When I fall in love with a particular city, one of the things I absolutely must do is learn a little bit more about it’s history. LA is one of those cities.
While the Los Angeles area is believed to have been populated by a seafaring culture as early as 8000 B.C., it was not until 1777 that the new Governor of California, Felipe de Neve decided to establish a civic pueblo on the site of current day Los Angeles. The pueblo was dictated by Spanish law to consist of an open central plaza, a fortified church, administrative buildings and streets laid out in grids.
Settlers recruited from Mexico arrived at the location over a span of several months in 1781, with a total of twenty-two adults and twenty-two children making up the initial population of the settlement. The official date for the founding of the city is September 4, 1781. The settlement was initially named El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles di Porciúncula, in honor of the Virgin Mary. Forty years later, Los Angeles had become a self-sustaining farming community best known for its fine wine grapes. Local Indians were attracted to the city as farm workers and general laborers, unlike elsewhere, the Indians were paid by the settlers, often in material goods.
Mexico became independent from Spain in 1821. During the following twenty years, the population of the settlement nearly tripled from 650 to 1,680 as more Indians were assimilated into the settlement and additional settlers arrived from America, Europe and Mexico itself. The Mexican Congress declared Los Angeles to be a city in 1835, making it the official capital of Alta California.
The Mexican American War began in May 1846 with Los Angeles being occupied during the month of August by American troops. The occupying Americans were eventually driven off when 300 locals joined forces. The Mexicans won a couple of subsequent battles before the Americans returned in full force in mid January at which time the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed. California was later signed over to America on February 2, 1848 when The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was executed.
Between 1850 and 1870, Los Angeles came to be known as the toughest city west of Santa Fe. The streets were filled thugs, brawlers, outlaws and prostitutes. The homicide rate averaged 13 per year, which was 10 to 20 times the rate of New York City during the same period.
By 1900, there were over 100,000 people living in Los Angeles. Connection to the Central Pacific Railroad was key to the significant growth of the city. Los Angeles was chosen as the southern hub for Central Pacific allowing for economic advantages and further expansion.
Oil was discovered in 1892 near the present location of Dodger Stadium. By 1923, the Los Angeles region was responsible for producing as much as 25% of the world’s oil.
As of 1950, Los Angeles was renowned as a significant producer of cars, tires, clothing, furniture as well as being the primary producer of motion pictures. Construction was booming as tract houses were continually added to suburbia.
During the second half of the 20th century, Los Angeles was inundated with street gangs and crack cocaine. The city has since seen an improvement as housing prices have risen and increased policing has prevailed. As of 2006, the city boasts a population of 3,976,071.
Here is a great video we were able to find that discusses a little of the history of LA:
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