Brentwood
Brentwood is a neighborhood in the Westside of Los Angeles, California. Originally part of a Mexican land grant, the neighborhood began its modern development in the 1880s. It is the home of seven private and two public schools.
Brentwood was part of the Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica, a Mexican land-grant ranch sold off in pieces by the Sepúlveda family after the Mexican–American War.
Modern development began after the establishment of the 600-acre (2.4 km2) Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Soldiers and Sailors in the 1880s. A small community sprang up outside that facility's west gate, taking on the name Westgate. Annexed by the City of Los Angeles on June 14, 1916, Westgate's 49 square miles (130 km2) included large parts of what is now the Pacific Palisades and a small portion of today's Bel-Air. Westgate Avenue is one of the last reminders of that namesake.
The district is located at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains, bounded by the San Diego Freeway on the east, Wilshire Boulevard on the south, the Santa Monica city limits on the southwest, the border of Topanga State Park on the west and Mulholland Drive along the ridgeline of the mountains on the north.
As a member of a group of nearby neighborhoods that are affluent, it is known as one of the "Three Bs", along with Beverly Hills and Bel Air.
Brentwood features a number of residential subdistricts:
- Brentwood Circle: gated community east of Barrington and north of Sunset
- Brentwood Glen: an area bounded by Sunset, the 405 Freeway and the Veterans Administration
- Bundy Canyon: Home to Mount St. Mary's College and the Getty Center (though the latter is accessible only from Sepulveda).
- Crestwood Hills: includes a cluster of architecturally significant mid-century modern residences located in the northern part of Kenter Canyon
- Kenter Canyon: the larger canyon containing Crestwood Hills, between Bundy Canyon and Mandeville Canyon.
- Mandeville Canyon: westernmost part of Brentwood, north of Sunset; extends about 3 miles towards the North
