Rodger Young Village

The village was named for Rodger Wilton Young, an American infantryman in the U.S. Army during World War II.

[1] Built in approximately two months (and over the objections of the Griffith family, who had donated the park to the city), the Village was dedicated on 27 April 1946 and closed in the mid-1950s.

"RYV," as it was known, had a market, hardware store, milk and diaper delivery, drug store, theater and other amenities commonly found in small towns, and children enjoyed the adjacent Griffith Park and climbing the tower which still held the airport beacon.

Rodger Young Village was, for a time, the most diverse community in Southern California, as veterans of all races and all branches of the military lived there.

This caused problems in some nearby restaurants, which were practicing de facto racial segregation, as next-hut neighbors went to dine together.