Editing Van Nuys (section)

==History==
[[File:W. P. Whitsett's real estate office (00049699).jpg|thumb|left|W. P. Whitsett's real estate office, 1911. His homestead would be the site of [[Butler Brothers Department Store]], later [[Dearden's]] on Van Nuys Blvd. at Kittridge]]
[[File:Old Van Nuys Post Office.jpg|thumb|left|The Van Nuys Post Office, built in 1935, was designed in the [[Spanish Colonial Revival]] style.]]
In 1909, the Suburban Homes Company – a syndicate led by [[Hobart Johnstone Whitley]], general manager of the board of control, along with [[Harry Chandler]], H. G. Otis, M. H. Sherman and O. F. Brandt – purchased 48,000 acres of the Farming and Milling Company for $2.5&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mulholland |first=Catherine |title=The Owensmouth Baby - The Making of the San Fernando Valley |date=1987 |publisher=Santa Susana Press |location=California |pages=18–20}}</ref> [[Henry E. Huntington]] extended his [[Pacific Electric Railway]] (Red Cars) through the Valley to [[Owensmouth]] (now Canoga Park). The Suburban Home Company laid out plans for roads and the towns of Van Nuys, Reseda (Marian) and Canoga Park (Owensmouth). The rural areas were annexed into the city of Los Angeles in 1915.<ref name="fiction">{{Cite book |last=George L. Henderson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WmGfzj-X5qIC&pg=PA199 |title=California and the Fictions of Capital |date=1 February 2003 |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=978-1-59213-198-3 |page=199 |access-date=8 August 2012}}</ref><ref name="Raftery1992">{{Cite book |last=Judith R. Raftery |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KzasAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA112 |title=Land of Fair Promise: Politics and Reform in Los Angeles Schools 1885 – 1941 |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-8047-1930-8 |page=112 |access-date=7 May 2013}}</ref>

The town was founded in 1911 and named for one of its developers, [[Isaac Newton Van Nuys]], a rancher and entrepreneur of Dutch ancestry.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pollack|first=Gina|date=July 22, 2019|title=How To Speak LA: Your Guide To The City's Most Debated And Mispronounced Words|url=https://laist.com/projects/how-to-la/understand/pronunciation/|access-date=2021-05-22|work=LAist|language=en}}</ref><ref name="timeline">{{Cite web |title=San Fernando Valley History Timeline |url=http://americassuburb.com/timeline.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011012102802/http://americassuburb.com/timeline.html |archive-date=12 October 2001}}</ref> It was annexed by [[Los Angeles]] on May&nbsp;22, 1915,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hellmann |first=Paul |url={{google books|REtEXQNWq6MC|page=122|plainurl=yes}} |title=Historical Gazetteer of the United States |date=14 February 2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=1135948593 |page=122 |access-date=20 January 2015}}</ref> after completion of the [[Los Angeles Aqueduct]], providing it with the water required for further growth.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hescheles |first=Andrea |date=2010-10-30 |title=1915-1916: Annexation spurred growth |work=[[Los Angeles Daily News]] |url=http://www.dailynews.com/20101031/1915-1916-annexation-spurred-growth |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120221427/http://www.dailynews.com/20101031/1915-1916-annexation-spurred-growth |archive-date=2015-01-20}}</ref> Van Nuys was the first new stop on the [[San Fernando Line]] of the [[Pacific Electric|Pacific Electric Railway]] red cars system, which boosted its early land sales and commercial success.<ref name=timeline/>  From as far as Alhambra, in 1917, day trips were organized for potential buyers of five-acre farms.<ref>1917 advertisement in "Alhambra Advocate"</ref>

Van Nuys became the Valley's satellite Los Angeles municipal civic center with the 1932 [[Art Deco architecture|Art Deco]] Valley Municipal Building (Van Nuys City Hall), a visual landmark and [[Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument]], starting the present-day Government Center complex of government services buildings.<ref name=timeline/>

In 1991, Marvin Braude, a member of the [[Los Angeles City Council]], redesignated a 45-block area of Van Nuys as a part of [[Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles|Sherman Oaks]].<ref name="Stewartrename">{{Cite news |last=Stewart |first=Jocelyn Y. |date=August 23, 1991 |title=Identity Crisis : Community: The decision to change the name of a 45-block area of Van Nuys to Sherman Oaks leaves junior high in an odd position |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-23-me-955-story.html |access-date=March 23, 2014}}</ref> This redesignated area included the community of Magnolia Woods.<ref name="Sarkisian-MillerMagnoliaWoods">{{Cite news |last=Sarkisian-Miller |first=Nora |date=May 7, 2006 |title=A hideaway in Sherman Oaks |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/la-re-guide7may07-story.html |access-date=March 23, 2014}}</ref> Some area residents had presented a petition and several original deeds that stated "Sherman Oaks" to Braude. They argued that the area was a part of Sherman Oaks until the 1960s, when [[ZIP Code]]s labeling the area as Van Nuys were established.<ref name=Stewartrename/>

[[File:Orange Line Bike Path, Van Nuys.jpg|thumb|[[G Line Bikeway]], Van Nuys]]

In October 2005, the [[G Line (Los Angeles Metro)|Metro Orange Line]] opened with two stations, [[Van Nuys station (Los Angeles Metro)]] and [[Sepulveda station]].

In 2014, a "Great Streets" project was introduced by Mayor [[Eric Garcetti]] with Van Nuys Blvd. to be redesigned between Victory Blvd. and Oxnard Street. Also, Sepulveda Blvd. was resurfaced between Victory Blvd and Oxnard Street in May 2014. A new Los Angeles County family services building was built on the southwest corner of Van Nuys Blvd. and Saticoy Street in 2016.{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}}