Sepulveda Boulevard

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Sepulveda Boulevard is a street in Los Angeles, California. It stretches some 42.8 miles (about 69 km) from Rinaldi Street at the north end of the San Fernando Valley to the city limits of Hermosa Beach, where it "jumps" 1.3 miles east and continues on to Long Beach. It generally runs north-south, passing under one of the runways of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). It is the longest street in the the city and county of Los Angeles.^[1]

There is another Sepulveda Boulevard in Sylmar, starting at Roxford Street and ending at San Fernando Road, although this portion is used primarily as a frontage road along Interstate 5. Prior to construction of the San Diego Freeway, the two present-day sections of Sepulveda Boulevard were connected; the Interstate 405 / Interstate 5 freeway interchange was built over the old boulevard between Rinaldi and Roxford streets.

The main portion of Sepulveda Boulevard starts at Rinaldi Street in Mission Hills and heads south, running parallel to the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405) through North Hills and Van Nuys. After intersecting Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, it crosses under the 405 and climbs Sepulveda Pass in a serpentine fashion, peaking at Mulholland Drive (although it does not intersect it, rather tunneling beneath it) near the Skirball Cultural Center. It once again parallels Interstate 405 through a small canyon in Bel Air before flattening out in Brentwood. Sepulveda Boulevard functions as a primary thoroughfare through West Los Angeles and upon entering Culver City, it merges with Jefferson Boulevard before heading directly south through Westchester. After the merge with Lincoln Boulevard, it becomes signed as California State Route 1, passing under the runways at LAX and the western terminus of Interstate 105 in El Segundo. Sepulveda Boulevard cuts through Manhattan Beach and once enters Hermosa Beach, becoming Pacific Coast Highway, where it continues its southern journey.

Sepulveda Boulevard is named after the Sepulveda family of San Pedro. The termination of Sepulveda Boulevard is on a part of the Sepulveda family ranch, Rancho Palos Verdes, which consisted of 31,619 acres of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The original grantee of the King of Spain was Jose Delores Sepulveda. When he was killed in an Indian uprising just above Santa Barbara in 1824, the rancho went to his oldest son, Juan Capistrano Sepulveda.

[edit] Sepulveda Boulevard in the media

Sepulveda Boulevard was featured in a 1992 episode of "Tiny Toon Adventures" by the same name, spoofing the 1950 Billy Wilder film Sunset Boulevard.

Sepulveda Boulevard was also mentioned in Strong Bad Email #141, entitled "Death Metal." It is given as an example of the sorts of phrases blond singers sing at the top of their lungs.

The 1947 song "Pico and Sepulveda" by Felix Figueroa & His Orchestra was frequently featured on Dr. Demento's syndicated radio show. [1]

On HBO's Entourage, episode 1 of Season 3, Ari mentions Vincent's "West of Sepulveda Skanks" to bring to the premiere of "Aquaman".

[edit] References

1. ^ "The Long and the Short of the Southland's Street Names", by Cecilia Rasmussen, Los Angeles Times, December 10, 2006, B2

• A landscape of names (PDF). Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on January 27, 2006.
• Sepulveda Boulevard Roadtrip