Los Cerritos, Long Beach, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Los Cerritos is a neighborhood of approximately 700 homes and 2,000 residents located in Long Beach, United States. Established in 1906, Los Cerritos Neighborhood has long served the film industry of Los Angeles and was one of three finalists in the 2007 Neighborhood of the Year national competition.
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[edit] History
On October 7, 1906, 330 acres (130 ha) surrounding Rancho Los Cerritos were designated as the Los Cerritos subdivision.[1] Once streets were cut out into the designed tract, the lots began to sell.
In 1920, Thomas Gilchrist, an Oklahoma oilman, purchased 10 acres (4.0 ha) along La Linda Drive[2] and subdivided them into a development called La Linda, Spanish for "the pretty." In 1929, 20th century architect Kirtland Cutter designed three award-winning homes in the Los Cerritos Neighborhood.[3] With the success of the 1939 American musical fantasy film The Wizard of Oz, many of the little people who had acquired their wealth by playing the roles of the munchkins purchased lots in the La Linda development of Los Cerritos Neighborhood and built homes sized to suit their needs.
La Linda affectionately became known as "Midget Town" and the proximity of the La Linda development to the studios allowed them to work many supporting casts in the movies from the 1940s on. Now one of Long Beach's oldest gated communities, the residential make-up of La Linda has changed. Many of the homes have since become mansionized.[4]
In 1985, a home on Country Club Drive[5] in the Los Cerritos neighborhood was used as the Bueller family home in the 1986 comedy film Ferris Bueller's Day Off[6][7] and subsequently used in the 2001 comedy film Not Another Teen Movie, the 2002 thriller film Red Dragon, and in a Cheerios commercial. In 1998, two homes on Cedar Avenue in the Los Cerritos neighborhood were used in the 1999 teen comedy film American Pie.[8][9][10] In August 2000, a home on Country Club Drive different than the 'Ferris Bueller home' was used as the fictional home for the teenager Donnie Darko in the 2001 drama/psychological thriller/science fiction film Donnie Darko.
In 2007, Los Cerritos Neighborhood was one of three finalists in Neighborhood USA's Neighborhood of the Year national competition in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[11]
[edit] Gallery
 North view of the Los Cerritos house used in the the 1985 teen film Weird Science as the fictional, upscale family home Wyatt Donnelly and the location of the Gary-Wyatt party. The Weird Science house also appeared in the 2001 comedy film Not Another Teen Movie and in the 2001 drama/psychological thriller/science fiction film Donnie Darko. |
 Northeast view of the Los Cerritos house used in the 1986 comedy film Ferris Bueller's Day Off as the Bueller family home. This Los Cerritos home also was used in the 2001 comedy film Not Another Teen Movie and the 2002 thriller film Red Dragon. |
 West view of the Los Cerritos house used in the 1999 teen comedy film American Pie. The house served as the Levenstein family home where the character Jim sets up the camera to peep on the beautiful foreign exchange student, Nadia. The house also is seen in American Pie 2. |
 Northwest view of the Los Cerritos house used in the 1999 teen comedy film American Pie. The house served as the family home of Alyson Hannigan's character Michelle Flaherty, a band geek and perky flute player know for starting sentences with "And one time, at band camp, ..." |
 West view of the Los Cerritos house where the four character friends in the 2001 comedy film American Pie 2 worked to paint this house yellow while vacationing at a lake. |
 Northwest view of the Los Cerritos house used in the 2001 drama/psychological thriller/science fiction film Donnie Darko as the fictional family home for the teenager Donnie Darko. The house also appeared in an episode of the 2003-2005 American television fantasy/family drama Joan of Arcadia as part of a house party scene. |
[edit] Sites
- Daugherty Field
- Virginia Country Club
- Rancho Los Cerritos
