 Sepulveda Boulevard sign | |
 Interactive map of Sepulveda Boulevard | |
| Part of |  SR 1 betweenManhattan Beach and north ofLAX Airport |
|---|---|
| Namesake | Sepúlveda family |
| Maintained by |
|
| Length | 42.8 mi (68.9 km)[1] (in 2006) |
| Location | Los Angeles County, California, United States |
| Nearest metro station |  : |
| South end | Willow Street inLong Beach |
| Major junctions |
|
| North end | San Fernando Road in Sylmar |
Sepulveda Boulevard is a major street and transportation corridor in theCity of Los Angeles and several other cities in westernLos Angeles County, California. The street parallelsInterstate 405 for much of its route. Portions of Sepulveda Boulevard betweenManhattan Beach andLos Angeles International Airport (LAX) are designated as part ofState Route 1 (SR 1).
Since 2018, there have been four distinct segments in Los Angeles County signed as Sepulveda Boulevard, after theCity of El Segundo officially renamed their portionPacific Coast Highway, the named designation of SR 1. The southernmost of the four segments is an east-west route located in theSouth Bay, and continues west as Camino Real inTorrance and east as Willow Street inLong Beach. The second segment runs fromManhattan Beach north to the southern border ofEl Segundo. After running through SR 1 as Pacific Coast Highway, the third segment of Sepulveda Boulevard runs from LAX, through theWestside regions, and over theSanta Monica Mountains at theSepulveda Pass into theSan Fernando Valley. The northernmost section of Sepulveda Boulevard is inSylmar, running from Roxford Street north toSan Fernando Road.
Sepulveda Boulevard was formerly the longest street in the city and county of Los Angeles, with theLos Angeles Times reporting in 2006 that it was around 42.8 miles (68.9 km) in length.[1]
In 1769, the SpanishPortola expedition, the first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north through Sepulveda pass on August 5. The party had been travelling west, intending to reach and follow the coast, but were discouraged by the steep coastal cliffs beginning at today'sPacific Palisades and decided to detour inland. They found the pass through the Santa Monica Mountains and followed it into the San Fernando Valley.[2] The pass had originally been a faint footpath used by the nativeTongva people.[3]
Sepulveda Boulevard was named in 1925 after 18th century cattle rancherFrancisco Xavier de Sepúlveda, whose ranch,Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica, extended from the route to thePacific Ocean.[1]
Between theCity of Hermosa Beach and Lincoln Boulevard, the road was once signed asU.S. Route 101 Alternate until being replaced byState Route 1,[4] and between Lincoln Boulevard and San Fernando Road (formerlyUS 99), the road was once signed asState Route 7 until being replaced byInterstate 405.[3][4]
The part of the route that runs through theSan Fernando Valley was[when?] a major hub ofprostitution.[5] The entertainment industry has also referenced the street. The 1931 comedy filmEverything's Rosie has a chase scene that goes through the newly built Sepulveda Boulevard tunnel. In 1946, theJay Livingston andRay Evans composing duo wrote the songSepulveda in tribute to the street; the song would be recorded byAlvino Rey and his Orchestra with Joanne Ryan forCapitol Records, as wouldThe King's Jesters forVogue Records.[6] Sepulveda Boulevard, along withPico Boulevard, is mentioned in the title and lyrics of a novelty songPico and Sepulveda composed by Eddie Maxwell (Eddie Cherkose) andJule Styne; this song was recorded byFreddy Martin and his Orchestra in 1947 for release as asingle.[7]
Portions of Sepulveda Boulevard have had the name changed, especially most of those segments that were designated by state officials as part of State Route 1.Hermosa Beach historian John Hales said that the city formally adopted the name of Pacific Coast Highway in 1947 to possibly end a dispute to whether to name the route Sepulveda or Camino Real.[8] In 2018, the city ofEl Segundo also decided to formally change the name to Pacific Coast Highway to better appeal to visitors as being a coastal community.[9]
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Since 2018, there are four distinct segments in Los Angeles County signed as Sepulveda Boulevard.All four once connected to each other[dubious –discuss]. The three north-south segments were once a continuous route but were separated by local renaming and freeway construction. There is no current evidence that the southernmost east-west route was once continuous with the north-south segments.
The southernmost segment is an east-west route located in theSouth Bay area that continues east as Willow Street nearSR 103 inLong Beach, and west as Camino Real before Torrance Boulevard inTorrance. It crosses theHarbor Freeway (I-110) inWest Carson.[10]
Sepulveda Boulevard then resumes atArtesia Boulevard inManhattan Beach as a continuation ofSR 1. In 2018, the city ofEl Segundo renamed their portion of SR 1 to Pacific Coast Highway fromRosecrans Avenue toImperial Highway where SR 1 continues again as Sepulveda Boulevard.[11] Past Imperial Highway, it crosses the western terminus of theCentury Freeway (I-105), going through theLAX Airport Tunnel to pass under its runways. The road then passes through an interchange withCentury Boulevard, which provides access to LAX's terminals to the west and theSan Diego Freeway (I-405) to the east.[12]
At the north end of LAX, SR 1 branches to the west asLincoln Boulevard while Sepulveda Boulevard continues north to become a primary thoroughfare through theWestside region cities and communities ofWestchester,Culver City,West Los Angeles, andWestwood. In Culver City, north ofSlauson Avenue, it merges for a few blocks withJefferson Boulevard. From Jefferson, Sepulveda Boulevard runs parallel to I-405 as it goes through West Los Angeles and Westwood, passing theLos Angeles National Cemetery.
After going pastBel Air, it parallels the freeway up the Sepulveda Canyon. At theSkirball Cultural Center, Sepulveda Boulevard then curves west away from I-405, passes through a tunnel underMulholland Drive, and then follows a serpentine route down the north side of theSepulveda Pass. It then passes under I-405 just before crossingVentura Boulevard inSherman Oaks. Sepulveda Boulevard then runs parallel to the east of I-405, crossing theVentura Freeway (US 101) and theLos Angeles Metro G Line rapid transit route, and through theSan Fernando Valley communities ofVan Nuys andNorth Hills, to its northern terminus at the Rinaldi Street interchange with I-405 inMission Hills.[13]
The northernmost section of Sepulveda Boulevard inSylmar, running from Roxford Street toSan Fernando Road,[14] is primarily afrontage road along theGolden State Freeway (I-5). Prior to the construction of the 405 freeway in the 1960s, that disjunct piece and the main section of Sepulveda Boulevard were one continuous street, separated when the 405 freeway interchange with the Golden State Freeway was built atop the section between Rinaldi and Roxford Streets and referred to as the "boulevard of death" due to having over 30 deaths in 11 years at this now demolished segment.[15]
Public transit along Sepulveda Boulevard is provided by several bus lines. The north-south part provides bus service in the San Fernando Valley byMetro Local line 234,[16] through theSepulveda Pass byMetro Rapid line 761, through West Los Angeles, Culver City and LAX byCulver City Transit Line 6 and Rapid 6,[17] and from LAX onwards by Metro Local line 232.[18] The west-east portion of Sepulveda Boulevard provides bus service byTorrance Transit line 7.[19]Metro Rail has astation at Exposition Blvd on theE Line whileMetro Busway has astation of the same name on theG Line. TheA Line has astation in Long Beach atLong Beach Blvd within Willow Street, which is a section of the same road as Sepulveda after its terminus. A large portion of the boulevard is set to be served by theSepulveda Transit Corridor which will include theSepulveda Pass.
The entire route is inLos Angeles County.
| Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beach | Willow Street | Southeast end of South Bay segment of Sepulveda Boulevard | |||||
| Carson |  SR 47 (Alameda Street) | ||||||
| Main Street | |||||||
| Figueroa Street | |||||||
| West Carson |  I-110 (Harbor Freeway) | ||||||
| Torrance | Normandie Avenue | ||||||
| Western Avenue | |||||||
| Crenshaw Boulevard | |||||||
 SR 107 (Hawthorne Boulevard) | |||||||
| Camino Real | Northwest end of South Bay segment of Sepulveda Boulevard | ||||||
| Gap in route | |||||||
| Hermosa Beach–Manhattan Beach line |  SR 1 south (Pacific Coast Highway)   Artesia Boulevard toSR 91 east | South end of second segment of Sepulveda Boulevard; south end ofSR 1 overlap; former official western end of SR 91 | |||||
| Manhattan Beach–El Segundo line | Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1 north) /Rosecrans Avenue | North end of second segment of Sepulveda Boulevard; north end of SR 1 overlap | |||||
| Gap in route | |||||||
| El Segundo–Los Angeles line | Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1 south) /Imperial Highway | South end of third segment of Sepulveda Boulevard; south end of SR 1 overlap | |||||
| Los Angeles |  I-105 | ||||||
| Century Boulevard | |||||||
 SR 1 north (Lincoln Boulevard) | North end ofSR 1 overlap | ||||||
| Manchester Boulevard | FormerSR 42 | ||||||
| Culver City |  SR 90 (Marina Freeway) | ||||||
| Washington Boulevard | |||||||
| Los Angeles | Venice Boulevard (SR 187) | ||||||
 SR 2 (Santa Monica Boulevard) | |||||||
| Wilshire Boulevard | |||||||
| Sunset Boulevard | |||||||
| Ventura Boulevard | Former Bus. US 101 | ||||||
 US 101 (Ventura Freeway) | |||||||
 SR 118 (Simi Valley Freeway) | |||||||
| San Fernando |     I-405 (San Diego Freeway) toI-5 north (Golden State Freeway) / Rinaldi Street | North end of third segment | |||||
| Gap in route | |||||||
| Los Angeles | Roxford Street | ||||||
| San Fernando Road | North end of Sepulveda Boulevard | ||||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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