28th District Facts & Links

District Map

View an enlarged version of the map above.

View a detailed overview map of California's 28th District.

California's 28th Congressional District spreads from the northern San Fernando Valley, where it takes in the small city of San Fernando and includes the communities of Pacoima, Arleta, Panorama City, Van Nuys, and North Hollywood.

The southernmost border follows in part the famed Mulholland Drive, taking in Encino, Sherman Oaks, Studio City and the Hollywood Hills at the east end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley. Berman represented much of this area for a decade in the California Assembly in the '70s and in Congress in the '80s.

Once composed of predominately white, suburban Los Angeles communities, the district has undergone a dramatic shift in ethnic makeup with an influx of increasing numbers of Hispanic residents. Hispanics are, in fact, the predominant ethnic group of the 28th district with a population comprising 55.65%.

The district reliably supports Democratic presidential candidates. In 2000, Gore captured the 28th with 72% of the vote.

A thriving business district lies along Ventura Boulevard, which runs through the southern stretch of the district with trendy restaurants and a skyline of office towers housing corporate headquarters. It passes by the Sherman Oaks Galleria, home of the Valley Girl, a cultural icon popularized by the song and 1983 movie, and continues on to Studio City, named by Mack Sennet, the man behind the wacky Keystone Cops. A number of popular TV shows have been filmed at the Studio Center, including "Hill Street Blues," "Roseanne" and "Seinfeld."

The collapse of the defense industry and the 1994 Northridge earthquake created great challenges for this area. It has seen remarkable economic recovery, however, fueled by advances in technology, a thriving entertainment industry and the growth of service industries increasingly driven by new immigrants.

Major Industries

Service, entertainment, health care, technology-based manufacturing.

Cities

Los Angeles; San Fernando

Unusual Features

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which presents the annual Emmy Awards, based in North Hollywood; Actors Robert Redford, Marilyn Monroe and Natalie Wood attended Van Nuys High School; Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Ritchie Valens ("La Bamba") is a native of Pacoima; the final scene in "Casablanca" was shot at Van Nuys Airport.

Local Links

• Experience LA
  A free Cultural and Public Transportation Tour Guide to the greater LA area.
• The City of San Fernando
  An online portal to the City of San Fernando.

Area Colleges

• Cal State University at Northridge (CSUN)
• LA Mission College
• Los Angeles Valley College
• Pepperdine University
• University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
• University of Southern California (USC)
• Woodbury University