September 4, 1781– El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of the river of Porziuncola). Los Angeles & I have history. My father grew up in the Silverlake neighborhood, which at the time was a quiet, nice, but already bohemian neighborhood. When I lived in the city in the early 1970s, Silverlake had deteriorated, but then the gays moved in & fixed things up as they do in most metropolitan areas & now it is inhabited by an eclectic community of hipsters, the creative class, &, of course, lots of gays.
I went happily to college in Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University. I lived in Playa del Rey, right on the strand. My apartment had sliders that opened to white sand & the Pacific Ocean, with a view of Catalina Island on a clear day, which there were not that many of in the early 1970s. My Los Angeles life, hardly ever involved LA proper. My universe was very “beach” & stretched from Redondo Beach to Malibu. I frequented spots in Venice & Santa Monica. My friends & I would go into Westwood or Hollywood for films & plays, but for the most part it was beach.
Recent archaeological studies show there was a culture in Los Angeles in 8,000 B.C., mostly acting hopefuls trying to be seen by casting directors for the prehistoric version of pilot season. There was much disappointment & a certain amount of violence when it was revealed that film itself was a full 27 centuries away.
By 3,000 B.C. Los Angeles was occupied by the Hokan-speaking people of the Milling Stone Period who could sing, dance, act, & write screenplays, plus gather wild seeds. Los Angeles, along with the rest of Southern California was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542. By the time the rest of the Europeans arrived in the mid-18th century, there were 250,000 to 300,000 people in LA., all trying to get their SAG cards.
Los Angeles is the second largest city in the USA. It has an area of more than 600 square miles. The urban area extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of over 20 million humans. It is the 21st largest urban area in the world. Los Angeles the largest city with the highest & lowest (sea level) elevation difference in the world. Native plants include California Poppy, Coast Live Oak, & Xanax.
Although I have always felt the weather is rather perfect, Los Angeles is sadly in its third year of severe drought, maybe you heard. It is also subject to the phenomena of microclimates, with extreme variations in temperature in close physical proximity to each other. The average September maximum temperature in Santa Monica is 75 °F, but it is 95 °F in Canoga Park. The city, like much of the Southern California coast enjoys weather with foggy skies in the morning burning off to sun by early afternoon.
Los Angeles is the largest manufacturing center in the western United States. Los Angeles/Long Beach comprise the largest port in Western North America & fifth busiest port in the world. It is the third largest metropolitan economy on our pretty planet, after Tokyo & NYC.
It is a global city, with 225 different languages spoken including “Agent”, & many ethnic enclaves with cool restaurants throughout the city. It is home for the largest population of people of Middle Eastern heritage outside of, well, The Middle East, with large groups of Armenians & Persians centered near Sunset Boulevard, & the second largest group of Jews in North America. Only 29% of Los Angelinos are white people, yet they make up 98% of the entertainment industry.
Some of the happiest moments of my life have been experienced in LA. I love the city & I have watched the renaissance & turn of neighborhoods that I would never have dreamed possible: Hollywood, Culver City Downtown, Glendale & Venice. When I was there in February, it was simply gorgeous, with blue skies, temps in the 70s, a slight dusting of snow in the Santa Monica Mountains, & lots & lots of pretty people.
Happy Birthday to the City Of Angels. I will always love you: Tommy’s Burgers, Hollywood, The Capitol Record Building, Santa Monica, Laurel Canyon, Griffith Park, Randy’s Donuts, Rodeo Drive, Nate N’ Al’s, Canter’s, La Brea Tar Pits, The Getty, Venice Beach Boardwalk, Union Station, Scientology, Watts Towers, The Chateau Marmont, The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, El Portal Theatre, Palos Verdes, Beverly Hills, Swimming Pools, Movie Stars, World Of Wonder Headquarters.
Everyone should live in Los Angeles at least once in their long life.
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