Village Green is a 64 acre, 629 unit, residential development set in what is often referred to as an "urban forest". It was built between 1941 and 1942 as middle-income family housing, and named Baldwin Hills Village. It became a condominium in 1972, and was renamed Village Green.
The site was declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in 1977, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, and designated a National Historic Landmark historic district in 2001.
The site plan is considered the best and most fully developed example of architect Clarence Stein's "Radburn Idea" of neighborhood community planning, and is one of the most significant assets of Baldwin Hills Village. It successfully demonstrates Stein's ideal of complete separation of automobile and pedestrian traffic, while providing a calm oasis of greenery in an urban area. The genius of the plan consists in the way the garage courts penetrate into cul-de-sacs lined with the residential buildings, which in turn face onto the pedestrian oriented garden courts.
The architecture of the buildings of Baldwin Hills Village is clear and simple: mostly two-story buildings with strong horizontal lines at the eaves and balconies, along with the low hipped and gable roofs.
In 1963, the site was severely flooded by the failure of the Baldwin Hills Dam. All structures were repaired and restored, and the landscape was augmented with the exuberant tropical species, popular at the time.
http://villagegreenla.net/ 5300 Rodeo Road, Los Angeles, CA 90016