Westpark

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Westpark is a master-planned housing development within the city of Irvine, California. It grew out of a small housing tract called Culverdale built in the early 1970s, and today covers roughly three square miles. Westpark is characterized by Mediterranean-styled postmodern architecture with a uniform color palette of pale orange stucco. Entrances to the village are marked by large lawns bordered by monumental rows of date palms and a large cubic plinth in the center of each lawn bearing the name "Westpark". It is located immediately adjacent to Woodbridge, which lies to the southeast. Its borders are formed by Harvard Avenue, Culver Drive, Interstate 405, and Peters Canyon Creek, which feeds Newport Bay. A four-lane road, Paseo Westpark, runs through the center of the village. Much of present-day Westpark was originally occupied by a large swamp that was formed by Peters Canyon Creek, which was filled in in the early 20th Century for agricultural development. This caused numerous geologic issues which caused development of Westpark to be repeatedly delayed. One tract, built by Habitat for Humanity in 1997, has a street named "Tortuga" (Spanish for "tortoise"), in recognition of these long delays.

Westpark has two elementary schools and one middle school, an eight-screen movie theater, three shopping centers, and several large parks. Westpark has a very high concentration of condominiums compared to other Irvine communities, and serves as Irvine's primary apartment district. The first Westpark development was begun in 1985, but the majority of Westpark was constructed in the mid-1990s. The Irvine Civic Center is located within the village of Westpark.