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Los Angeles County, California
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Los Angeles County is a county in California, and is by far, the most populous in the United States. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau give an estimated 2007 population of 9,878,554 residents, while the California State government's population bureau lists a January 1, 2008, estimate of 10,363,850. The county seat is the City of Los Angeles.
The county is home to 88 incorporated cities and many unincorporated areas. The coastal portion of the county is somewhat urbanized, though there is a large expanse of lesser populated desert inland in the Santa Clarita Valley, and especially in the Antelope Valley which encompasses the northeastern parts of the county and adjacent eastern Kern County, lying just north of Los Angeles County.
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Encyclopedia
Los Angeles County is a county in California, and is by far, the most populous in the United States. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau give an estimated 2007 population of 9,878,554 residents, while the California State government's population bureau lists a January 1, 2008, estimate of 10,363,850. The county seat is the City of Los Angeles.
The county is home to 88 incorporated cities and many unincorporated areas. The coastal portion of the county is somewhat urbanized, though there is a large expanse of lesser populated desert inland in the Santa Clarita Valley, and especially in the Antelope Valley which encompasses the northeastern parts of the county and adjacent eastern Kern County, lying just north of Los Angeles County. In between the large desert portions of the county ? which make up around 40 percent of its land area ? and the urbanized central and southern portions sits the San Gabriel Mountains containing Angeles National Forest. All of southern Los Angeles County, north to about the center of the county, is heavily urbanized.
This county holds most of the principal cities encompassing the Greater Los Angeles Area, and is the most important of the five counties that make up the area. As of 2004, the county's population is larger than the individual populations of 42 states considered separately (and on that basis is more populous than the aggregate of the 11 least populous states) and is home to over a quarter of all California residents. According to the United States Conference of Mayors, if Los Angeles County were a nation, it would boast a GDP among the twenty largest countries in the world. Los Angeles County is similar in land area to the state of Connecticut and in population to the state of Michigan.
History
Los Angeles County was one of the original counties of California, created at the time of statehood in 1850. Parts of the county's territory were given to San Bernardino County in 1853, to Kern County in 1866 and to Orange County in 1889.
The county was targeted with the threat of legal action by the ACLU in 2004 regarding a small cross on its seal. The ACLU claimed that separation of church and state prohibited this display.
Most of the County's history is recounted in the other articles covering its constituent cities and their neighborhoods.
Geography
With 4,061 square miles (10,517 km²), Los Angeles County borders of coast on the Pacific Ocean and encompasses numerous other natural landscapes including towering mountain ranges, deep valleys, forests, islands, lakes, rivers, and desert. More specifically, the county contains the following rivers: Los Angeles River, Rio Hondo, the San Gabriel River and the Santa Clara River. The primary mountain ranges are the Santa Monica Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains. It also includes the westernmost part of the Mojave Desert, and San Clemente Island and Santa Catalina Island in the Pacific Ocean.
Most of the population of Los Angeles County is located in the south and southwest. The major population centers are the Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys. Moderate populations are in the Santa Clarita, Crescenta and Antelope Valleys. The area north of the Santa Clarita Valley (Northwest Los Angeles County, adjacent to Ventura and Kern counties) is mostly mountainous, rugged, well-timbered and filled with coniferous forests that receives plentiful snow in the winter, right to the point of blizzard conditions. This area is less populated. Mountains in this area include San Emigdio Mountains, the southernmost part of Tehachapi Mountains, and the Sierra Pelona Mountains.
Most of the highest peaks in the county are located in the San Gabriel Mountains, which are part of the Transverse Ranges. They include Mount San Antonio (10,064 ft) at the Los Angeles-San Bernardino county lines, Mount Baden-Powell (9,399 ft), Mount Burnham (8,997 ft), and the well-known Mount Wilson (5,710 ft) where the Mount Wilson Observatory is located. Several smaller, lower peaks are located in the northern, western, and southwestern Los Angeles County.
The county has a total area of 4,752 square miles (12,308 km²), of which, 4,061 square miles (10,518 km²) of it is land and 691 square miles (1,791 km²) of it (14.55%) is water.
Major divisions of the county
Cities
There are 88 incorporated cities in Los Angeles County. The most populous are as follows:
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| 6. Torrance 148,965 7. Pasadena 148,126 8. Palmdale 147,897 9. Lancaster 145,243 10. El Monte 126,053 | 11. Inglewood 118,878 12. Downey 113,379 13. West Covina 112,666 14. Norwalk 109,695 15. Burbank 108,029 |
Unincorporated communities in Los Angeles County
Despite the large number of incorporated cities, most of the area of the county is unincorporated, and falls directly under the county government's jurisdiction. Many, but not all of them, are Census-designated places. With no city government, residents of these areas must petition the appropriate member of the Board of Supervisors when they have a grievance about the quality of local services.
- See:
- See also: List of districts and neighborhoods of Los Angeles
Adjacent counties
Transportation Infrastructure
Roads
The county has an extensive freeway network of legendary size and complexity, which is maintained by Caltrans and patrolled by the California Highway Patrol. It also has a vast urban and suburban street network, most of which is maintained by city governments. The county and most cities generally do a decent job of maintaining and cleaning streets. For more information about the primary exception, see the Transportation in Los Angeles article.
Both the freeways and streets are notorious for severe traffic congestion, and the area's freeway-to-freeway interchanges regularly rank among the top 10 most congested points in the country.
In addition to Metro Bus service, numerous cities within the county also operate their own bus companies and shuttle lines.
Major highways
Air
The county's primary commercial aviation airport is Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles. Other important airports include the Long Beach Municipal Airport in Long Beach and Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. Palmdale Regional Airport is planned for expanded commercial service. There are also general aviation airports in Los Angeles, including airports in Van Nuys and Pacoima. Other general aviation airports exist in Santa Monica, Compton, Torrance, El Monte, Lancaster, and Hawthorne.
Train
Los Angeles is a major freight railroad transportation center, largely due to the large volumes of freight moving in and out of the county's port facilities. The ports are connected to the downtown rail yards and to the main lines of Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe headed east via a grade-separated, freight rail corridor known as the Alameda Corridor.
Passenger rail service is provided in the county by Amtrak, Los Angeles Metro Rail and Metrolink.
Amtrak has the following intercity Amtrak service at Union Station in the city of Los Angeles.
Union Station is also the primary hub for Metrolink commuter rail, which serves much of the Greater Los Angeles Area.
Light rail, subway (heavy rail), and long-distance bus service are all provided by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro).
Sea
The county's two main seaports are the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. Together they handle over a quarter of all container traffic entering the United States, making the complex the largest and most important port in the country, and the third-largest port in the world by shipping volume.
The Port of Los Angeles is the largest cruise ship center on the west coast, handling over 1 million passengers annually.
The Port of Long Beach is home to the Sea Launch program, which uses a floating launch platform to insert payloads into orbits that would be difficult to attain from existing land-based launch sites.
Ferries link Avalon to the mainland.
Economy
The major industries of Los Angeles County are international trade, supported by the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, motion picture and television program production, music recording and production, aerospace, and professional services such as law and medicine.
Although the City of Los Angeles is commonly associated with the entertainment industry, most of the major studios, except Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and MGM, are now located outside of its boundaries (in neighboring Culver City, Burbank and Glendale). The remaining studios within the city limits are located in Hollywood (Paramount Pictures) and Century City (20th Century Fox and MGM), both districts of the City of Los Angeles. .
For major companies headquartered in the City of Los Angeles, and adjacent cities, see the Economy section of the Los Angeles, California article.
The following major companies have headquarters in Los Angeles County cities not adjacent to the city of Los Angeles:
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,519,338 people, 3,133,774 households, and 2,137,233 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,344 people per square mile (905/km²). There were 3,270,909 housing units at an average density of 806 per square mile (311/km²). The racial makeup of the county is 48.71% White 11.0% African American, 0.81% Native American, 10.0% Asian, 0.28% Pacific Islander, 23.53% from other races, and 4.94% from two or more races. 44.56% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. The largest ancestry groups are German (6%), Irish (5%), English (4%) and Italian (3%). 45.87% of the population reported speaking English at home; 37.89% speak Spanish, 2.22% Tagalog, 1.98% Chinese, 1.87% Korean, and 1.57% Armenian.
There were 3,133,774 households out of which 36.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.61.
In the county the population was spread out with 28.0% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,189, and the median income for a family was $46,452. Males had a median income of $36,299 versus $30,981 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,683. There are 14.4% of families living below the poverty line and 17.9% of the population, including 24.2% of under 18 and 10.5% of those over 64.
Housing
The homeownership rate is 47.9%, and the median value for houses is $209,300. 42.2% of housing units are in multi-unit structures.
Demographics (as of 2008)
As of: January 1, 2008
- Total Population: 10,363,850, a 8.1% increase between 2000 and 2008, or about 27% of California's population.
Non Hispanic Persons: 52.7%
- White (Non-Hispanic/Non-Latino): 29.2%
- Black: 9.6%
- Asian: 13.1%
- Other: 0.90%
- Hispanic or Latino: 47.3%
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Other Statistics
- Male Residents: 49.4%
- Female Residents: 50.6%
- Residents Aged under 18: 27.6%
- Residents Aged between 19 and 64: 62.3%
- Residents Aged above 65: 10.1%
- Foreign born: 36.2% (majority in Mexico)
- Poverty Level: 17.7%
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Law, government and politics
The county's voters elect a governing five-member Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The small size of the board means each supervisor represents over 2 million people. The board operates in a legislative, executive, and quasi-judicial capacity. As a legislative authority, it can pass ordinances for the unincorporated areas (ordinances that affect the whole county, like posting of restaurant ratings, must be ratified by the individual city). As an executive body, it can tell the county departments what to do, and how to do it. As a quasi-judicial body, the Board is the final venue of appeal in the local planning process, and holds public hearings on various agenda items.
As of 2008, the Board of Supervisors oversees a $22.5 billion annual budget and approximately 100,000 employees. The county government is managed on a day-to-day basis by a Chief Executive Officer, currently William T Fujioka, and is organized into many departments, each of which is enormous in comparison to equivalent county-level (and even state-level) departments anywhere else in the United States. Some of the larger or better-known departments include:
- Los Angeles County Coroner – performs autopsies and determines the cause of death for those who die without medical supervision.
- Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors
- Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services – administers foster care
- Los Angeles County Fire Department – provides fire protection, suppression, and prevention as well as emergency medical services
- Los Angeles County Department of Health Services – operates several county hospitals and a network of primary care clinics, and also runs the public health system, which has a requirement that all restaurants in the unincorporated County and the majority of independent cities prominently post their food safety inspection grade in their front window
- Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation – administers public parks and the largest public golf course system in the U.S.
- Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services – administers many federal and state welfare programs
- Los Angeles County Department of Public Works – operates countywide flood control system, constructs and maintains roads in unincorporated areas
- Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning – maintains the Zoning Code that regulates land use in the unincorporated areas, researches and facilitates land-use decisions and serves to connect the community to the established building regulations.
- Los Angeles County District Attorney – prosecutes criminal suspects
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art – public art museum
- Los Angeles County Probation Department
- Los Angeles County Public Defender – defends indigent criminal suspects
- Los Angeles County Public Library – operates a large network of branch libraries
- Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department – provides law enforcement services to unincorporated areas and cities that do not have their own police departments, and operates the huge county jails. The LASD is the largest county Sheriff's Department in the United States.
- is a volunteer organization administered by the Sheriff's Department Emergency Operations Bureau for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Their main function, authorized under County Ordinance, is to provide volunteer disaster relief communication for the citizens of Los Angeles County.
- Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs – offers consumers in the county a variety of services including: consumer and real estate counseling, mediation, and small claims counseling. The department also investigates: consumer complains, real estate fraud and identity theft issues.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, despite its name, is not a County department. Technically it is a state-mandated county transportation commission that also operates bus and rail.
The , which covers the entire county, is not a County department but a division of the State's trial court system. The courthouses, however, are county-owned buildings that are maintained at county expense.
Politics
Presidential elections results | Year | DEM | GOP | Others |
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| 2008 | 69.2% 2,247,352 | 29.0% 941,003 | 1.8% 62,819 | | 2004 | 63.2% 1,907,736 | 35.6% 1,076,225 | 1.3% 39,319 | | 2000 | 63.5% 1,710,505 | 32.4% 871,930 | 4.2% 112,719 | | 1996 | 59.3% 1,430,629 | 31.0% 746,544 | 9.7% 233,841 | | 1992 | 52.5% 1,446,529 | 29.0% 799,607 | 18.4% 507,267 | | 1988 | 51.9% 1,372,352 | 46.9% 1,239,716 | 1.2% 32,603 | | 1984 | 44.4% 1,158,912 | 54.5% 1,424,113 | 1.1% 29,889 | | 1980 | 40.2% 979,830 | 50.2% 1,224,533 | 9.7% 235,822 | | 1976 | 49.7% 1,221,893 | 47.8 1,174,926 | 2.5% 62,258 | | 1972 | 42.0% 1,189,977 | 54.8% 1,549,717 | 3.2% 90,676 | | 1968 | 46.0% 1,223,251 | 47.6% 1,266,480 | 6.3% 168,251 | | 1964 | 57.4% 1,568,300 | 42.5% 1,161,067 | 0.1% 1,551 | | 1960 | 50.2% 1,323,818 | 49.4% 1,302,661 | 0.3% 8,020 | |
Los Angeles County has voted for the Democratic candidate in most of the presidential elections in the past four decades. In 2008 approximately 70% of the electorate voted for Democrat Barack Obama.
In the United States House of Representatives, all of districts 27-39 are entirely within the county and are all represented by Democrats. In order of district number they are Brad Sherman, Howard Berman, Adam Schiff, Henry Waxman, Xavier Becerra, Hilda Solis, Diane Watson, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Maxine Waters, Jane Harman, Laura Richardson, Grace Napolitano, and Linda Sánchez. Parts of the county are also in the 22nd, 25th, 26th, 42nd, and 46th districts, which are all represented by Republicans: Kevin McCarthy, Buck McKeon, David Dreier, Gary Miller, and Dana Rohrabacher respectively.
In the State Senate, all of districts 20-22 and 24-28, and 30 are entirely within the county and are all represented by Democrats. In order of district number they are Alex Padilla, Jack Scott, Gilbert Cedillo, Gloria Romero, Edward Vincent, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Alan Lowenthal, Jenny Oropeza, and Ron Calderon. Most of the 17th, 23rd, and 29th districts are in the county. The 17th and 29th districts are represented by Republicans George Runner and Bob Margett, respectively while the 23rd district is represented by Democrat Sheila Kuehl. Parts of the 19th and 32nd districts are also in the county. The 19th district is represented by Republican Tom McClintock while the 32nd is represented by Democrat Gloria Negrete McLeod.
In the State Assembly, all of districts 39, 40, 42-55, 57, and 58 are entirely within the county and are all represented by Democrats. In order of district number they are Richard Alarcon, Lloyd Levine, Mike Feuer, Paul Krekorian, Anthony Portantino, Kevin DeLeon, Fabian Núñez, Karen Bass, Mike Davis, Mike Eng, Hector De La Torre, Curren D. Price, Mervyn M. Dymally, Ted Lieu, Betty Karnette, (the 55th district is vacant; it was previously held by Laura Richardson, who was elected to the House of Representatives in 2007), Ed Hernandez, and Charles Calderon. Most of districts 38, 41, and 56 are in the county. The 38th is held by Republican Cameron Smyth; the 41st and 56th are held by Democrats Julia Brownley and Tony Mendoza. Parts of districts 36, 37, 59, 60, and 61 are also in the county. The 36th, 37th, 59th, and 60th districts are represented by Republicans: Sharon Runner, Audra Strickland, Anthony Adams, and Robert Huff. The 61st is represented by Democrat Nell Soto.
Legal system
The Los Angeles County Superior Court has jurisdiction over all cases arising under state law, while the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California hears all federal cases. Both are headquartered in a large cluster of government buildings in the city's Civic Center.
Unlike the largest city in the United States, New York City, all of the city of Los Angeles and most of its important suburbs are located within a single county. As a result, both the county superior court and the federal district court are respectively the busiest courts of their type in the nation.
Many celebrities like O.J. Simpson have been seen in Los Angeles courts. In 2003, the tabloid television show Extra (based in nearby Glendale) found itself running so many reports on the legal problems of local celebrities that it spun them off into a separate show, Celebrity Justice.
State cases are appealed to the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District, which is also headquartered in the Civic Center, and then to the California Supreme Court, which is headquartered in San Francisco but also hears argument in Los Angeles (again, in the Civic Center). Federal cases are appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which hears them at its branch building in Pasadena. The court of last resort for federal cases is the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
Education
The county is home to many prestigious colleges and universities. It also has a huge number of public school districts and many private schools.
The Los Angeles County Office of Education provides a supporting role for school districts in the area. The county office also operates two magnet schools, the International Polytechnic High School and Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.
Colleges and universities
Colleges
- Antelope Valley College, Lancaster
- Art Center College of Design, Pasadena
- The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles, Santa Monica
- California Institute of the Arts, Santa Clarita
- Cerritos College, Norwalk
- Citrus College, Glendora
- Claremont McKenna College, Claremont
- College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita
- DeVry University; Long Beach and West Hills (Los Angeles)
- East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park
- El Camino College, Torrance
- Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena
- Glendale Community College, Glendale
- Harvey Mudd College, Claremont
- ITT Technical Institute; Culver City, San Dimas, Sylmar (Los Angeles), Torrance, and West Covina
- Life Pacific College, San Dimas
- Long Beach City College, Long Beach
- Los Angeles City College, (LACC) Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Harbor College, Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Mission College, Sylmar (Los Angeles)
- Los Angeles Pierce College (Pierce), Woodland Hills
- Los Angeles Southwest College, Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Trade Technical College, (LATTC) Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Valley College, Valley Glen (Los Angeles)
- The Master's College, Santa Clarita
- Mount St. Mary's College, Los Angeles
- Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut
- Mt. Sierra College, Monrovia
- Occidental College (Oxy), Eagle Rock (Los Angeles)
- Otis College of Art and Design, Westchester (Los Angeles)
- Pacific Oaks College, Pasadena
- Pasadena City College, Pasadena
- Pitzer College, Claremont
- Pomona College, Claremont
- Rio Hondo College, Whittier
- Santa Monica College (SMC), Santa Monica
- Scripps College, Claremont
- Southern California Institute of Architecture, Los Angeles
- West Los Angeles College, Culver City
- Whittier College, Whittier
- Wyoming Technical Institute (WyoTech), Long Beach
Universities
- Azusa Pacific University, Azusa
- Biola University, La Mirada
- California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena
- California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, (Cal Poly Pomona), Pomona
- California State University, Dominguez Hills, (CSUDH) Carson
- California State University, Bakersfield, Lancaster
- California State University, Long Beach, (CSULB), Long Beach
- California State University, Los Angeles, (CSULA), Los Angeles
- California State University, Northridge, (CSUN), Northridge (Los Angeles)
- Claremont Graduate University, (CGU)
- Loyola Marymount University (LMU), Westchester (Los Angeles)
- Pepperdine University, Malibu
- Southern California University of Health Sciences, Whittier
- Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles
- University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) Westwood (Los Angeles)
- University of La Verne, La Verne
- University of Southern California, (USC) Los Angeles
- University of the West, (UWest) Rosemead
- Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona
- Woodbury University, Burbank
Religion
Other than Christian churches, there are also 48 mosques, 202 Jewish synagogues, 14 Sikh guradwaras, 145 Buddhist temples, 44 Bahai worship centers, 37 Hindu temples, 16 Shinto worship centers, and 28 Tenrikyo churches and fellowships in the county.
Sites of interest
The county's most visited park is Griffith Park, owned by the City of Los Angeles. The county is also known for the annual Rose Parade in Pasadena, the annual Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Los Angeles Zoo, the Natural History Museum, the La Brea Tar Pits, the Arboretum of Los Angeles, and two horse racetracks and two car racetracks (Pomona Raceway and Irwindale Speedway), also the RMS Queen Mary located in Long Beach, and the Long Beach Grand Prix, and miles of beaches--from Zuma to Cabrillo.
Venice Beach is a popular attraction where its Muscle Beach used to find throngs of tourists admiring "hardbodies". Today it is more arts-centered. Santa Monica's pier is a well known tourist spot, famous for its ferris wheel and bumper car rides, which were featured in the introductory segment of the television sitcom Three's Company. Further north in Pacific Palisades one finds the beaches used in the television series Baywatch. The fabled Malibu, home of many a film or television star, lies west of it.
In the mountain, canyon, and desert areas one may find Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park, where many old westerns were filmed. Mount Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains is open for the public to view astronomical stars from its telescope, now computer-assisted. Many county residents find relaxation in water skiing and swimming at Castaic Lake Recreation Area - the county's largest park by area - as well as enjoying natural surroundings and starry nights at Saddleback Butte State Park in the eastern Antelope Valley - California State Parks' largest in area within the county. The California Poppy Reserve is located in the western Antelope Valley and shows off the State's flower in great quantity on its rolling hills every spring.
Museums
- California Science Center, Los Angeles (formerly the Museum of Science and Industry)
- Huntington Library, San Marino
- Long Beach Museum of Art
- Los Angeles Children's Museum
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Mid-City, Los Angeles
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Downtown Los Angeles (founded in 1950); The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Downtown Los Angeles (founded in 1980)
- Museum of Jurassic Technology, Culver City
- Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach
- Museum of Neon Art
- Museum of the American West (Gene Autry Museum), in Griffith Park
- Museum of Tolerance
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
- Pasadena Museum of California Art, in Pasadena
- J. Paul Getty Center, Brentwood (Ancient Roman, Greek, and European Renaissance Art)
- J. Paul Getty Villa,Pacific Palisades, California, Getty's original house
- George C. Page Museum at La Brea Tar Pits
- Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica (Contemporary art)
- Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena (19th and early 20th century art)
- Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles
- Southwest Museum
Entertainment
Music venues
Amusement Parks
Other attractions
Other areas
See also
External links
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