Western Avenue passes through a large diversity of residential neighborhoods in Los Angeles County. From the south, where it transitions into Paseo Del Mar near White Point and the Pacific Ocean, it begins in
San Pedro, then passes through
Rancho Palos Verdes,
Harbor City,
Gardena and
South Los Angeles. It is also the easternmost border of
Torrance. Around the
Pico Boulevard,
Olympic Boulevard, and
Wilshire Boulevard intersections, Western Avenue passes through
Koreatown. Further north, Western Avenue passes through the
East Hollywood district. Around the
Santa Monica Boulevard,
Sunset Boulevard, and
Hollywood Boulevard intersections, it passes through the East Hollywood neighborhoods of
Little Armenia and
Thai Town. The northern terminus of Western Avenue is north of
Franklin Avenue in the
Los Feliz district, at the base of the
Hollywood Hills. The road curves east becoming Los Feliz Boulevard, a major east/west thoroughfare through Los Feliz to the
Golden State Freeway and from there into the city of
Glendale. Another Western Avenue begins north of
Griffith Park and is located in the
San Fernando Valley area of Glendale. Its southwest terminus is nearly due north of where Los Angeles' Western Avenue transitions into Los Feliz Boulevard. The
California State Legislature has legally designated the segment of Western Avenue from 25th Street in
San Pedro north to the
San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405) in
Torrance as
California State Route 213. However, signage and maps may extend the highway south to Paseo del Mar in San Pedro, while
Caltrans has not yet adopted the northerly two miles from Carson Street to Interstate 405. The
California State Legislature has also legally designated the segment of Western Avenue from Interstate 405 to the
Hollywood Freeway (US Route 101) as
California State Route 258, but it remains unsigned and Caltrans has no plans to actually take it over. ==History==