Apparently it paid very, very well to write stories about a guy raised in the African jungle. In March 1919, Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of the Tarzan books, bought 550 acres of land from L.A. Times owner Harrison Gray Otis for $125,000. His Tarzana Ranch had a 4500 sq. ft. hacienda, with 20 rooms, gardens, fields, fruit orchards, and Angora goats. The previous year, the first Tarzan move had come out (“Tarzan of the Apes” starring Elmo Lincoln) so Burroughs, who was a savvy businessman, was flush with cash. A couple of years later he set aside 100 acres to create a community, which he called Tarzana, whose name survives to this day.

The town of Tarzana straddles Ventura Blvd west of the 405 Freeway:

For more information on the history of the Tarzana estate, go HERE