Interesting facts about Los Angeles

los angeles

Los Angeles is the second-most populous city in the United States, after New York City.

It is the largest and most populous city in the state of California and the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California.

The city is located in a large basin bounded by the Pacific Ocean on one side and by mountains as high as 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) on the others.

As of June 2018, the population of Los Angeles is about 4 million people.

The city of Los Angeles covers a total area of 1,302 square kilometers (503 square miles), comprising 1,214 square kilometers (469 square miles) of land and 88 square kilometers (34 square miles) of water.

los-angeles-2

Los Ángeles means ‘the angels’ in Spanish.

Historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California.

The city was officially founded on September 4, 1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve.

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, becoming part of the United States.

In 1850 Los Angeles is incorporated as a municipality, and California becomes the 30th state in the union.

los angeles history

The discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city.

For more than a century it has been indelibly associated with a benign climate, extensive leisure, and outdoor recreation, as well as the special aura of celebrity associated with Hollywood.

Today, LA is a culturally diverse city, with a growing culinary scene, incredible shopping, outstanding museums, and a reputation for being the creative center of America.

Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios. It is also one of the oldest theme parks in the world and has evolved considerably since it first opened its doors to the public.

universal studios hollywood

Griffith Park, in the eastern part of the Santa Monica Mountains, and covering an area of 1,700 hectares 4,210 acres, is the largest state park in California. The park is home to the Los Angeles Zoo, the Griffith Observatory, a planetarium, a Greek theater, a riding center created for the 1984 Olympic Games, golf courses, tennis courts, hiking trails, and other attractions. Walking trails and scenic drives through the mountains offer views over the city and beyond.

griffith park

A suburb of Los Angeles, Hollywood is a destination in itself, with its own unique history and iconic sites. The attractions in Hollywood are closely associated with the film industry and the glamour of the silver screen. The hillside Hollywood sign, Hollywood Boulevard, the Walk of Fame, and the Chinese Theatre can easily fill a day or two of sightseeing.

hollywood

Santa Monica is a unique destination that is both chic and laid-back, with a population that ranges from surfers, skateboarders, and yoga devotees to techies and business people. The beautiful stretch of golden sand along the coast and the famous Santa Monica Pier, with its iconic Ferris wheel, are what most tourists come to enjoy, but you can find all kinds of experiences in this Los Angeles County.

santa monica

The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion Center opened to the public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles. The Center sits atop a hill connected to a visitors’ parking garage at the bottom of the hill by a three-car, cable-pulled hovertrain funicular.

getty center

Walt Disney Concert Hall is the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, presenting the best in classical music, contemporary music, world music and jazz. It is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center, one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States.

walt disney concert hall

The California Science Center is a state agency and museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles. Billed as the West Coast’s largest hands-on science center, the California Science Center is a public-private partnership between the State of California and the California Science Center Foundation. Founded in 1951 as the “California Museum of Science and Industry”, the Museum was remodeled and renamed in 1998 as the “California Science Center.”

california science center

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is the largest art museum in the western United States. It attracts nearly a million visitors annually. It holds more than 150,000 works spanning the history of art from ancient times to the present. In addition to art exhibits, the museum features film and concert series.

los angeles county museum of art

There are 841 museums and art galleries in Los Angeles County. In fact, Los Angeles has more museums per capita than any other city in the world.

The Los Angeles metro area is the second-largest broadcast designated market area in the U.S. (after New York) with 5,431,140 homes, which is served by a wide variety of local AM and FM radio and television stations. Los Angeles and New York City are the only two media markets to have seven VHF allocations assigned to them.

Los Angeles hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics and will host the event for a third time in 2028.

The city and the rest of the Los Angeles metropolitan area are served by an extensive network of freeways and highways.

The average traveler in Los Angeles experienced 72 hours of traffic delay per year according to the study.