Woodland Hills is a community located in the southwestern area of the San Fernando Valley, northeast of Calabasas and west of Tarzana. To the north Woodland Hills is bordered by West Hills, Canoga Park, and Winnetka. Running east-west through the community is U.S. Highway 101 (Ventura Freeway) and Ventura Boulevard, which starts in Woodland Hills.
Victor Girard Kleinberger (later known as simply Victor Girard) bought 2,886 acres in the area and founded Girard in 1922. He sought to attract residents and businesses by developing the land, advertising in newspapers, and planting 120,000 trees. Although much of his development provided a dubious facade of economic activity in Girard, the Girard Golf Course completed in 1925 continues to operate today as the Woodland Hills Country Club, and his scheme was successful in attracting interest in the community.
The town suffered through the Great Depression yet survived. In 1941, the community was renamed Woodland Hills, an appropriate name owing to all the trees that Girard had planted years earlier. Harry Warner came along in the 1940s and bought 1,100 acres in the area for a horse ranch. The modern Warner Center commercial zone is named for Harry and features several high-rise buildings, hotels, and shopping centers in Woodland Hills.
Some popular residential areas of Woodland Hills include Walnut Acres, Carlton Terrace, Woodcrest, Woodland West, Artist Colony, Vista de Oro, Valley Circle Estates, and the gated community of Westchester County.
Woodland Hills Links
