Welcome sign

A typical stretch of Newhall Ranch Road. The bridge carries a paseo over the roadway.

Valencia is an affluent planned community located in Los Angeles County, California in the northwestern corner of the Santa Clarita Valley, adjacent to Interstate 5. In 1987, it was one of the four unincorporated communities (along with Saugus, Newhall, and Canyon Country) that merged to create the city of Santa Clarita, California. Santa Clarita is ranked as one of the top 100 places to live by Money.^[1] Valencia is home to the Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park and the adjacent Hurricane Harbor water park.

Valencia was first planned in the 1960s by the Newhall Land and Farming Company. Development began in the 1960s and continues to the present day. Valencia is notable for its landscaped boulevards connecting a mix of apartment buildings, single-family detached homes, shopping centers, office parks and industrial warehouses. Major schools in Valencia include California Institute of the Arts, College of the Canyons, The Master's College and Valencia High School.

Valencia's residential areas are separated into villages, each with its own lifestyle (see List of Valencia, California's Residential Villages). Almost all of Valencia's villages are close to schools, shopping, etc. In many of the villages, homeowner's associations oversee the quality and upkeep of housing developments ranging in size from a few dozen homes to over a thousand. Many villages also have a Neighborhood Watch program in force.

Valencia also has an extensive system of paved pathways with grade separations over and under the boulevards. The pathways are called paseos. These paseos connect the entire community together making it possible to travel around Valencia without having to cross streets at grade. The paseo network is connected to the Santa Clara River Trail which runs east along the Santa Clara River to Canyon Country. Landowners in the Valencia area pay special taxes to maintain landscaping and the paseo system.

[edit] Notables

• Jon Garland - Major League Baseball pitcher. Born in Valencia.
• Kyle Reynish - Major League Soccer goalkeeper. Born in Valencia.
• Jessica D. Stone - Actress. Born in Valencia.
• Ashley Tisdale - Actress. Graduated from Valencia High School.
• Taylor Lautner - Actor. Stars as Jacob Black in Twilight.
• Mitchell Musso - Actor lives in Valencia

[edit] In popular culture

• In the fourth season of the Fox tv-series, 24, Valencia was the new home of Jack Bauer's daughter Kim and fiancé Chace.
• In the sixth season of the Fox tv-series, 24, Valencia was ground zero for a nuclear blast and was destroyed.
• The theme park "Wally World" in the movie National Lampoon's Vacation is actually filmed at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia.
• The set of the CBS hit series NCIS is located in Valencia
• Weeds (TV series) was filmed in Valencia and the neighboring community of Stevenson Ranch
• Valencia was a filming location for the Power Rangers series for eight seasons, from 1993 to 2001.
• The set for the gas station explosion in the movie Christine was constructed and filmed on a vacant lot in Valencia.
• Valencia was featured in a scene in the movie Ocean's Thirteen where Brad Pitt was supposed to be executing a vault heist.
• The gas Station scene from "Little Miss Sunshine" was filmed at Freeway Chevron on Lyons Ave.
• The hotel that Bella (Kristen Stewart), Jasper (Jackson Rathbone), and Alice (Ashley Greene) were at during the hit movie Twilight was in Valencia (The Hyatt).
• The American TV series The Office is filmed in Valencia.

[edit] Notes

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007)

[edit] External links

• Valencia at a Glance - Newhall Land's profile of the community
• Valencia Visitors Guide
• SantaClarita.com - Santa Clarita Community Web Site & Forums