Montecito Heights, Los Angeles

Montecito Heights is a small district in Northeast Los Angeles formerly known as an original East Los Angeles area of Los Angeles, California. The 2000 population is estimated at 16,768.

Geography and transportation

Montecito Heights' boundaries are roughly the Pasadena Freeway (SR 110) or the Arroyo Seco on the northwest, Pasadena Avenue on the west, Avenue 39 to the south, Huntington Drive to the southeast, and Monterey Road to the east. Neighboring districts include Monterey Hills on the northeast, El Sereno on the southeast, Lincoln Heights on the southwest, Mount Washington on the northwest, and Highland Park on the north. Owing to the rugged terrain, no major thoroughfares run through the area. The district is largely in ZIP code 90031.

The neighborhood

Central to just about everything and known by the residents as the 'Wilderness in the City' Montecito Heights sits atop the Monterey Hills that divide the Los Angeles Basin from the San Gabriel Valley. Montecito Heights is a relatively isolated area of greenery and trendy resident home restorers. Some of the city's most spectacular views are available on the district's hills. Along with neighboring Highland Park and Pasadena, it is one of the historic centers of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Landmarks

• Ernest E. Debs Regional Park
• Heritage Square Museum
• Audubon Center
• Lummis House

Notable residents

• Charles Lummis - journalist, Indian activist and librarian.
• Alana Cordy-Collins - anthropologist and archaeologist
• Napoleon Cordy - Mayanist
• John Strother Griffin, the founder of East Los Angeles
• Jackson Pollock, artist
• Edward Rivera, journalist

External links

• Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council
• Montecito Heights Improvement Association
• Montecito Heights profile by the Los Angeles Times