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Gretta Sheffer Minnema
Re/Max College Park Realty
(562) 472-8929
About Lakewood
Lakewood is located within Los Angeles County in California and was created as a post-World War II planned community. In 1950,the Lakewood Park Company began building what would become the nation’s first post-war planned housing development, consisting of 17,500 houses on about 3,500 acres. The city of Lakewood emerged from a former sugar beet field to become a model planned community, complete with street lighting and underground wires, with approximately 50 homes constructed per day.
Promoted with slogans such as “Lakewood-My Home Town” and “Lakewood, Tomorrow’s City Today,” the community was built just in time for war veterans and their families to buy their first homes with the help of the G.I. Bill of Rights, which allowed buyers to put little or no money down and pay their mortgages with low-interest, 30-year loans.
As the unincorporated Lakewood grew from a small village in 1950 to a community of over 70,000 residents within three years, its municipal needs grew as well. In 1954, residents voted
to incorporate as a city, as the largest community in the country to do so at the time, and the first city in Los Angeles County to incorporate since 1939.
Today, Lakewood has over 26,000 housing units with most of those units represented as single family detached homes. The city of Lakewood remains known for its community services and quality of life as a bedroom community. The city has been studied by historians and city planners because of its distinction as a ground-breaking type of suburban planning and construction innovations such as large-scale, assembly line home construction.
Major thoroughfares in the city include Lakewood, Bellflower and Del Amo Boulevards, along with Carson and South Streets. The San Gabriel River Freeway runs through the eastern portion of Lakewood.
Parks and Recreation
The city of Lakewood has about 150 miles of streets and 300 miles of sidewalks, with more than 36,000 trees lining city streets and within city parks. Approximately 150 acres of the city are devoted to parks and landscaped open spaces. The community also offers plenty of recreation programs for children and adults of all ages. Find out more about the parks and recreation department at www.lakewoodcity.org
Attractions and Activities
You're never at a loss for something to do in Lakewood! There are plenty of places to visit and things to do for the entire family here. Nearby attractions include the Lakewood Country Club, Lakewood Equestrian Center and the Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site.