Quitting Westwood

In the world of L.A. neighborhood activists, former "General Hospital" regular Shelley Taylor is the force responsible for putting Westwood North Village on the map. She lived in the home where she grew up and had much to do with starting and running the North Village Improvement Committee, which spiffed up the streets and called attention to all the architecturally significant apartments by Richard Neutra and others built on the edges of UCLA. The L.A. Independent reports this week that Taylor and her husband of 24 years are leaving for the Olympic peninsula of Washington state. “We’re tired and we want a different life,” Taylor says.

One of her biggest achievements came when Westwood North Village was recognized as an official neighborhood and community by the City Council last year. There are now posted street signs at the three main entrances of the North Village thanks to a campaign started by Taylor nearly two years ago.

“I’ve seen them (neighborhood and community signs) all over the city and our neighborhood has a name, and I’m going ‘Why don’t we have one?’” she recalled as she watched city transportation workers place one of the signs at Gayley and Veteran avenues. “I thought we should have them and I started poking around like with everything I’ve done.”