40 Angelic and Devilish Los Angeles Facts

By James Israelsen, Associate Writer

Published September 28, 2023

Because of its lax building and home design laws, 1920s Los Angeles attracted many of the architects associated with the Modernist movement, including Richard Neutra, Rudolph Schindler, and Frank Lloyd Wright._[11]
The modern freeway—a high-speed expressway built in an urban area rather than on the outskirts of one—was the innovation of the 1946 Los Angeles Metropolitan Parkway Engineering Committee._[5]
Hollywood became the permanent home of the American movie industry in the first part of the 20th century. The consistently warm climate allowed studios to shoot pictures year-round._[11]
In 1999, LA city planners created a program to restore a series of neon lights created in the 1930s in honor of Raymond Chandler, the era's most popular author of hard-boiled detective fiction._[11]
For years, LA's local historians have debated the true name of the original Spanish settlement. Candidates include several variations on El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles, The Town of Our Lady of the Angels._[9]
The exceptional acoustic design of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA has made it a world-famous venue._[11]
Los Angeles has the world's largest Korean population outside of Korea._[4]
In addition to its world-famous sprawling Chinatown, Los Angeles also has two different Thai-Town neighborhoods, a Little Armenia, a Persian business center known as Tehran-geles, the Historic Filipinotown, and a Little Ethiopia._[4][12]

The Spanish missions were established in California by the Franciscan Order of Catholic Priests

Downtown Los Angeles began as a 1781 Spanish settlement that was part of a string of Spanish missions that went all the way down to Mexico._[11]
All of California's major cities are home to diverse ethnic enclaves, but Los Angeles has 18, more than any other city in the state._[12]
There are a total of 24 freeways in Los Angeles County._[5]
The first Catholic church built in the United States (once it became an official nation) was Los Angeles' St. Columban Filipino Church._[12]
Twenty-eight percent of all shipping in North America passes through the Los Angeles or Long Beach container ports._[4]
Some local Los Angeles businesses that are famous for their crazy names include the Spearmint Rhino strip club, the Oops! Sushi restaurant, the Trashy Lingerie store, and an emporium called Wacko/Soap Plant._[4]
An "Angeleno" is a native-born resident of Los Angeles._[5]
Population density In Los Angeles County varies dramatically, from 1 person per square mile in more rugged and mountainous terrain to 50,000 per square mile (19,300 per square km) in the city's center._[8]

Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles.

- Frank Lloyd Wright

The Los Angeles Conservancy, a group dedicated to the preservation of LA's historic architecture, is the largest historic conservation group in America._[11]
Los Angeles was part of Mexico until the Mexican-American War._[3]
In the decades between 1940 and 1980, the population of Los Angeles doubled, going from 1.5 million to 3 million residents._[5]
The most populated county in the United States is Los Angeles County, with 10 million residents._[8]

Make sure you have a good car stereo system!

The amount of time the average LA driver spends stuck in traffic each year adds up to around two full workweeks._[5]
Inventions that hail from Los Angeles include Cobb salad, the modern skateboard, and gangsta rap._[5]
Los Angeles has more museums than any other city in the entire world._[1]
Los Angeles is the second-most populous city in the United States, after New York City._[8]
Underneath some parts of LA is a maze of underground tunnels that were used during Prohibition to smuggle liquor._[3]
The city of Los Angeles covers 500 square miles; LA County is nearly 5,000 miles square (1295 square km). By comparison, all five boroughs of New York City together are only 300 square miles (776 square km)._[8]
The Los Angeles area is home to 11 professional sports teams: the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Chargers, LA Clippers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Football Club, LA Galaxy, LA Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Rams, and Los Angeles Sparks._[2]
Venice Beach is the number one tourist destination in Los Angeles. Venice's famous outdoor gym, "Muscle Beach," is considered the home of bodybuilding. Legends such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, and Franco Columbo trained there._[10]

If lifting isn't your thing, come walk or skate along Venice's beach-side paths

Los Angeles is often referred to as the Entertainment Capital of the World._[1]
The Los Angeles Basin was once responsible for producing one-fourth of the world's entire oil supply._[3]
The Los Angeles economy is larger than that of some nations, like Saudi Arabia and Switzerland._[3]
Los Angeles is home to over 300 cultural centers such as museums, botanical gardens, and historic buildings._[1]
Not only are Los Angeles' signature palm trees not native to Los Angeles, but they also aren't even native to North America: they hail from South Africa and India._[7][11]

Los Angeles County officials declared a state of emergency in January of 2023 over the homelessness crisis

In the six years from 2016 to 2022, the number of homeless people in Los Angeles rose from 28,000 to 42,000._[6]
Los Angeles is the birthplace of the internet._[8]
Repeated studies have declared Los Angeles to have the worst traffic anywhere in the world._[3]
The famous Santa Monica Pier, home to beautiful beaches and a ferris wheel, was originally built to facilitate a sewage line that dumped city sewage into the ocean._[3]
There are more cars than people in LA._[3]
The residents of Los Angeles collectively speak over 224 languages._[3]
The city of Los Angeles has been letting the city's famous palm trees die since the mid 2000s. The transplants are being slowly replaced with trees that are natural to the area, like Sycamore and Oak._[7]