Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world. You see its palm trees and beaches in countless movies, yet the city holds many secrets. It began as a small farming village before exploding into a massive metropolis. Today, it offers a strange mix of glamour and grit that attracts dreamers from everywhere. Consequently, the City of Angels is far more than just Hollywood signs and traffic jams. Let’s peel back the layers of this fascinating Californian giant.
Los Angeles
The full original name of the city is incredibly long. The settlers named it “El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles.”
Surprisingly, Los Angeles sits on top of the third-largest oil field in the country. Therefore, you can find active oil derricks hidden inside fake office buildings.
The iconic Hollywood sign originally read “Hollywoodland” when workers built it in 1923. It served as a temporary advertisement for a local real estate development.
The La Brea Tar Pits trap fossils right in the middle of the city. Consequently, scientists have found thousands of prehistoric bones just steps from busy streets.
Most of the famous palm trees are not actually native to the area. Gardeners imported them in the 1930s to make the city look more tropic.
Cowboy actor Gene Autry holds the record for the most stars on the Walk of Fame. He earned five separate stars for his work in different entertainment fields.
A secret network of tunnels runs beneath the downtown streets. Bootleggers used these underground passages to move alcohol during the Prohibition era.
The Santa Monica Pier marks the official end of the legendary Route 66. This famous highway stretches 2,448 miles [3,940 kilometers] from Chicago to the ocean.
The Port of Los Angeles is the busiest seaport in the Western Hemisphere. It handles millions of cargo containers every single year from across the Pacific.
The Getty Center museum hires a herd of goats every spring to clear brush. These animals eat the dry grass to prevent dangerous wildfires near the art.
If the metropolitan area were a country, its economy would rival Switzerland. It boasts a massive GDP that exceeds 1 trillion dollars [950 billion EUR].
Snow is an extremely rare sight in the main city basin. In fact, the last measurable snowfall in downtown occurred all the way back in 1962.
The first message ever sent over the internet originated from UCLA in 1969. Researchers tried to type “LOGIN,” but the system crashed after just two letters.
The city opened the very first drive-in movie theater in the world. It was located on Pico Boulevard and started screening films in the 1930s.
Residents speak over 224 different languages throughout the county. This incredible variety makes it one of the most linguistically diverse places on Earth.
