View source for La Cienega Boulevard

{{Short description|Highway in Los Angeles, US}}
{{ref improve|date=April 2015}}
{{attached KML|display=title}}
{{Infobox street
|name=La Cienega Boulevard<br>(Spanish: "The Swamp")
|marker_image=
|image=La Cienega map.jpg
| metro= {{LACMTA link logo}} {{LACMTA icon|E}}[[La Cienega/Jefferson station|La Cienega/Jefferson]]
|direction_a=South
|terminus_a=El Segundo Boulevard in [[Del Aire, California|Del Aire]]
|junction={{jct|state=CA|I|105}} in [[Los Angeles]]<br>{{jct|state=CA|I|405}} in [[Inglewood, California|Inglewod]]<br>{{jct|state=CA|SR|187}} in [[Los Angeles]]<br>{{jct|state=CA|I|10}} in [[Los Angeles]]<br>{{jct|state=CA|SR|2}} in [[West Hollywood, California|West Hollywood]]
|direction_b=North
|terminus_b=Sunset Boulevard in [[West Hollywood, California|West Hollywood]]
}}

'''La Cienega Boulevard''' is a major north–south [[arterial road]] in the [[Los Angeles metropolitan area]] that runs from the [[Sunset Strip]] in [[West Hollywood, California|West Hollywood]] in the north to El Segundo Boulevard in [[Hawthorne, California|Hawthorne]] in the South. It was named for [[Rancho Las Cienegas]], literally "The Ranch Of The Swamps," an area of marshland south of [[Rancho La Brea]].

==Route description==
La Cienega Boulevard's northern terminus is the [[Sunset Strip]] in [[West Hollywood, California|West Hollywood]]. It runs as a surface street in a due south direction through [[Beverly Hills]] and a section known as "Restaurant Row" for its historic tradition of upscale restaurants. South of Olympic, La Cienega runs through between the [[Pico-Robertson]], [[South Carthay, Los Angeles|South Carthay]], and [[Crestview, Los Angeles|Crestview]] neighborhoods of [[West Los Angeles]]. South of the [[Interstate 10 in California|Santa Monica Freeway, the I-10]], it briefly borders [[Culver City, California|Culver City]], and passes the La Cienega/Jefferson station of the [[E Line (Los Angeles Metro)|Metro E Line.]]

[[Image:West Hollywood - La Cienega Blvd.JPG|thumb|right|Looking north on La Cienega from Santa Monica Blvd]]
Between [[Manchester Avenue|Obama Boulevard]] and [[Manchester Avenue]], most of La Cienega Boulevard is a divided, limited access expressway with few [[traffic light|traffic signals]]. In the late 1940s, as part of the proposed ''[[Laurel Canyon Freeway]]'', La Cienega  was constructed to [[freeway]] standards with several grade-separated interchanges. Emergency [[call box]]es like those found along the area's [[freeway]]s were also installed along that stretch in the early 1970s. The ''[[Laurel Canyon Freeway]]'' was never completed. This stretch of La Cienega passes through the [[Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area]], [[Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, California|Baldwin Hills]], the [[Inglewood Oil Field]], and [[Ladera Heights, California|Ladera Heights]]. 

South of [[Manchester Avenue]], La Cienega becomes a surface street once more, running parallel to the [[Interstate 405 (California)|San Diego (405) Freeway]] through [[Inglewood, California|Inglewood]]. It terminates at [[El Segundo Boulevard]] in [[Hawthorne, California|Hawthorne]] along the west side of the freeway. A non-contiguous segment also named La Cienega Boulevard runs along the east side of the 405 freeway, roughly between [[El Segundo Boulevard]] and [[Rosecrans Avenue]] in an unincorporated strip of [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]].

===La Cienega Design Quarter===
The area of La Cienega Boulevard, from Beverly Boulevard to Santa Monica Boulevard, and its satellite streets is known as the La Cienega Design Quarter. Its shops and galleries house many antiques, furniture, rugs, accessories and art. Art dealer [[Felix Landau (art)|Felix Landau]] operated his trend-setting gallery there in the 1960s.

===Restaurant Row===

[[File:RestaurantRow 01a.jpg|thumb|right|Sign at the corner of Wilshire and La Cienega]]
[[File:LaCienega3.jpg|thumb|right|Looking south down La Cienega from the intersection with Sunset Blvd]]
[[File:2008-0914-RandysDonuts.jpg|right|thumb|The big [[Randy's Donuts]] shop is at the corner of La Cienega and Manchester Blvd in Inglewood]]

La Cienega in Beverly Hills, north of [[Wilshire Boulevard]], is known as Restaurant Row because it features many upscale restaurants. From Wilshire in Beverly Hills traveling north the best known establishments include [[Benihana]], The Stinking Rose, Darioush, the original [[Lawry's|Lawry's the Prime Rib]], Hakobe, Tokyo Table - Tokyo City Cuisine, Matsuhisa, [[Fogo de Chão]], [[Gyu-Kaku]], Woo Lae Oak, The Bazaar by [[José Andrés]], and [[Morton's Restaurant Group|Morton's]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://abc7.com/archive/6031903/|title=Top 7 restaurant rows in SoCal|last=Monreal|first=Jane|date=March 20, 2008|work=ABC 7|access-date=4 June 2014}}</ref>

==Etymology==
[[File:Ballona_Road_-_1874_-_Washington_Boulevard_from_roughly_Elenda_Street_to_Hoover_Street.jpg|thumb|Ballona Road, now [[Washington Boulevard (Los Angeles)|Washington Blvd.]], passes through the marshland, creeks and ponds of  La Cienega in 1874]]
La Cienega Boulevard is named after [[Rancho Las Cienegas]] Mexican land grant roughly in the region now called "[[West Los Angeles (region)|West Los Angeles]]." The Spanish phrase ''la [[ciénega|ciénaga]]'' translates into English as "the [[swamp]]" and the area named "Las Ciénegas" was a continual marshland due to the course of the [[Los Angeles River]] through that area prior to a massive southerly shift in 1825 to roughly its present course. The difference in spelling in Los Angeles between the Castilian Spanish word ''ciénaga'' and the name of the thoroughfare, which is common in other Iberian languages like [[Extremaduran language|Extremaduran]],<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p3fMJnT1gx0C&q=cienega+or+cienaga&pg=PA84 |title = The Place Names of New Mexico|isbn = 9780826316899|last1 = Julyan|first1 = Robert|year = 1996}}</ref> originated with the name of the ranch.

==Transportation==
[[Metro Local]] lines 105 runs on La Cienega Boulevard. [[La Cienega/Jefferson station|An elevated light rail station]] for the [[E Line (Los Angeles Metro)|Metro E Line]] is located at [[Jefferson Boulevard]]. [[Wilshire/La Cienega (Los Angeles Metro station)|An underground station]] for the [[D Line (Los Angeles Metro)|Metro D Line]] at [[Wilshire Boulevard]] is currently under construction.

==Major intersections==
{{CAinttop|county=Los Angeles|length_ref=<ref name="Google">{{Google maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/La+Cienega+Blvd+%26+W+El+Segundo+Blvd,+Hawthorne,+CA+90250/La+Cienega+Blvd+%26+Sunset+Boulevard,+West+Hollywood,+CA/@34.0054742,-118.4525627,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m16!4m15!1m5!1m1!1s0x80c2b6a1ba2603d3:0xcaf7772343d11f1d!2m2!1d-118.3714949!2d33.9163225!1m5!1m1!1s0x80c2bebdc5a468bb:0x2fcb52baaa917298!2m2!1d-118.3763403!2d34.0943963!2m1!1b1!3e0?entry=ttu|title=Route of La Cienega Boulevard|accessdate=March 23, 2024}}</ref>}}
{{CAint
|location1=Hawthorne
|location2=Del Aire
|mile=0
|road={{Jct|state=CA|road|El Segundo Boulevard|I|405|name2=San Diego Freeway|to2=yes}}
|notes=South end of La Cienega Boulevard; I-405 north exit 44
}}
{{CAint
|location=Del Aire
|lspan=2
|mile=0.2
|road={{Jct|state=CA|I|405|dir1=south|name1=San Diego Freeway}}
|notes=I-405 south exit 44/El Segundo Boulevard
}}
{{CAint
|mile=0.5
|road=120th Street
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|location1=Los Angeles
|location2=Lennox
|lspan=4
|mile=0.9
|road={{Jct|state=CA|I|405|dir1=south|name1=San Diego Freeway}}
|notes=I-405 south exit 45B/Imperial Highway east
}}
{{CAint
|mile=1.0
|road={{Jct|state=CA|road|[[Imperial Highway]]|I|405|dir2=north|name2=San Diego Freeway|to2=yes}}
|notes=I-405 north exit 45B
}}
{{CAint
|mile=1.2
|road={{Jct|state=CA|I|405|dir1=south|name1=San Diego Freeway|city1=Long Beach}}
|notes=I-405 south exit 45B/Imperial Highway west
}}
{{CAint
|mile=1.9
|road={{Jct|state=CA|I|405|dir1=south|name1=San Diego Freeway}}
|notes=Next to I-405 south exit 46/Century Boulevard east
}}
{{CAint
|location1=Los Angeles
|location2=Inglewood
|lspan=2
|mile=2.0
|road={{Jct|state=CA|road|[[Century Boulevard]]|I|405|dir2=north|name2=San Diego Freeway|to2=yes|location1=[[Los Angeles International Airport|LAX]]}}
|notes=I-405 north exit 46 
}}
{{CAint
|mile=2.2
|road={{Jct|state=CA|I|405|dir1=south|name1=[[Interstate 405 (California)|San Diego Freeway]]}}
|notes=I-405 south exit 46/Century Boulevard west
}}
{{CAint
|location=Inglewood
|lspan=5
|mile=2.5
|road=Arbor Vitae Street
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|mile=3.0
|road={{Jct|state=CA|I|405|dir1=south|name1=San Diego Freeway|road|Olive Street}}
|notes=I-405 south exit 47
}}
{{CAint
|mile=3.1
|road=[[Manchester Boulevard]]
|notes=Former [[California State Route 42|SR 42]]
}}
{{CAint
|mile=3.3
|road=[[Florence Avenue]]
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|mile=3.5
|road={{Jct|state=CA|I|405|name1=San Diego Freeway|city1=Long Beach|dir1=south}}
|notes=Interchange; I-405 south exit 47; no access from La Cienega Boulevard northbound
}}
{{CAint
|location1=Los Angeles
|location2=Inglewood
|lspan=2
|mile=4.3
|mspan=2
|road=[[Centinela Avenue]]
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|mile=none
|place=South end of expressway
}}
{{CAint
|location=Ladera Heights
|lspan=2
|mile=5.0
|road=[[Slauson Avenue]] – Ladera Heights
|notes=Interchange; former [[California State Route 90|SR 90]]
}}
{{CAint
|road=Stocker Street
|mile=5.0
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|location1=Los Angeles
|location2=Culver City
|mile=6.8
|road=Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
|notes=Interchange
}}
{{CAint
|location=Los Angeles
|lspan=4
|mile=7.4
|mspan=2
|place=South end of expressway
}}
{{CAint
|mile=none
|road=[[Obama Boulevard]]
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|mile=7.8
|road=[[Jefferson Boulevard]]
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|mile=8.0
|road={{Jct|state=CA|road|[[Fairfax Avenue]]|I|10|name2=[[Santa Monica Freeway]]|to2=yes}}
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|location=Culver City
|mile=8.2
|road=[[Washington Boulevard (Los Angeles)|Washington Boulevard]]
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|location=Los Angeles
|lspan=3
|mile=8.5
|road=[[Venice Boulevard]] ([[California State Route 187|SR 187]])
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|mile=8.6
|road={{Jct|state=CA|I|10|name1=[[Santa Monica Freeway]]|city1=Santa Monica|city2=Los Angeles}}
|notes=Interchange; I-10 exit 7A
}}
{{CAint
|mile=9.8
|road=[[Pico Boulevard]]
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|location1=Los Angeles
|location2=Beverly Hills
|mile=10.2
|road=[[Olympic Boulevard (Los Angeles)|Olympic Boulevard]]
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|location=Beverly Hills
|mile=10.6
|road=[[Wilshire Boulevard]]
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|location=Los Angeles
|lspan=3
|mile=11.0
|road=[[San Vicente Boulevard]]
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|mile=11.1
|road=[[3rd Street (Los Angeles)|3rd Street]]
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|mile=11.3
|road=[[Beverly Boulevard]]
|notes=Center of the so-called "[[studio zone]]"
}}
{{CAint
|location=West Hollywood
|lspan=3
|mile=11.8
|road=[[Melrose Avenue]]
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|mile=12.3
|road=[[Santa Monica Boulevard]] ([[California State Route 2|SR 2]])
|notes=
}}
{{CAint
|mile=12.6
|road=[[Sunset Boulevard]]
|notes=North end of La Cienega Boulevard
}}
{{Jctbtm}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Los Angeles}}
*[http://www.socalregion.com/highways/socal_unsigned/la_cienega_fwy/ Southern California Unsigned Freeways &ndash; La Cienega Boulevard]
*[http://www.lcdqla.com La Cienega Design Quarter]

{{Streets in Los Angeles}}


[[Category:Streets in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Streets in Los Angeles County, California]]
[[Category:Boulevards in the United States]]
[[Category:Southern California freeways]]
[[Category:Central Los Angeles]]
[[Category:South Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Baldwin Hills (mountain range)]]
[[Category:Inglewood, California]]
[[Category:Streets in West Hollywood, California]]
[[Category:Restaurant districts and streets in the United States]]
[[Category:West Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Westside (Los Angeles County)]]