Balboa Boulevard is a major north–south street in the city of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and it cuts through many communities and is one of the main

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way of transport, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. Originally, the word referred to a main road or open street which was frequented thoroughly. Different terms *Roa ...

s in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

Name

Balboa Boulevard was named after

Vasco Núñez de Balboa Vasco Núñez de Balboa (; c. 1475around January 12–21, 1519) was a Spanish people, Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. He is best known for crossing the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to ...

, a Spanish explorer who with his crew was the first European to see the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

from

the Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sin ...

. Several of the

's north-south streets were originally named after historic explorers, including Balboa, De Soto, Alvarado, Cabrillo, Cortez, and Diaz, but Balboa Boulevard and De Soto Avenue are the only street names that remain.

Route

The southern end of Balboa Boulevard starts at

Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley as it is along the commem ...

in the Encino section of Los Angeles. From there, it passes under the

Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California, United States, that runs from the Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara/Ventura county line to Pasadena in Los Angeles County. It is the principal east–west route (designate ...

(

US 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

), goes through a portion of the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area, and runs through the communities of

Lake Balboa Lake Balboa is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. The area was previously part of Van Nuys.Van Nuys Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1 ...

, Northridge, North Hills, and Granada Hills. As Balboa Boulevard passes through Granada Hills, it passes over the Ronald Reagan Freeway (SR 118) before ending at Foothill Boulevard in the vicinity of the Newhall Pass interchange.

Notable destinations

Notable destinations on Balboa Blvd include (from south to north) Encino Chamber of Commerce,

Children's Hospital Los Angeles Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care Pediatrics, children's hospital in the East Hollywood, Los Angeles, East Hollywood district of Los Angeles, on Sunset Boulevard at the corner of Vermont Avenue ...

outpatient specialty center, Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area, Lake Balboa Park, Valley Relics Museum, Knollwood Country Club, and Joseph Jensen Water Treatment Plant. The Cascades, an important part of the

Los Angeles Aqueduct The Los Angeles Aqueduct system, comprising the Los Angeles Aqueduct (Owens Valley aqueduct) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, is a water conveyance system, built and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The Owens Valley ...

, is also located near Balboa's northern terminus. Several schools are also located on Balboa Blvd, including (from south to north)

Birmingham High School Birmingham Community Charter High School (formerly Birmingham High School) is a charter high school in the neighborhood/district of Lake Balboa in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was founded in 1953 ...

, Daniel Pearl Magnet High School, Balboa Gifted/High-Ability Magnet Elementary School, and Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Transit

Metro Local The Los Angeles Metro Bus is the transit bus service in Los Angeles County, California, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). Metro Bus operates in the Los Angeles Basin, the San Fernando Valley, and th ...

lines 235 and 236 run along Balboa Boulevard. The G Line serves a

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

at its intersection with Victory Boulevard in Lake Balboa.

References

{{Streets in Los Angeles Streets in Los Angeles Streets in the San Fernando Valley Boulevards in the United States Encino, Los Angeles Granada Hills, Los Angeles Lake Balboa, Los Angeles Van Nuys, Los Angeles Sylmar, Los Angeles