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There are approximately 500 residential family homes in theAthens on The Hill community,

Oil derricks are located at:Laconia and HooverLaconia and 127th St.Ainsworth and 126th St.Ainsworth and 125tl1 st.*Ainsworth and 124 th St. (a backyard pump recently capped offdue to seepage in the neighborhood)

See attachment regarding history and historical value of theneighborhood. (Information from a recent tour of theneighborhood.

ATHENS ON THE IllLL SITES

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The boundaries of Athens on the Hill are: 120th Street onthe north; El Segundo Boulevard on the south; Figueroa Street onthe east; and, Vermont Avenue on the west. (You will observe, thecommunity is "ringed" by apartment buildings.)

Inside the boundaries of the community, however, are manybeautiful and historic homes. As you will see, some of the streetsmeander up and down throughout the community and are much tonarrow for a tour bus. The homes on some of these narrow .streets are nestled on hillsides, (bringing to mind San Francisco);they are delightful to see and pleasing to the eye.

The area was a well-kept secret, completely hidden away andun-noticed. Its existence was unknown by.anyone except itsresidents until the 105 Freeway was built. This caused disruptionand a heavy volume of traffic passing through on Hoover Street.The area was then noticed by the public at large who was nowdriving through the community because of the diversion of trafficfrom Figueroa Street.

The community got its name in the year 1910. An .advertisement by a land developer dated November, 1910, toutsthe development of "an area which will be known as 'Athens onthe Hill' ." A "Greek Style" building which was a historicalmonument depicting Athens, Greece, was removed or demolishedduring the construction of the 110 (Harbor) Freeway in the 1950s.

There are many historical homes in this area. Four of them

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The current President of the Athens on the Hill CommunityAssociation has a large, historic map on the wall in one of theguest houses on his property. The map shows this area andSouthern Los Angeles County in the early 1900s. (We will passby his house on our tour. It is one of the historic homes in thecommunity. )

A 2001 report by the City Planning Department describes theAthens on the Hill community as" ...a charming residential areaand unusual because its streets do not conform to the strict gridtypical of this area ..."

are:(1) the "Beacon House" located at 12316 South Hoover,

(northeast comer of Hoover & 124th Street). Thishouse is the highest point in the area. On a clear daythe residents of the house can see Catalina. A zoo wasonce located directly across the street;{the house now situated where the zoo was located iscalled "The House on the Island." It is the lone housein that block.}

(2) the "Plantation House" located at 12420 Menlo Ave.This house is spectacular. It is very grand, with largegrounds;

(3) the "Rudolph Vale.ntino House" locatedat 618 W, 124. This house has large grounds; abeautiful brick wall in front; and, a "mother-in-law"cottage is at the rear on the east side of the main house.An interesting fact about this house is that all of the

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Page 3doors in the main house are shorter than scale. Therooms are also very small. There was no centralheating system in the house in the early years;

(4) the "Otis Chandler House)" located at525 W. 121st Street, This is an estate. (It is one ofseveral estates in the area.) The house, itself, isgorgeous. The grounds are spectacular with fountainshere and there. There are several guest houses on theproperty and a pool house. (This is the house wherethe "old" map is located.)

In the year 2000, the City Council representative of this areasubmitted a proposal to the L.A. City Council to have Athens onthe Hills declared a Historical Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ).Because the area is scenic and unique, methods to preserve andenhance its integrity were sought.

Although the area was eventually found "not" to qualify asan "HPOZ", six (6) residences were found to be candidates forCity Historic-Cultural Monument designations: (show pictures)

(1) 618 W.Athens Boulevard;(2) 710 Laconia Boulevard;(3) 525 West 121st Street;

(4) 711 W. 123rd St;(5) 611 W. 124th St.;(6) 645 W. 124thBt.;

Some of the famous celebrities and people who have lived inthis area are:

(1) Etta James, world-famous singer-s-a relative still liveshere in the house she owns on Athens Boulevard ...just eastof Hoover:

(2) Otis Chandler, (of the L.A. Times family);

(8 ) A "mistress" of Rudolph Valentino - on 124th Street;

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(3) Johnny Roseboro, (L.A. Dodgers) - first house on thesouthwest corner of Hoover & AthensBlvd.;

(4) Milburn Stone, (Doc Adams - Gun Smoke tv series) -beautiful white house with large columns, on the south side of126th Street near Vermont Avenue;

(5) Johnny Otis", (world-renowned band leader, singer,musician) - on Arbor Place east of Hoover;

(6) Paul Jackson, .Ir., (jazz musician) - on Arbor Placevast of Hoover;

(7) Patrice Rushen, (famous jazz pianist) .. on ArborPlace east of Hoover;

and,(9) Lou Johnson, (L.A. Dodgers) - 700 block of Laconia ".

The residents of Athens on the Hill consist of homeownerswho have lived here since the early 1960s and young, professionalpeople with small children who have and are moving into thearea. These two groups have united together to revitalize the areaand to keep "creeping undesirable encroachment" from thecommunity. There are block clubs on each street and an activeCommunity Association to which all block clubs are affiliated.This community is actively involved with the SoutheastPolice Department; City Council Woman Janice Hahn; theHarbor Gateway North Neighborhood Council; the 48th ADEC;and the "Mayor's "Team Work L.A."

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