Calabasas, California

Calabasas (/ˌkæləˈbæsəs/, CAL-ə-BASS-əs; Spanish for "squashes") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States.

[9] The Spanish botanist Jose Longinos Martinez recorded Las Calabazas as a place name in 1792.

In 1770, an expedition headed by Gaspar de Portolá crossed the area while returning to Mexico from Northern California.

In 1776, a northbound party of explorers led by Juan Bautista de Anza camped there on its way from Mexico.

The Leonis Adobe, in Old Town Calabasas, dates back to 1844 and is one of the oldest existing buildings in greater Los Angeles.

A former artists' colony, remnants remain of the clubhouse, pool, and cabins scattered across streets with bird names, such as Meadow Lark, Blackbird, Bluebird, and Hummingbird located directly behind Calabasas High School.

[16] Calabasas has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate with mild, relatively wet winters and hot, dry summers.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Calabasas had a median household income of $124,583, with 6.6% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

The racial makeup of the city was 85.92% White (including a large Iranian community and people of Jewish faith or ancestry), 2.18% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 7.71% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.31% from other races, and 2.71% from two or more races.

[45] The corporate headquarters of Harbor Freight Tools, The Cheesecake Factory, and DTS, Inc. are located in Calabasas.

[48] Although some of these companies have since relocated, been acquired, or ceased operations, the area continues to be home to a significant technology presence.

When the Claretians sold their Claretville property in 1978 to Clare Prophet and her Church Universal and Triumphant, Thomas Aquinas College[56] began construction on a permanent campus in Santa Paula, California.

[13] The land and historic structures by architect Wallace Neff are at the intersection of Mulholland Highway and Las Virgenes Road in unincorporated Calabasas.

[58][59] The Malibu Hindu Temple, located on Las Virgenes Road in unincorporated Calabasas, is visited by many Hindus and others from both in and outside California.

These include: Brandon's Village is a public playground located at Gates Canyon Park in Calabasas.

In 2018, the park was damaged during the Woolsey Fire, with playground equipment, landscaping, and irrigation needing repair.

Council members serve overlapping four-year terms and are elected at-large, on a non-partisan basis.

[73] In 2005, Calabasas voters overwhelmingly passed Measure D. The ordinance protects and preserves existing areas of open space in Calabasas by requiring two-thirds voter approval before any land in the city designated as open space may be redesignated for another use.

[76] These places include indoor and outdoor businesses, hotels, parks, apartment common areas, restaurants, and bars where people can be reasonably expected to congregate or meet.

[77] The ordinance was expanded in early 2008, requiring 80% of rental apartment buildings to be permanently designated as non-smoking units by January 1, 2012.

In January 2004, Alice C. Stelle Middle School, located at the corner of Mulholland Highway and Paul Revere Road, was opened to serve the eastern half of the city.

[79] It augments the service provided by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority[80] and funds its own municipal library (as opposed to participating in the Los Angeles County library system), runs the Calabasas Tennis and Swim Center, Creekside Klubhouse, public parks, and has a protected and maintained historical district called "Old Town Calabasas".

[81] Calabasas has two branches of the United States Postal Service, located in Suite 10 at 4774 Park Granada and at the Malibu Shell Post Office at 4807 Las Virgenes Road.

: The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department operates the Malibu/Lost Hills Station at 27050 Agoura Road in Calabasas.

[86] Films shot there include Showboat (1951), High Noon (1952), Calamity Jane (1953), Stalag 17 (1953), and Carousel (1956).

The titular character of the TV show Ray Donovan lives in Calabasas with his wife and two children.

Headquarters of The Cheesecake Factory
King Gillette Ranch, main residence courtyard, designed by Wallace Neff in the Spanish Colonial Revival architecture style in the 1920s
Leonis Adobe in Old Town Calabasas
Los Angeles County map