median income of $31,111 and was 37.8% non-Hispanic white, 34.1% Hispanic, 20.2% Asian, 1.6% Pacific Islander and 1.1% black.[6] Census tract 1871.01 had a median income of $72,526 and was 42.9% non-Hispanic white, 34.4% Hispanic, 21.2% Asian and 1.4% black.[7] Census tract 1881 was 60.3% Hispanic, 23.9% non-Hispanic white, 13.2% Asian, 2% black and 1.3% American Indian or Alaska Native. Median income for this census tract was $30,996.[6] Census tract 1871.02 was 47.9% Hispanic, 27.5% non-Hispanic white, 13.9% Asian and 8.4% black, with a median income of $24,852.[6]
In 2008, the city estimated that 15,455 people lived in Atwater Village.[8]
The 2000 U.S. census counted 14,888 residents in the 1.78-square-mile Atwater Village neighborhood—or 8,379 people per square mile, an averagepopulation density for the city. The median age for residents was 34, about average for the city.[8]
The neighborhood was considered highly diverse ethnically,[9] with a high percentage of Asians. The breakdown wasLatinos, 51.3%;whites, 22.2%;Asians, 19.7%;black, 1.4%; and others, 5.4%. Mexico (27.2%) and the Philippines (20.4%) were the most common places of birth for the 49.3% of the residents who were born abroad—a high percentage, compared to the city at large.[8]
The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $53,872, an average figure for Los Angeles. The percentages of households that earned $20,000 to $60,000 yearly were high for Los Angeles County. The average household size of 2.7 people was average for Los Angeles. Renters occupied 59.6% of the housing stock, and house or apartment owners held 40.4%. The percentage of never-married women was among the county's highest.[8]
Much of Atwater lies in the oldLos Angeles Riverflood plain, which resulted in deep, fertile soil.[10]
According to theMapping L.A. project of theLos Angeles Times, Atwater Village is bordered on the north and east byGlendale, on the southeast byGlassell Park, on the south byEcho Park, on the southwest byLos Feliz andSilver Lake and on the west byGriffith Park.[11]
Street and other boundary limits are theVentura Freeway on the north,San Fernando Boulevard on the east, and theLos Angeles River on the south and west.[8]
| Climate data for Atwater Village, Los Angeles | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 68 (20) | 70 (21) | 70 (21) | 75 (24) | 76 (24) | 82 (28) | 87 (31) | 88 (31) | 86 (30) | 81 (27) | 74 (23) | 69 (21) | 77 (25) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 45 (7) | 47 (8) | 48 (9) | 51 (11) | 55 (13) | 59 (15) | 62 (17) | 63 (17) | 62 (17) | 56 (13) | 49 (9) | 45 (7) | 54 (12) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 3.74 (95) | 4.19 (106) | 3.56 (90) | 0.90 (23) | 0.34 (8.6) | 0.08 (2.0) | 0.02 (0.51) | 0.15 (3.8) | 0.35 (8.9) | 0.49 (12) | 1.26 (32) | 2.10 (53) | 17.17 (436) |
| Source:[12] | |||||||||||||
22% of Atwater Park residents aged 25 and older held a four-year degree by 2000, an average figure for both the city and the county.[8]
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The Atwater Village District is served by the Atwater Village Branch of theLos Angeles Public Library. It is located at 3379 Glendale Boulevard, east of theLos Angeles River andInterstate 5.[14]
Atwater Village is close to theInterstate 5,SR 134,SR 2 andSR 110 freeways.
It is served by severalMetro Bus lines, including the 92, 94 & 180.[15] It also is adjacent toMetrolink Glendale Station.
 | This sectionmay containirrelevant references topopular culture. Please helpimprove it by removing such content and addingcitations toreliable,independent sources.(April 2025) |
A number of film locations in Atwater Village were used forQuentin Tarantino’sPulp Fiction (1994), including the house of Lance (Eric Stoltz) and his wife, Jody (Rosanna Arquette). The intersection of Fletcher Drive and Atwater Avenue also appears briefly in a pivotal scene whereBruce Willis’s character, Butch, hits Marsellus Wallace with his car.
TheBeastie Boys recorded their albumsCheck Your Head (1992) andIll Communication (1994) at G-Son, the recording studio they established in 1991 in Atwater Village. The neighborhood also provided the backdrop for some of the group’s music videos, includingPass the Mic (1992).
Atwater Village was featured in Our Neighborhoods withHuell Howser.
The neighborhood continues to be a popular filming location. In 2020, theStreamline Moderne–style building at 2751 Fletcher Drive was used in theNetflix seriesHollywood, where it was reimagined as the “Golden Tip” gas station. In 2024, the same building appeared in HBO’sThe Sympathizer, based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel byViet Thanh Nguyen.
Atwater Village has also been used recently as a setting in HBO’s Winning Time:The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (the basketball court in North Atwater Park doubled as a Michigan location whereMagic Johnson plays a hometown rival), in the first episode of the final season of USA’s Westworld (exteriors with Aaron Paul), and in the first season of Hulu’s This Fool (exterior flashback scene). Exteriors in Atwater Village are often used as stand-ins for neighborhoods in western and northern Los Angeles.
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