August 2023

By : Cozette Vergari

The mission of the Westchester/Playa Historical Society is to gather, study and preserve the history of the communities of Westchester, Playa del Rey and Playa Vista. It is a nonprofit public benefit corporation organized exclusively for public and charitable purposes. The home of the Westchester/Playa Historical Society is at  its Discovery Center, located at 6203 W. 87^th St. in Westchester 90045. There, you will find catalogued artifacts, that have been digitized for research purposes. The Discovery Center is open on Sunday mornings 9:30 until noon and by appointment or for special events. A wonderful mural captures the history of the region, as far back as 8000 B.C. Special rotating exhibits also enhance the Discovery Center.  A fun fact shared by the docents is that, standing in the Discovery Center and traveling back to the future, we are reminded that the generations of people of our geographic footprint have saluted the flags of three countries … first Spain, then Mexico and finally the United States of America. Prior to that our indigenous ancestors thrived in a productive trading economy. 

Westchester/Playa Historical Society works tirelessly to serve its mission. Currently, it is working on an upcoming Salute To Our Schools exhibit, which will open in two parts, commencing in October and expanding into the New Year. Detailed narratives, describing the historical significance of the many images captured in the Discovery Center mural, will be ready for our visitors in October. In 2024, there are plans to resurrect the guided historical walking tours and bus tours, which had been fully “sold out”, when we were shut down due to the pandemic. We also await the grand opening of the breezeway project, as visitors will be able to walk from Sepulveda Boulevard west to the retail parking area within the most northern block of the Westchester retail district, where WPHS has collaborated in the display of a dozen historical images of the local community. Our holiday candle workshops are coming up soon, and during the holiday season this year, we will be offering ready-made candles, in honor of the 1950’s tradition of the Westchester Candle yard displays which was brought back to life last year by the historical society.

We thank our many donors, who help us sustain the mission of the Westchester/Playa Historical Society. The community’s continued support is welcome, through our website  https://wphistoricalsociety.org/accepts. We also accept in-kind historical artifacts from our community members.