Deadline is August 1st
September 4, 1781 is the city's official birth date, when 44 village settlers from the Mexican provinces of Sonora and Sinaloa made their home in what is now Downtown Los Angeles. They named the new settlement "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora, la Reina de Los Angeles," or The Town of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels. After the territory changed hands from Spain to Mexico, the town was officially declared a city in 1835. In August 1846, American soldiers entered Los Angeles, and the Stars and Stripes have flown over the city since January 1847.
Los Angeles is one of the world's most popular travel destinations. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, LA was the fourth most popular destination for domestic travel in the U.S. in 2003, outranked only by Las Vegas, Orlando, and Chicago. In 2003, the travel and tourism industry in Los Angeles provided more employment for area residents than any other industry besides international trade.
As the region where glamour was perfected and hip trends developed, the Los Angeles area dazzles. With its film stars, world-class museums, to-die-for shopping, and miles of parks, recreation areas, and sunny coastal fun spots, this area is one of the planet's great destinations.
Downtown Los Angeles bustles by day and sparkles by night. Get a great view from the top of one of downtown's high-rise hotels. Head to Olvera Street, where the city's roots as a Mexican outpost come alive in colorful shops and restaurants. El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument encompasses 27 buildings of historical or architectural significance.
A few blocks to the West is LA's Civic Center -- America's largest complex of government buildings after Washington, DC. It contains the most important of LA's city, county, state and federal office buildings, including the Criminal Courts Building and the 1928 City Hall. North across Temple Street from City Hall is the excellent LA Children's Museum.
Immediately southeast of the Civic Center is Little Tokyo. Among its streets and outdoor shopping centers, you'll find sushi bars, bento houses, and traditional Japanese gardens. Housed in a historic Buddhist temple, the Japanese American National Museum exhibits objects and art history of Japanese emigration to and life in the USA.
Just east of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel is the Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. It houses what is considered one of the world's most important collections of paintings, sculptures, and photographs from the 1940s to the present.
Notable Facts
Size
| The City of Los Angeles |
467 square miles |
| The County of Los Angeles |
4,081 square miles |
| Los Angeles Five-County Area |
34,149 square miles |
There are 88 incorporated cities in Los Angeles County ranging from Vernon (population 95) to the City of Los Angeles (population 3.8 million)
Geography
Los Angeles spans a widely diverse geographic area. Primarily a desert basin, the area is surrounded by the San Gabriel Mountain range and divided by the Santa Monica Mountains. Los Angeles County has 81 miles of coastline and altitudes ranging from 9 feet below sea level at Wilmington to 10,080 above sea level atop Mt. San Antonio. Area rivers include the Los Angeles, Rio Hondo, and San Gabriel rivers.
Climate
Southern California's climate has often been described as "perfect" and with good reason. It is mostly sunny and warm with gentle ocean breezes in the summer. The humidity is low with little rain. In fact there are no unpleasant seasons in Los Angeles.
| Annual precipitation |
14.79 inches |
| Average days of rain |
34.2 days |
| Average sunny/partly sunny days |
291.7 days |
| Average mean temperature |
66.3ûF |
Beaches
The Los Angeles County coastline, stretching from Malibu to Long Beach, is 81 miles long.
Other Interesting Facts
- LA is the birthplace of the Internet, Barbie, the DC-3, Mazda Miata, BMX and Space Shuttle.
- California is the largest rose producing state in the nation.
- There are more than 2,000 festivals, street fairs, parades and other special events held each year in LA.
- More than 6,000 private boats and 1,900 feet of guest boat docks at Marina del Rey.
- According to the LA County Psychological Association, there are 3,000 licensed psychologists in LA County.
- Beverly Hills has the highest average number of bathrooms per house in LA County (4.12).
- The only wooden lighthouse in the world that remains is located in LA at Point Fermin Park in San Pedro. It is now the residence of a park superintendent.
- The biggest concentration of restored Victorian homes is the 300 block of Carroll Avenue in Angeleno Heights.
- LA's flower is the Bird of Paradise.
- The city tree is the Coral Tree.
- There are approximately 200 board certified plastic surgeons in LA County.
- The tallest building in Los Angeles is the US Bank Tower (formerly the Library Tower), standing 1,108 feet, 73 stories high. It opened in January 1990 at a cost of $450 million. It was called Library Tower because it stands next to the Los Angeles Central Library.
- There are more than 4,500 technology firms in LA County.
- Griffith Park, which occupies more than 4,000 acres of land, is the largest city-run park in the country.
- Downtown LA is the largest government center outside Washington, D.C. and is home to 45,000 public-sector jobs.
- LA is the only city in the world to host the Summer Olympics twice, in 1932 and 1984.
- There are more than 25 different varieties of palm trees in LA. The most common is the Mexican Fan Palm, and the most rare is the Jabaeopsis Caffra, which can be found at the LA County Arboretum in Arcadia.
- The largest collection of camellias can be found at Descanso Gardens, covering 165 acres.
- The largest lotus pond in the U.S. can be found in Echo Park.
- The largest blossoming plant on earth is the giant Chinese Wisteria in Sierra Madre. It spans close to an acre with branches extending 500 feet. It weighs 252 tons and has an estimated 1.5 million blossoms during its five-week blossoming period.
- The LA Zoo has the largest number of lemurs from Madagascar. It is the only zoo in the West Coast to have a blue-eyed lemur.
