When most people think of Los Angeles, they think of two places. The first is Hollywood, the second is what natives call "The West Side." Stretching from Malibu, to Beverly Hills, all the way down to the Los Angeles International Airport ("LAX"), the West Side is the trendy, stylish part of the city. In this World of Darkness, the West Side is almost entirely contained in the District of Santa Monica. The District of Santa Monica tends to be populated by the wealthiest of vampires; in particular Ventrue, Toreador and Tremere. The District reflects that, and anything you can get for five dollars elsewhere, can be had for eight dollars plus a valet parking fee here.
The District of Santa Monica is fairly extensive, and includes: Brentwood, Westwood (and UCLA), West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Century City, El Segundo, Venice, Malibu, and the City of Santa Monica itself.
However, the territories within the Domain are not entirely trendy and overpriced - there are pockets of economic humility here and there, apartment buildings in Culver City, and the "slums of Beverly Hills" to the south. Nor are all the occupants of this part of the city wealthy, tall, and blonde - though it may seem like it. Thousands of Latina nannies and housekeepers take the bus in from the other parts of town to walk babies, walk dogs, and perform all the domestic chores which the wealthy cannot do while they are at the gym or at work. Thousands more entirely average people live in apartments and work in the stores, hoping for a bit of the wealth, the style, the freedom, that the West Side represents.
Please find below an overview of the various areas in the Santa Monica District. The maps do not match our grid any longer. However - they do provide an impression of the location of the various places within an area or district. Please find an overview of how the places mentioned below, match the areas on our grid here.
G - El Segundo
El Segundo is a small but notable city with a population just over 16,000 (well over 80 of whom are white) spread over 10.8 square miles. The area was the historic home of the Standard Oil Company's Number 2 Refinery (after which the city that sprang up around this first notable industry was named). Presently, it hosts a Refinery for Chevron, a power plant, and a significant aerospace/aeronautical holdings - including the Los Angeles Air Force Base, the Space and Missle Systems Center, and corporate aeronautical facilities of Boeing, Lockheed Martin, The Aerospace Corporation, among others. It is also the home of the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Loyola University.
This picture perfect area is backbone to traditional American values. The school system is among the best in the country. The median income is just over $60,000 per annum, with under 5% of the population living in poverty. All ages are represented, and the sexes are roughly equal in numbers. Over 40% of the population is married families (most with one or two children), and another 40% is comprised of single people living alone. A further 10% accounts for single people living together in non-family situations, while the only statistical testimony that, beneath the facade of this idyllic town, lurks the same people as the rest of the nation is that 10% of households are women raising their children without the benefit of their fathers.
H - Venice
Venice, California, is a district in west Los Angeles, California. It is best known for its canals and beaches, but it also has a somewhat bohemian residential area as well as a colorful boardwalk. Its area code is 310 and its ZIP Code is 90291. The Venice of America was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905, and it was annexed to Los Angeles in 1925. (There have been several movements to secede from Los Angeles since then, including currently.) In 1929 most of the canals were filled in to allow for automobile traffic. In the 1930s oil drilling supplanted amusement. Hundreds of wells covered the area and drilling waste clogged the remaining waterways. It was a short-lived boom, but the wells were still producing oil into the 1970s.
Venice is today one of the most vibrant and eclectic areas of Southern California and it continues a tradition of progressive social change involving prominent Westsiders. The Venice Family Clinic is the largest free clinic in the country.
Dozens of movies and hundreds television shows have used locations in Venice, including its beach, its pleasure piers, the canals and colonades, the boardwalk, the high school, even a particular hamburger stand.
I - Santa Monica City
Drawing locals and world travelers alike, Downtown Santa Monica is a popular Southern California coastal destination, anchored by the world-famous Third Street Promenade. Known for a twice-weekly farmers’ market, fabulous dining and terrific shopping, Downtown also has lots of entertainment choices from movies to live theater to street performers. All this comes packaged in a moderate Mediterranean climate which provides an ideal atmosphere for taking advantage of the famous California lifestyle.
The population of Downtown Santa Monica rests around an average of 80,000 people. Of this number, over 67,000 residents are over the age of 25, in which 91% attained a high school degree or higher, and 55 percent attained a BA degree or higher. The high levels of educational attainment are responsible for an average household income of $80,000 per year while exceeding more than $200,000 per year in some households. The vast majority of the population of Santa Monica are Caucasian (78%) while there are very few Latino (14%), Asian (5%) and African Americans (4%).
Santa Monica balances vibrant commercial districts and neighboring residential communities within 8.3 square miles of land beside the sparkling Pacific Ocean. The heart of Downtown Santa Monica is 16 miles from Downtown Los Angeles, bordered by the city of Los Angeles on three sides and the Pacific on the west.
The City of Santa Monica offers convenient access to major freeways, bus lines and airports. It is served by two freeways, the Santa Monica (I-10), and San Diego (I-405); and by four major east-west thoroughfares…Santa Monica (Route 66), Wilshire, Olympic and Pico Boulevards. It is located approximately six miles from Los Angeles International Airport while possessing its own state-of-the-art aviation operations at Santa Monica Municipal Airport, offering a wide variety of business charters and general aviation services.
Centered on three miles of wide, white sandy beaches, the city enjoys a mild climate averaging about 68 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. Air quality is consistently good in the coastal district that surrounds Santa Monica.
J - Malibu
Malibu is an incorporated city on the west edge of Santa Monica with a population of 13,000 plus. It consists of more than twenty miles of Pacific coastline, where the shore gently slopes outwards, in contrast to the rest of the Los Angeles shoreline. Dominated by the Pacific Coast Highway (California State Route 1) which goes along the beachfront area of Malibu, the tranquil neighborhood of Malibu first inspired the American surf myth. Framed by the Santa Monica Mountains to the north and embraced by the Pacific Ocean to the south, Malibu is well known for its scenic state parks and beaches. With a dominant white population that consists of nearly 92% of the city, Malibu also has a notable Hispanic population, which consists of a little more than 5%; Asians make up half of the remaining 5%, while African-Americans make up less than 1% of the demographics in this region.
Of the five thousand plus households in the area, more than half is made up of married couples, with another quarter devoted to individuals only. A third of Malibu is aged 45 to 64, and a quarter is aged 25-44. With a median household income of more than $100,000, Malibu is considered one of the more prosperous regions in California. Famous for being the home of movie stars and the filming area for various classic surfing movies, Malibu's fame contributes to its relatively high property values and relatively low crime rates.
K - Brentwood
Brentwood has progressed since its founding in 1916, growing from a simple agricultural center to one of California's most wealthiest neighborhoods. Brentwood is the home of the "limousine liberal" - anyone with liberal social views and a bank account that would could make Donald Trump blush. An expensive and elite commercial district sits along Wilshire Boulevard, catering to the needs and wants of the professionals that live in the area. And while the district houses some of the most wealthy individuals in the United States, it still suffers from a budget crisis due to weak tax laws and past mishandling of monies. There is only enough money in the district to keep basic public services running smoothly - not enough to fund special events without private fundraising. Even public transportation (Los Angeles commuter buses) are being canceled one by one and leading to public outcry by the working class.
The population of the district is around 45,000 individuals - eighty percent of which are Caucasian with a median income of around $103,000. Over sixty-eight percent of the residents of Brentwood have a four-year collegiate education or better.
Points of Interest: Brentwood Country Mart (a farmer's market built in 1947), Brentwood Village (a small, but prosperous shopping center off of Sunset Boulevard) and the Brentwood Country Club.
L - Westwood
Many of the area's permanent residents are of European and Persian ancestry and generally affluent, living in high-rise apartment buildings and, in Holmby Hills, some of the most luxurious single-family houses in Los Angeles. Westwood is best known as the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Single-family homes tend to be east and southeast of UCLA, particularly in the areas behind the LDS temple. Housing in the portion of the district bounded by Sepulveda, Santa Monica, Westwood, and Wilshire Boulevards is mostly low- or medium-rise apartment buildings catering to upscale young professionals, as well as some UCLA students. Most UCLA students in Westwood, however, live in the hilly area of low-rise apartments between Veteran Avenue and the campus' western boundary.
Because of consistently high demand and the district's proximity to so many Westside attractions and businesses, rental housing in Westwood is very expensive relative to most areas of Los Angeles For all but the wealthiest UCLA students, living off-campus in a Westwood apartment necessitates sharing a room. As a result, many UCLA students live 5 miles south of campus in Culver City and the Los Angeles districts of Mar Vista and Palms, both in private housing and in large UCLA-owned apartment complexes. Significant numbers of UCLA students also live in the San Fernando Valley, but heavy traffic congestion through the Sepulveda Pass and Beverly Glen can wreak havoc on commutes between the Valley and Westwood.
M - Century City
Century City is a commercial and residential area in Western Los Angeles bordered by Beverly Hills, Westwood and Ranch Park. It is home to the financial and legal powerbase of Hollywood, with the city's major law firms and executives all present in the towering skyscrapers of the region, many of which were among the first built in Los Angeles. Sleek, clean and without much violent or gang-related crime, this predominantly white area is steeped in corporate culture.
Around the core of the monolithic buildings hosting the financial powerhouses of the entertainment industry, low-rises and houses spread outward to house those working in this relatively self-contained neighborhood within Los Angeles.
Historically, the region was owned by 20th Century Fox, which subsequently developed the area into the residential and commercial center that it has become. Although 20th Century Fox has relenquished control of the region (making a tidy profit in the process - a fitting origin for this tract of land), its name remains testimony to the corporate interests that made the area what it is today.
N - Beverly Hills
The area of Beverly Hills originally attracted attention because of its verdant greenery. It was an area of streams, wetlands and abundant wildlife. In the 1820s it was parcelled out to the extremely wealthy and well-connected, in massive estates - which saw raids by restless Natives who took exception to their territorial lands being occupied by the affluent Europeans. Beverly Hills remains the home of such people to this day.
Beverly Hills was incorporated in 1914 and became famous for cultural exhibitions of the day - including motor sports, aviation displays and the breathtaking visual displays of the Electric Fountain. The city weathered the depression following the 1929 Stock Market Crash in part because of its insistence on great civic displays, including parades and continued investment in infrastructure. While the rest of the country was mired in recession, Beverly Hills used its phenomenal wealth to spend its way through the lean times. And so it did - as property values continued to climb in the region.
Presently, Beverly Hills reputation is as strong as it ever was - people come from the world over to partake in its shopping, which includes many top-end stores along the world-famous Rodeo Drive - built in 1990, it was the first street built in Beverly Hills since its incorporation. That alone is testimony to the adequacy of Wilbur Cook's design for the ultra-elite that have continued to inhabit the area ever since.
The population in the area is 85.06% white, 7.05% Asian, 1.77% Black and 4.63% Hispanic or Latino. All populations are represented in equal share, with the median age being 41. Women outnumber men in the area, with a ratio of roughly 5:4.
While income levels are comparable to those of any affluent upper middle-class suburb in America (with average incomes over $100,000 annually), this is a function of the high renter population in the area. Home-owners in the area average over $1,000,000 in annual income. Interestingly given this level of wealth, the area is staunchly Democratic in its political support, with Democratic supporters consistently outnumbering Republics by a margin of roughly 2:1.
O - West Hollywood
Hollywood houses the Paramount Studios, Hollywood Bowl, Pantages Theatre, Doolittle Theatre, and the Henry Fonda Theatre as well as others. Housing consists of some single family dwellings for rent circa 1920s, 30s, and 40s. Apartment buildings from various eras can be found as well. New apartment complexes have been built within the last few years ranging from modest to luxury. In general, this area is middle range in price as compared to such areas as Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Westwood, and areas further to the west. Ambience is urban, fairly high density, and multi-ethnic. There are somewhat transient elements which inhabit areas around Hollywood Blvd. There is a great deal of night life and other late night activities. Like other major urban areas, Central Hollywood varies greatly from one block to the next.
The commercial, cultural, and transportation center of Hollywood is the area where La Brea Avenue, Highland Avenue, Cahuenga Boulevard, and Vine Street intersect Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard. The population of the district is estimated to be about 300,000.
