Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. It is often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels . An estimated population of the city is 3,8 million, but the whole L.A. metropolitan area is home to nearly 12,9 million of [...] No related posts.]]> Basic information

Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. It is often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels . An estimated population of the city is 3,8 million, but the whole L.A. metropolitan area is home to nearly 12,9 million of residents. It is located in Southern California.

The city is the seat of Los Angeles County, which is not only one of the most populated, but also one of the most diverse counties in the U.S. The ethnic character of the city is a combination of white, black, Latino and Asiatic. At the beginning of its history Los Angeles was predominantly white city, then became predominantly black and now is mainly Latino. This mixture was source of many riots and problems.

In 2008. Los Angeles was named the world’s eighth most economically powerful city.

No wonder since this city is one of the world’s centers of business, international trade, entertainment, culture, media, fashion, science, technology and education. As the home base of Hollywood it is well known as the Entertainment Capital of the World, worldwide famous as the synonym for the creation of motion pictures, television production and recorded music.

Founding of Los Angeles and its name

The official date for the founding of the city is September 4th 1781. when 44 pobladores (settlers) gathered at San Gabriel Mission and, escorted by soldiers and two padres from the mission, set out for the chosen spot which was discovered a decade before.

The first name of the settlement is debated.

Historian Doyce P.Nunis claimed that the Spanish named it El Pueblo de la Reyna de los Ángeles ( The Town of the Queen of the Angels) and for proof he use the map dated 1785. where that phrase was used.

Weber, the diocesan archivist, replied that the name given by founders was El Pueblo de la Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Porciuncula (The Town of Our Lady of the Angels of Porciuncula) and as a proof he offers the manuscript by Spanish diarist Juan Crespi (who discovered this area) who mentioned this name that he gave to the city after the feast day that fell on the date they were here- July 31st 1769.

Initial Growth

Los Angeles was incorporated as an American City on April 4th 1850, five months before California achieved statehood.

In the 1870s L.A. was still a little town with a bit more than 5 000 residents. However, by 1900. there were over 100 000 occupants of the city.

As the city grew it faced certain problems, as is the title city had to be undoubtedly the toughest town of the entire nation. The thing is that the homicide rate between 1847. and 1870. was 10 to 20 times the annual murder rates for New York City during the same period.

The Railroad

The first railroad in what is today Los Angeles was inaugurated in October 1869. and ran on a 21-mile stretch between the City of San Pedro and Los Angeles. But as the town continued to grow, so did its railway connection with the Central Pacific and San Francisco. In 1876. and in 1885. city was connected with the East by the Santa Fe system. Central Pacific Railroad could have chosen between San Diego and L.A. but feared that San Diego would become a powerful rival (with its long natural bay). Instead, they picked L.A. to be their southern hub and prompted the rapid expansion of the city’s economic growth and expansion.

Oil discovery

Very important moment for Los Angeles history and contemporary industry and economy of the city is discovery of oil in 1892. Oil was discovered by Edward L. Doheny near the present location of Dodger Stadium. The Los Angeles City Oil Field was the first of many fields in the basin to be exploited while in 1900. the Beverly Hills Oil Field was discovered just a few miles west.

Los Angeles became a center of oil production in the early 20th century and by 1923. the region was producing one quarter of the world’s total supply; it is still a significant producer with the Wilmington Oil Field having the fourth-largest reserves of any field in California.

Sources of water

In order to sustain future growth, the city needed new sources of water. The only local water came from Los Angeles River but it wasn’t enough because of the area’s minimal rain. Between 1899. and 1903. Harrison Gray Otis (founder and owner of Los Angeles Times) and his son in law Harry Chandler bought cheap land on the northern outskirt of L.A. in the San Fernando Valley (where was desert region Owens Valley with the Owens River, a permanent stream of fresh water fed by the melted snows of the eastern Sierra Nevada). By July 1905. the L.A. Times began to warn the voters of L.A. that the county would soon dry up unless they voted bonds for building the aqueduct.

Not without results.

On November 5th 1913. the great opening of the Los Angeles Aqueduct was held. The opening of L.A. Aqueduct provided the city with four times as much water as it required and offer of water service became a powerful lure for neighboring communities.

Los Angeles Times promoted development near the aqueduct’s outlet. In 1915. area of the San Fernando Valley, along with the Palms district, was added to the city, almost tripling its area.

Most of the annexed communities were unincorporated towns, but ten incorporated cities such are Wilmington (1909), San Pedro (1909) and Hollywood (1910) were consolidated into Los Angeles.

Pacific Electric Railway

One of the important influences to a growth of the city was the Pacific Electric Railway. It was the electrically powered passenger and freight railway established in 1901. It was the largest electrically operated railway in the world at its peak with over 1000 miles of trackage, and passengers could take interurban trains to and from downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, San Pedro etc.

World War II and postwar years

During the World War II Los Angeles was a center for production of aircraft, war supplies and ammunitions. Thousands of African Americans and American Southerners migrated to the area to fill factory jobs.

By 1950s L.A. was an industrial and financial giant created by war and migration, one of the best developed industrial city in the United States with production of cars, tires, furniture and clothes.

In this period General Motors persuaded most urban regions in North America to shut down their rail street car systems and replace them for more flexible, but polluting and inefficient bus systems. This drastically changed growth and travel patterns in the city in subsequent years and contributed to the severe air pollution events that Los Angeles became famous for.

The second half of the 20th century

At the beginning of November 1961. Los Angeles suffered three days of destructive brush fires. Around 500 homes were destroyed and most of them had a wooden roof which also sent a firebrands miles away. Despite this, small changes were made to the building codes to prevent future losses.

During the 70s the first skyscrapers were built. 62-floor First Interstate Building (later named Aon Center) was the highest in Los Angeles when it was completed in 1973. It was surpassed by the Library Tower (now called the U.S. Bank Tower) built in 1990., tall 310m, the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

During the 1980s the city had huge problems with criminal with gang warfare and crack cocaine widely available. Since the early 1990s the city saw a decrease in crime and gang violence through the process of gentrification and urban development.

But there were also positive and important events in the 1980s. A subway system was developed and it stretches from North Hollywood to Union Station and connects to light rail lines that extend to the neighboring cities.

Economy

In the last fifty years Los Angeles has lost much of the industry developed earlier in the 20th century. The last of the automobile, tire and steel mills factories were shut down by the 1990s. Once prospering agricultural and daily operations have moved to outlying counties while the furniture industry has relocated to Mexico and other low-wage nations. Aerospace production moved to states with better tax conditions, and the entertainment industry has found cheaper areas to produce films, television programs and commercials. However, some studios like CBS Television City and 20th Century Fox still operate in L.A.

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