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Encino (Spanish for evergreen or holm oak) is a hilly district of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. Specifically, it is located in the central portion of the sout hern San Fernando Valley and on the north slope of the Santa Monica Mountains. It derives its name from the Rancho Los Encinos (Ranch of the Evergreens), a parcel of land given to three Mission Indians by the Mexican government following its secularization of the California missions beginning in 1834. Rancho Encino was established in 1845.
The portion of the Los Angeles River that runs through the Encino area is one of only two unpaved areas necessitated by the high water table. The original aquifer that fed the City of Los Angeles is the one located below Encino.
Encino is bordered by Tarzana on the west, the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area on the north, Sherman Oaks on the east, and the Encino Reservoir of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on the south. The district's boundaries are roughly Mulholland Drive on the south, Lindley Avenue on the west, Victory Boulevard on the north, and the San Diego Freeway on the east. Major thoroughfares include Ventura, Magnolia and Burbank Boulevards, as well as White Oak Avenue, Balboa Boulevard, Haskell Avenue and Hayvenhurst Avenue.
It is the setting and namesake of the 1992 comedy, Encino Man. Within Encino is what was the Encino RKO Ranch, where the mythical town of Bedford Falls stood during the filming of It's A Wonderful Life. Dave Grohl mentioned wearing a black "Encino" shirt to the MTV Movie Awards in a Spin Magazine interview and says of Encino, "There are some really good delis out here." Grohl also mentions, "Dude, I love the Valley!" Encino is mentioned in Frank Zappa's 1982 hit song, Valley Girl. It is a place where the crew of Blue Thunder, a 1983 film with Roy Scheider, during their helicopter shift secretly watch a woman performing physical exercise at her house while elsewhere LA councilwoman Diane McNeely is shot. "The Point" from Fast Times at Ridgemont High was located at one of the baseball fields in Encino Little League. Ali's (Elisabeth Shue) family lived in Encino in the movie The Karate Kid. Their country club was Encino Oaks and they lived on Alonzo Avenue. Encino is where live-action specials on the popular cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants take place. The character Patchy the Pirate from SpongeBob SquarePants lives in Encino. Encino is the setting of the first half of Chilean author Alberto Fuguet's novel Las películas de mi vida (The Movies Of My Life). Encino is where, according to a recurring on-air gag, Match Game panelist Brett Somers would take host Gene Rayburn to a nice hotel after the show if she were "feeling frisky." The 40-Year-Old Virgin was partly filmed in Encino. Tribal Tech, a progressive Jazz fusion band, has a song called Sheik of Encino. In the 2008 movie Hancock, Ray Embrey, one of main characters, states that his son plays on the little league soccer team the Encino Hurricanes, suggesting that the movie is at least partially set there. Miles Straume of Lost claims to be from Encino. A bonus level in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is set in a museum located in Encino. Season 4 of The Bad Girls Club was filmed in Encino.
The Encino Velodrome has provided an outdoor oval bicycle racing track since 1963.
Los Encinos State Historic Park features historic buildings, a small museum, and picnic grounds. It has recently (2009) faced closure due to California's budget crisis. BUt, the Park remains open and is a chance to see some actual history in Los A ngeles and remains a jewel to the community.
The Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area is a large area in Encino with multiple golf courses, tennis courts, soccer fields, baseball diamonds, bike paths and a lake bordered by about 2,000 Pink Cloud Cherry Trees that blossom in the Spring and were donated anonymously.Encino Park was founded around 1937 and still draws youngsters to its playgrounds, as well as older visitors who can play basketball or improve their strokes on 2 lighted tennis courts.
For over a millennium, the area known as Encino was the home of a massive California live oak known as the Encino Oak Tree. It is possible that Encino is named because of this particular tree. It was known for both its size and longevity. The tree died on February 7, 1998 after an El Niño Storm felled it. Today there is a monument to the great tree at the corner of Ventura Boulevard and Louise Avenue where the Encino Oak once stood.
Encino is home to L.A.'s largest Earth Day festival, held annually at Woodley Park.
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