Stonehurst Historic District

January 31, 2023

The Stonehurst Historic Preservation Overlay Zone is a historic district located in the northeast San Fernando Valley. It consists of 60 to 70 quaint bungalows and a few commercial buildings built in the 1920s for a developer by the name of “Pep” Rempp who was later arrested for embezzlement. Significantly, the homes were all built using native river rock from the local Tujunga Valley area. A considerable amount of the structures were built by local Native American resident Dan Montelongo, whose children were central to helping Albert Knight reconstruct the history of the neighborhood. The Stone Houses of the San Fernando Valley Collection documents Mr. Knight's historical reseach into the neighborhood.

Albert Knight compiled a manuscript in 1999 titled Stonehurst: A 1920s Stone House Neighborhood which describes the neighborhood’s unique history and characteristics. This manuscript was later submitted along with the HPOZ application to help achieve the neighborhood’s historic designation. In addition to the manuscript itself, Special Collections & Archives houses Mr. Knight’s research materials for the manuscript, photographs of all of the stone houses, newspaper clippings, and the materials used for the HPOZ application.

Nearly 60 of these structures are still standing today, including a community center and what was originally intended to be a post office. According to a 2003 Los Angeles Magazine article about the neighborhood, a two-bedroom, two-bath was going for $250,000 at the time.

Another interesting characteristic of the neighborhood, as pointed out by Knight, is that it is zoned “"K” which allows for ownership of horses and certain other livestock. On a walk through this neighborhood you might cross paths with some of the equine residents that have long been common to this area of Sun Valley.

Further information on the homes and the HPOZ designation can be found in the City’s Preservation Plan for Stonehurst HPOZ. There are also a selection of photos from the collection in our Digital Collections.

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Post tagged as: special collections, photographs, archives, san fernando valley