A 16-year-old newlywed named Marilyn Monroe had her first home was on Vista del Monte in Sherman Oaks.

Liberace, the famous musician, lived on Valley Vista Boulevard and had a piano-shaped pool complete with black keys.

Sherman Oaks is home to Fire Station #88, the first Urban Search & Rescue Task Force to respond following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York.

The term "Valley Girls" was popularized by musician Frank Zappa and his daughter, Moon Unit, and was inspired by Moon's dinner table mocking of schoolmates' speech patterns & constant shopping at the Sherman Oaks Galleria.

MORE HISTORY FACTS

Over the years, many celebrities have lived in Sherman Oaks, including Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Lou Costello, Marsha Hunt, Burt Kennedy and Hector Elizondo.

Sherman Oaks was one of the first San Fernando communities to expand and develop towards what it is today.  Anticipating the development of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, before it was named as "Sherman Oaks" - Los Angeles Suburban Homes Co. purchased 47,500 acres of the southeast Valley in 1910. In 1911, a subdivision map called Tract 1000 was filed with the county. From that parcel, one of the partners in the company, Gen. Moses Hazeltine Sherman, bought 1,000 acres for himself.

In 1927, Sherman subdivided the property and sold the land for $780 an acre. Sherman Oaks is a gateway to the San Fernando Valley. The Sherman Oaks Galleria, a best known part of our community, considered by many to be the undisputed residence of the Valley Girl, popularized by the song and 1983 movie of the same name and a cultural label. Numerous smaller boutiques and plazas line Ventura Boulevard, and two large shopping malls in the area provide residents and visitors with endless window-shopping and purchasing choices.

Many members of the financial industry, including banks and brokerage houses, are located in the area. And Sunkist Growers, one of the country's oldest and largest agricultural cooperatives, has been rooted in Sherman Oaks for almost 30 years.

Sherman Oaks was very hard hit by the 1994 Northridge earthquake  Repairs & more repairs make Sherman Oaks look as bright & shiney as you see it today.