Tehrangeles

thumb|right|270px|Iranian shops along Westwood Boulevard in South Westwood. Westwood is also known as "Little Iran/Persia". Tehrangeles () is a portmanteau deriving from the combination of Tehran, the capital of Iran, and Los Angeles. Also known as Little Iran or Little Persia, a sprawl of Persian community developed in the Los Angeles area generally consisting of Westwood, Beverly Hills, Century city, West Los Angeles, Pico-Robertson, Bel Air, Encino, Tarzana, & Woodland Hills after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 prompted hundreds of thousands of Iranians to flee to the United States. It is a shopping, eating and gathering place for the large number (estimates range from 500,000–600,000) of Iranian-Americans and their descendants residing in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the largest such community outside of Iran. thumb|Persian Square The intersection of Westwood Boulevard and Wilkins Avenue was recognized by the City of Los Angeles as Persian Square.

==Origin== A Persian community originally centered in the Westwood neighborhood of the Westside in the 1960s. Immigration to the area increased several-fold due to the events surrounding the 1979 Revolution in Iran. Westwood Boulevard became known for its many Persian shops and restaurants including being a gathering place for men in restaurants and tea shops. The Iranian expatriate community of Los Angeles entered a wide variety of media including magazines, newspapers, radio, and television stations and contributed greatly to production of modern global Iranian culture while in diaspora.