The first residents of Palms were Native Americans. When the Spanish moved in it was named Rancho La Ballona which was used for grazing cattle and sheep. California became part of the United States in 1848 and was admitted as a U.S. state on September 9, 1850.
In 1871, Ygnacio Saenz opened a general store at the road crossing at what is now Washington Boulevard and Overland Avenue.
In 1882, several families from Iowa chartered a railroad car to move from the Midwest to the area. The next fall they established a United Brethren Church with 11 members.
Palms was recognized as a community it its own right in 1886. Due to its location halfway between downtown Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean it became both a vacation and agricultural community. It was the first suburb to approve annexation to the city of Los Angles in 1914. On May 4, 1915, Los Angeles voters approved the annexation of the Palms district, along with the San Fernando Valley. Both areas were folded into the city of Los Angeles later that month. Palms is northwest of Culver City, south of Cheviot Hills, southeast of Rancho Park and northeast of Mar Vista.
Until the early 1960s, most of Palms was single-family homes, duplexes and triplexes, which have been since largely replaced with larger apartment buildings. Palms is now one of city of Los Angeles’ most densely populated residential neighborhoods with commercial strips running along its main roads. Westside Village is the community’s upscale residential area where there are still significant number of owner occupied single family homes yet 70% of the residents rent. Outside of Westside Village, the number leaps to 92%.
The median number of rooms in a Palms apartment is 2.9. Most of the housing stock was built between 1950 and 1979. Most renters pay between $1000-1500 a month. Most landlords do not live on the premises of the apartments they rent. The area’s affordability and central location make it popular with young professionals.
If you find a place that you like in Palms, you’ll have a very stable neighborhood. Other groups don’t stay as long, but among White renters, most have lived there for 12 years or more. There is rent control.
Palms is handy to the 405 San Diego and Santa Monica Freeway. It’s a convenient neighborhood for UCLA students with a direct link from the No. 12 Santa Monica Big Blue Bus to the campus. Buses also run along Venice Bvld the major East West thoroughfare. The Metro Expo Line, which is now being built will ultimately serve Palms.
Palms has a large number of Indian, Pakistani and Brazilian restaurants. It’s also home to the Actor’s Gang Theater founded by Tim Robbins
Palms has 58,000 residents living in three square miles. It’s 38% White, 23% Latino, 20% Asian and 12% Black. The most common ethnic group is Mexican. 40% of the residents are foreign born, higher than average for the state of California. Most of the White residents in Palms have lived there for more than 12 years.
The median household income is $51,000. 46% of the residents 25 and older have a four year degree. The median age is 31. 73% drive to work with 20-24 minutes being the most popular commute time, not surprising with Palms’ central location.
