History
Canoga Park, found north of Woodland Hills, located within San Fernando Valley, Canoga Park is a district that belongs to the city of Los Angeles. Canoga Park is known for its rural/agricultural industry. Canoga Park’s produce vary from fruits, vegetables, melons, horses, and other livestock. There are some movie and television studios located in Canoga Park. Some stunt locations can be found in Canoga Park.

A considerable portion of Canoga Park’s western section has been renamed West Hills in 1988, and a portion of the eastern section has been named Winnetka.

Canoga Park has a total land area of 11.6 square miles, with a total population of 76,547; 73% of which are White Americans, 5% are Black Americans, 11% are Asian Americans, 45% of which are Hispanic, and 55% belonging to other races. This figure is subdivided to 24,377 households with a median housing value of $255,000. Canoga Park has a median income of $46,939 per household. There is an average of 3.14 people per household. These figures are from the United States Census Data of 2005.

Canoga Park celebrates an annual Memorial Parade, Job and Street Fair. All of this is presented by the Canoga Park/West Hills Chamber of Commerce, together with many other community activities. Fire Station #72 is now the home to The Canoga Park Community Center and is utilized by other organizations such as Canoga-Owensmouth Historical Society. Canoga Park Museum is found at 7248 Owensmouth Avenue, Canoga Park, CA 91303, and is open on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month or by appointment.

The area that was to become Canoga Park was originally populated by the Chumash and Fernandeno. These Native American tribes resided in what is now known as Canoga Park for hundreds of years.

Canoga Park was originally called “Owensmouth” by Harrison Gray Otis, the Los Angeles Times publisher, because it is close to the Los Angeles Aqueduct which brought water from the Owens Valley. Owensmouth was then known as the “baby” town of San Fernando Valley in 1912. Canoga Park’s developers then used the image of a baby-delivering stork in their promotional materials. They also presented The Stork Plaque, symbolizing the birth of Owensmouth, to prospective buyers on the opening day of land sales in the new town. On March 30, 1912, the town was founded by the major developer, Janss Corporations. Eventually the town was incorporated to the city of Los Angeles. This was mainly because the town’s water supply had been severely compromised when Owensmouth Water Tower was lost due to fire. The Town was annexed by Los Angeles on February 26, 1917.

The Original Madrid Theatre was built on Sherman Way, Canoga Park in 1926 and opened with Silent Films, but was soon to be replaced by the Talkies. The theater was also the site for many community events, even a High School Graduation.

Owensmouth became Canoga Park on March 1, 1930 because some of the citizens did not favor the former name. Canoga Park continued to grow as the new Telephone building, Fire Station #72, Library, and Pierce College (then known as Pierce School of Agriculture) were established.

Canoga Park was named an All-American City on June 25, 2005. Canoga Park worked hard to achieve this honor as proven by the fact that only 10 cities are chosen annually to receive this award.

It is also notable that Canoga Park had been the site of a lot of companies that are now the forerunners in the aviation and defense industry. In 1955, Rocketdyne built its headquarters in Canoga Park. Back then Rocketdyne was just an offshoot of North American Aviation but now it is the premier rocket engine design and production company in the US. Soon other companies followed suit and built bases at Canoga Park such as Boeing, then known as Hughes Aircraft, North American Aviation, and Atomic International. Consequently, small machine shops and other related businesses sprang up to complement and service the aerospace industry in Canoga Park. The Rocket Engine used in the space shuttle was built in Canoga Park.

Canoga Park has received its fair share of Damage in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.7 proved to be the most costly earthquake in United States history. Despite being pitted against this force of nature, Canoga Parks’ antique trading industry managed to bounce back on its feet and is now thriving. Even the shrewdest shoppers are lured to Canoga Park’s Antique row, where a number of old fashioned stores sell a wide array of antiques ranging from vintage jewelry to classic furniture. The Row, found along the 21500 block of Sherman Way in Canoga Park, is an excellent spot to find nostalgic garbs.

Among the schools located in Cannoga Park is the Canoga Park High School. Canoga Park High School is under the Los Angeles Unified School District. Canoga Park High School was established on October 4, 1914 and is the oldest high school in the west San Fernando Valley. In 1996, Canoga Park High School’s agriculture/environmental/veterinary science magnet was established. Canoga Park High School also has a one and a half acre farm. Canoga Park High School is home to an active FFA chapter.

The Canoga-Owensmouth Historical society is the authority in Canoga Park’s rich history. Their wide collection includes photographs, books, pamphlets, documents, artifacts, and oral interviews with regards to the history, not only of Canoga Park, but also of West San Fernando Valley. Materials such as high school yearbooks dating back to 1916 and old documents and publications from organizations in Canoga Park are on display. It is accessible year round and is open to the public.

The Westfield Shoppingtown Topanga, also called Topanga Mall and Topanga Plaza, is located on the border between Canoga Park and Woodland Hills. It is a hotspot in Canoga Park not only because of the wide array of establishments that it hosts, but also because Hollywood celebrities are occasionally spotted inside its premises probably because of its proximity to various studios located in Canoga Park.

Here are some other interesting trivia about Canoga Park:

The Popular television series Charmed was shot at a Canoga Park studio until the end of the sixth season. Actor Bryan Cranston, best known for his role as “Hal” in the television series Malcolm in the Middle, graduated from Canoga Park High School. The movie Malibu’s Most Wanted was shot at the Topanga mall which is located in Canoga Park.

DR. JOHN CHAVES
5312 Comercio Lane, Suite A
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Phone 818-999-2707
Fax 818-703-1998
appointment@cosmeticdentalservices.com