Sherman Oaks

A bit of history

Sherman Oaks was carved out of the San Fernando Valley and subdivided for development in 1927 by a syndicate led by General Moses Hazeltine Sherman, the Los Angeles Pacific Railroad executive the neighborhood is named for. It grew as a residential Valley community through the mid-20th century near industrial anchors like the General Motors assembly plant in neighboring Van Nuys, which built cars from 1947 until its 1992 closure. Sherman Oaks' boundaries shifted repeatedly in later decades, and the neighborhood was significantly damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake before rebuilding. It remains a largely residential and commercial neighborhood within the city of Los Angeles.