Crestview

Crestview is a friendly community outlined by the eastern boundary of La Cienega Blvd, Roberson Blvd is on the west and Pickford Street is on the north with Sawyer as the southern boundary. It is comprised of 740 homes and is ranked the 33rd most walkable neighborhood in Los Angeles, according to walkscore.com. Most of the homes in Crestview were built in the 1930’s and 1940’s by developer Elwain Steinkampand William T. Richardson. Their signature stained glass windows set them apart as traditional Spanish-Mexican style homes.

 

The area was originally serviced by the Pacific Electric Railway company back in the early part of the 19th century. The Venice Short Line was a popular train which took residents to Venice and Santa Monica from the La Cienega / Venice stop. Pacific Electric built a bridge for the train to circumvent the swampy areas during the rainy seasons, for this reason the street was named “La Cienega,” which means “the swamp” in Spanish. In September of 1950 the railway company was pushed out of business by the new invention of the bus system and Pacific Electric was forced to shut down. After 13 years of abandonment, the bridge was ultimately demolished, as new developments for the Santa Monica Freeway began. A new bridge completed construction recently which once again brings light rail to our neighborhood.