50 Fun Facts about Los Angeles

A visit to Los Angeles isn’t complete without Hollywood. And Getty Museum. And Downtown LA. And…  Get the bucket list out and start ticking as we explore Los Angeles. Keep your eyes on what’s around, and we’ll take care of history and culture lesson. Here are… 50 fun facts about Los Angeles.
From our Los Angeles tours with friendly local guides.

 

Angelenos

1. First Europeans showed up on the territory of modern Los Angeles in 1769;
2. In 1781, 44 villagers from the Mexican provinces known as “Los Pobladores” settled in what today is known as Downtown Los Angeles;
3. The highest number of Mexicans (apart from Mexico) lives in LA. The whole Latin American group makes 47,5% of all the population of the city;
4. About 60% of people living in Los Angeles speak some other language, making it just 40% of people speaking only English;
5. LA locals are called Angelenos;
6. Average age of an LA citizen is 35 y.o;
7. People from over 140 countries speaking over 220 different languages call LA their home;

History

8. After American-Mexican war in 1847 Los Angeles (and California) became US territory;
9. The initial name of the city was El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles sobre El Río Porciúncula;

City

10. Americans call Los Angeles – LA and one of the city’s nicknames is LA LA Land;
11. Santa Monica Boulevard crosses 4 cities: Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood;
12. LA is located on a high seismic zone. Over the years the city has had some serious earthquakes. And yet Los Angeles is home to a lot of skyscrapers, in particular to the tallest building in California – U.S. Bank Tower, 73-story landmark rising 1,018 feet (310 m), which is 11^th tallest building in America;
13. Occupying the territory of over 1300 square km, LA is the biggest US city (by territory);
14. The metropolitan area of Los Angeles has 5 airports and LAX is the fifth busiest airport in the world;

LA attractions

15. Among the TOP 10 must-see sights in Los Angeles would be: Hollywood Boulevard, Universal Studios, DTLA, Getty Museum, Griffith Park, Walk Disney Concert Hall, San Monica Pier, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles Zoo and the Grove. Don’t even think of covering them all in one day. For this TOP 10 you’d need at least 3 days in Los Angeles. Check this for a must-see Los Angeles tour;
16. Hollywood Alley of Fame has more than 2500 stars;
17. The very first movie theater opened in LA in 1902;
18. There is the only lighthouse in the World that has a green light. And it is in here in LA;
19. There are more than 105 museums and 225 theaters in Los Angeles;
20. The fanciest bar is located in the oldest building in LA, which was constructed in 1902. The bar itself called “No Vacancy” was opened in 2013. It is a lifetime experience to stay there for the whole night to see all the performances.
21. For those who love illusionists and magicians, the best place to go is Private club-Hotel “The Magic Castle”. To learn the tricks you can apply for a 6-week course;
22. Griffith Park is often referred to as Central Park of Los Angeles, but it’s larger and feels more like a forest comparing to Central Park in NYC. It’s 2^ndlargest urban park in California, and the 11^thin the USA.

Law

23. It is prohibited to lick frogs. The Law came in power after the city teenagers found out that some frogs’ skin contains hallucinogens. Drug addicts caught frogs and licked them on every corner and police could do nothing about it;
24. It is legal to hit your wife with a belt that does not exceed 2 inches. In case of using a wider belt, husband must get his wife’s permission. OMG;

Hollywood

25. Current “HOLLYWOOD” sign was “Hollywoodland” from 1923 to 1949;
26. Los Angeles is a world’s center of movie industry and show business. Every day there are a lot of films and shows being shoot in the streets of the city. Furious 7 and Terminator Genisys are among 2015 films set in Los Angeles;
27. The very first «Oscar» ceremony took place on May 16, 1929 in Roosevelt Hotel. All 250 people invited to the ceremony paid 10 dollars as an entrance fee, what would be worth of about $140 nowadays;
28. Kodak Theater has 3322 seats. As not all the invited people come to «Oscar» ceremony, they hire people to fulfill empty seats for $125 per hour;
29. Before taking Oscar statuette, laureates sign an agreement, according to which the winner, who decides to sell his/her trophy, firstly has to offer it to Academy members for 1$. This rule came into force in 1950 after the statuettes were sold for a significant amount of money to whomever;
30. They say LA is a city of beautiful people. After all, Angelina Jolie, Leo di Caprio and Marilyn Monroe were born here;
31. LA is a homeland for Mickey Mouse, Minions and Despicable Me;
32. LA is a “city of angels” or a “dream city” where people come to pursue their “American Dream”.It worked for Mila Kunis and Milla Jovovich (both are from Ukraine), Johny Depp and Jenifer Lawrence (both are from Kentucky, USA), Kelly Osbourne and Charlie Chaplin (the UK), Kylie Minogue and Miranda Kerr (Australia), Marlene Dietrich (Germany) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Austria). So yeah… it must work for you too;

Olympic Games

33. Summer Olympics were carried out in LA twice: 1932 and 1984;
34. For 1984 Olympic Games McDonald’s launched a marketing campaign. For every bronze medal won by an American, visitors could get free soda, for silver – free fries, golden one – Big Mac, though this campaign could easily lead to a financial catastrophe;

Business

35. Out of 244,000 businesses in Los Angeles, the city has the highest number of women-owned companies in USA;
36. Over 200,000 small businesses are registered in Los Angeles. No surprise, LA is called the entrepreneurial center of the world;
37. There are about 100 hotels in LA offering about 100.000 hotel rooms;
38. In the list of the world’s top 25 countries, Greater Los Angeles area would be #16;

Buildings

39. The oldest commercial building is Bradburry Building (1893);
40. The newest is Broad Museum (2015), which features 2000 pieces of art;
41. The tallest structure is 73-story U.S. Bank Tower (310 m or 1,018 ft), 11^thtallest building in the US;
42. City Hall was the tallest building in LA from 1928 for about 30 years. It no longer is, but it offers the best observation deck in the city with 360 degree panoramic views. Appreciate the city from above, absolutely for free!

Fun events

43. Cheeseburger week Jan 10-15. By the way, Angelenos beat the rest of California in the hamburger eating four times!
44. Los Angeles beer week is in June. Try every one of 75 craft breweries taking part in the event this year in 2016;
45. LA Film Festival in June hosts over 200 events, including premiers and galas;
46. Winter seasonal Lighting Ceremony in December is held all around Los Angeles. Plenty of fantastic and glamorous decorations with palms as a background;

Neighborhoods

47. There are 80 neighborhoods in LA. The downtown alone is divided into 16 districts: Little Tokyo, Civic Center, Arts District, Historic Core, Jewelry District, Fashion District, Bunker Hill, Financial District, South Park, Wholesale District, Old Bank District, Gallery Row, Toy District, Industrial District, Old Bank District and Skid Row.
48. Downtown Los Angeles – DTLA – covers about 13 square kilometers (8 square miles) and is home to 50.000 residents;
49. Koreatown covers 7 square miles and is home to 120.000 residents, making it the most densely-populated neighborhood in Los Angeles. Half of the residents in Koreatown are Latinos;
50. Finally, don’t leave La La Land without experiencing 75 miles of sunny coastline all year round. Tip; head to the finest Santa Monika beaches that look like… Google it!