Los Angeles County 



H. B. GURLEY 

 Actlnff Secretary of the L.om AnKelea Cbamber of Commerce 



TWENTY-FIVE years ago Los Angeles County was of com|3aratively 

 little account in the family commonwealth so far as material devel- 

 opment was concerned. The census of 1 880 gave the county a popu- 

 lation of only 33,881— about the present population of Pasadena, 

 which in 1880 consisted of a country store and a score of farmhouses. 

 At that time the assessed valuation of the county was less than $20,000,000. 

 To-day Los Angeles County contains more than 20 per cent of the 

 population of California. There is plenty of room for them, for Los An- 

 geles County is as large as the State of New Jersey. Within its 4,000 

 square miles of territory— an area almost as large as the State of Con- 

 necticut—may be found the climate and scenery of almost every part of 

 the State, from the cool and breezy seashore to the warm inland plains 

 and bracing mountain-tops. Of the area of the county, about four fifths 

 is capable of cultivation, the remainder being mountainous. The shore line 

 is eighty-five miles in length. Nine tenths of the population is within thirty 

 miles of the ocean. 



The present population of the county is over 350,000. The assessed 

 valuation of property this year is $226,307,000. Thus, within the short 

 space of twenty-five years, the population of the county has increased nine- 

 fold, and the assessed valuation of property in still greater proportion. 



The chief industry of Los Angeles County is horticulture, the entire 

 list of products including everything that can be grown in the State, and 

 almost everything that can be raised in semitropic countries. The area 

 of land within the county devoted to horticultural purposes is being rapidly 

 extended, as the large tracts are subdivided and improved. 



Los Angeles City alone now contains a population of nearly 250,000. 

 It is in all respects a modern down-to-date city. The electric-car service 

 is declared by worldwide travelers to be unexcelled. To this of late has 

 been added a fine suburban electric-car service, reaching almost all im- 

 portant points within a radius of thirty miles of Los Angeles. The beautiful 

 homes of Los Angeles, with their gardens abounding in semitropic vege- 

 tation, are the admiration of all visitors. Nor is it only the wealthy who 

 can enjoy such pleasures, for in this balmy climate the poorest man may 

 have a wealth of flowers and creeping plants around his modest cottage 

 within a brief time. 



During the past few years Los Angeles has led all the cities of the 

 United States in monthly increase of bank clearings, of postoffice receipts, 

 and in value of building permits. Of late Los Angeles has ranked fifth 

 among the cities of the United States in the value of building permits issued 

 monthly. 



Outside of the city of Los Angeles, among the chief sections of the 

 country, is the San Gabriel Valley, along the foothills of the Sierra Madre 

 Range. This section is being rapidly transformed into a series of fine 

 homes for wealthy people. To the east is the Pomona Valley, devoted to 

 horticulture for miles in every direction. Around Pomona extend orchards 

 of oranges, lemons, apricots, peaches, prunes, olives, and other fruit trees. 

 South of the San Gabriel Valley lies Whittier, a thriving little city of 

 6,000 population, although it was only laid out in 1887. Horticulture and 

 petroleum are the chief industries of Whittier. Nearby is the "Downey 

 Country," a good old-fashioned farming district, where fine corn, cabbages, 

 apples, and dairy products are raised. 



West of Los Angeles, near the foothills of the Santa Monica Range, is 

 Hollywood, a beautiful suburb and a coming rival of Pasadena. Then, 

 along the ocean front are a number of seaside resorts, including Santa 

 Monica, Ocean Park, Venice, Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Redondo, 

 and Terminal Island. The bay of Wilmington is the harbor of Los Angeles 

 County. Here the big breakwater being built by the Government is ap- 

 proaching completion. 



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