About Us
Table of Contents
About Us - The Beginning
Preserving our Historic Landmarks
Links to Online Historic Preservation Sites
Working Together to Improve El Sereno:
Staying Informed and Becoming Proactive
E.S.H.S. Projects Completed
Community Website
Historic Light Poles Repainted
Valley Bridge-Artwork Area Clean-up
El Sereno Council Office
S-Curve Sidewalk
Research Articles:
The work that still needs to be done...
Other Community Activities We Are Involved In:
NO To The 710 In El Sereno: Links, Information, and Updates
Link-Community Pride and Beautification
Link-Community Clean-Up
Link-Bulky Item Drop Off
Contact Us
Vision and Mission
The History of El Sereno is brought to you by the dedicated members of the El Sereno Historical Society. It is the love and respect for our
El Sereno Community which has led us to dedicate our time and effort to
this endeavor.
Our Goals are
1) to bring the residents and public authentic, accurate, and reliable information concerning the history of El Sereno; and
2) to encourage and assist residents/stakeholder to become better informed and proactive community members.
Our Goals are
1) to bring the residents and public authentic, accurate, and reliable information concerning the history of El Sereno; and
2) to encourage and assist residents/stakeholder to become better informed and proactive community members.
Click on the map for a larger view of the Official Map of our El Sereno Community today.
(Area outlined in red was relabeled "University Hills" though Residents, City, County, and the Media continue to recognize it as El Sereno. We agree, especially when you take into consideration that this area was where the original adobe was built in 1776).
****************************************************(Area outlined in red was relabeled "University Hills" though Residents, City, County, and the Media continue to recognize it as El Sereno. We agree, especially when you take into consideration that this area was where the original adobe was built in 1776).
The Beginning
The El Sereno Historical Society was formed by community members who saw a great need to present El Sereno's long and unique history. We were tired and frustrated of seeing false and distorted history being passed around by people who sought only to gain from the lies; misinforming and marginalizing our community for their own selfish reasons. We waited for things to change, for someone to take up the cause and correct what had been abused and hidden for so long. It was soon realized that waiting wasn't the option for our community. The ball had been dropped and it was waiting for someone to pick it up, as simple as that.
A handful of us, old friends, new friends, and family, picked it up. We found it hard to put down something so precious, with only the hope that maybe someone else might pick it up again. Who are we to take up this project? Why should we care? Those were questions often asked amongst ourselves. Maybe we just wanted to hear an approval, a "you can do it, no big deal" from our peers and neighbors in order to build our confidence. It's funny how much power children have on adults, for it was here that the push came from; our own children and their neighborhood friends gave us what at first we lacked; confidence. We (the El Sereno Historical Society), are all ordinary homeowners and residents living in El Sereno. Each of us has a career, a family, hobbies, and enjoy spending our free time with family and friends, just like everyone else.
But the need to create a source of information, where our community will be able to learn what it means to live in El Sereno, on how unique our community is from those neighboring us; that was too important to ignore. Especially when our own children are hungry for that knowledge about their community. After much contemplation we decided to set aside our free time and dedicated this time to diligently gather information from as many sources as we could find. The El Sereno Historical Society was unknowingly formed on this ordinary day. The great amount of work and focus required was only surpassed by the unflinching discipline we set upon ourselves.
The extraordinary workload and great amount of time required to collect and organize the historical information was something we never seriously considered; yet the core group who agreed to launch this historic endeavor never wavered from their commitment to finish what had been started. Even as the amount of work and time required continued month after month, our commitment never weakened. Our spiritual fire was kept strong knowing that all the months of work, of our free time, was not just for us. We knew the greater importance for completing a presentable project was so that our families, children, friends, neighbors, and the 48,000+ residents who call El Sereno home would all be able to read and learn what has been neglected for so long. The Authentic History of El Sereno.
Even though the fruit of our labor finally got online on January 2012, we are still working on updating, adding, making the website and the information presented better. We now realize and accept the fact that ours will be a life-long endeavor. We know that to make history-you need to actively live in it. The history of our El Sereno Community does not stop on any specific date. The history of a community is the Past, Present, and Future of that community.
We hope that through our efforts, the next generation of community historians have already taken root. So that when our borrowed time here comes to an end, the next soldiers-of-the-pen will shoulder the task and continue sharing the community's history, adding more facts and memories of a time before; so that those who are to come after them can continue to learn about El Sereno's history and understand the great importance of preserving and adding to it.
Let it be so...
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The information on our website can be verified and is historically accurate. If at any time new information is uncovered, we will update our website ASAP. We make the utmost effort to provide the readers with photos, files, and documents that can verify the information. We also providing the links to other websites which contain historical information, pdfs of the documents used, or the title/name of the source from which the information was obtained. We have set and adhere to high standards of personal integrity to ensure our readers are being informed with information that is authentic and verifiable.
We pride ourselves on the high standards we have set and welcome an open discourse of communication with the public. Anyone who would like to share any historical information/photos concerning the community of El Sereno is welcomed. We appreciate the community's effort in helping us gather as much information as possible about El Sereno's history so that we can make it available for all to enjoy.
Any shared information sent to us will not be posted immediately. Time is required to confirm and verify any historical information presented. The amount of time needed before posting varies, depending on the topic and nature of the information. We ask for your patience and understanding. Thank you.
Though it's understandable that things change with time, it's also important to preserve some of these old historic buildings and places. It's important because we need to make sure that our community's history is not just something to be read, but it's also something we can preserve and share with the next generation. By preserving our history, the next generation can also take pride in having those historic buildings and places and see the importance of continuing to help preserve our historic community's past.
Projects we are currently working on:
1) Historic Mission & Soto St. Bridge
the Pacific Electric Railway. Visit our research article about Saving The Soto St. Bridge for
more info.
by visiting www.MyHistoricLA.org and second our submission idea for the Mission
Road/Soto Street Bridge.
2) The Historic Mazatlan Hall
3) Arroyo Rosa de Castilla
Recognizing and preserving the historic Arroyo Rosa de Castilla. Read our research article on the Arroyo: Arroyo Link.
Recognizing and preserving the historic Arroyo Rosa de Castilla. Read our research article on the Arroyo: Arroyo Link.
Help us preserve El Sereno's historic Arroyo Rosa de Castilla by visiting www.MyHistoricLA.org and seconding our submission for the Arroyo.
4) El Sereno Park's Clubhouse
Saving, restoring, and preserving the El Sereno Park and Rec Clubhouse.
Our submission of El Sereno Park's Clubhouse has been added to MyHistoricLA.org website. For info and pics about this historic building, follow our link to Special Collection: El Sereno Clubhouse.
Saving, restoring, and preserving the El Sereno Park and Rec Clubhouse.
Our submission of El Sereno Park's Clubhouse has been added to MyHistoricLA.org website. For info and pics about this historic building, follow our link to Special Collection: El Sereno Clubhouse.
5) Community Pride: El Sereno Community Signs
Request more community signs for our historic community of El Sereno. Currently, El Sereno
only has ONE, while the tiny neighboring communities of Herman, Monterey Hills, and University Hills have between 4-7 community signs each. An Equal and Fair Number of community signs for El Sereno will make things fair, will build community unity, and also build resident's pride for El Sereno.
For more info about our request for more El Sereno Community signs, please read our letter to Councilmember Jose Huizar requesting the fair and equal treatment of our community:
Request more community signs for our historic community of El Sereno. Currently, El Sereno
only has ONE, while the tiny neighboring communities of Herman, Monterey Hills, and University Hills have between 4-7 community signs each. An Equal and Fair Number of community signs for El Sereno will make things fair, will build community unity, and also build resident's pride for El Sereno.
For more info about our request for more El Sereno Community signs, please read our letter to Councilmember Jose Huizar requesting the fair and equal treatment of our community:
Click on pic for PDF of letter
Contact us
Mailing Address:
El Sereno Historical Society
P.O. Box 32-113
El Sereno, CA 90032
E-mail:
info@ElSerenoHistoricalSociety.org
El Sereno Historical Society
P.O. Box 32-113
El Sereno, CA 90032
E-mail:
info@ElSerenoHistoricalSociety.org
Links to Online Resources and Research Guides
These links can be helpful in the search for historic properties, research your homes'/property history, and identify if a home eligible for historic designation.
LOS ANGELES CONSERVANCY
PreserveLA.com
LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY
LOS ANGELES CITY ARCHIVES
LOS ANGELES CITY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
OFFICE OF HISTORIC RESOURCES
The El Sereno Historical Society is working towards a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) in El Sereno, as well as in getting individual homes and buildings to be recognized as Historic. Most of the homes around and near Huntington Drive were built between the 1910-1930s. While these homes are distinct in the sense that they are not the big, Victorian style homes so often considered historic, none-the-less, these working class homes are unique. The fact that these working-class homes in El Sereno are from the same time period in which the larger and more recognized homes were made, is what makes them not only historic, but quite special as well. El Sereno holds the distinction of being a working class community that has retained many of it's working class homes, some of which date back to the 1890s.
The next big housing explosion took place between the mid-1940s and 1950s. Most of these homes were built on or around the hills of El Sereno. These homes might also be historic, being that after 50 years a building can gain historic recognition. The above links are here for you to get informed on the different requirements and guidelines for homes and buildings to be considered historic landmarks.
We will be adding more information and updates about our progress as we move this project along. If you have any questions or would like to be involved in the process, please contact us at our e-mail: Info@ElSerenoHistoricalSociety.org
Community Website:
This was our first and probably the most difficult project so far. We started the website not knowing anything about website building or where we were heading with it. All we knew was that there was a great need in the community. The history of El Sereno, which is one of the oldest communities in Los Angeles, is also one of the most neglected in Los Angeles, probably even Southern California. Although we have received many praises by community members and the public, we know that the work we have done would not have taken place had it not been for past residents of El Sereno, who took the time and effort to record, share, and preserve some of our historical sites and information for future generations.
We dedicate the website to the men and women of yesterday, whose love and pride for El Sereno allowed us to follow in their footsteps. Their effort is what gave us a base of knowledge from which we were able to begin our initial research into El Sereno's history. From what started as a dream, a wish, has become an ever expanding community website which others will be able use to in order to continue learning--and sharing--the history of El Sereno.
Historic Light Poles, Repainted:
One of our first beautification and preservation projects, we requested that all the old and historic light-poles along Alhambra Ave and within the residential streets nearest to Alhambra Ave, be re-painted. We had noticed the peeling paint and graffiti on many of the light-poles and thought it would be nice to have them repainted. We made our requested in February or March of 2012, and it wasn't until finally in August of 2012 that we saw our persistence bear fruit. Though it is a small accomplishment, great things always begin as small accomplishments.
BEING UPDATED:
El Sereno Council Office:
Photos of El Sereno's unique history: IN PROGRESS
S-Curve Sidewalk:
IN PROGRESS
Research Articles:
ON GOING
The Work That Still Needs To Be Done...
Work in Progress
Other Community Activities We Are Involved In:
STAY INFORMED
NO FREEWAY THROUGH EL SERENO
Facebook Pages with more Up-To-Date Information:
No on 710 in El Sereno
No 710 on Avenue 64
No 710 Freeway Extension
Contact Us
Mailing Address:
El Sereno Historical Society
P.O. Box 32-113
El Sereno, CA 90032
E-mail: info@ElSerenoHistoricalSociety.org
El Sereno Historical Society
P.O. Box 32-113
El Sereno, CA 90032
E-mail: info@ElSerenoHistoricalSociety.org
