Van Nuys (/vænˈnaɪz/) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.

[1] Henry E. Huntington extended his Pacific Electric Railway (Red Cars) through the Valley to Owensmouth (now Canoga Park).

The Suburban Home Company laid out plans for roads and the towns of Van Nuys, Reseda (Marian) and Canoga Park (Owensmouth).

[2][3] The town was founded in 1911 and named for one of its developers, Isaac Newton Van Nuys, a rancher and entrepreneur of Dutch ancestry.

[7] Van Nuys was the first new stop on the San Fernando Line of the Pacific Electric Railway red cars system, which boosted its early land sales and commercial success.

[8] Van Nuys became the Valley's satellite Los Angeles municipal civic center with the 1932 Art Deco Valley Municipal Building (Van Nuys City Hall), a visual landmark and Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, starting the present-day Government Center complex of government services buildings.

[5] In 1991, Marvin Braude, a member of the Los Angeles City Council, redesignated a 45-block area of Van Nuys as a part of Sherman Oaks.

A new Los Angeles County family services building was built on the southwest corner of Van Nuys Blvd.

Mexico (41.5%) and El Salvador (17.3%) were the most common places of birth for the 49.8% of the residents who were born abroad—a high percentage for Los Angeles.

The Van Nuys plant manufactured 6.3 million vehicles, including the Chevrolet Impala, Corvair, and later was the primary location for the Nova, Camaro, and Pontiac Firebird.

[17] Due to air quality remediation efforts and decreasing market share of GM products, the factory was closed.

In 1999, The Plant shopping center opened on the former factory site, anchored by big box retailers and a 16-screen movie theater multiplex.

The agency serves a large population of developmentally disabled people living in the San Fernando Valley.

It has numerous recreation facilities and natural areas, including a wildlife preserve, cricket complex, and archery range at Woodley Park.

[41] The FlyAway bus service travels hourly from its terminal at Woodley and Saticoy Avenues to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

The Metro G Line bicycle path and pedestrian walkway runs in a landscaped zone alongside the entire route, to Pierce College, Canoga Park, and the Chatsworth Station on the west, and North Hollywood on the east.

The Amtrak Thruway 1C provides daily connections from Van Nuys station to Santa Monica and Westwood/UCLA to the south, Burbank Airport to the east, and Newhall and Bakersfield to the north.

[41] Van Nuys Boulevard is the planned route for the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project, scheduled to open by 2031.

[43] Also in Van Nuys is the Southern California Hospital, at 14433 Emelita St, which is a psychiatric facility that provides no emergency services.