[3][4] The Hancock family donated the land for the park proper in 1916 in order to preserve the tar pits; at the time the "Santa Monica electric line" was the major means of access.

[5] Hancock, born and raised in a home at what is now the La Brea tar pits, inherited 4,400 acres (18 km2), which his father, Major Henry Hancock had acquired from the Rancho La Brea property owned by the family of Jose Jorge Rocha.

[6] Residential development under the "Hancock Park" name began around 1919, allegedly because "his oil derricks were running dry.

[8][9] This started a series of protests, where the Hancock Park Property Owners Association tried, but failed, to prevent him from buying the house.

In the end, the RTD chose to include a Wilshire/Crenshaw station in its proposal, making residents of Hancock Park suspicious of the entire extension.

[10][11] Waxman came to soften his opposition to the ban by 2004, looking to commission a study to see if changing circumstances warranted construction of the line.

[13][14][15] In 2009, The Mapping L.A. project of the Los Angeles Times[16] redefined the area as Wilshire Boulevard on the south, Melrose Avenue on the north, but widened the neighborhood and extended it 0.5 miles (1 km) west to La Brea Avenue, and one block east to Arden Boulevard.

[24][25] The following data applies to the boundaries set by Mapping L.A.: The 2000 U.S. census counted 9,804 residents in the 1.59-square-mile (4.1 km2) neighborhood—an average of 6,459 people per 1-square-mile (2.6 km2), including the expanse of the Wilshire Country Club.

Korea and the Philippines were the most common places of birth for the 26.3% of the residents who were born abroad, a figure that was considered low compared to rest of the city.

[20] Hancock Park residents were considered highly educated, 56.2% of those aged 25 and older having earned a four-year degree.

[14] Hancock Park is home to nearly all subsections of Orthodox Judaism; of particular note is the large population of Chasidic Jews.