Glassell Park

Chiseled into the San Rafael Hills of Northeast Los Angeles, Glassell Park is a 2.75-square mile neighborhood on the cusp of something new. As you drive through the community, Glassell’s hillside homes vary from renovated ranch-style houses with tall “gentrification fences,” as some locals call them, to postwar fixer-uppers to palatial Mission-style mansions in the hills. But what some buyers may find surprising about Glassell Park and adjacent eastside mountainous neighborhoods is the amount of land for sale. It’s almost enough to make you feel like you’re part of another Westward Migration, which, if you’re new to California, you are.

At the top of this seller’s market, four-bedroom and four-bath Mission-style palaces sit tucked into the hills like reminders of the endless hidden pockets of this sprawling city. For $2.2 million, you can bid on one of these hillside mansions in Spanish colonial style or something comparable but modern on up to half an acre but know that properties often go above asking price. In the mid-range, two-bedroom bungalows shaded by eucalyptus trees on good-sized hilly lots of dusty cacti are listing for under $1 million. New two-story condos the same size with amenities down in the flatter, more centrally located areas are listing in the same range. There’s land aplenty for all kinds of buyers, from the ambitious professional desiring a well-placed 5,000-square-foot lot listing for $500,000 with an architect to build on it to the bohemian artist thinking to put a silver Airstream on a windy wide-open 3,000-square foot corner in this every changing city for under $50,000.

This vast range of prices and open land illustrates an interesting if controversial aspect of Glassell Park. It’s a neighborhood on the cusp in which a multi-ethnic more working-class population of old time Angelenos are making room for a new generation of wealthy professionals who are building things. Depending on who you talk to, like local acting teacher Amanda Street, “There’s a chance to have a direct impact on creating a neighborhood and watching a community grow,” or being part of the displacement that has come to characterize the American urban neighborhood in the 21st century. Take Dunsmoor, for instance, whose celebrity chef honors the historical culture of the neighborhood with a menu derived from heritage traditions in Black and Native American cuisine. Some say the restaurant has put Glassell Park on the L.A. food map while others protested its opening. By and large, longtime residents say it’s complex. New businesses opening in abandoned buildings and safer streets are good, rudeness and traffic are not. Neighborhood spots such as Lemon Poppy Kitchen, a popular café, and Verdugo Bar, blend in for being early adopters of this changing area. For home goods, there’s a Target and a supermarket in the neighborhood.

Beyond the neighborhood, residents can grab a soda and hotdog before sitting down and watching the pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers play nearby Dodger Stadium. The Glassell Pool is open year-round to the public and offers a cool gathering place for the community on hot days. Glassell Recreation Center and Youth Center, which offers barbecue pits, a baseball field, basketball courts, a children’s play area and a community center, is maintained by the Los Angeles Parks Department, which provides classes and camps for children. The Rose Bowl Stadium, home to UCLA football, is only a 7-mile drive. On the other side of Glendale Freeway, Juntos Family Park provides several play structures, open grassy fields and a walking path.

The Los Angeles Unified School District received an overall performance grade of B from school rankings website Niche. Local Glassell Park Elementary not only educates preschool through sixth-grade students but is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1924, the magnet school is known for its STEAM program. Nearby Sotomayor Arts & Sciences Magnet middle and high school received a B minus on the site. Alliance Tennenbaum Family Technology High School offers its students smaller classroom learning environments and more specialized college prep courses. Alliance consistently ranks among the top 350 public schools nationwide. Glassell Park is a quieter neighborhood. Lacking the bigger commercial corridors of other areas, it maintains a chic urban-suburban feel. The neighborhood offers first-rate commuter access, however 9-5 drivers can run into traffic issues toward Downtown L.A. Union Station is about 4 miles away and offers train and bus services. Glassell Park is a haven on the Eastside of L.A. for people of all kinds coming together to create something new in the sunny mountains of the City of Angels.

Photography Contributed By

Jeremiah Unruh

Video By

Jarrod Bock