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Los Angeles from Early Days to Modern Times
An overview of Los Angeles history from the early
days through modern times. Includes information about
the original Los Angeles inhabitants, colonial days, the
ranchos, the wild west, the citrus industry, the
discovery of oil, the growth of the entertainment industry,
the factory workers, the groth of diversity, and
Los Angelse today.
LOS ANGELES HISTORY
It began as a sleepy pueblo with no natural harbor and an
inadequate water supply, and it became one of the largest
and most influential cities in the world. From Spanish
village to metropolitan power, the many people and forces
that shaped Los Angeles have created an ever-evolving city
of dynamic growth.
Native Sons
Little is known about the earliest Angelenos. The greater
part of the LA basin was home to the Gabrielenos, a
peaceful agrarian society of approximately 5,000. Their
main settlement was Yang-Na, a village located about where
City Hall stands today. The Gabrielenos covered the
territory from Orange County to Malibu, while along the
coast from Malibu northward, the Chumash Indians, a sea
faring tribe, fished among the local islands.
Colonial Days
These native people readily welcomed the first Spanish explorers
to Los Angeles. Juan Cabrillo in 1542 and Sebastian Vizcaino in
1602 explored the coast and met some of the locals, but real
Spanish settlement did not occur until 1769, when Gaspar de
Portola explored the area to open up a land route to the port
of Monterey. They named the area's major river Rio de Nuestra
Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula (The River of Our
Lady the Queen of Angels of Porciuncula).
Two missions established soon afterward at San Gabriel and
San Fernando brought Franciscan fathers and Spanish soldiers
to settle the area.
In 1781, Felipe de Neve, the Governor of Spanish California,
brought a group of 44 settlers to found a new town along the
river-thus named El Pueblo Sobre el Rio de Nuestra Senora la
Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula (the name was shortened
rather quickly). These early Angelenos were a mixed race group
of Native Americans, African Americans, and Mexican farmers.
Ranchos
The new pueblo remained a sleepy town for much of its early
life. It was an inland settlement at a time when most trade
and traffic happened by sea. The surrounding area was divided
into huge ranchos where wealthy landowners raised cattle. Now,
many communities in the LA area take their borders from these
ranchos. The town's first census in 1741 found 141 citizens.
Mexican independence from Spain made little mark on the town
but the discovery of gold at the San Fernando mission in 1842
led to an influx of fortune hunters. The famous gold rush of
1849 in Northern California created a great demand for beef
from the Los Angeles-area ranchos, but demand soon faded after
the rush was over. California joined the United States in 1850
and the face of Los Angeles was soon to change.
The Promised Land
In the early days of statehood, Los Angeles was a rip-roaring
western town. Lawlessness was rampant, and the town's inland
isolation did not allow it to see nearly as much growth as
San Francisco to the north.
But all that changed with a set of railroad tracks. In 1871,
the city was linked by rail to San Francisco, and in 1876 lines
opened to the east. Competition between the Southern Pacific
and Santa Fe railroads brought reduced fares by 1885. Rail
barons took great pains to promote travel to Southern California.
Southern Pacific's Henry E. Huntington even hired journalist
Charles Nordhoff to write a book extolling the virtues of the
Southern California climate.
Soon, tales about an earthly paradise of endless sunshine,
healthful air and abundant land brought an influx of easterners.
By the late 1800s, the area experienced a tremendous real
estate boom. Population increased five-fold between 1880 and
1890, reaching 50,000 by 1890 and 100,000 by the turn of the
century.
Many of the first arrivals were seeking better health.
Patients with Tuberculosis (called consumption) and asthma
made up the largest first wave of immigrants to Southern
California.
Advertising and the fare wars initiated by competing
railroads also brought a rapidly increasing number of
visitors (the word "tourist" was coined in Southern
California). In the early part of the 20th century,
visitors from the east and Midwest came to escape
the harsh weather back home. Their tales of a winterless
land of sunshine prompted others to come out, and after
a strong real estate push, many stayed on. Much of this
conversion took place between 1900 and 1910 when
population tripled to reach more than 310,000.
New Fortunes
As Los Angeles grew, new developments brought more
attention to the area. The growth of the citrus industry
added to Southern California's reputation as a land of
sunshine. The 1873 introduction of the seedless navel
orange from Brazil to Riverside created a citrus farming
boom throughout the area. The newly invented refrigerated
boxcar allowed California citrus to be spread all over
the nation. In 1877, a boxcar of California oranges
caused a sensation when it arrived in St. Louis.
Agriculture thus replaced cattle ranching as the new
mainstay of the economy and the area grew wine grapes,
wheat and other fruits and vegetables in addition to
citrus. What is today Beverly Hills were bean fields.
Hollywood was mostly fig orchards.
In 1892, Edward Doheny discovered oil near where MacArthur
Park lies today. The area soon became known as "greasy
gulch" and oil wells quickly sprouted up all over.
By 1897, there were more than 500 oil wells pumping
in the downtown area alone. California soon became
the third largest oil producing state in the nation,
creating overnight millionaires.
This abundance of oil and open flats made LA the
perfect place to try out a new invention that
would change the face of the city-the horseless
carriage. The city already had an extensive public
transport system in the Pacific Red Cars, but the
automobile quickly became king. Auto traffic first
took to the LA streets in 1897. By 1915, there were
55,000 cars cruising the Los Angeles roadways. By 1927,
the city was described as a "completely motorized
civilization." Auto-related developments sprang up
here as well:
1912-the city saw the first gas station;
1940-the first freeway (now the 110 from Pasadena
to Downtown);
1942-the first parking meter.
A rapidly expanding town in the midst of a desert,
Los Angeles needed water. It became apparent that
the growing population had a thirst that could not
be quenched locally. So, in a scandal worthy of a
movie plot (it later became one-Chinatown, with
Jack Nicholson), William Mulholland built an aqueduct
from the Owens Valley to bring water to dusty LA
Speculators in on the plan bought cheap land plots in
the San Fernando Valley knowing the soon-to-be
irrigated farm land would be worth much more.
Show people
LA's climate appealed to more than sun worshippers.
Abundant sunshine made LA attractive to moviemakers
who needed a steady supply of bright outdoor light
and varied terrain.
Hollywood was a small planned residential community
established by Horace Wilcox. Even though no holly
grew here, Wilcox's wife, Daeida, named the town
after the home of a woman she met on a train.
A staunch prohibitionist, Wilcox had hoped to set
up a temperate community. This desire was abandoned
soon after the Nestor Film Co. set up shop in 1911-in
an abandoned Hollywood tavern. Early movie people were
a somewhat nomadic bunch not welcomed by the townsfolk
who turned up their noses at "show people" and soon
erected signs allowing "no dogs, no actors."
But the industry flourished. Cecil B. DeMille shot
the first Hollywood film, "The Squaw Man," in 1913.
By the time of the 1915 premiere of the controversial
film "Birth of the Nation," Hollywood was an
established force. By 1920, 80 percent of the world's
films were made in California and by 1930, after the
arrival of "talkies," the film industry became one of
the Top 10 moneymaking industries in America.
In the early days of silent films, audiences could
easily watch movies being made. Carl Laemmle began
charging 25 cents to watch filming at his Universal
Studios. After the addition of sound took filming
into insulated studios, guides began to offer tours
of studios and to stars' homes.
Soldiers, Sailors and Factory Workers
Movies were not the area's only major new industry.
The war years especially brought Los Angeles to the
center of passenger and military aircraft production.
Companies with names such as Hughes, Northrup and
Lockheed set up shop here. Again, LA's economic
base shifted as manufacturing replaced agriculture's
dominance and farmland gave way to urban development.
By WWII, LA factories produced one-third of the nation's
warplanes.
Wartime brought not only workers to LA, but also
soldiers. Military personnel on their way to the
Pacific theater got a glimpse of the Southern
California good life, and many opted to stay after
the war. At the start of WWII, LA had 1.5 million
people. By 1950 it was the third most populated
city in the nation. By 1960, 2.5 million people
populated the city, and more than 6 million lived
in the county.
Diversity
Throughout its history, Los Angeles has attracted
people of all backgrounds and ethnic origins.
Significant populations from all corners of the
world have made their way to Los Angeles over time.
Large groups of Asian laborers helped build the
railroads and developed their own distinct settlements.
Chinatown and Little Tokyo served as the centers for
their respective groups, and newer Asian populations
have settled in Koreatown, Monterey Park and Little
Saigon in Orange County.
African Americans, who were among the founding
settlers of the pueblo, began to arrive in large
numbers after the Civil War, and by 1912 had settled
in significant numbers around First and Los Angeles
Streets, later migrating down Central Avenue. The
area became one of the most famous black
thoroughfares in America and saw a rapid influx
after the 1920s.
The area has always felt the strong influence of
Hispanics. While many come from Mexico, significant
waves have arrived from many Latin American countries.
LA is the second largest Guatemalan and Salvadoran
city in the world.
Modern Times
Los Angeles is undoubtedly a city with a glorious
and proud past. As a trend-setting metropolis,
LA has become synonymous with innovation and invention.
The Internet, the Barbie doll, Mazda Miata, Mickey Mouse,
Space Shuttle and the DC-3 were all born in Los Angeles.
The city's star continues to shine bright as the
entertainment capital of the world.
As the world ventures further into a new millennium,
it will also welcome a "new" Los Angeles. While
residents and visitors alike will continue to embrace
and savor the rich cultural heritage and the legacy of
this one-of-a-kind city, Los Angeles is preparing to
take its place as a leader and pioneer of the 21st century.
The new century brings with it the promise of
expansion and continued growth in international trade,
a rise in high-tech enterprises, and the title of
"#1 Visitor Destination in the World" for Los Angeles.
Where to Find LA's History
In an ever-expanding city like Los Angeles, it may seem
that history gets short shifted as Angelenos look to
the future. There are plenty of places where a visitor
can experience LA's roots.
Native American Culture (Southwest Museum)
Mission Period (San Fernando & San Gabriel Missions)
Early Pueblo Life (El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument)
Settlement of the West (Autry Museum of Western Heritage)
The Rise of the Automobile (Petersen Automotive Museum)
Turn of Century Life (Grier-Gusser Museum)
The Entertainment Capital (Hollywood Entertainment Museum)
The Entertainment Capital (Museum of radio & Television History)
The Entertainment Capital (Warner Brothers Studio Museum)
The Entertainment Capital (Mann's Chinese Theatre)
War Years (Drum Barracks Civil War Museum
War years (Fort MacArthur Museum)
Immigrant Culture (Japanese American National Museum)
Immigrant Culture (Chinatown Heritage and Visitors Center)
Immigrant Culture (African American Museum)
Immigrant Culture (Museum in Black)
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Provided courtesy of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau
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History of Los Angeles
Articles About Los Angeles
Los Angeles for Visitors
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