Sunset Strip Realty

Silver Lake

Silver Lake is an area of Los Angeles known for the diversity of its neighborhoods, some of the most avant garde homes in the area, and relatively modest home prices.  It’s considered to have a bohemian vibe because of the diversity of its arts culture, as well as being the only high priced area of Los Angeles where the majority of its residents are non-white.

Silver Lake is actually half of a manmade reservoir area that was divided in 1906.  The lower half, Silver Lake is named for Herman Silver, one of the original members of Los Angeles first board of Water Commissioners.  It presently supplies water to the city, but is being decommissioned at some near point in the future.  Walt Disney’s first studio was built here in the 1930’s, as well as Tom Mix’s studio.  The area is now overseen by the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council, whose mission is “to promote more citizen participation in government and to make government more responsive to local needs through a citywide network of neighborhood councils.”

To this end, they have been very successful.  Silver Lake is the center of the alternative and indie rock scene in Los Angeles. The Sunset Junction Street Fair is held every year in August.  It’s also been the home of many musicians, including Beck, Jane's Addiction, Porno for Pyros, Henry Rollins, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Tom Waits. It’s sometimes referred to as the "Williamsburg of the West", being compared to the district in New York City.

Silver Lake contains some of the most famous modernist architecture in North America. Architect Richard Neutra, designer of many homes in the area, built his own home on Silver Lake Boulevard.  Other homes and buildings of note are:  the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, a non-profit organization geared towards music education; the Lipetz House, designed by Raphael Soriano and built to feature a prominent music room which ended up being chosen as one of four buildings in the United States for the 1937 International Architecture Exhibition in Paris, earning Soriano the Prix de Rome award; the Model Home, designed by William Kesling to give a great view of the canyon; and the Canfield-Moreno Estate, a 22,000-square-foot country villa designed by Robert  Farquhar, and rented out these days by many musicians as both a residence and recording studio, even though there’s a claim that it’s haunted.  Silver Lake seems to be the place even for actors to want to produce music, such as Keifer Sutherland, who owns a residence here with a full recording studio. 

What makes the neighborhood have its different style and culture is its majority Latino population and safe haven for the Gay and *** community.  The mix of these two cultures, as well as many others, is reflective in the restaurants and shops in the area, and mixed with the different music styles, it’s no wonder that Silver Lake is a popular evening destination.