Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in California. With a 2020 population of 3,898,747 it is the second-largest city in the United States, following New York City. Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, Hollywood film industry and sprawling metropolitan area.
The City of Los Angeles lies in a basin in Southern California, adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, and extends through the Santa Monica Mountains and into the San Fernando Valley, covering a total of about 469 square miles (1,210 km2). It is the seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with just over 10 million residents in 2020.
Home to the Chumash and Tongva indigenous peoples, the area that became Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542. The city was founded on September 4, 1781, under Spanish governor Felipe de Neve, on the village of Yaanga. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and thus became part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved statehood. The discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The city was further expanded with the completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, which delivers water from Eastern California.
Los Angeles has a diverse and robust economy, and hosts businesses in a broad range of professional and cultural fields. It also has the busiest container port in the Americas. In 2018, the Los Angeles metropolitan area had a gross metropolitan product of over $1.0 trillion, making it the city with the third-largest GDP in the world, after Tokyo and New York City. Los Angeles hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics and will host the 2028 Summer Olympics. More recently, statewide droughts in California have further strained the city’s water security. (Wikipedia)
Hawaii Theater, 5941 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, 1940Looking north on Westwood Boulevard from Wilshire, Los Angeles, 1940Hollywood High School, Los Angeles, 1941Looking east on 5th Street from Figueroa, Los Angeles, 1941Looking east on Wilshire Boulevard from Detroit Street, Los Angeles, 1941Looking north on Westwood Boulevard at Wilshire, Los Angeles, 1941Looking northeast across the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, 1941Looking west on Hollywood Boulevard at N. McCadden Place, Los Angeles, 1941Oil rigs, Signal Hill, Los Angeles, 1941Looking west on Wilshire Boulevard from the Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, 1942Greyhound, 6th and Los Angeles streets, 1943Looking east on Hollywood Boulevard from Cahuenga, Los Angeles, 1943Hollywood and Vine, Los Angeles, 1944Wilshire Boulevard lightshow, Los Angeles, 1945Los Angeles Railway Birney no. 1031 rolls through the intersection of Temple and Edgeware, 1946The Players Club, 8225 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, 1946Looking north on Broadway from just north of 10th Street, Los Angeles, 1947NBC Radio City, Sunset Boulevard at Vine Street, Los Angeles, 1947Late construction shot of Park La Brea, Los Angeles, 1948Looking north on Vine Street from NBC Radio City, Los Angeles, 1948Looking north on Vine Street from Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, 1948Looking west from Hope Street, Los Angeles, 1948Looking west on Hollywood Boulevard at Vine Street, Los Angeles, 1948Looking west on Hollywood Boulevard from Las Palmas, Los Angeles, 1948Looking northeast at Wilshire Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, 1949Looking northeast on Los Angeles Street at Sunset Boulevard, 1949NBC Radio City, Sunset and Vine, Los Angeles, 1949Ralphs, Wilshire Boulevard and Crescent Drive, Los Angeles, 1949Snowfall in Los Angeles, 1949Toluca Yard, Los Angeles, 1949Hudson Sales & Service, Los Angeles, ca. 1940sLooking east on Hollywood Boulevard at Cherokee Avenue, Los Angeles, ca. 1940sLooking east on Hollywood Boulevard at Ivar, Los Angeles, ca. 1940sLooking northeast across N. Main Street, Los Angeles, ca. 1940sMcDonnell’s, Los Angeles, ca. 1940sPan Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles, ca. 1940sVenice Boulevard at Hope Street, Los Angeles, ca. 1940s
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