Brentwood

Brentwood

Modern development began after the establishment of the 600-acre Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Soldiers and Sailors in the 1880s. A small community sprang up outside that facility’s west gate, taking on the name Westgate. Annexed by the City of Los Angeles on June 14, 1916, Westgate’s 49 square miles included large parts of what is now the Pacific Palisades and a small portion of today’s Bel-Air. Westgate Avenue is one of the last reminders of that namesake.

Archer School for Girls maypole tradition Local traditions include a Maypole erected each year on the lawn of the Archer School for Girls, carrying on that set by the Eastern Star Home previously housed there. This building was the exterior establishing shot for the “Mar Vista Rest Home” that provided a key scene in the 1974 film Chinatown.