Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Hancock Park, Los Angeles" in English language version.
Nat King Cole was the pioneer Black homeowner in the exclusive Hancock Park section of the old Westside in the early 1950s. His wealthy white neighbors burnt crosses on his lawn and generally refused to speak to him for more than a decade.
Hancock Park, located in the eastern portion of the original Rancho La Brea area, was purchased by Major Henry Hancock in 1863. The residential subdivision of Hancock Park was developed by Major Hancock's son, G. Allan Hancock, in the 1920s. Outstanding architects of the era designed the palatial two-story, single-family residences in various Period Revival styles (including Tudor Revival, English Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Mediterranean Revival, Monterey Revival, and American Colonial Revival) for influential members of Los Angeles society. The vast majority of the residences are set back 50 feet from the street, as insisted upon by G. Allan Hancock, and include side driveways generally leading through a porte cochere to a rear garage. Previous prominent Hancock Park residents have included millionaire Howard Hughes, entertainers Mae West and Nat King Cole, Broadway Department Store magnate Arthur Letts Jr., and architect William Pereira.
On January 6, 1828 Rancho La Brea was granted to Antonio Jose Rocha and Nemisio Dominguez by Jose Antonio Carrillo, the Alcalde of Los Angeles. The grant included a stipulation that the tar pits within the rancho would be open and available to all the citizens of the pueblo for their use. The title was confirmed by Jose Echeandia, who was the Governor of Alta California at the time. Later in 1840, it was reconfirmed by Governor Juan B. Alvarado
It is worth noting, however, that the boundaries used for this claim are those identified by the Los Angeles Times, and do not line up exactly with those used by the City of Los Angeles, or by the neighborhood itself since its founding in the early 20th century. The neighborhood boundaries used by those entities are a bit smaller, including the blocks from Melrose to Wilshire, and Arden to Highland. (The LA Times map goes another half mile west, to La Brea.) 'The LA Times boundaries are wrong for Hancock Park,' said Cindy Chvatal-Keene, President of the Hancock Park Homeowners Association Est. 1948. 'The neighborhood stops at Highland;, we don't go all the way to La Brea. We've tried to get the Times to change that,' she added.
Bounded by Melrose Avenue, Wilshire Boulevard, Highland and Rossmore Avenues, Hancock Park proper is mostly residential.
Today, the Hancock Park Homeowners Assn. counts about 1,200 homes within the boundaries of Melrose Avenue, Wilshire Boulevard and both sides of Highland and Rossmore avenues.
...66-block area bounded by Highland, Rossmore and Melrose avenues and Wilshire Boulevard, there were 1,113 homes or apartment buildings -- about 86% of the dwellings -- with some historic character.
Hancock Park owes its name to developer-philanthropist G. Allan Hancock who sub-divided the property in the 1920s. Hancock, born in San Francisco, but raised in a home at the La Brea Tar Pits, inherited the 440 acres which his father, Major Henry Hancock, had acquired from the Rancho LaBrea property owned by the family of Jose Jorge Rocha. ...
Hancock Park owes its name to developer-philanthropist G. Allan Hancock who sub-divided the property in the 1920s. Hancock, born in San Francisco, but raised in a home at the La Brea Tar Pits, inherited the 440 acres which his father, Major Henry Hancock, had acquired from the Rancho LaBrea property owned by the family of Jose Jorge Rocha. ...
