Los Angeles
Portuguese explorer João Cabrilho claimed this area for Spain in 1542, but it was not until 1769 that the Spanish arrived to seal their claim. In 1781 settlers from the Spanish colonies arrived to found a town called El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula. Fortunately the name has since been shortened a little - imagine flying to EPDNSLRDLADP Airport! Now a city of nearly 4 million people, Los Angeles needs no further introduction. Sadly, 2025 arrived with destructive wildfires in areas such as Pacific Palisades which resulted in loss of life and huge destruction of buildings. At the time of writing the fires were still being tackled.
Mission San Fernando Rey de España
In 1797 Father Fermin Lasuen founded a mission to close a gap in the chain of Californian Missions between San Buenaventura and San Gabriel. San Fernando Rey de España was the seventeenth in the chain. The mission was secularised in 1834 and fell into disrepair. Soon after an early gold discovery was made on a nearby ranch, and the area was overrun with prospectors who promptly dug up the church floor in search of gold. Returned to religious use in 1923, the church was heavily damaged in a 1971 earthquake and had to be completely rebuilt. Click Tab 2 to see a view of the Altar.
Sailing Boats at Fisherman's Village
Back in 1981 we spend our last hours in the L.A. area at the Fisherman’s Village in Marina del Rey, before catching our flight up to Vancouver, BC. After rushing round the sights of L.A. and spending a day at Universal Studios, it was incredibly peaceful here. It was early in the day for Fisherman’s Village had yet to open for business, indeed the peace and quiet was interrupted only by the welcome sight of a hummingbird darting from one pot of flowers to another.
Palm trees at Venice Municipal Beach
Where are the beautiful people who rollerblade, cycle and jog round this area? There is one cyclist in the picture on the right hand side, but at the time that this was taken we presume that the others were still getting their beauty sleep.
Watts Towers
In the USA some people have some pretty large hobbies. Italian immigrant Sabatio (Simon) Rodia worked in the construction industry and his hobby was building decorated steel towers. Between 1921 and 1954 he built 17 interconnected towers rising up to 30 metres (99 feet) high. The towers are decorated with broken pieces of glass and pottery. Rodia gave away the property in 1955 and in 1959 the City of LA tried to demolish the towers on safety grounds. Public pressure led to tests that proved that they were extremely strong. The towers were saved and they are now designated the Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historical Park. The towers are located in an extremely run down part of Los Angeles, so if you are not familiar with the precautions needed when travelling through such areas it is recommended that you should go there only as part of an organised tour.
View across Los Angeles from Mulholland Drive
We aren’t great fans of L.A., but we couldn’t leave Tinseltown out of the Cities section could we? It may lack the character of San Francisco or San Diego but it is the place where dreams are made. So, we gritted out teeth, went to L.A. and took a few photographs. Well, actually we went there several times! Why don’t we rate Los Angeles very highly? The City of Angels may well have Hollywood and theme parks, to us it seems a City without a real Heart. This shot from Mulholland Drive gives a clue. Los Angeles sits back from the ocean and it sold its soul to the automobile many years ago. The view shows the result - a massive smog-laden urban sprawl.
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Malibu near Sport Fishing Pier
To the west of Los Angeles is a 34 kilometre (21 mile) sprawl along the coast. Malibu is well known for for its beach front houses many owned by the rich and famous from the entertainment industry. In 1991 it became a city in its own right within Los Angeles County and it has more than 12,000 residents. Curiously, for a city, Malibu has no downtown area as shops and restaurants are spread out along the length of the coastal strip. This picture looks east from near the Sport Fishing Pier. To the west of the pier is the Adamson House, built in 1930 for the original owners of Malibu.
Click the arrows above to continue on the California Trail. We have other pages on Los Angeles. To see them click below or on the Minimap:
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© Mike Elsden 1981 - 2025
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