Hermon, Los Angeles

Hermon is a small district in the city of Los Angeles, California. It is situated in a half square-mile valley bordered by the Arroyo Seco and the historic 110 freeway to the west, El Sereno to the south, and South Pasadena to the north and east. The community has been part of Los Angeles since 1912, but has retained its own unique identity. It is primarily a residential community, with a small business district in the center, one elementary school, a charter high school, two city parks, and an off-leash dog park opened in 2005.

Hermon
Neighborhood of Los Angeles
Hermon
Location within Central Los Angeles
Coordinates: 34.103906°N 118.185077°W / 34.103906; -118.185077
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyLos Angeles
CityLos Angeles
Time zoneUTC-8 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)

History

Hermon was established in 1903, when the Free Methodist church group obtained the isolated valley from owner Ralph Rogers to establish a school. He provided an additional one hundred building lots to sell for operating funds. Around the campus was organized the community of Hermon named after the biblical Mt. Hermon at the headwaters of the River Jordan.,[1] largely populated by families whose children attended the school.[2] The school grew to become Los Angeles Pacific College in 1934, then merged with Azusa College in the mid-1960s to become Azusa Pacific University. Up until 2003, the school campus held a private college prep high school, Pacific Christian. It is now owned by Bethesda Christian University and has been leased to Los Angeles College Prep Academy (LACPA) Los Angeles College Prep Academy—formerly L.A. International Charter High School.

Better links were established between Hermon and the rest of Los Angeles with the construction of a bridge across the Arroyo Seco at Avenue 60 in 1926, the Monterey Road pass through Walnut Hill to the south in 1930, and the Hermon Avenue bridge (renamed Via Marisol, over the objections of many community members, by the late Los Angeles City Council member Art Snyder in 1978 to honor his young daughter, Erin Marisol Snyder) to the west in 1939.

In the 117 years since its inception, the neighborhood has grown from 100 small lots into a community of approximately 3,500 residents.

The Hermon Neighborhood Council was certified in May 2017 as the 97th and smallest Los Angeles City neighborhood advisory board (Neighborhood councils of Los Angeles).

Education

The Los Angeles Unified School District operates district schools. Bushnell Way Elementary School is in Hermon.[3]

Los Angeles College Prep Academy is located in Hermon. It occupies the former campus of Pacific Christian on the Hill.[4] That former school opened in 1904 as Los Angeles (Free Methodist) Seminary and had grades 1 through 12 with a total of 70 students.[5] In 1911 the Seminary added community college courses making it what is believed to be the first junior college in California. In 1934 it became Los Angeles Pacific College, a four-year university. Los Angeles Pacific College merged with Azusa College to become the current Azusa Pacific University in the mid-1960s.[6]

In the 1930s, the Los Angeles City School District operated the Bushnell Way Elementary School in Hermon (known as the "American School" prior to Hermon's annexation by the City of Los Angeles in 1912).[7] On July 1, 1961, the Los Angeles City School District and another district merged, forming LAUSD.[8]

References
  1. BYKER, Sam. "This L.A. enclave near the Arroyo Seco is close-knit". latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  2. Batesel, Paul. "Los Angeles Pacific College". America's Lost Colleges. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  3. "Home." Bushnell Way Elementary School. Retrieved on September 9, 2011. "5507 Bushnell Way, Los Angeles, CA 90042 "
  4. Landsberg, Mitchell. "County gives Los Angeles International Charter High School a second chance." Los Angeles Times. January 10, 2010. Retrieved on September 8, 2011.
  5. Pool, Bob (2003-04-03). "Corner of L.A. Might Be Small, but It's Home". Los Angeles Times. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
  6. Pool, Bob (2003-04-03). "Corner of L.A. Might Be Small, but It's Home". Los Angeles Times. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
  7. "STRUCTURAL CONTRACTS ANNOUNCED School Reconstruction Work Authorized During Week by Board." Los Angeles Times. September 16, 1934. Page 25. Retrieved on September 8, 2011. "Main building at the Hermon School site 5507 Bushnell Way l 98.317"
  8. "LA City Schools Creation." Los Angeles Unified School District. February 7, 1998.

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