Hermon, (City of Los Angeles), California

No matter how long you live in Los Angeles, your chances of seeing all of it are almost nil. I've only been here 20 years, so it should not be surprising that I haven't seen large sections of the city, let alone Los Angeles County.

As I was going about my computer consulting work on Friday, I had to find a route from the El Sereno area back to the 134 Freeway so I could get back to the San Fernando Valley for my final call of the day. Poking around in Google Maps, I found a route up Monterey Road, over Avenue 60 and up Figeroa St. Little did I know that I was going to come across a piece of early Los Angeles History.

Right before I made my turn onto Avenue 60, I came into a pleasant little "Main Street" area with a lovely divided boulevard with a sign that said "Hermon." "What a cute little place, here in the midst of the city," I thought. I wonder how it came to be.

Well, a quick search turned up quite a bit of information, starting with this page on Wikipedia. Here is a short quote...

"[Hermon] is a small town in California, in the United States. It is situated in a half square-mile valley bordered by the Arroyo Seco and the historic 110 freeway to the west, Monterey Hills to the south, and South Pasadena to the north and east. The community has been part of the city of Los Angeles since 1912, but the neighborhood has retained its own unique identity. It is primarily a residential community, with a small business district in the center, one elementary school, and newly-dedicated dog park."

Additional links from the Hermon page include a short video from the Los Angeles Times, the Hermon.org web site and info on the aforementioned dog park.

I am always amazed at what I stumble across in my travels.

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