Research Notes by Cory Lane

The area of present-day Los Angeles was first explored and settled by the Spanish in the eighteenth century. The city, originally called El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles ("the pueblo of our lady the queen of angels"), was founded in 1781. Over the next century, Los Angeles was successively under Spanish, Mexican, and American rule. Spanish rule ended in 1821 when Mexico achieved independence, and the young town, then a provincial outpost, came under its jurisdiction. Growing trade with the United States, as well as such marine enterprises as seal hunting and whaling, made Los Angeles California's largest town by the 1840s.

Downtown Los Angeles—home to the city's Chinatown, Koreatown, and Little Tokyo, as well as its barrios (Hispanic neighborhoods), and the predominantly black South-Central neighborhood—is known for its ethnically diverse population. Also located in the downtown area are the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic District and a modern commercial and civic center complete with modern high-rise buildings.

Hollywood, famed as the capital of the movie industry, has declined from its peak glamour days, especially around the fabled Hollywood and Sunset boulevards, but it is still the site of such show business shrines as the Walk of Fame, the trendy Melrose Avenue shopping district, and the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood of residential and commercial buildings. The area known as the Westside, located between Hollywood and the coast, is a more upscale area and home to such glamorous neighborhoods as Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and Brentwood. It is also the site of the famous Rodeo Drive shopping area.

A booming population has brought nationwide recognition to Los Angeles and the surrounding area, but it has also brought increasing environmental problems, including water shortages and pollution and air pollution. The infamous L.A. smog was sighted by farmers as early as 1940. In 1990 the city was forced to impose water rationing on its residents for the first time, and it was expected to spend billions of dollars during the decade on pollution controls to comply with federal air quality standards.

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