Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, a city of California, the county-seat of Los Angeles co. It is 475 miles S. E. of San Francisco. It is situated on the Los Angeles river, and the Southern Pacific, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake, and the Southern Pacific railways. The total area is about 300 square miles. Los Angeles is noted for the healthfulness of its climate and for the beauty of its surroundings. In the vicinity are many well-known pleasure resorts which are easily accessible from the city. It has a magnificent harbor and a system of docks which were constructed at a cost of over $10,000,000. There are many public and private institutions. These include the State Normal School, the University of Southern California, the Occidental College and St. Vincent's College. Among the notable public buildings are the Bible Institute, State Normal College, city hall, court house, hall of records, auditorium, Blanchard Art building, and a Roman Catholic cathedral. The city has a magnificent system of parks, and there are public libraries, hospitals, and a park area which covers nearly 5,000 acres. Although Los Angeles is notable as a resident city, it has important business interests. There are over 25 banks with annual clearings of over $2,000,000,000. It is in the center of an important fruit-growing region and prior to the prohibition amendment had extensive wine-making industries. The chief exports are oranges and lemons, live stock and oils. The city is also in the center of a mining region of southern California and Arizona. There are large petroleum refineries. Other industries include foundries, machine shops, meat-packing plants, publishing houses, etc. The total value of manufactured products is over $200,000,000 annually.

In recent years a notable development of the city has been in relation to the moving picture industry. The unusually clear atmosphere and the opportunities afforded by the varied scenery in the vicinity have combined to make it very attractive for the taking of moving pictures. Many of the largest moving picture companies in the United States maintain huge establishments and thousands of actors and others connected with the industry have made Los Angeles their home. This with other causes has resulted in a large increase of population in the decade from 1910. By the census of 1920 Los Angeles exceeded San Francisco in population and became the largest city in California. The population in 1910 was 319,198, and in 1920, 575,480. Los Angeles was settled in 1781 by the Spaniards. It was captured by Commodore Stockton in 1846. It was chartered as a city in 1851.

©Ewing Galloway

A VIEW ACROSS CENTRAL PARK, LOS ANGELES, CAL.