Both subway lines use an electrified third rail to provide power to the trains, rendering these lines unusable on the other three. The Blue and Gold Lines run mostly at grade, with some street-running, elevated, and underground stretches in the more densely populated areas of Los Angeles. The Green Line is entirely grade separated, running in the median of I-105 and then turning southward along an elevated route. There are nine electric utility power companies in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Southern California Edison serves a large majority of the Los Angeles metropolitan area except for Los Angeles city limits, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Azusa, Vernon, Anaheim, and southern Orange County. Southern Orange County is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area and it is served by San Diego Gas & Electric.
- Despite the large footprint of the city of Los Angeles, a majority of the land area within Los Angeles County is unincorporated and under the primary jurisdiction of Los Angeles County.
- Is a vibrant destination where creativity and self-expression have fueled the growth of art, music, architecture, and neighborhoods dedicated to cultural exploration.
- Critics refer to it either as a laid-back “la-la land” or, conversely, as a place reeling from earthquakes, fire, smog, gang warfare, and riots.
- Residents of Los Angeles elect supervisors for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th supervisorial districts.
- Below is a list of many ethnic enclaves present in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
It is very rare for temperatures to go below freezing near the coast but can occur further inland. The city receives about 15 inches (380 mm) of rain each year, although the amount can change a lot from year to year. Snow is very rare except on the mountain tops where some occasional light snow might fall. Metrolink provides service to numerous places within Southern California, including all counties in the region. Metrolink operates to 67 stations on eight lines within Southern California which mostly (except for the Inland Empire–Orange County Line and Arrow) radiate from Los Angeles Union Station. The Los Angeles metropolitan area has the third-largest metropolitan economy in the world, behind the Greater Tokyo Area and the New York metropolitan area.
Gaze into the cosmos (and out onto the cityscape) at the Griffith Observatory
Los Angeles has had a rich and influential Protestant tradition. In addition to LAX, other airports, including Hollywood Burbank Airport, John Wayne Airport, Long Beach Airport, Ontario International Airport, and San Bernardino International Airport also serve the region. From Malibu to the South Bay, Los Angeles is home to some of the world’s best beaches. For a quintessential “Endless Summer” experience, a visit to the two-mile-long Santa Monica Beach is a must. Opened in 1909, the historic Santa Monica Pier is a popular destination for the entire family, home to the Pacific Park amusement park, Heal the Bay Aquarium, and a 1922 Carousel that was featured in The Sting. Don’t miss a ride on the world’s only solar-powered Ferris Wheel, where you can enjoy a spectacular aerial view of the coast.
The Oscar Goes to the Academy Museum
There’s the popular Hall of the Sky and Hall of the Eye, a pair of complementary displays that examine the interplay between people and space. The Art Deco building itself, which turns 90 this year, is the star attraction though—and the stunning view of the city from Griffith Park makes it worthy of a visit whether you’re a space buff or not. Los Angeles Unified School District serves almost all of the city of Los Angeles, as well as several surrounding communities, with a student population of around 800,000.337 After Proposition 13 was approved in 1978, urban school districts had considerable trouble with funding. LAUSD has become known for its underfunded, overcrowded, and poorly maintained campuses, although its 162 Magnet schools help compete with local private schools. There are numerous additional colleges and universities outside the city limits in the Greater Los Angeles area, including the Claremont Colleges consortium, which includes the most selective liberal arts colleges in the U.S., and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), one of the top STEM-focused research institutions in the world.
Cities in Ventura County
- Perched atop Mount Hollywood, the Observatory offers exhibits, the Samuel Oschin Planetarium and free public telescopes that are as fascinating as the surrounding 4,310 acres of Griffith Park.
- Orange County is sometimes figuratively divided into “North County” and “South County”, with North Orange County including cities such as Anaheim, Fullerton, and Santa Ana, and is the older, more ethnically diverse and more densely built-up area both geographically and culturally closer to Los Angeles.
- Since the region of the city is in close proximity to a major fault area the tunnels were built to resist earthquakes of up to magnitude 7.5.
- Venice Beach has long made its case as the bohemian epicenter of California, and while the area gets plenty of mainstream tourists, it still boldly embraces its eccentric spirit—for better or worse.
- The performing arts play a major role in Los Angeles’s cultural identity.
- Despite a steep exodus of film and television production since the COVID-19 pandemic,21 Los Angeles is still one of the largest hubs of American film production,2223 the world’s largest by revenue; the city is an important site in the history of film.
Southern California Gas Company serves a large majority of the Los Angeles metropolitan area except for Long Beach and southern Orange County. Since the city and the county are interwoven geographically, culturally, and economically, any consideration of Los Angeles must, to some degree, involve both entities. Population density around the metropolitan area varies greatly—as low as one person per square mile in mountainous areas and as high as 50,000 per square mile near downtown Los Angeles. Area city, 466 square miles (1,207 square km); county, 4,070 square miles (10,540 square km). (2010) 3,792,621; Los Angeles–Long Beach–Glendale Metro Division, 9,818,605; Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana Metro Area, 12,828,837; (2020) 3,898,747; Los Angeles–Long Beach–Glendale Metro Division, 10,014,009; Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim Metro Area, 13,200,998.
Notable people
The area that became Los Angeles was originally inhabited by the indigenous Tongva people and later 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.19 It became a part of the First Mexican Empire 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 became part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved statehood.
The current charter was adopted on June 8, 1999, and has been amended many times.282 The elected government consists of the Los Angeles City Council and the mayor of Los Angeles, which operate under a mayor–council government, as well as the city attorney (not to be confused with the district attorney, a county office) and controller. The mayor is Karen Bass.283 There are 15 city council districts. The performing arts play a major role in Los Angeles’s cultural identity.
Los Angeles has Spanish and Mexican influences due to being a former colony of Mexico and Spain. Los Angeles is a diverse city with many ethnic groups such as Mexican, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Italian, Salvadoran, Iranian/Persian and Armenian. LA Metro also operates an extensive bus system with 117 routes,82 operates a microtransit service in eight zones, and funds independent transit operators throughout Los Angeles County such as Foothill Transit, Long Beach Transit, Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, and LADOT Transit. People who listed “other” as their race made up 0.5% (102,434) of the population. According to the 2009 American Community Survey, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area had a population of 12,874,797, of which 6,402,498 (49.7% of the population) were male and 6,472,299 (50.3% of the population) were aphrodite casino female. Shopaholics will find everything they’ve dreamed of and more in every corner of LA.
Start the day with local icons like The Donut Man and Eggslut; stop by GCM classics China Cafe and Roast to Go; take a trip to Naples at Olio Wood-Fired Pizzeria; and enjoy Salvadoran cuisine at Sarita’s Pupuseria. These are just a few of the beloved vendors of this historic DTLA emporium, where the atmosphere is lively and deliciousness awaits. Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world, and for film fans the ultimate experience is a behind-the-scenes tour of a working studio. The Studio Tour is perhaps the most legendary attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood, but you can also relive favorite movie scenes on rides like The Secret Life of Pets and Jurassic World; experience SUPER NINTENDO WORLD™; and enter The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™. A movie at Universal Cinema AMC Hollywood and strolling the shops at Universal CityWalk make it a full day of fun. Los Angeles offers endless options for memorable experiences for visitors and locals alike.
The Getty Center is packed full of artistic masterpieces and enjoys an awe-inspiring hilltop location with incredible views of L.A. The grounds and buildings here are so remarkable that you could never step inside a gallery and still probably walk away satisfied. But you absolutely should, particularly to see works by Rubens and Impressionists such as Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh and Cézanne—though the lovely French decorative arts galleries are our personal favorites. The museum’s predecessor, the Getty Villa, rewinds the clock a few millennia with Greek and Roman antiquities in an Italian-style estate; the palatial landmark reopened June 27 after a temporary closure due to the Palisades Fire. Catch an intimate performance on the Grammy Museum soundstage or dance the night away at The Conga Room.
Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news, events, offers and partner promotions. Residents of Los Angeles elect supervisors for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th supervisorial districts. The charter of the City of Los Angeles, ratified by voters in 1999, created a system of advisory neighborhood councils that would represent the diversity of stakeholders, defined as those who live, work, or own property in the neighborhood.
It also provides long-distance routes, including the Coast Starlight which goes to the San Francisco Bay Area, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington; the Southwest Chief which goes to Flagstaff, Arizona, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Kansas City, Missouri and Chicago; and the Sunset Limited which provides limited service (three days a week) to Tucson, El Paso, Houston, and New Orleans. While the New York metropolitan area is presently the most populous metropolitan area in the United States, it has been predicted in the past that Greater Los Angeles will eventually surpass Greater New York in population.citation needed Whether this will happen is yet to be seen, but past predictions on this event have been off the mark. A 1966 article in Time predicted Greater Los Angeles would surpass New York by 1975, and that by 1990, would reach close to the 19 million mark.56 But the article’s flawed definition of Greater Los Angeles included San Diego, which is actually its own metropolitan area. A 1989 article in The New York Times predicted Greater Los Angeles would surpass Greater New York by 2010,57 but the article predicted the population would be 18.3 million in that year, a number Greater New York already surpassed in 2007 by half a million people. By 2009, the New York metropolitan area had a population of 22.2 million compared to the Greater Los Angeles Area’s 18.7 million, about a 3.56 million persons difference.58 Percentage growth, however, has been higher in Greater Los Angeles over the past few decades than in Greater New York. While the above areas are included in the regional definition of Greater Los Angeles, the U.S.