In 1769, Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola dedicated the new town:
Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles - Our Lady the Queen of the
Angels.
Since then the city has been a colorful melting pot of cultures. Wagon
trains brought pioneers in the mid-nineteenth century, some with the
lure of California gold and others to farm in the mild climate they
found in territory newly acquired from Mexico.
Using archive photos paired with their modern equivalent, Los Angeles
Then and Now charts the development of the city from the days of orange
groves and melon patches and isolated Spanish mission buildings, to the
staggering metropolis it is today. With a background in the movie
business, Rosemary Lord interlaces the arrival of the movie business and
the growth of the city she has lived in for twenty-five years.
Sites include: Old Plaza Church, Olvera Street, Chinatown, Union
Station, Los Angeles Theatre, Mayan Theatre, Angel's Flight, Los Angeles
Public Library, Biltmore Hotel, Ambassador Hotel, Bullocks Wilshire,
Brown Derby Restaurant, Hollywood Sign, Griffith Observatory, Sunset and
Vine, Egyptian Theatre, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Roosevelt Hotel,
Schwab's Pharmacy, Beverly Hills Hotel, Witch's House, Thelma Todd's
Café, Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier.