Fairfax District

The Fairfax District is roughly bordered by West Hollywood on the north, Highland Avenue on the east, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills on the west and Wilshire Boulevard on the south. The Fairfax District is sometimes confused with Park La Brea, which is a real estate development within the District, and the curious Beverly Hills Adjacent, particularly on housing rental advertisements. The section of Fairfax Avenue filled with traditionally Jewish businesses is sometimes referred to by Angelenos as Kosher Canyon or "The Bagel District." Beginning around 2005, real estate listings controversially began to define the western part of the area as Beverly Grove when listing homes for sale.

History

Historically, the Fairfax District has been a center of the city's Jewish community. In the early 20th century, with an expanding population and more young families, many began looking for new housing. As a result of this, many middle class Jewish families moved west from Boyle Heights, City Terrace, East Los Angeles and Montebello to the area around Fairfax Avenue, a street they lined with Kosher delis, restaurants, butcher's and baker's shops and fish markets, creating a unique village in the heart of the city.

In 1935, there were four synagogues in the Fairfax District; by 1945, there were twelve. After World War II, many more Jews, a lot of them Holocaust survivors, began to populate the area. As more families moved in, religious schools and a Jewish Community Center sprang up. In 1974, Bet Tzedek Legal Services - The House of Justice, a legal aid charity, opened its doors across from the Farmers Market. From the 1950s to the 1970s, the Fairfax District was the center of Jewish life in Los Angeles. Recently arrived Jewish immigrants from Israel and Russia gave the area a more cosmopolitan air.

As the next generation of Jews grew up and went off to college they favored white-collar careers to ownership of the traditional shops. While this area of Los Angeles is still home to a vibrant Jewish community, the center of Jewish life has shifted southwest to nearby Pico and Robertson Boulevards. The Farmers Market at Fairfax Avenue and 3rd Street still retained an Old World atmosphere until 2001, when construction of The Grove began, with open-air vegetable stalls and cafes, and many Jewish residents of the area continue to frequent the market as part of their shopping or kibbitzing routine, which retains an attraction for many seniors and immigrants; but the addition of The Grove, an outdoor mall built on the former parking lot for the market, has brought new crowds and new visitors, including many tourists and chain-store shoppers as well as severe parking problems to the Farmers Market. Fairfax Avenue, once lined with kosher delis and shops, now holds only a few storefronts reminiscent of the old days, including the famous deli/restaurant Canter's. There also still exist many Jewish-owned shops, markets, and bakeries.

CBS Television City

CBS Television City was built in 1952 on the former site of Gilmore Stadium at Fairfax Avenue and Beverly Boulevard. This is where CBS tapes The Young and the Restless, the Late Late Show, and The Price is Right.

Other shows over the years taped or filmed at Television City included All in the Family, The Twilight Zone (with Rod Serling), The Smothers Brothers, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, The Carol Burnett Show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, Tony Orlando & Dawn and The Jacksons, House Party, The Dinah Shore Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffin Show and many television specials.

In the late 1970s, after Governor Jerry Brown canceled the Beverly Hills Freeway, which would have razed the entire length of Melrose Avenue, that avenue became known as a street of funky shops, restaurants and galleries. The early 1980s brought media attention and a new revitalized look to the area. Today, Melrose Avenue remains a fashion district. It is perhaps similar to parts of SoHo and Greenwich Village in New York City, as well as the Haight-Ashbury and Upper Fillmore districts of San Francisco.