Sawtelle Boulevard is a north/south street in the Westside region of the city of

Los Angeles, California 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, ...

. For most of its length, it parallels the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405), one block to the west. The street has important

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...

cultural and historical significance.

Route

Sawtelle Boulevard’s northern end is north of Dowlen Drive within the Los Angeles Veterans Administration complex (which it enters at Ohio Avenue), and its southern end is at Overland Avenue, a few blocks east of

Sepulveda Boulevard Sepulveda Boulevard is a major street and transportation corridor in the City of Los Angeles and several other cities in western Los Angeles County, California. The street parallels Interstate 405 for much of its route. Portions of Sepulveda ...

. Sawtelle Boulevard is a major thoroughfare for the Sawtelle community and

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped ...

neighborhood. The portion of Sawtelle Boulevard from

Santa Monica Boulevard Santa Monica Boulevard is a major west–east thoroughfare in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It runs from Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica near the Pacific Ocean to Sunset Boulevard at Sunset Junction in Los Angeles. It passes t ...

to Olympic Boulevard is a trendy spot for the newer

community in Los Angeles. Officially named Sawtelle Japantown, but often called simply Sawtelle or Little Osaka - not to be confused with downtown Los Angeles’ older, larger Little Tokyo, or

Japantown, San Francisco, California , also known historically as Japanese Town, is a neighborhood in the Western Addition, San Francisco, Western Addition district of San Francisco, California. Japantown comprises about six city blocks and is considered one of the largest and old ...

, Sawtelle is relatively near

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, and

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...

."Sawtelle Gets Official ‘Japantown’ Designation" Rafu Shimpo, February 27, 2015
/ref> As of 2012, businesses found on this street include Japanese fast food (

curry Curry is a dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, and then thoroughly internatio ...

and

ramen is a Chinese noodle dish popularized in Japan. It includes served in several flavors of broth. Common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen h ...

), two Japanese supermarkets, upscale

sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

bars, a holistic and medical office, hair salons, neighborhood Japanese grocery stores, a

Boba tea Bubble tea (also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, tapioca milk tea, boba tea, or boba; zh, t=珍珠奶茶, p=zhēnzhū nǎichá, zh, t=波霸奶茶, p=bōbà nǎichá, labels=no) is a tea-based drink most often containing chewy tapio ...

shop,

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

shops, Japanese artisan stores, temples, and a few historic plant nurseries. In recent years, the businesses have expanded to Korean and Chinese cuisines with popular restaurants including Seoul Tofu and ROC Kitchen. The neighborhood appeals to a wide demographic with cheap eat as well as upscale restaurants and a banquet center on the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Sawtelle Boulevard. One interesting site was the consulate of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, prior to relocated to Wilshire Blvd location, being next to a ramen restaurant and an esoteric Japanese magazine store. Saudi Arabia LA Consulate-General bldg

Homes south of this portion of Sawtelle Boulevard are inhabited by a large Japanese American population. Many of the homes exhibit gardens and landscapes true to Japanese tradition. After passing Olympic Boulevard, Sawtelle Boulevard continues as a four-lane boulevard running parallel to the

San Diego Freeway The San Diego Freeway is one of the named principal Southern California freeways. It consists of the following two segments: *Interstate 5, from California State Route 94 in San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of South ...

and

. After entering Culver City, Sawtelle Boulevard swerves east, crosses

and ends at Overland Avenue in Culver City.

In popular culture

* In

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...

's '' The Door into Summer'', the main character visits a

cryogenics In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures. The 13th International Institute of Refrigeration's (IIR) International Congress of Refrigeration (held in Washington, DC in 1971) endorsed a universa ...

facility located on Sawtelle Boulevard.

References

External links

{{Streets in Los Angeles Streets in Los Angeles Streets in Los Angeles County, California Culver City, California Mar Vista, Los Angeles Sawtelle, Los Angeles West Los Angeles Westside (Los Angeles County) Japanese-American culture in Los Angeles

Route

See also

In popular culture

References

External links