2013/2014 Chatsworth/Porter Ranch Chamber of Commerce Business Directory & Community Guide 2013/2014 | Page 21

Some facts you may
not have known about
Chatsworth:
• The cornerstone for the Chatsworth Community
Church (Methodist) was laid in 1903 making
it the second oldest Protestant Church in the
San Fernando Valley. The church’s name was
changed to Chatsworth First Methodist Church
in 1958. After it was closed in 1963, the church
became the 14th site to be designated as a Los
Angeles Historic Cultural Monument. In 1965, the
church was moved to Oakwood Memorial Park.
• Chatsworth was home to St. John’s Military
Academy, which originally opened in 1918 in
Los Angeles proper and moved to Chatsworth in
1962. Its campus was on Devonshire St. between
Oakdale and Corbin.
• On Valentine’s Day in 1921, 24 women started
the Woman’s Community Club of Chatsworth.
Grace Hageman was the first president. This is
one of the oldest continuous clubs in the area.
• Rancho San Antonio on Plummer Street west
of DeSoto, also known as the “Boys Town of
the West”, was moved from its original location
in Redondo Beach to Chatsworth in 1938.
The organization remains at the same site today.
• The Chatsworth Florist shop has been on
Devonshire St. since it was established in 1952.
• The Pampalone Schurter Professional Building
on Devonshire (across from Los Toros) has
housed dentistry practices for over 60 years.
The Chatsworth Chamber of Commerce was
even a tenant there at one time.
• The Chatsworth Library has existed in various
locations and storefronts. Between 1952 and
1963, when the first permanent location was
built at 21052 Devonshire St., the community
was serviced by the LA Public Library Bookmobile
Program. The Devonshire St. location was rebuilt
along with several other libraries in Los Angeles
in 2004.
• Los Toros Mexican Restaurant and The Cowboy
Palace Saloon still have horse hitching posts.
• Chatsworth was once home to the Devonshire Golf
Club (now Rockpointe condominiums) and the Aqua
Sierra Sportsman’s Club (now Chatsworth Park South)
at the end of Devonshire St.