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A 1920s file photo of Westwood Village.

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A comparison of a 1920s file photo of Westwood Village today demonstrates the effects of 80 years

Tall prairie grass swaying in the wind and beds of lima beans aren’t pictures the average student would paint of UCLA or Westwood Village. Yet that is what today’s well-known images of Royce Hall and Diddy Riese cookie wrappers emanate from.

Having been shaped and molded by a variety of political, economic and social forces, both the campus and the Village started off as the Rancho San José de Buenos Ayres, a vast tract of land spanning over 4,400 acres where black-tail deer once grazed.

Since then, the demographic, geographical and social landscapes have changed, but local historians and business owners say pioneering developers have remained integral in shaping the Westwood students associate with today.

Often criticized as lacking an identity, today’s Westwood is a conglomeration of establishments ranging from the imposing Oppenheimer Towers to popular student eatery U Dog to the iconic Fox Tower. So it can be hard to imagine that the Village was first envisioned and guided under one defining principle: creating the perfect college town.

“They knew that a university would bring culture and vitality to an area that was populated by jack rabbits,” said Steven Sann, owner of the 930 restaurant at the W Hotel in Westwood and local historian.

The university, which was originally the Southern Branch of the University of California, was first situated on Vermont Avenue and began holding classes in 1919 before it grew too large and moved to its current location in 1927.

The first to follow through on plans to develop Westwood were Edwin and Harold Janss, two brothers who in the early 1920s bought the land that now includes UCLA and Westwood.

The Jansses began grading streets and planning the town of Westwood, a community that included a bowling alley and malt shop, both of which served as escapes from the one library on the newly constructed campus.

“They really designed a ‘town for the gown,’” Sann said, adding that the Janss brothers marketed the community with this slogan, which referred to a centuries-old tradition of faculty donning gowns to class.

The brothers believed every building and store should serve the needs and wants of the university population, Sann said, so even the second floor of their headquarters, which today houses the upscale restaurant Eurochow, was furnished and used as a men’s dormitory.

One of the first businesses to come to Westwood that year was Oakley’s, a family-owned barber shop that still operates today under Larry Oakley.

Oakley tells the story of how his uncle Burt was cutting Harold Janss’ hair one day in a shop on Vermont Avenue and Janss gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“He told Burt, ‘If you come out to Westwood and open up a barber shop, we’ll give you six months free rent.’ ... We’ve been here ever since,” Oakley said.

The Village also once boasted one of the world’s only year-round outdoor ice skating rinks, called the Tropical Ice Gardens, complete with a Swiss chalet and bleacher seating for 10,000.

As more developers arrived in Westwood, they brought along their own ideas, ultimately helping to change the Village into what it is today, an amalgam of sights and experiences.

One of the major trends to hit Westwood arrived on the heels of the 1960s, when a developer named Manuel Borenstein played a significant role in the Village.

“By the 1970s, the Village drifted and morphed into a regional entertainment zone for Southern California. Manny Borenstein strongly fueled this,” Sann said.

According to longtime residents, the 1950s and ’60s witnessed the flourishing of foreign and independent films in Westwood.

One of the first art houses in Los Angeles was the Landmark Regent Theater, built in 1966 on Broxton Avenue, where a French film by director Claude Lelouch played to a full house for 96 consecutive weeks.

Soon movie theaters began to open all over Westwood, and from 1965 to 1975 the number of theaters in the Village went from three to 18. The increase also altered the type of movies that would come to play on the big screen.

“Back then, people would stand in line forever. When ‘The Godfather’ played, people were waiting in line for hours. It was the dawning of street entertainment culture. ... There became this carnival atmosphere in Westwood,” Sann said.

The constantly evolving nature of the Village has resulted in a variety of developers touting distinctive ideas about how to better the area. At one time, developer Larry Taylor said he would entice high-end stores like Gucci, Versace and Armani to the area.

“He talked big and talked about several Rodeo Drives. That was the way he sold his concept,” said Sandy Brown, president of the Holmby-Westwood Property Association, a group of single-family homeowners that is heavily involved in Westwood’s developments.

Westwood’s current situation has attracted a wealth of developers amid talk of a dwindling economic situation.

Many say the Village is often synonymous with empty storefronts, a dismal parking situation and an overconcentration of pharmacies.

Today’s developers, including Jeff Katofsky, who plans to build a multiplex behind Jerry’s Famous Deli, and Alan Casden, who is in the process of building Palazzo Westwood, a $100 million retail and residential complex, have now congregated in the Village and talk about a new course of action.

“Westwood has evolved over the years. It went from being a town built around the university to an entertainment center. Now it has no identity,” said Howard Katz, vice president of community development for Casden Properties.

While many developers agree revitalization is necessary, Katz said his company will focus on supporting Westwood’s permanent living population, as opposed to transient visitors.

“If you go to Westwood for lunch, it’s busy. If you go there for dinner, it’s busy. But if you go any other time, you don’t see many people. You have a community that’s not served well by Village uses,” Katz said.

Currently, the development company has begun the first stage of excavation on its Glendon Avenue lot, which is slated to take about four to six months. Like many other developers before them, Casden Properties has come to Westwood with grand plans to redirect and redefine the area.

Local business owners and residents now say the changing dynamics of the Village have become a constant, and as much as developers have played their part, the area has also been a product of the times.

“More than by the individual developers, Westwood has been a sign of the times and the economy. ... In general, people developed a more casual style and fancier stores went out of business,” Brown said.

Yet as a result of the Village’s close proximity to UCLA, a business’ attention to the university population may be vital to its functioning, something Oakley can attest to.

“Over 40 percent of our customers come from UCLA proper, and I do the entire medical staff. We’ve done the deans of the medical school and the law schools. We know what’s going on,” Oakley said.