Arleta Portrait

When western film star Tom Mix retired, he rode off to his 17-acre ranch at Canterbury Avenue and Osborne Street in an area now known as Arleta.

The estate was the centerpiece of the area in 1938 with its oversized main house, solid mahogany stables, 10-acre orange grove and hedges whimsically trimmed in the shape of cows, giraffes and horses.

Although the actor died in 1940, a portion of his estate eventually became Branford Community Park, lending credence to the adage that cowboys never die, they just fade way.

The roaring of bulldozers broke the rural quiet in the early 1950s as developers began to subdivide the area’s numerous orange groves and dairy farms for housing developments.

“I remember when a large home across from the park was bulldozed,” said Dottie Barnett, who has lived in Arleta for 45 years. “Down came the orange groves. Down came the house. It was a sad day.”

At the time, Arleta was part of Pacoima but later broke away from its neighbor to the northeast and received its own ZIP Code from the U.S. Post Office. Then in 1968, the Pacoima postmistress, got permission to merge the two communities into one postal zone, a move that continues to irk some Arleta residents.

Still, many families move to Arleta- named for its main thoroughfare, Arleta Avenue-for its single-family homes, thriving businesses and recreational facilities.

“The strongest attraction of Arleta is its single-family residences,” said M. Hawley Smith, a past president of the Arleta Chamber of Commerce. The chamber and residents have fought hard to maintain that quality. We have fought against high-density properties like condos and apartments.

Area Highlights

* Branford Community Park and Recreation Center: The community park and recreation center combine recreation and fun in a family-oriented atmosphere. At the recreation center, children can take part in summer camp, karate, baseball, basketball, tennis and tap and ballet classes. The center also offers adult aerobics classes and basketball leagues. And elderly dancers can hoof it up with the Senior Citizens Dance Club, which offers weekly themed dances. The park has a picnic area, three baseball diamonds and basketball and tennis courts.

* Welcome Sign: Four years ago, visitors to the area were welcomed by an overgrown, trash-strewn, desolate wedge of dirt at Woodman Avenue. Today, the half-acre siteadorned with a brick-framed “Welcome to Arleta” sign surrounded by flower beds, shrubs, grass and trees-is a source of community pride. The Arleta Chamber of Commerce and Resident Assn. raised public and private-sector funds to pay for the $5,000 landscaping project, completed in 1995.

Local Issues * Code Wars: For nearly three decades, Arleta residents have fought to get back their 91332 ZIP Code. In 1968, the U.S. Post Office-the predecessor of the U.S. Postal Service-eliminated the postal zone and merged Arleta and Pacoima into 91331 in an attempt to cut expenses by eliminat ing a post office. Community residents-who have sent a 5,400-signature petition to Washington-complain that the change has caused their insurance premi ums to go up and their property values to go down because of a perception that crime rates are higher in Pacoima. “Anyone who tells you that insurance rates and property values are not affected by ZIP Codes is lying,” said Smith. That’s the first thing agents look at when you are buying a car or a home.

Community Profile

Population: 28,223

Median age: 29.7

Number of households: 7,266

Persons per household: 3.9

Owner-occupied housing units: 79%

Population below poverty level: 7.8%

Population over 18 with bachelor’s degree or higher: 9%

Income

Average household income is slightly above the citywide average.

Arleta: $47,833

Citywide average: $45,701

Northeast Valley: $44,444

Southeast Valley: $48,182

Northwest Valley: $56,427

Southwest Valley: $61,722

Ethnicity

Latino: 53%

African-American: 3%

Asian: 13%

White: 30%

Other: 1%

Source: 1990 Census

Sources: Offices of Los Angeles City Council members Richard Alarcon and Joel Wachs and staff reports; Researched by KARIMA A. HAYNES/Los Angeles Times.