Hancock Park

Hancock Park is a historic and affluent urban neighborhood in Los Angeles roughly bounded by Van Ness Avenue to the East, Melrose Avenue to the North, La Brea Avenue to the West, and Wilshire Boulevard to the South.

History

The area was developed in the 1920s, by the Hancock family, with their profits earned from oil drilling in the former Rancho La Brea. Hancock Park owes its name to developer-philanthropist George Allan Hancock, who subdivided the property in the 1920s. Hancock was born and raised in a home located near the La Brea Tar Pits. He inherited 4,400 acres (18 km²) from his father, Major Henry Hancock who had acquired the land from the Rancho La Brea property owned by the family of Jose Jorge Rocha.

Hancock Park activists were instrumental in the passage of a 1986 Congressional ban on tunneling through the neighborhood. The ban, sponsored by Congressman Henry Waxman, prevented the Red Line subway from being routed along Wilshire Boulevard through the neighborhood.

Cityscape

Hancock Park is located north of Wilshire Boulevard and south of Melrose Avenue. Along its western and eastern boundaries, North Highland Avenue and North Rossmore Avenue. Houses along both sides of the street are within Hancock Park.

Some of this information is courtesy of wikipedia.com