Ladera Heights, California

Ladera Heights is a census-designated place and unincorporated area in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. The population was 6,498 at the 2010 census. Culver City lies to its west, the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles to its north, and the Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles to its south and southwest.HistoryLadera Heights originated in the late 1940s with the development of "Old Ladera". In the 1960s, custom homes were built in "New Ladera". Prominent builders included Valentine and Gallant. Robert Earl, who designed many of the Valentine homes, went on to build large multimillion-dollar estates throughout Southern California and in other countries. Neighboring Fox Hills contained a beautiful golf course with rolling hills that backed up to Wooster Avenue. Valentine built Robert Earl designed homes on Wooster overlooking the Fox Hills golf course. Years later, Donald Trump asked Earl to design estate homes with panoramic views of his Palos Verdes golf course.Baseball player Frank Robinson and other sports players began moving to Ladera Heights in the early 1970s. Many celebrities have lived in Ladera Heights over the years, including Peter Vidmar (Olympic Gold 84), Vanessa Williams (Actress), Chris Darden (Attorney), Chris Strait (Comedian), Lisa Leslie and Olympia Scott (Basketball), Ken Norton (Boxing), Arron Afflalo, Tyler, The Creator (Rapper) and Byron Scott (Basketball)