Reseda | |
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Neighborhood of Los Angeles | |
Boundaries of Reseda as drawn by the Los Angeles Times |
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Location within Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley | |
Coordinates: 34°12′4″N 118°32′8″W / 34.20111°N 118.53556°W |
Reseda /rəˈsiːdə/ is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1912, and its central business district started in 1915. The neighborhood was devoted to agriculture for many years. Earthquakes struck the area in 1971 and 1994.
The neighborhood has fifteen public and five private schools. The community includes public parks, a senior center and a regional branch library. Parts of Reseda have been used in several motion picture and television productions.
The area now known as Reseda, like much of Los Angeles County, originally was inhabited by Native Americans of the Tongva tribe who lived close to what is now known as the Los Angeles River.
On land that was originally part of the San Fernando Mission, Reseda originated in 1912 as the town of Marian. It was named after Marian Otis Chandler, the daughter of the Los Angeles Times publisher, Harrison Gray Otis and wife of Harry Chandler. The name Reseda itself refers to the fragrant plant Reseda odorata (English name is mignonette) which was commonly found in gardens of the time and is native to many areas with a Mediterranean climate.
The geographic name "Reseda" was first used for a siding on a branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which ran between the cities of Burbank and Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley. In the 1920s, the name Reseda was transferred from the Southern Pacific Railroad to the Western Division of the Pacific Electric Railway "Red Cars Line", which had expedited development after the building of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Later, it was used as the name of a stop on the Pacific Electric interurban railway running along Sherman Way.