Calabasas is located in the hills west of the San Fernando Valley in the northwest Santa Monica Mountains. It sits between Woodland Hills to the east, Agoura Hills to the north, West Hills, and Hidden Hills to the north. Malibu is a short 8 mile drive through the Santa Monica Mountains to the south of the city. According to the 2010 census, the population was 23,058. Calabasas was formally incorporated as a city in 1991. Before 1991 Calabasas was an unincorporated portion of Los Angeles County. The city is known for being the residence of several wealthy people and celebrities such as the Kardashians, Jennifer Lopez and Melissa Etheridge.
The City’s official logo, depicting the red-tailed hawk flying over the Santa Monica Mountains, symbolizes a commitment to preserving the community’s natural beauty and semi-rural quality of life. The City logo is featured on the Calabasas City flag which is flown in front of City Hall and hangs in the City Council Chambers.
The Leonis Adobe, an adobe structure in Old Town Calabasas, dates from 1844 and is one of the oldest buildings in the greater Los Angeles area.
The most accepted theory about the name is that it is derived from the Spanish word calabaza meaning pumpkin or squash. Some historians hold the theory that Calabasas is a translation of the Chumash word calahoosa.
In honor of the cities name, the City and the Chamber of Commerce hold an annual Pumpkin Festival every October, which includes carnival games, exhibits, demonstrations, and live entertainment. The festival has evolved from a small town fair to a significant annual event. The Pumpkin Festival is held at Juan Bautista de Anza Park in Calabasas, however the original festival was meant to have taken place where, according to legend, a traveling wagon carrying pumpkins overturned and started the area’s first pumpkin patch.
Area Schools
The communities in Calabasas include:
Vista Pointe, Hidden Hills West, Westridge, Calabasas Hills, Calabasas Park Estates, Calabasas Country Estates, and The Oaks, Mulholland Heights, Mulwood, Las Villas, Bellagio, The Ridge, Creekside, Clairidge, Calabasas Highlands, Mountain Park, Abercrombie Ranch Estates, Cold Creek, and Park Moderne, Mountain View Estates, Monte Nido, Deer Springs, Stone Creek, El Encanto, Archstone, Mont Calabasas, Malibu Canyon Park, The Colony at Calabasas, and Calabasas View, Saratoga Hills, Saratoga Ranch, Deer Springs, Steeplechase.
The most celebrity populated neighborhood in Calabasas is Hidden Hills, which is featured on the television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
In July 2008, the City completed construction of a Gold LEED certified Civic Center and Library complex. Located at 100 Civic Center Way, the two building complex is the first municipal-owned and constructed ‘green’ civic center structure in the state of California. It is estimated that the complex cost approximately $45,000,000 to complete. This figure includes the outright purchase of the land on which the complex sits.
The Civic Center complex contains: The Calabasas Library, meeting rooms and an amphitheater, and the Calabasas Channel (CTV).
Calabasas funds its own public transportation in the form of a shuttle and trolley service. It augments the service provided by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency and funds its own library. The City also runs the Calabasas Tennis & Swim Center, and has a protected and maintained historical district called “Old Town Calabasas”
Information source: Wikipedia