What drives View Park-Windsor Hills’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, View Park-Windsor Hills is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 847 in California. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of View Park-Windsor Hills’ overall grade.
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so View Park-Windsor Hills’ 1,316 sits above most of its state (100% of California towns have fewer) while its 1,478 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.4 points).
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about View Park-Windsor Hills’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of View Park-Windsor Hills. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1896Redondo sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of View Park-Windsor Hills.
The story
How View Park-Windsor Hills came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of View Park-Windsor Hills.
View Park was developed between 1923 and 1970 an upper-class neighborhood by the same developers as Hancock Park, the Los Angeles Investment Company. It is one of the wealthiest African-American areas in the United States. It contains a collection of houses and mansions in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style, Spanish Colonial, Mid Century and Mediterranean Revival Style architecture, most of which remain today. View Park architecture features the work of many notable architects, such as the Los Angeles Investment Company, Postle & Postle, R. F. Ruck, Paul Haynes, Leopold Fischer, H. Roy Kelley, Raphael Soriano, Charles W. Wong, Robert Earl, M.C. Drebbin, Vincent Palmer, Theodore Pletsch and Homer C. Valentine. It is also rumored that renowned African American architect Paul Williams had built several homes in View Park. The only documented Paul Williams home is located at 4351 Mount Ver…
How does View Park-Windsor Hills rank for history?
View Park-Windsor Hills is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in View Park-Windsor Hills?
One place: the View Park Historic District (listed 2016).
How old are the homes in View Park-Windsor Hills?
30% of View Park-Windsor Hills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1946.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
