Toluca Lake is not a very big area. Even if you include West Toluca Lake, it still only adds up to a few square miles. And there are a few fun things to do within the boarders of Toluca Lake like going the famous Lakeside Country Club where you can not only play an excellent round of golf but also enjoy and private brunch or dinner in one of its exclusive rooms. Then there is the Falcon Theater. A 130 seat theater that’s has called Toluca Lake home since 1997. But actually, there’s something else to consider when exploring what to do in Toluca Lake. Consider what the surrounding areas of Toluca Lake have to offer. First up on the list is Universal City. This small neighboring city is where the famous Universal Studios resides. And just in that one location, there is plenty of things to do. First up is Universal City Walk which is packed with shops, restaurants, clubs and movie theaters. Then of course there is the world famous Universal Studio where you can find its top rides such and Transformers, Shrek 4D and Jurassic Park. Then there is the infamous Studio Backlot Tour where you can see such famous sets from popular films like Jaws, Psyco and Back to the Future. Another activity Universal City has to offer is concerts held at the Universal Amphitheater where top musical acts around the world come and perform.

So even tho Toluca lake is a small area with a handful of charming and unique activities that it offers, it’s surrounded by a power house of a neighbor, Universal City. And guess what. That’s not the only one. Next up I’ll talk all about the beautiful Griffith Park.  

Starting in the silent movie era and continuing thru today, Toluca Lake has been home to hollywoods most beloved stars. Perhaps its biggest draw was the Lakeside Golf Club which brought famous stars like Bob Hope and Bing Crosby who were famous for the love of golf. Lakeside Golf club was an exclusive place where stars could unwind and be themselves. Hope, is perhaps the celebrity closest connected with Toluca Lake and that’s because he and his wife Deloris lived in Toluca Lake for over 60 years. But that still didn’t stop Hope from poking fun at the area every now and then. Hope has famously referred to the San Fernando Valley as “Cleveland with palm trees”. But those barbs and many others still didn’t stop the area from naming the near by Burbank Airport after him when the comedian passed in 2003. There must be something special in those waters of Toluca Lake because Hope lived till the ripe old age of 100 and his wife Deloris, who still lives at there home in Toluca Lake, celebrated her 100th birthday back in 2009.

Many other Hollywood Celebrities have owned homes in Toluca Lake. Actor W.C. Fields lived right on the lake. Legend has it, he use to paddle his boat across the lake when he wanted to squeeze in some rounds of golf. Aviator Amelia Earhart lived in Toluca Lake for the last 7 years of her life in a home that still exists today. And it is believed she planned her fateful flight in 1937 when she disappeared in the Pacific Ocean in the backyard of this home. Oliver Hardy of the famous Laurel and Hardy comedy act, owned a home in Van Nuys, but was a well known member of the Lakeside Golf Club. In fact, Hardy was known to prefer golf to work. As one time Laurel found Hardy at the Lakeside Golf Club, and when Hardy asked Laurel what he’d been doing, as legend has it, Laurel said “I’ve been at the studio doing your work.” Many other famous celebrities of Hollywood’s golden era also lived in Toluca Lake.

Many hip celebrities have chosen Toluca Lake as there home in recent years, but just remember it was the Golden Era celebrities that made it the fashionable zip code that it is today.

So in one of my earlier posts I mentioned how one of the many unique characteristics of Toluca Lake is that it has such a diverse selection of homes in a wide range of price ranges. Today I’ll try to break down the different areas visually with the use of a map of Toluca Lake just to give you an idea that there is something for everyone in Toluca Lake.

Here we have a map outlining the heart of Toluca Lake. I have color coded the different sections of homes based on price range.

The largest area as you can see is the orange section. That is comprised mostly of smaller middle class homes starting at 500K and up. some of them are also condos in the upper left corner. So there is large variety of homes in this price range and a very nice selection indeed.

Going up from that would be the purple section. This area is filled with homes starting at 750K-800K and up. The lower range being at the top and the higher range being at the bottom. The lower sections is more expensive because you are farther away form Riverside Dr plus you are that much closer to the golf course. One of the most sought after areas to live in is along Valley Spring Lane because your front door view is the Golf Course. Plus early in the morning, you can smell the fresh cut grass. Its very soothing.

Next up would be the fuchsia section, also known as Toluca Estates. This is a private road community which means its very quiet and great for kids to play because of so few cars. Another interesting fact is that the homes address start from 1 to about 30 so all the address are no more than 2 digits.

Ok, so before I get to the last two top areas of Toluca Lake, I want to point out the yellow section. Just incase these ranges are getting a little too high, keep in mind there are actually apartments to be found in the very heart of Toluca Lake. Yep. This is not well known at all. Plus, there the the charming free standing kind that people love and adore. So there really is something for everyone.

Ok, so the second to last section would, ironically, is the green section. It’s ironic because its not the highest range but its on the lake. It does come very very close but there are just some homes that are higher priced then the ones on the lake. These range in the 2-10 million dollar range. The 2 top homes are near that letter A pin drop actually.

So the final section of this whirlwind of homes is the red section. Mainly due to the massively large lots available because its not a normal square block. It’s in this section that stars like Henry Winkler, Andy Garcia and Miley cyrus live in. Homes here reach about 16 million plus and the back yards speak for themselves. Filled with guest houses, huge pools and lawns big enough to play golf on. Who owns the biggest plot of land in Toluca Lake? Bob Hope of course. He was one of the very first residents of Toluca Lake back in the 1930′s so he got in on a good deal I’m sure.

So there you have it folks. There something for everyone in Toluca Lake.

Tammy Jerome
Top 1% in Homes in Studio City
818-487-5854
Coldwell Banker
http://www.tammyjerome.com

Established in 1923, Toluca Lake today is known to be this hidden nook in Los Angeles filled with celebrities, a little bit of ritz and charm all wrapped up in a casual tone. But very few people know that Toluca Lake actually started out as a Ranch back in the 1920′s. It grew mostly walnuts and peaches. It was called the Forman Toluca Ranch. Now you know where the street name Forman comes from in Toluca Lake. Actually the US Post was first established in 1893. In 1930, developers came in with the idea of turning Toluca Lake from a ranch into a bedroom community. So in 1931, one of the first resident of Toluca Lake, Amelia Earhart, moved in and put Toluca Lake on the map like never before.

Over the years Toluca lake had remain unknown to most people. Its very very small in size. So its easily passed by on the freeway when traveling down the 134 freeway. Plus it can only be entered on 3 sides. The 4th is blocked by the Toluca Lake Country Club golf course. Oddly enough, even tho most people havenever heard of Toluca Lake, they most likely have seen it. In the movies. Toluca Lake has been a prime location for movies and commercials for decades in Los Angeles because of its unique properties like a lake, country club and a charming casual quiet neighborhood filled with million dollar homes. Present day, the word has gotten out about Toluca Lake. How? Well Toluca Lake has always been filled with celebrities, but what has changed over the years is how celebrities are gossiped about. The infamous paparazzi. Combine that with the internet and Toluca Lake has gone viral. Especially since it has the highest concentration of Disney stars anywhere.

In my next post, I talke about where you may have seen Toluca Lake before and never knew it!

Tammy J.

One of the unique features of Toluca Lake is that it offers a bit of elegance and bit of charm all in the same location. It hosts some of the most beautiful homes found in all of Los Angeles. Many of them have been published in Vanity Fair and aired on HGTV. Some homes can cost over 10 million dollars where as others can cost less than one million. Its one of those unique area that offers a wide variety of homes. Not only in price, but in square footage as well.

The following picture is good example of that. You can see how the surrounding homes compare to the large home at top. This is quintessential Toluca Lake.

For amenities and locations, at the top of list for elegance is the Lakeside Golf Club. It has been a focal point landmark for Toluca Lake since 1925. Below is another prime example of Toluca Lake. Here you stand at the edge of the Lakeside Golf Club and look past the lake at the homes of its residents.

Another very charming location in Toluca Lake is the Falcon Theater. Its a 130 seat theater and was founded by Garry Marshall back in 1997. There are also some elegant eateries like the Smoke House located down he street form the Lakeside Golf club. Also a very charming and a rarity in Los Angeles in the independently owned Priscilla’s Coffee House. And finally, one of the most charming things about Toluca Lake is its Christmas parade that performs on Christmas Eve. Also Toluca Lake hosts an open house of all the shops along Riverside Dr. for all the residents to come out and enjoy. These are just some of the events that take place in Toluca Lake and definitely adds to it’s personality and charm.

Tammy Jerome

In my last post I talked about how so many celebrities love living in Toluca Lake. The list is long and impressive. Since the 1930, celebrities have called Toluca Lake home. One of the very first residents of Toluca was Amelia Earhart and soon after Bob Hope, one of the biggest celebrities at that time followed. Ever since then, celebrities have called Toluca Lake home. There are several reasons why. First is that Toluca Lake has a bit of anonymity to it. Its a very small area that is literally tucked away between Hollywood, Burbank, Universal City and North Hollywood. It has only 3 points of entrance. Its back side is sealed off by its local golf course facing the Hollywood hills. Traffic hardly flows thru Toluca Like other high end cites such as Beverly Hills. Beverly Drive is a zoo during rush hour. Also, for some reason, very few people had heard of Toluca Lake. So when people went celebrity searching, they never would even consider going to Toluca Lake cause they had never even heard of it. There is also another very interesting reason why Celebrities privacy is excellent in Toluca Lake. Well actually 2 reasons. One is that most of them actually live on the lake. So there isn’t a back yard with an alley way for someone to walk thru and snoop around. Its a private lake that is only open to the residents that live on it. Another is that the residents on the lake are very aware of the local celebrities and they are actually very adamant in helping them maintain there privacy. They actively help in deterring anyone who is not a resident on the lake form snooping around. Especially for celebrities.

So there is the excellent privacy that a lot of celebrities just can’t get anywhere. Another reason is its unique amenities. One obviously is the lake. It offers one of the best picturesque backyard views in all of Los Angeles. Another is that Toluca Lake has its very own private Country Club and Golf Course literally within walking distance. What celebrity wouldn’t want to have that?

Just to give you an idea of the caliber of celebrities that have graced the neighborhood of Toluca Lake, here is partial list:

Richard Arlen, W.C. Fields, Bob Hope, Ann Blyth, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Mary Astor. The next generation were Zazu Pitts, Ruby Keeler, Wayne Morris, Frank McHugh and Rudy Valle. Then came Gene Autry, Jimmy Brown, Keeley Smith, Dana Andrews, William Holden, Jack Carson, Dorothy Lamour, Doris Day, Red Foxx, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Ozzie, Harriet, David and Ricky Nelson, Wendell Niles, Sr., Audie Murphy, Jim Nabors, Sandra Dee, Bobby Darin, David Janssen and Tex Ritter. Then John Ritter, Joe Campanella, Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Andy Griffith, Jonathan Winters, Mala Powers, Ken Berry, Jackie Joseph, Goldie Hawn, Denver Pyle, Garry Marshall, Paul Henning, Roger Perry and JoAnn Worley, James Garner, Angela Cartwright, Clint Howard, Donny and Marie Osmond, Robert Fuller, John Davidson, Linda Henning, Henry Winkler, Ron Howard, Dudley Moore, Alan Thicke, Swoosie Kurtz, Denzel Washington, Andy Garcia and others.