Maryland
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| State nickname: Old Line State; Free State | |
| Other U.S. States | |
| Capital | Annapolis |
| Largest city | Baltimore |
| Governor | Robert L. Ehrlich |
| Official languages | English |
| Area | 32,160 km² (42nd) |
| - Land | 25,338 km² |
| - Water | 6,968 km² (21%) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Population | 5,296,486 (19th) |
| - Density | 165 /km² (5th) |
| Admission into Union | |
| - Date | April 28, 1788 |
| - Order | 7th |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
| Latitude | 37°53'N to 39°43'N |
| Longitude | 75°4'W to 79°33'W |
| Width | 145 km |
| Length | 400 km |
| Elevation | |
| - Highest | 1,024 m |
| - Mean | 105 m |
| - Lowest | 0 m |
| Abbreviations | |
| - USPS | MD |
| - ISO 3166-2 | US-MD |
| Web site | www.maryland.gov |
Maryland is a state of the United States, one of the South Atlantic States (although often considered part of the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic States). Its U.S. postal abbreviation is MD. Its Associated Press abbreviation is Md. Maryland was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. See: Annapolis Convention.
Main article: History of Maryland
George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore applied to Charles I for a new royal charter for what was to become the Province of Maryland. George Calvert died in April 1632, but a charter for "Maryland Colony" (in Latin, "Terra Maria") was granted to his son, Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, on June 20, 1632. The new colony was named in honour of Henrietta Maria, Queen Consort of Charles I.
The English colony of Maryland was founded by Lord Baltimore who on March 25, 1634 led the first settlers into this area which would soon become one of the few dominantly Catholic regions among the English colonies in America. Maryland was one of the key destinations of tens of thousands of British convicts, which carried on until independence. The Maryland Toleration Act (1649) was one of the first laws that explicitly tolerated varieties of religion (as long as it was Christian), and is sometimes seen as a precursor to the First Amendment.
Originally, based on an incorrect map, the royal charter granted Maryland the Potomac River and territory northward to the fortieth parallel. This was found to be a problem, because the northern boundary would put Philadelphia, the major city in Pennsylvania, within Maryland. The Calvert family, which controlled Maryland, and the Penn family, which controlled Pennsylvania, engaged two surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, to survey what became known as the Mason-Dixon line which would form the boundary between their two colonies.
St. Mary's City was the largest site of the original Maryland colony, and was the seat of the colonial government until 1708. After Virginia made the practice of Anglicanism mandatory, a large number of Puritans migrated from Virginia to Maryland, and were given land for a settlement called Providence (now called Annapolis). In 1650 the Puritans revolted against the proprietary government and set up a new government that outlawed both Catholicism and Anglicanism. This lasted until 1658 when the Calvert family regained control and re-enacted the Toleration Act.
During the persecution of Maryland Catholics by the Puritan revolutionary government, all of the original Catholic churches of southern Maryland were burned down. St Mary's City is now an archaelogical site, with a small tourist center.
In 1708 the seat of government was moved to Providence, renamed Annapolis in honor of Queen Anne.
During the War of 1812 the British military attempted to capture the port of Baltimore which was protected by Fort McHenry. It was during this bombardment that the Star Spangled Banner was writen by Francis Scott Key.
Despite popular support for the cause of the Confederate States of America, Maryland did not secede during the United States Civil War, in part due to precautions taken by the government in Washington, D.C.. Because of this it was not included under the Emancipation Proclamation. A constitutional convention was held during 1864 that culminated in the passage of a new state constitution on November 1 of that year. Article 24 of that document outlawed the practice of slavery. The right to vote was not, however, extended to non-white males until 1867.
Main article: Government of Maryland
The Government of Maryland is conducted according to the state constitution. The United States is a federation; consequently, the Government of Maryland, like the other 49 state governments, has exclusive authority over matters that lie entirely within the state's borders, except as limited by the Constitution of the United States. Maryland is a republic; the United States guarantees her "republican form of government" [|USC Article IV, section 4 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articleiv.html#section4)] although there is considerable disagreement about the meaning of that phrase.
Power in Maryland is divided among three branches of government, executive, legislative, and judicial. Unlike most other states, significant autonomy is granted to many of Maryland's counties.
Most of the business of government is done in Annapolis, the State capital. Virtually all state and county elections are held in even numbered years not divisible by four, in which the President of the United States is not elected - this, as in other States, is intended to divide State and Federal politics.
See: List of Maryland counties, List of Maryland rivers
Maryland countiesMaryland is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania, on the west by West Virginia, on the east by Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south, across the Potomac River, by Virginia. It shares a border near the center of the state along the Potomac with Washington, DC. The Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state, and the counties east of the Bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore. A portion of extreme western Maryland in Garrett County is drained by the Youghiogheny River as part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The highest point in Maryland is Backbone Mountain, which is the southwest corner of Garrett County, right near the border with West Virginia near the headwaters of the North Branch of the Potomac. Also in Western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state line, is a point at which the state of Maryland is only two miles wide. This geographical curiosity, the " Maryland wasp-waist" is located near the small town of Hancock.
The Delmarva Peninsula is a geographic term for the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland, the state of Delaware, and two counties of Virginia, which all together form a long extension down the Atlantic seaboard. One of the most noted features of Delmarva is Maryland's Assateague Island, on the Atlantic, with its herd of wild ponies accustomed to the seashore.
Climate varies greatly across the state, depending on factors like elevation, rainfall, and proximity to water. The Eastern Shore region, as well as a small part of the western shore (including Baltimore, Annapolis, and St. Mary's City) are a part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, which has a humid subtropical climate of hot summers and mild winters. Beyond the plain rise the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and the Piedmont region has warm summers and colder winters, where snow often falls. Extreme western Maryland has a mountain climate with mild summers and cold winters. Growing climate varies from USDA Zone 8 on the Eastern Shore and in the cities of Baltimore and Washington DC to Zones 7 and 6 is the Piedmont, to Zone 5 in the mountainous west.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (http://www.bea.gov/) estimates that Maryland's total state product in 2003 was $212 billion. Per capita personal income in 2003 was $37,446, 5th in the nation.
Maryland's economic activity is strongly concentrated in the tertiary service sector, and this sector, in turn, is strongly influenced by location. One major service activity is transportation, centered around the Port of Baltimore and its related rail and trucking access. The port ranked 10th in the USA by tonnage in 2002 (Source: US Corps of Engineers, "Waterborn Commerce Statistics"). Although the port handles a wide variety of products, the most typical imports are raw materials and bulk commodities, such as iron ore, petroleum, sugar, and fertilizers, often distributed to the relatively close manufacturing centers of the inland Midwest via good overland transportation.
A second service activity takes advantage of the close location of the center of government in Washington, D.C. and emphasizes technical and administrative tasks for the defense/aerospace industry and bio-research laboratories, as well as staffing of satellite government headquarters in the suburban or exurban Baltimore/Washington area. In addition to these are many educational and medical research institutions. In fact, the various components of Johns Hopkins University and its medical research facilities are now the largest single employer in the Baltimore area. Altogether, white collar technical and administrative workers comprise 25% of Maryland's labor force, one of the highest state percentages in the country. A list of government agencies located in Maryland is summarized below:
Maryland has a large food producing sector. One component is commercial fishing, centered in Chesapeake Bay, but also including activity off the short Atlantic seacoast. The largest catches by species are the blue crab, oysters, striped bass, and menhaden. The Bay also has uncounted millions of overwintering waterfowl in its many wildlife refuges. While not, strictly speaking, a commercial food resource, the waterfowl support a tourism sector of sportsmen.
Maryland has a large amount of fertile agricultural land in its coastal and Piedmont zones, although this land use is being encroached upon by urbanization. Agriculture is oriented to dairying for nearby large city milksheads plus specialty perishable horticulture crops, such as cucumbers, watermelons, sweet corn, tomatoes, muskmelons, squash, and peas (Source:USDA Crop Profiles). In addition, the southern counties of the western shoreline of Chesapeake Bay support a tobacco cash crop zone, which has been in existence since early Colonial times. There is also a large chicken-farming sector in the state.
The third component of the food producing sector are food processing plants, which are the most significant type of manufacturing by value in the state.
Manufacturing, while large in dollar value, is highly diversified with no sub-sector contributing over 20% of the total. Typical forms of manufacturing include electronics, computer equipment, and chemicals. The once mighty primary metals sub-sector, which at one time included what was then the largest steel factory in the world at Sparrows Point, still exists, but is pressed with foreign competition, bankruptcies, and company mergers.
Mining other than construction materials is virtually limited to coal, located in the mountainous western part of the state. In construction mention should be made of the brownstone quarries in the east, which gave Baltimore and Washington much of their characteristic architecture in the mid-1800's. Historically, there used to be small gold mining operations in Maryland, some surprisingly near Washington, but these no longer exist.
Maryland's major Interstate Highways include I-95, which enters the northeast portion of the state, goes through Baltimore, and becomes the Capital Beltway to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. I-68 connects the western portions of the state to Frederick, and I-70 connects Frederick with Baltimore. I-695 is the Baltimore beltway.
Maryland's main airport is Baltimore-Washington International Airport (formerly known as Friendship Airport and recently renamed for former Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall). The Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. are also serviced by the other two airports in the region, Reagan National and Dulles International Airports, both in Virginia.
Amtrak Trains serve Baltimore along the Northeast Corridor. In addition, train service is provided between Washington, D.C., Rockville, Maryland, and Cumberland, Maryland on the Amtrak Capitol Limited. MARC trains, operated by the State's Transit Authority, connect nearby Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, and other towns.
As of 2003, the state's population was 5,508,909. Most of the people live in the central region of Maryland, in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The Eastern Shore is less populous and more rural, as are the counties of southern Maryland. The three counties of Western Maryland (Allegany, Garrett, and Washington) are mountainous and sparsely populated, resembling West Virginia more than they do the rest of Maryland.
The racial makeup of the state is:
The five largest ancestries in Maryland are: African American (27.9%), German (15.7%), Irish (11.7%), English (9%), American (5.8%).
Maryland was founded for the purpose of providing religious toleration of England's Catholic minority. Nevertheless, the Crown later reversed that policy and discouraged the practice of Catholicism in Maryland. Therefore, despite the founding intent of the colony, Catholics have never been in a majority in Maryland since early Colonial times. The present religious composition of the state is shown in the table below:
The three largest Protestant denominations in Maryland are: Baptist (17% of the total state population), Methodist (14%), Lutheran (6%).
Notwithstanding numerical positions, the founding intent of Maryland has made the state prominent in US Catholic tradition. For example, Baltimore was the location of the first Catholic bishop in the USA ( 1789) and Emmitsburg, the home and burial place of the first American-born citizen to be canonized, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
See also:Places in Maryland Ranked by Per Capita Income
For a more exhaustive list, see List of cities in Maryland
See List of people from Maryland
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See List of people from Maryland. See: List of Los Angeles natives. For a more exhaustive list, see List of cities in Maryland. Related topics: Maps of Los Angeles, California. See also:Places in Maryland Ranked by Per Capita Income. Of 782,164 renter-occupied units, 21,720 units have a rent of less than $200, 22,915 have rent between $200-$299, 123,579 have rent between $300-$499, 300,153 have rent between $500-$749, 162,156 have rent between $750-$999, 101,720 have rent between $1,000-$1,499, 35,384 have rent of $1,500 or more, and 14,537 do not pay rent in the form of cash. Notwithstanding numerical positions, the founding intent of Maryland has made the state prominent in US Catholic tradition. For example, Baltimore was the location of the first Catholic bishop in the USA ( 1789) and Emmitsburg, the home and burial place of the first American-born citizen to be canonized, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. 16,682 units lack complete plumbing facilities, 26,606 lack complete kitchen facilities, and 27,672 units do not have telephone service. The three largest Protestant denominations in Maryland are: Baptist (17% of the total state population), Methodist (14%), Lutheran (6%). 940,097 housing units use utility gas for house heating fuel, 17,170 use bottled, tank, or LP gas, 260,453 use electricity, 647 use fuel oil, kerosene, or similar fuels, 124 use coal or coke, 1,881 use wood, 3,137 use solar energy, 2,117 use some other fuel, and 49,732 do not use fuel. The present religious composition of the state is shown in the table below:. Of the 1,337,668 housing units, 7,250 were built between 1999-March 2000, 25,363 between 1995-1998, 49,785 between 1990-1994, 148,376 between 1980-1989, 200,978 between 1970-1979, 234,429 between 1960-1969, 447,923 between 1940-1959, and 223,564 were built in 1939 or earlier. Therefore, despite the founding intent of the colony, Catholics have never been in a majority in Maryland since early Colonial times. Of the structures containing the 1,337,668 housing units in the city, 524,787 are in a structure of only 1 detached unit, 87,776 are in a structure of only 1 attached unit, 42,814 are in a structure of 2 units, 86,253 are in a structure of 3-4 units, 126,263 are in a structure of 5-9 units, 138,634 are in a structure of 10-19 units, 322,059 are in a structure of 20 or more units, 8,222 are a mobile home, and 860 are a boat, R.V., van, or similar constructs. Nevertheless, the Crown later reversed that policy and discouraged the practice of Catholicism in Maryland. Bus, train, and subway service in the city of Los Angeles is provided by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority; taxicabs are private businesses are are not included. Maryland was founded for the purpose of providing religious toleration of England's Catholic minority. Of the 152,435 workers that use public transportation, 144,973 use bus or trolley[14] (http://www.ladottransit.com/other/trolley/index.html) bus, 804 use a streetcar, 3,054 use a subway (the Metro (http://www.metro.net/) Red Line[15] (http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/metro_rail/red_line.htm) is the only existence of a subway in the city), 1,730 use rail service, 136 use a ferryboat (such workers commute to or from the Channel Islands of California, most likely to or from Avalon), and 1,738 use a taxicab. The five largest ancestries in Maryland are: African American (27.9%), German (15.7%), Irish (11.7%), English (9%), American (5.8%). Of the 220,408 workers that carpool, 163,508 have a carpool of 2 people, 34,845 have 3 people, 13,266 have 4 people or more, 5,682 have 6-7 people, and 3,107 have 7 or more people. The racial makeup of the state is:. 61,695 work at home. The three counties of Western Maryland (Allegany, Garrett, and Washington) are mountainous and sparsely populated, resembling West Virginia more than they do the rest of Maryland. Of 1,494,895 out of the 1,690,316 workers 16 years or older, 982,735 drive to work alone in a motor vehicle, 220,408 carpool, 152,435 use public transportation, 53,386 walk, 2,474 use a motorcycle, 9,052 use a bicycle, and 12,710 use other means of transportation to commute to work. The Eastern Shore is less populous and more rural, as are the counties of southern Maryland. Of the 1,433,200 workers that do not work at home, 97,677 leave to go to work between 5:00 A.M.-5:59 A.M., 117,065 leave between 6:00-6:29 A.M., 126,156 leave between 6:30-6:59 A.M., 211,629 leave between 7:00-7:29 A.M., 190,922 leave between 7:30-7:59 A.M., 179,318 leave between 8:00-8:29 A.M., 94,857 leave between 8:30-8:59 A.M., 204,567 leave between 9:00-11:59 A.M., 85,128 leave between 12:00 P.M.-3:59 P.M., and 125,881 leave at all other times. Most of the people live in the central region of Maryland, in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. Of the workers, 1,209,942 are privately employed, 162,402 are government workers, 153,551 are self-employed, and 6,179 are unpaid family workers. As of 2003, the state's population was 5,508,909. The mean time to commute to work (one-way) is 29.6 minutes. and Baltimore, and other towns. There are 756,303 females that are at least 16 years old in the labor force. MARC trains, operated by the State's Transit Authority, connect nearby Washington, D.C. There are 1,690,316 people at least 16 years old in the labor force, of which 1,688,652 are in the civilian labor force, 1,664 are in the Armed Forces, and 156,578 are unemployed. In addition, train service is provided between Washington, D.C., Rockville, Maryland, and Cumberland, Maryland on the Amtrak Capitol Limited. 509,841 are naturalized citizens and 1,002,879 are not citizens. Amtrak Trains serve Baltimore along the Northeast Corridor. Of such foreign born people, 569,771 entered between 1990 to March 2000. are also serviced by the other two airports in the region, Reagan National and Dulles International Airports, both in Virginia. Of 1,512,720 foreign born people, 100,252 were born in Europe, 376,767 were born in Asia, 20,730 were born in Africa, 4,104 were born in Oceania, 996,996 were born in Latin America, and 13,859 were born in Northern America. The Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. Virgin Islands, or Northern Marianas). Maryland's main airport is Baltimore-Washington International Airport (formerly known as Friendship Airport and recently renamed for former Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall). Of 2,182,114 native people, 1,485,576 were born in California, 663,746 were born in a different state of the United States of America, and 31,792 were born in a United States territory (Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. I-695 is the Baltimore beltway. Of 2,308,887 people 25 years of age or older, 437,758 have less than a 9th grade educational attainment, 332,414 have between a 9th-12th grade educational attainment with no diploma, 401,938 are high school graduates or equivalent, 424,785 have some college education but with no degree, 122,931 have an associate degree, 379,630 have a bachelor's degree, and 209,431 have a graduate or professional degree. I-68 connects the western portions of the state to Frederick, and I-70 connects Frederick with Baltimore. Out of the total population, 30.3% of those under the age of 18 and 12.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. Maryland's major Interstate Highways include I-95, which enters the northeast portion of the state, goes through Baltimore, and becomes the Capital Beltway to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. 22.1% of the population and 18.3% of families are below the poverty line. Historically, there used to be small gold mining operations in Maryland, some surprisingly near Washington, but these no longer exist. The per capita income for the city is $20,671. Mining other than construction materials is virtually limited to coal, located in the mountainous western part of the state. In construction mention should be made of the brownstone quarries in the east, which gave Baltimore and Washington much of their characteristic architecture in the mid-1800's. Males have a median income of $31,880 versus $30,197 for females. The once mighty primary metals sub-sector, which at one time included what was then the largest steel factory in the world at Sparrows Point, still exists, but is pressed with foreign competition, bankruptcies, and company mergers. The median income for a household in the city is $36,687, and the median income for a family is $39,942. Manufacturing, while large in dollar value, is highly diversified with no sub-sector contributing over 20% of the total. Typical forms of manufacturing include electronics, computer equipment, and chemicals. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 97.5 males. The third component of the food producing sector are food processing plants, which are the most significant type of manufacturing by value in the state. For every 100 females there are 99.4 males. There is also a large chicken-farming sector in the state. The median age is 32 years. In addition, the southern counties of the western shoreline of Chesapeake Bay support a tobacco cash crop zone, which has been in existence since early Colonial times. In the city the population is spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who are 65 years of age or older. Agriculture is oriented to dairying for nearby large city milksheads plus specialty perishable horticulture crops, such as cucumbers, watermelons, sweet corn, tomatoes, muskmelons, squash, and peas (Source:USDA Crop Profiles). The average household size is 2.83 and the average family size is 3.56. Maryland has a large amount of fertile agricultural land in its coastal and Piedmont zones, although this land use is being encroached upon by urbanization. 28.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. While not, strictly speaking, a commercial food resource, the waterfowl support a tourism sector of sportsmen. There are 1,275,412 households out of which 33.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% are married couples living together, 14.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% are non-families. The Bay also has uncounted millions of overwintering waterfowl in its many wildlife refuges. 46.53% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race and 29.75% White, not of Latino/Hispanic origins. The largest catches by species are the blue crab, oysters, striped bass, and menhaden. The racial makeup of the city is 46.93% White, 11.24% African American, 0.80% Native American, 9.99% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 25.70% from other races, and 5.18% from two or more races. One component is commercial fishing, centered in Chesapeake Bay, but also including activity off the short Atlantic seacoast. There are 1,337,706 housing units at an average density of 1,101.1/km² (2,851.8/mi²). Maryland has a large food producing sector. The population density is 3,041.3/km² (7,876.8/mi²). A list of government agencies located in Maryland is summarized below:. As of the census2 of 2000, there are 3,694,820 people, 1,275,412 households, and 798,407 families residing in the city. Altogether, white collar technical and administrative workers comprise 25% of Maryland's labor force, one of the highest state percentages in the country. Ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, Koreatown, Little India (Artesia), Little Armenia, Thai Town, Historic Filipinotown and Little Ethiopia give testimony to the polyglot character of Los Angeles. In fact, the various components of Johns Hopkins University and its medical research facilities are now the largest single employer in the Baltimore area. is home to people from more than 140 countries, who speak at least 224 different languages. In addition to these are many educational and medical research institutions. L.A. and emphasizes technical and administrative tasks for the defense/aerospace industry and bio-research laboratories, as well as staffing of satellite government headquarters in the suburban or exurban Baltimore/Washington area. Los Angeles is also home to the largest populations of Japanese and Persians living in the U.S., and has one of the largest Native American populations in the country. A second service activity takes advantage of the close location of the center of government in Washington, D.C. Los Angeles hosts the largest populations of Armenians, Cambodians, Filipinos, Guatemalans, Israelis, Koreans, Thais, Mexicans, Hungarians and Salvadorans outside of their respective countries. Although the port handles a wide variety of products, the most typical imports are raw materials and bulk commodities, such as iron ore, petroleum, sugar, and fertilizers, often distributed to the relatively close manufacturing centers of the inland Midwest via good overland transportation. The Hispanic and Asian American populations are growing particularly quickly — the Asian American population is the largest of any city in the U.S. The port ranked 10th in the USA by tonnage in 2002 (Source: US Corps of Engineers, "Waterborn Commerce Statistics"). can truly be described as a "world city" — that is, it has one of the largest and most diverse populations of any municipality anywhere. One major service activity is transportation, centered around the Port of Baltimore and its related rail and trucking access. L.A. Maryland's economic activity is strongly concentrated in the tertiary service sector, and this sector, in turn, is strongly influenced by location. The people of Los Angeles are known as Angelenos. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (http://www.bea.gov/) estimates that Maryland's total state product in 2003 was $212 billion. Per capita personal income in 2003 was $37,446, 5th in the nation. In addition the groundwater is increasingly threatened by MTBE from gas stations and perchlorate from rocket fuel. Some consider urban sprawl to be a result of the city's transportation system. Growing climate varies from USDA Zone 8 on the Eastern Shore and in the cities of Baltimore and Washington DC to Zones 7 and 6 is the Piedmont, to Zone 5 in the mountainous west. The Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley hold in the fumes from automobiles, diesel trucks, shipping, and locomotive engines, as well as manufacturing and other sources. Extreme western Maryland has a mountain climate with mild summers and cold winters. Due to the city's geography and the popularity of automobiles, the city suffers from severe air pollution in the form of smog. Beyond the plain rise the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and the Piedmont region has warm summers and colder winters, where snow often falls. Most of these contain sailboats and yachts, like Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Marina-Del-Rey. Mary's City) are a part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, which has a humid subtropical climate of hot summers and mild winters. There are also smaller, non-industrial harbors along L.A.'s western coastline. The Eastern Shore region, as well as a small part of the western shore (including Baltimore, Annapolis, and St. The sea ports of the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach together make up the Los Angeles - Long Beach Harbor, the busiest and overall third largest container shipping port in the world. Climate varies greatly across the state, depending on factors like elevation, rainfall, and proximity to water. Los Angeles also has the world's busiest general aviation airport, Van Nuys Airport (VNY). One of the most noted features of Delmarva is Maryland's Assateague Island, on the Atlantic, with its herd of wild ponies accustomed to the seashore. The other major commercial airports are Ontario International Airport (ONT), Bob Hope Airport (BUR) formerly known as Burbank Airport, Long Beach Municipal Airport (LGB), and John Wayne International Airport (SNA). The Delmarva Peninsula is a geographic term for the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland, the state of Delaware, and two counties of Virginia, which all together form a long extension down the Atlantic seaboard. The main Los Angeles airport is Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the 5th busiest commercial airport in the world. LAX handled 55 million passengers and 2 million tons of cargo in 2003. This geographical curiosity, the " Maryland wasp-waist" is located near the small town of Hancock. The Los Angeles area has more airports than any major city in the world, with 5 major commercial airports, and many more general aviation airports. Also in Western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state line, is a point at which the state of Maryland is only two miles wide. Rail shipping is handled by Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe. The highest point in Maryland is Backbone Mountain, which is the southwest corner of Garrett County, right near the border with West Virginia near the headwaters of the North Branch of the Potomac. Rail passenger service is provided by Amtrak and Metrolink from historic Union Station. A portion of extreme western Maryland in Garrett County is drained by the Youghiogheny River as part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and other agencies operate bus, subway and light railroad lines which together carry over a million passengers a day. The Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state, and the counties east of the Bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore. freeway system successfully handles millions of commuters as they endure a daily collective migration of about 99 million miles (160,000,000 km). It shares a border near the center of the state along the Potomac with Washington, DC. is considered to be the home of traffic jams and car culture, the L.A. Maryland is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania, on the west by West Virginia, on the east by Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south, across the Potomac River, by Virginia. While L.A. See: List of Maryland counties, List of Maryland rivers. Los Angeles is the center of the huge Southern California freeway system. Virtually all state and county elections are held in even numbered years not divisible by four, in which the President of the United States is not elected - this, as in other States, is intended to divide State and Federal politics. See also: Freeway system of Los Angeles. Most of the business of government is done in Annapolis, the State capital. Main article: Transportation of Los Angeles. Unlike most other states, significant autonomy is granted to many of Maryland's counties. See the Economy section of the Los Angeles County article for a list of such companies in Los Angeles County. Power in Maryland is divided among three branches of government, executive, legislative, and judicial. There are many other well-known companies with headquarters located in the County of Los Angeles or the greater Los Angeles area, but they are far beyond the City of Los Angeles (and the scope of this article). Maryland is a republic; the United States guarantees her "republican form of government" [|USC Article IV, section 4 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articleiv.html#section4)] although there is considerable disagreement about the meaning of that phrase. The companies below clearly benefit from their proximity to Los Angeles, while at the same time they also avoid the city's taxes (and other problems). The United States is a federation; consequently, the Government of Maryland, like the other 49 state governments, has exclusive authority over matters that lie entirely within the state's borders, except as limited by the Constitution of the United States. For example, Los Angeles charges a gross receipts tax based on a percentage of business revenue, while most neighboring cities charge only small flat fees. The Government of Maryland is conducted according to the state constitution. Few major companies are headquartered within the boundaries of the City of Los Angeles for a variety of reasons, such as the city's high taxes. Main article: Government of Maryland. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are vital to North American trade with the Pacific Rim countries. The right to vote was not, however, extended to non-white males until 1867. The most important industries in Los Angeles are entertainment, adult entertainment, and media production, aerospace, telecommunications, law, tourism, health and medicine, manufacturing and transportation. Article 24 of that document outlawed the practice of slavery. Main article: Economy of Los Angeles. A
constitutional convention was held during 1864 that culminated in the passage
of a new state constitution on November 1 of that year. County, Whittier, Long Beach area During the War of 1812 the British military attempted to capture the port of Baltimore which was protected by Fort McHenry. Signs have been placed on major thoroughfares designating some of the communities, a practice going back decades. In 1708 the seat of government was moved to Providence, renamed Annapolis in honor of Queen Anne. These divisions have no legal status but are of significance to residents for cultural and financial reasons. St Mary's City is now an archaelogical site, with a small tourist center. Most of the neighborhood names come either from farm towns that were annexed by the growing city, physical terrain features, major streets, or subdivision names coined by enterprising developers. During the persecution of Maryland Catholics by the Puritan revolutionary government, all of the original Catholic churches of southern Maryland were burned down. The city is divided into many neighborhoods. This lasted until 1658 when the Calvert family regained control and re-enacted the Toleration Act. There are also unincorporated enclaves which are under Los Angeles County jurisdiction. In 1650 the Puritans revolted against the proprietary government and set up a new government that outlawed both Catholicism and Anglicanism. territory. After Virginia made the practice of Anglicanism mandatory, a large number of Puritans migrated from Virginia to Maryland, and were given land for a settlement called Providence (now called Annapolis). San Fernando in the northern corner of the San Fernando Valley is also a separate city entirely surrounded by L.A. Mary's City was the largest site of the original Maryland colony, and was the seat of the colonial government until 1708. Both Santa Monica and Marina del Rey are surrounded except on their ocean side. St. except where it shares a boundary with the unincorporated communities of Ladera Heights and Baldwin Hills. The Calvert family, which controlled Maryland, and the Penn family, which controlled Pennsylvania, engaged two surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, to survey what became known as the Mason-Dixon line which would form the boundary between their two colonies. Culver City is surrounded by L.A. This was found to be a problem, because the northern boundary would put Philadelphia, the major city in Pennsylvania, within Maryland. For example, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood are completely surrounded by the City of Los Angeles except for a small border the two cities share. Originally, based on an incorrect map, the royal charter granted Maryland the Potomac River and territory northward to the fortieth parallel. The city boundaries are quite complicated. The Maryland Toleration Act (1649) was one of the first laws that explicitly tolerated varieties of religion (as long as it was Christian), and is sometimes seen as a precursor to the First Amendment. The San Pedro/Harbor City area was annexed to the city of Los Angeles so the city could have access and control over the Port of Los Angeles and is only connected by a narrow Corridor with the rest of L.A, which follows the Harbor Freeway for the most part. Many Angelenos consider the Eastside to be the area east of the Los Angeles River, above Orange County. Maryland was one of the key destinations of tens of thousands of British convicts, which carried on until independence. Adjoining areas that are outside the actual city boundaries of the incorporated city of Los Angeles include the South Bay, the San Gabriel Valley and the Foothills. The English colony of Maryland was founded by Lord Baltimore who on March 25, 1634 led the first settlers into this area which would soon become one of the few dominantly Catholic regions among the English colonies in America. (formerly known as South Central L.A.); and the San Pedro/Harbor City area. The new colony was named in honour of Henrietta Maria, Queen Consort of Charles I. Some other areas of Los Angeles include the Westside; South L.A. George Calvert died in April 1632, but a charter for "Maryland Colony" (in Latin, "Terra Maria") was granted to his son, Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, on June 20, 1632. Or, consider the San Fernando Valley: Lying north-northwest of Downtown L.A., "The Valley" is a 15 mile (24 km) wide basin ringed by mountains. George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore applied to Charles I for a new royal charter for what was to become the Province of Maryland. For example, Downtown Los Angeles is the area of Los Angeles roughly enclosed by three freeways and one river: the Harbor Freeway to the west, the Hollywood Freeway to the north, the Los Angeles River to the east, and the Santa Monica Freeway to the south. Main article: History of Maryland. Some areas are bounded by natural features such as mountains or the ocean; others are marked by city boundaries, freeways, or other constructed landmarks. See: Annapolis Convention.. See also Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, California.. Its Associated Press abbreviation is Md. Maryland was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. The Los Angeles Downtown News keeps a list of ongoing development projects, updated every quarter, here (http://www.downtownnews.com/development/). postal abbreviation is MD. For example, Downtown Los Angeles is gaining more skyscrapers (some of which are residential towers), the office vacancy rate is decreasing, and the value of housing units and homes continues to rise. Its U.S. sprawl has reached its geographic limits around 2000 (future expansion of the sprawl will involve leapfrogging across whole mountain ranges), so these numbers are beginning to change as real estate investment becomes focused towards the central areas of the city. Maryland is a state of the United States, one of the South Atlantic States (although often considered part of the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic States). However, the L.A. See List of counties in Maryland. In contrast to this, the extent of the region's suburban sprawl has been so thoroughly cultivated so as to result in a greater metropolitan area with a relatively high density of 7,070 people per square mile (2,730/km²) according to the 2000 census. Towson – county seat of suburban Baltimore County. This decentralization has resulted in the city of Los Angeles having a very low population density compared to other large American cities (less than one-third the density of New York City, and nearly half the density of Chicago). Salisbury – largest city and business center of Delmarva pennisula. Los Angeles became a real city as automobiles began to be mass-produced, and as a result it developed somewhat less densely. Rockville – business center of affluent Montgomery County northwest of Washington. At the same time, the area's reputation for sprawl is more historic than real in today's terms. Ocean City – very popular beach resort on Atlantic coastline. It is not always meaningful to refer to Los Angeles as a distinct city, but people outside of Southern California commonly refer to the entire region as "L.A.," even though there are five counties, more than 100 distinct municipalities, hundreds of neighborhoods and districts, and more people than any individual state except for Texas, New York, Florida, and, of course, California. Laurel – large suburban community directly between Baltimore and Washington on Interstate 95. Greater Los Angeles (also referred to locally as "Southern California" or "The Southland") is such a sprawling area that residents refer to broad general sub-regions. Hagerstown – Largest community in 3 county Western Maryland region, has decaying industrial base. A major stretch of Wilshire Boulevard has high-rises outside of Century City, such as in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California and Mid-Wilshire. Frederick – Western gateway to Appalachian Mountains, suburban center. The area around LAX as well as the stretch of Century Boulevard to the direct east of LAX also makes a small, mid-rise skyline. Columbia – Large unincorporated town managed by the Columbia Association. Warner Center in the San Fernando Valley has a small skyline of commercial towers, with the tallest being around 25 stories. Encino, also in the San Fernando Valley, has many towers along Ventura Boulevard and nearby streets that have high-rises with story amounts in the 20's. suburb, home to the University of Maryland, College Park. Downtown has the tallest skyline, however, which mixes a few extremely tall high-rises with many lower high-rises (most around 12 stories) from the times when there was a low height limit. College Park – D.C. Century City and the parts of Wilshire Boulevard through Westwood together form a rather busy skyline that is often confused with the downtown skyline. Baltimore – Most populous city; commercial and cultural hub. The skyline of Los Angeles consists of several different clusters of high-rise buildings; most of these clusters are not directly connected to each other. Annapolis – state capital, home of United States Naval Academy. The recent "rise" of South Park, the low-rise district of downtown south of Bunker Hill (roughly south of 8th Street and north of the Santa Monica Freeway), is bringing skyscrapers that are high enough in quantity and height to create an extended downtown skyline within a few years from 2005. Non-Religious – 8%. This is a brief list, however, there are many more. Other Religions – 4%. Some recent, new examples of skyscraper construction include:. Other Christian – 2%. Hence, what the office tower rush in the 1970s and 1980s added to the skyline is now occuring again in the form of residential. Roman Catholic – 25%. Many of the new skyscrapers are housing, especially in Downtown. Protestant – 58%. The skyline has seen rapid growth due to improvements in building standards, which has made some buildings highly earthquake-resistant. 2% Mixed race. Despite its relative decentralization, Los Angeles has one of the largest skylines in the United States. 0.3% American Indian. See also: Los Angeles Basin, San Fernando Valley. 4% Asian. The major waterway of Los Angeles is the Los Angeles River. 4.3% Hispanic. Lukens. 27.9% Black. The highest point in Los Angeles is Sister Elsie Peak, 5,080 feet at the far reaches of the northeastern San Fernando Valley, part of Mt. 62.1% White non-Hispanic. The total area is 5.86% water. Fort Detrick. 1,214.9 km² (469.1 mi²) of it is land and 75.7 km² (29.2 mi²) of it is water. Webster Field. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1,290.6 km² (498.3 mi²). Naval Air Station Patuxent River. The extreme north-south distance is 44 miles (71 km), the extreme east-west distance is 29 miles (47 km), and the length of the city boundary is 342 miles (550 km). Indian Head Naval Surface Weapons Center. has a total area of 472.08 square miles (1,223 km²). Fort Meade. L.A. Bethesda Naval Medical Center. The city is situated in a semitropical Mediterranean climate zone. Andrews Air Force Base. Main article: Geography of Los Angeles. Aberdeen Proving Ground. Notable sister cities include Athens, Jakarta, Berlin, Mumbai, Vancouver, Mexico City, Makati and St. Petersburg. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Los Angeles has 20 Sister Cities, more than any other municipality in California. U.S. There are crime video games that take place in Los Angeles such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (which has a city named Los Santos which is based on Los Angeles) and True Crime: Streets of LA (which takes place in Los Angeles and is a close replica of the area). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. One interesting example is a report on ten freeway shootings within two months [3] (http://www.nbc4.tv/news/4449599/detail.html). Social Security Administration (SSA). Numerous instances of all these crimes are documented on the LAPD press release Web site [2] (http://www.lapdonline.org/press_releases/press_releases.htm). Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). Other common crimes include: car-to-car shootings (see road rage), drive-by shootings, thrill killings, hit-and-run accidents, and carjackings. National Security Agency (NSA). The city's complex freeway system makes it easier to go on for miles, while still remaining in the same general area. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In Los Angeles, car chases happen more often than in most major cities (sometimes a few times in one week). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Every day, the middle pages of Los Angeles newspapers are packed with reports of violent crimes which would be front page news in almost any other city in the United States. National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to a May 2001 Drug Threat Assessment by the National Drug Intelligence Center[1] (http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs0/668/overview.htm), Los Angeles County is home to 152,000 gang members organized into 1,350 gangs. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). As a result, people around the world know that the number 187 stands for murder in California. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Center. Many movies and songs about Los Angeles depict the fact that the city is home to a large number of gangsters and professional criminals. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Of course, the court of last resort for both federal and state cases is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Federal cases are appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which hears them at its branch building in Pasadena. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 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). Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). 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. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Simpson are frequently seen in Los Angeles courts. Census Bureau. Thanks to Hollywood, celebrities like O.J. Federal Agencies
Appalachian Mountains. Both are headquartered in a large cluster of government buildings in the city's Civic Center. Physical formations
The first notable achievement of the neighborhood councils was their organized opposition in March 2004 to an 18% increase in water rates by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (a municipal monopoly), which led the city council to suspend the rate hike pending further study. These and other regulatory requirements have proven frustrating for activists unaccustomed to bureaucratic procedures. Though the councils have little actual power, they are still official government bodies and so must abide by California's Brown Act that strictly governs the meetings of deliberative assemblies. More than 90 neighborhood councils have been formed and all stakeholders in a district may vote for council members. The councils cover districts which are not necessarily identical to the traditional neighborhoods of Los Angeles, the borders of which often reflect those of cities that were annexed to Los Angeles (see Communities, neighborhoods and districts below). These advisory councils were first proposed by city council member Joel Wachs in 1996 and were incorporated in the Charter Reform of 1999. To make the government more responsive and to help encourage the cohesiveness of neighborhood communities, the city council has promoted the formation of neighborhood councils. The main problem seems to be that the city administration in Downtown gives more priority to high-density neighborhoods like Mid-City and Downtown at the expense of its far-flung suburban neighborhoods. The city government has been perceived as inefficient and ineffective by residents of some areas, which ultimately led to an unsuccessful secession movement by the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood in 2002. The district attorney, elected by the county voters, prosecutes misdemeanors in unincorporated areas and in 78 of the 88 cities in the county, as well as felonies everywhere in the county. The city attorney prosecutes misdemeanors within the city limits. Other elected city officials include the city attorney, Rocky Delgadillo, and the city controller, Laura Chick. There are 15 city council districts. The current mayor is James Hahn and the mayor-elect is Antonio Villaraigosa. The city has a mayor-council system. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department polices all unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and some cities which have contracted for law enforcement services because they lack police departments of their own, including Calabasas, West Hollywood, and Compton. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) polices the city of Los Angeles. Main article: Law and government of Los Angeles. area, such as Caltech, see Los Angeles County, California#Colleges and universities. Note: For more colleges and universities in the L.A. ++Los Angeles Community College District. Since then, the LAUSD has embarked on an aggressive school construction program to relieve overcrowding, and has developed high-quality magnet schools to nurture talented students and encourage them to remain within the public school system. Wealthy and upper-middle-class parents placed their children in elite private schools like Harvard-Westlake, Crossroads School, The Buckley School, Milken Community High School, Notre Dame High School, Brentwood School (Los Angeles), and Marlborough School, while middle-class families fled into suburban school districts beyond LAUSD boundaries. After Proposition 13 in 1978, urban school districts had considerable trouble with funding and LAUSD became known for its underfunded, overcrowded and poorly maintained campuses. The primary school district that serves Los Angeles is the Los Angeles Unified School District. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi founded the Transcendental Meditation movement in Los Angeles in the late 1950s. Los Angeles has been a destination for Swamis and Gurus as early as 1900, including Paramahansa Yogananda (1920). Gene Scott was based near downtown. Until his death in 2005, Dr. Billy Graham became a celebrity during a successful revival campaign in Los Angeles. In the 1920s, Aimee Semple McPherson established a thriving evangelic ministry, with her Angelus Temple in Echo Park open to both black and white congregants. The city has also been home to some very colorful religious leaders and icons. One wing of the Theosophist movement is centered in Los Angeles, and another is set in neighboring Pasadena. Los Angeles is the home to a number of Neopagans, as well as adherents of various other mystical religions. The Self-Realization Fellowship is also based in Hollywood and has a private park in Pacific Palisades. Today, the Church of Scientology has a major presence in Hollywood. Immigrants from Asia, for example, have formed a number of significant Buddhist congregations. Los Angeles's large multi-ethnic population has fostered some of the less common religions of North America. The Azusa Street Revival (1906–1909) in Los Angeles was a key milestone in the history of the Pentecostal movement. Los Angeles has the second-largest Jewish community in the United States, rivaled only by New York City. A major temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is situated in West Los Angeles. Roger Cardinal Mahony oversaw construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, completed in 2002 at the north end of downtown. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles leads the largest archdiocese in the country. Los Angeles is home to adherents of many religions. See: List of Los Angeles television stations. Examples include the Daily Breeze (serving the South Bay), and the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Many cities adjacent to Los Angeles also have their own daily newspapers whose coverage and availability overlaps into certain Los Angeles neighborhoods. It strongly supports lowering taxes. Daily News also focuses on business issues, education, and crime. The L.A. Times often does high-quality investigative journalism on important inner-city issues like healthcare and crime, while the L.A. Daily News is usually content to run wire stories on those issues, if it covers them at all. One example of this is that the L.A. Most of the above papers are center-left or left in their political stance with the clear exception of the Daily News, which is center-right. City Beat, Los Angeles magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Los Angeles Daily Journal (legal industry paper), Variety, (show-biz industry paper), and Los Angeles Downtown News. (http://www.downtownnews.com) In addition to the English and Spanish language papers, numerous local periodicals serve immigrant communities in their native languages, e.g. Korean, Persian, and Japanese. Los Angeles is served by the Los Angeles Times and La Opinión (the city's major Spanish-language paper.), as well as smaller regional newspapers, alternative weeklies and magazine, including the Los Angeles Newspaper Group's Daily News (which focuses coverage on the Valley), Village Voice Media's L.A. Weekly, L.A. Orchids require special attention in this Mediterranean climate. Wisteria has been known to grow to house-lot-size, and in Descanso Gardens, there are forests of camellia trees. If there were no city here, flower-growing could still flourish as an industry, as it does in Lompoc. There are many exotic flowers and flowering trees that are blooming year-round, with subtle colors, including the jacaranda, hibiscus, phlox, bougainvillea, coral tree blossoms and bird of paradise. Unfortunately, many native species are so rare as to be endangered, such as the Los Angeles sunflower. Native plants include: California poppy, matilija poppy, toyon, coast live oak, giant wild rye grass, and hundreds of others. The largest area is coastal sage scrub, which covers the hillsides in combustible chaparral. With its beaches, dunes, wetlands, hills, mountains, and rivers, the area contains a number of important biological communities. Los Angeles is remarkably rich in native plant species. Across the county a great variety of outdoor activities are available, such as skiing, rock climbing, gold panning, hang gliding, and windsurfing. Numerous outdoor clubs serve these sports, including the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, which annually leads over 4,000 outings in the area. Los Angeles is perhaps the most mountainous metropolis in the world, with four mountain ranges partly inside city boundaries. Thousands of miles of trails crisscross the city and neighboring areas, providing exercise and wilderness access on foot, bike, or horse. Los Angeles has twice played host to the summer Olympic Games: in 1932 and in 1984. Area beaches are popular with surfers, who have created their own subculture. Beach volleyball and windsurfing were both invented in the area (though predecessors of both were first invented in some form by Duke Kahanamoku in Hawaii). Venice, also known as Dogtown, is credited with being the birthplace of skateboarding and the place where rollerblading first became popular. In late December 2004 the name was officially changed to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in order to associate with the larger city while still complying with contractual obligations. At various times in history, however, the Angels have been known as the Los Angeles Angels (1961-1965), the California Angels (1965-1997), and the Anaheim Angels (1997-2004); talks in 2004 suggested the team was considering returning to the original name, over loud protests from the Anaheim government. Anaheim, about 25 miles (40 km) to the south-east, is home to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim hockey team and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball team. Los Angeles has been without an NFL franchise since 1995 despite being the second biggest television market in North America. Los Angeles is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers men's basketball teams, the Los Angeles Sparks women's basketball team, the Los Angeles Kings hockey team, the Club Deportivo Chivas USA and Los Angeles Galaxy soccer teams, and the Los Angeles Avengers arena football team. See also: List of sites of interest in the Los Angeles area. The Main Library is located in downtown Los Angeles and has been recognized as a National Historic Site. Residents of the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and various cities within the county are served by the County of Los Angeles Public Library The LAPL is funded by voter approved bond and tax levy packages. Residents of the city of Los Angeles are served by the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) and its branch locations. For more criticism, see Arts and culture of Los Angeles: Criticism. However, this culture has also inspired criticism that it is not really a unique culture at all. As a major global metropolis, Los Angeles has evolved a unique culture that is well-portrayed in popular media. Despite its young age, Los Angeles is known as the world capital of motion picture production, and it is also an important center for music, art, and architecture. Main article: Arts and culture of Los Angeles. riots, the Northridge earthquake was a severe emotional shock to Southern Californians, in addition to causing billions of dollars in physical damage. Other major earthquakes include the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake and the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. Coming less than two years after the L.A. The most recent was the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which was centered in the northern San Fernando Valley. Like most areas of California, Los Angeles's history is punctuated with major earthquakes. A city-wide vote on San Fernando Valley and Hollywood secession was defeated in 2002. The XXIII Olympiad was successfully hosted in Los Angeles in 1984. The city was once again tested by the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The Watts riots in 1965 reminded the country of the deep divisions that even the nation's youngest city faced. The postwar years saw an even greater boom as urban sprawl expanded into the San Fernando Valley. This period also saw the arrival of the German Exiles, which included such notables as Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht, and Lion Feuchtwagner. World War II brought new growth and prosperity to the city, although many of its Japanese-American residents were transported to internment camps for the duration of the war. The city was the proud host of the 1932 Summer Olympics. In the 1920s the motion picture and aviation industries both flocked to Los Angeles and helped to further develop it. In 1913, William Mulholland completed the aqueduct that assured the city's growth and led to the annexation by the City of Los Angeles, starting in 1915, of dozens of neighboring communities without water supplies of their own. Even more important to the city's growth was water. Oil was discovered in 1892, and by 1923, Los Angeles was supplying one-quarter of the world's petroleum. Railroads arrived when the Southern Pacific completed its line to Los Angeles in 1876. Los Angeles was incorporated as a city in 1850. Yankees gained control after they flooded into California during the Gold Rush and secured the subsequent admission of California into the United States. Mexican independence from Spain was achieved in the 1820s, but the greatest change took place in present day Montebello after the Battle of Rio San Gabriel in 1847, which decided the fate of Los Angeles. It remained a small mission and ranch town for decades. On September 4, 1781, settlers from the San Gabriel Mission founded the town and named it El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de la Porciúncula, "The Town of Our Lady Queen of the Angels of the Small Portion". In 1771, the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was founded, thus establishing a permanent presence in the area and securing Spanish territory. In 1769, the Spanish returned to California to stay. The Spanish first arrived in 1542, when Juan Cabrillo visited the area. The Los Angeles coastal area was occupied by the Tongva, Chumash, and even earlier Native American peoples for thousands of years. Main Article: History of Los Angeles, California. See also: The Greater Los Angeles Area. People are attracted to the city for its balmy weather, its vibrant lifestyle, and the opportunity to realize the "American Dream.". It is one of the largest entry points for immigrants to the United States, and it contains people from every nation, making it one of world's most culturally-rich places. The economy of Los Angeles is driven by agriculture, petroleum, entertainment (motion pictures, television, and recorded music), aerospace, international trade, and tourism. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power provides service to city residents and businesses. The Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Public Library System and Los Angeles Unified School District are among the largest such organizations in the country. Los Angeles is governed by a mayor and a 15-member council. In addition, Los Angeles is an "Alpha" world city since it has hosted two Olympic Games and is home to renowned scientific and cultural institutions. The city is also large by geographic standards since it sprawls over more than 465 square miles (1200 square kilometers), making it larger than New York City or Chicago. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 3,694,820, but a May 1, 2005, California Department of Finance estimate shows the city's population at 3,957,875, with the metropolitan area at 17,545,623. It was incorporated as a city in California on April 4, 1850 and is the county seat of Los Angeles County. The City of Los Angeles (from Spanish Los Ángeles, meaning angels) is the second largest city in the United States in terms of population, as well as one of the world's most important economic, cultural, and entertainment centers. Klein, The History of Forgetting: Los Angeles and the Erasure of Memory, Verso 1997. Norman M. Lynell George, No crystal stair : African Americans in the city of angels, London : Verso, 1992. Mike Davis, City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles, Vintage Books 1992. Ulin (ed), Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology, Library of America 2002. David L. For neighborhood demographics, see Maps of Los Angeles, California. For other cities and unincorporated neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area, see Los Angeles County, California. List of districts and neighborhoods of Los Angeles (sorted by region and then alphabetically). Category page for Los Angeles neighborhoods (sorted alphabetically). Cove[12] (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=210977)[13] (http://www.covemarinadelrey.com), an 18 story condominium tower in Marina del Rey. 9th and Flower Lofts[11] (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=214405), a 38 story residential tower at 9th and Flower Streets. NoHo Tower[10] (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/cs/?id=195925), a 15 story residential tower with bottom floor retail in North Hollywood. Metropolis[9] (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=112023), a mixed use tri-tower (38, 47, and 52 stories, respectively) at Franciso and 9th Street downtown. The Californian on Wilshire[7] (http://www.thecalifornianonwilshire.com)[8] (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/cs/?id=192611) which is a 23 story condominium tower on Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood. 11th and Grand[6] (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=209800), a 27 story tower at 11th and Grand in downtown, opposite Elleven. Elleven[4] (http://www.elleven-south.com)[5] (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/cs/?id=205060), a tri-tower complex (13, 19, and 23 story towers) at the northwest block from 11th and Grand to 12th and Grand in downtown. University of Phoenix (Private College). Los Angeles Mission College++. Los Angeles Valley College++. Los Angeles Pierce College++. Pepperdine University School of Law. Southwestern University School of Law. Otis College of Art and Design(Otis). Occidental College (Oxy). Los Angeles City College (LACC). Loyola Marymount University (LMU). California State University, Northridge (CSUN). California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA). University of Southern California (USC). University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). |