Take a peek at some exciting restoration projects in our neighborhood. Check
out Restoring Montecito Heights!
Maybe you've wondered what's going on down the street, or maybe you're thinking about moving in to the neighborhood. Real estate professionals know that one sure sign of a neighborhood just about ready to explode in value is the number and extent of homes revitalization occuring in the area. Well, Montecito Heights must be reaching critical mass, because homes are being renovated all over the place!
Here is an inside look at some of the homes currently in restoration, and how these homes got a new lease on life. Click on Restoring Montecito Heights! to find out more.
Montecito Heights Overview
The community of Montecito Heights,
located between Los Angeles and Pasadena, has attracted
artists, visionaries and intelligentsia for nearly a
century. This picturesque district possesses a rich
history as one of the oldest and most fascinating
sections of Los Angeles. To read the fascinating life
story of the elusive region of Los Angeles which
enchanted
Aimee Semple McPherson
and cured
Charles Lummis’ wanderlust,
click here or on
"History" anywhere
in these pages .
Montecito Heights area attractions include
Heritage Square’s
collection of meticulously restored Victorian houses, the notable
Lummis Home, the famed
Southwest Museum (Los Angeles’ first museum), and the astonishingly vast
Ernest E. Debs Regional Park.
The
Audubon Center on Griffin Avenue opened in 2003 to partner with the community to preserve
Debs as an authentic native wilderness area. It has developed into an exceptional educational resource as a nature center at the edge of a dense urban environment.
Montecito Heights’ prime location, a pleasant ten
minute drive from downtown Los Angeles, not only adds
hours of free time to the waking life of any former commuter, it
also makes for fabulous and convenient sightseeing,
whether entertaining one’s guests or oneself. The
treasures enfolded in the boundaries of downtown Los
Angeles are too numerous to list, but here are a few:
MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art),
Olvera Street,
Chinatown,
Little Tokyo,
the
L.A. Children’s Museum, the historic
Angel’s Flight trolley
that links the Grand Central Market to California Plaza's astonishing water sculptures,
Dodger Stadium, the palatial
Los Angeles
Central Library, and the
newly renovated
Union Station.
Of course, the throb of a close and vigorous
colossal urban center makes the exquisite natural
haven of Montecito Heights seem like paradise to
hard-working residents. And to native wild creatures,
it truly is a paradise. Songbirds abound, and many
migratory birds have selected lovely Montecito Heights
as an interim destination in their long journeys. The
skies above Montecito
Heights would look bare to her residents without
containing at least one soaring red-tailed hawk.
Coyotes occasionally sing their eerie midnight hunt
songs, though they rarely show themselves. Great white
owls occasionally make spectacular appearances,
swooping past on their enormous wings; and many
endangered trap-door spiders make their homes in the
Montecito Heights brush lands. For more information
about our secret Eden,
click
here or on
"Nature" anywhere in these pages.
The Montecito Heights Improvement Association has
operated for over two decades with the goal of
protecting the historic integrity, preserving the
natural beauty and advancing the progress of this
little gem of a neighborhood.
Where Exactly IS Montecito Heights?
Montecito Heights, in the renowned Northeast portion of Los Angeles, borders the celebrated Arroyo Seco River (our westernmost boundary) and stretches up the lovely eastern hills behind the magnificent Heritage Square Victorian houses you can see from the 110 freeway at Avenue 43. Our community is bounded by the Arroyo Seco River on its west, Avenue 35 to the south, and includes the vast virgin arroyo wilderness lands of Ernest E. Debs Park. Our northeastern border touches the charming community of Hermon. Our easterly border adjoins the Monterey Hills community at Monterey Road. Our good neighbors to the west include Mt. Washington and Highland Park. A map is available to show you in greater detail just where our community is located.
ASNC describes our boundaries as follows:
Begin at the intersection of the 110 freeway at approximately Avenue 55, move southwest along the 110 freeway to the intersection of the 110 freeway and Pasadena Avenue, south on Pasadena Avenue, southern boundary of Heritage Square Avenue 35, east to Griffin Avenue to Idylwild Avenue, north along Avenue 33 to Lupin Terrace, east to Von Keithian Street and the imaginary line to the summit of Flat Top of Hill, center of radio tower, to the corner of Sierra Street and Mercury Avenue, along due north imaginary line bisecting Debs Park, to 110 freeway.
See the ASNC map.
Have a look around! Click on any highlighted text to visit the
site you want:
- Click fast! The new QuickClick Page offers short text info about all the great pages on the site.
- Links - Meet the neighbors! Check out the home pages of some Montecito Heights residents.
- More Links - Read great webpages describing local attractions and neighboring communities.
- Government - Find out who represents you, and how to make them aware of your concerns.
- From the padres of the Missions to today's Arroyo Arts Collective, Montecito Heights has attracted a very special kind of people. Here's a more detailed history of Montecito Heights.
- A splendid view of downtown Los Angeles from one window, pure nature from another. Read about Montecito Heights’ vibrant wilderness areas and our protective and careful custodianship of our precious lands.
- For any suspicious activity
you've seen occurring, check the handy list of
who to call, when or our extensive list of list of
important phone numbers.
- Contact Us - MHIA Officers and other contact people.
This site belongs to all the residents of Montecito Heights. If you have any suggestions, comments, concerns or questions, please
let me know!