Tarzana Real Estate - Tarzana Homes - Tarzana Properties
The community of Tarzana, Calif., is one of the oldest communities in the San Fernando Valley. Situated on the western side of the Valley, it was originally discovered in 1769 when Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola made it the second community he passed through. Soon after, the Franciscan Friars founded the San Fernando Mission, and what is now Tarzana became a part of the mission lands and later part of the 116,000-acre Rancho Mission San Fernando. The El Camino Real (The King's Highway), the path Spanish settlers forged in California, cuts through the heart of Tarzana and is now more commonly known as Ventura Boulevard.
In the 1870s, the southern portion of the Valley was sold to the Los Angeles Farm Homestead Association, whose main stockholders included Isaac Lankershim and I.N. Van Nuys. During the 1880s, the new Los Angeles Farm and Milling Company succeeded the Homestead Association and Tarzana, along with the rest of the Valley, became a huge wheat field. In 1909, the Farm and Milling Company sold out to the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company, which paved the way for the Tarzana we see today.
In 1911, Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, publisher of the Los Angeles Times, purchased 550 acres of what is now the heart of Tarzana. In 1915, the Owens River Aqueduct provided the Valley with water and the City of Los Angeles annexed the Valley, which would soon see an enormous period of growth.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, a prominent author best known for his "Tarzan" novels, purchased the property from Otis in 1919. Burroughs built his home on the property and named it Tarzana Ranch.
In 1922, Charles L. Daniels purchased a 320-acre tract of land bordering Tarzana Ranch on Reseda Boulevard between the Southern Pacific railroad tracks and Ventura Boulevard. There he founded a town called Runnymede. By 1928, the town encompassed 10 square miles, including Tarzana Ranch.
Burroughs subdivided a portion of his land for homes in 1923, called the Tarzana Tract. A promotional brochure for the Tarzana Tract read:
"Chosen by Edgar Rice Burroughs, author of the 'Tarzan Stories' and 'The Girl From Hollywood,' Tarzana is the pride of the beautiful San Fernando Valley. Tarzana will enjoy everything that makes for ideal home life. High elevation, water, gas, electricity, paved streets, etc3; Tarzana offers you homey, spacious acres, with cool, livable surroundings. Here amidst nature's own, on a subdivision in which the price includes all improvements, with convenient schools, churches and theatres, is the place to live. Do you know that you can buy one of the full acres for $1500, the price of a city lot in the poor district? Why hesitate? Come into the open and see Tarzana."
The Runnymede Poultry and Berry Association, a forerunner of the Tarzana Chamber of Commerce, was also formed in 1923.
In 1927, residents petitioned for their own post office. At this time, it became necessary to select a new name for the community, since there was already a Runnymede in California. A contest was held and the name Tarzana was selected as the winner. On December 12, 1930, the Tarzana Post Office opened a store on Ventura Boulevard. At the time, Tarzana boasted a population of approximately 300.
During the 1930s, Tarzana was known as the "Heart of Ventura Boulevard," and boasted a drug store, a grocery and a few other small stores grouped together at the intersection of Ventura and Reseda Boulevards
Tarzana grew slowly during the late 1930s and early 1940s, but a postwar boom brought prosperity to the town. Different subdivisions soon appeared in the hills and in the rest of the Valley, becoming one of Los Angeles´"bedroom communities."
Today, Tarzana has a population of more than 27,000 residents living in "The Home of Tarzan." A wide variety of businesses and services have replaced the few small shops. Instead of farms, modern Tarzana consists of mainly single-family homes mingled with a few apartment buildings. While the days of chicken ranches, berry farms and sprawling ranches are long gone, residents continue to enjoy the tranquil atmosphere. Tarzana boasts a park, a library, a freeway, banking facilities, ice skating and bowling centers, medical buildings and country clubs.