Dockweiler State Beach
Credit: Jeff Poe
Los Angeles: City of Angels & Innovation
Perhaps more than any other Western city, Los Angeles captures the essence of the American dream. It has always drawn people looking for reinvention, opportunity, and recognition. In Los Angeles, ambition has always felt within reach.
That character dates back to the city’ s founding on September 4, 1781, when settlers established El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles along the Los Angeles River. The original forty-four settlers represented a remarkably diverse mix of Spanish, Indigenous, African, and multiracial backgrounds. The city’ s first elected mayor, José Vanegas, was Indigenous— evidence that diversity was part of Los Angeles from the very beginning.
Musso & Frank Grill
Credit: Courtesy of Musso & Frank Grill
Like San Francisco, Los Angeles remained a quiet and peaceful outpost for decades. Originally a pueblo, it became part of Mexico in 1821, was ceded to the United States in 1848, and was incorporated as a city in 1850. Growth stayed modest until the railroads arrived in the 1880s, followed by the oil boom in the 1890s and the rise of the film industry in the 1910s. After that, the city was unstoppable. Drawn by the movies, the growing aerospace industry, and a level of social mobility that East Coast society did not offer, Los Angeles saw its population increase by nearly 3,000 percent over fifty years. By 1960, the City of Angels was not only the nation’ s third-largest city but also a world-class destination and a beacon of modernity.
Today, Los Angeles is, among other things, the nation’ s aerospace capital. At the California Science Center in Exposition Park, the Space Shuttle Endeavour stands vertically in launch position inside the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, offering one of the most impressive experiences in American public science. Griffith Observatory, high above Hollywood, has been introducing Angelenos to the stars since 1935, while the Getty Center remains one of the world’ s leading art institutions.
For hotels, there is an embarrassment of riches, ranging from grande dames like The Beverly Hills Hotel, the Chateau Marmont, and the three-Michelin-star Hotel Bel-Air to refined beach stays at the likes of Shutters on the Beach, Casa Del Mar, and the Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows.
The dining scene in L. A. is equally compelling, spanning foodie favorite K-Town, a multitude of Michelin-starred eateries, including the three Michelin-starred perfection of Providence, and Hollywood’ s classic, old-school Musso & Frank’ s, which first opened its doors in 1919, has been sung about by Taylor Swift and served everyone from Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe to Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio.
GETTING THERE
Daily nonstop service between Los Angeles International Airport( LAX) and Ronald Reagan National Airport( DCA) is available on American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Delta Air Lines. United Airlines also provides daily nonstop service between LAX and Washington Dulles International Airport( IAD).
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