The following is a historical timeline of the city of Los Angeles, California.
1781 – El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles de Porciuncula founded in colonial New Spain.
1818 – Avila Adobe built.
1830 – Population: 730.
1835 – Los Angeles becomes capital of Mexican California.
1846 – September: Siege of Los Angeles by U.S. forces.
1847 – January 10: Los Angeles taken by U.S. forces.
1848 – February 2: Los Angeles becomes part of U.S. territory per Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
1850
April 4: Los Angeles incorporated.
September 9: Los Angeles becomes part of the new U.S. state of California.
Population: 1,610 city; 3,530 county.
Los Angeles County established.
1851 – Los Angeles Star, city's first newspaper, begins publication.
1854 – Round House constructed.
1855 – First City public school building built.
1860 – Los Angeles Soap Company in business.
1865 – St. Vincent's College opens.
1866 – Town Square established.
1868 – Street lighting installed.
1869 – Los Angeles & San Pedro Railroad begins operating.
1871
October 24: Anti-Chinese unrest.
Evening Express newspaper begins publication.
San Pedro Harbor development begins.
1872 – First African Methodist Episcopal Church established.
1873 – Los Angeles Daily Herald newspaper begins publication.
1875 – Los Angeles and Independence Railroad begins operating to Santa Monica.
1876
September 6 – Southern Pacific Railroad (San Francisco-Los Angeles line) begins operating Los Angeles' first link to transcontinental railroad.
Cathedral of Saint Vibiana built.
1877
First oranges shipped to eastern markets.
1880
University of Southern California opens.
Population: 11,183 city; 33,381 county.
1881 – Los Angeles Daily Times begins publication.
1882 – Los Angeles State Normal School opens.
1883 – City Railroad Company established.
1884 – Child's Grand Opera House opens.
1886
Kansas City-Los Angeles railway begins operating.
City Fire Department and Elysian Park established.
Pasadena and Santa Monica incorporated in Los Angeles County.
Many people arrive as a result of railroad rate war; speculative real estate boom begins.
1887
Peak of real estate boom; many towns laid out.
Los Angeles Athletic Club incorporated.
April 20 – Occidental College founded.
Pomona incorporated in Los Angeles County.
1888
Land boom collapses.
Southern Pacific's Arcade Depot opens.
Chamber of Commerce founded.
California Club incorporated.
Long Beach incorporated in Los Angeles County.
1889
City Parks Department and Los Angeles Oil Exchange founded.
Orange County established.
1890 – Population: 50,400 city; 101,454 county.
1891 – Courthouse built.
1892
Redondo Beach incorporated in Los Angeles County.
February – Oil discovered within Los Angeles City limits.
1893
Bradbury Building constructed.
July 4 – Mount Lowe Railway opens north of Pasadena.
1894 – Fiesta de Los Angeles begins.
1895
Highland Park becomes part of the City of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Consolidated Electric Railway taken over by bondholders and renamed the Los Angeles Railway
1896
May – Congress approves $2,900,000 for deep-water harbor at San Pedro.
1897 – Los Angeles Country Club founded.
1898
September 1: Henry E. Huntington and Isaias W. Hellman syndicate purchase Los Angeles Railway and begin expanding it
March 5: Griffith Park presented to Los Angeles by Col. Griffith J. Griffith.
1899
Garvanza and University district become part of the City of Los Angeles.
Construction begins on Los Angeles Harbor, San Pedro.
1900 – Population: 102,479 city; 170,298 county.
1901
Angels Flight funicular begins operating.
Children's Hospital founded.
November 1 – Huntington group incorporates the Pacific Electric Railway of California
1902
Tally's Electric Theater opens.
Los Angeles takes over water system.
1903
Los Angeles Examiner newspaper begins publication.
Braly Building constructed.
1905
Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad begins operating.
Design of the seal of the City of Los Angeles adopted.
Vernon incorporated in Los Angeles County.
1906
Alexandria Hotel in business.
Shoestring strip, to connect Wilmington to Los Angeles, annexed to City of Los Angeles.
Glendale, Huntington Park, and Watts incorporated in Los Angeles County.
1907
Port of Los Angeles and City Club of Los Angeles established.
Silver Lake Reservoir built.
Los Angeles Ostrich Farm and Los Angeles Alligator Farm open.
1908
Mount Wilson Observatory begins operating in Los Angeles County.
October 1: Construction begins on Owens River Aqueduct.
1909
Selig Polyscope Company relocates to Los Angeles.
City Market Wholesale Produce Terminal built.
San Pedro and Wilmington become part of the City of Los Angeles.
1910
October 1: Los Angeles Times bombing.
East Hollywood and Hollywood become part of City of Los Angeles.
Population: 319,200 city; 504,131 county.
1911
Nestor Studios begin operating.
Pacific Electric Railway Company created from merger of eight streetcar companies.
Los Angeles College created.
Burbank incorporated in Los Angeles County.
San Fernando incorporated in Los Angeles County.
1912 – County of Los Angeles Public Library established.
1913
Los Angeles Aqueduct completed.
La Brea Tar Pits excavation begins.
1914
Southern Pacific's Central Station and Southwest Museum open.
"First ship via Panama Canal arrives."
Beverly Hills incorporated in Los Angeles County.
1915
Universal Studios begins operating.
San Fernando Valley becomes part of City of Los Angeles.
Breed Street Synagogue active.
Japan-Los Angeles steamship begins operating.
Area of city: 288 square miles.
1916
Westgate becomes part of City of Los Angeles.
Lincoln Motion Picture Company in business.
1917 – Culver City incorporated in Los Angeles County.
1918
Warner Bros. Studios begin operating.
Los Angeles Philharmonic and Otis College of Art and Design founded.
1919
September – Southern branch of University of California is founded.
1920
Population: 576,673 city; 936,455 county.
Douglas Aircraft Company in business in nearby Santa Monica.
1921
Hollywood Legion Stadium opens.
Hollywood Masonic Temple and Hollyhock House (residence) built.
Watts Towers sculpture construction begins.
Chouinard Art Institute founded.
Ambassador Hotel in business.
1922
KFI, KHJ and KNX radio stations begin broadcasting.
Hollywood Bowl (amphitheater) and Grauman's Egyptian Theatre open.
Rose Bowl completed in Pasadena.
1923
Post World War I building boom reaches its peak.
Hollywoodland sign erected.
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum opens.
Biltmore Hotel in business.
Angelus Temple built.
Illustrated Daily News begins publication.
1924 – Harding High School established.
1925
Grand Olympic Auditorium opens.
Junior League [1] and Yogananda Self-Realization Fellowship established.
1926
Orpheum Theatre, El Capitan Theatre, and 28th Street YMCA open.
June – New Central Public library building completed.
Shrine Auditorium rebuilt.
Venice and Watts become part of City of Los Angeles.
La Opinión Spanish-language newspaper begins publication.
1927
Grauman's Chinese Theatre opens.
5 May, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel opens for business.
Barnsdall Art Park established.
1928
Los Angeles City Hall built.
March 13: Collapse of St. Francis Dam in nearby San Francisquito Canyon.
Huntington Library opens in Los Angeles County.
1929
August: Graf Zeppelin (aircraft) arrives from Tokyo.
Academy Awards begin.
Los Angeles Board of Trade Building and Bullocks Wilshire department store built.
Nuart Theatre opens.
1930
Olvera Street restored.
Hollywood Reporter begins publication.
Greek Theatre and Pantages Theatre open.
Highland Park synagogue built.
Population: 1,238,048 city; 2,208,492 county.
Burbank airport begins operating.
1931
Chateau Marmont Hotel in business.
Figueroa Street Tunnels open.
1932 – 1932 Summer Olympics held.
1933
March 10: 1933 Long Beach earthquake.
October 12: Los Angeles Garment Workers Strike of 1933 begins.
Frank L. Shaw becomes mayor.
Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper and Daily Variety begin publication.
1934 – Los Angeles Science Fiction Society formed.
1935 – Griffith Park Planetarium dedicated.
1936
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles established.
Crossroads of the World shopping mall built.
1937
Los Angeles purchases Mines Field for a municipal airport.
1938
Los Angeles flood of 1938.
China City developed.
CBS Columbia Square built.
Mayor Shaw ousted; Fletcher Bowron becomes mayor.
1939
Union Station opens.
Chandler's fictional detective novel The Big Sleep published.
1940
Arroyo Seco Parkway opens.
United States Court House built.
1941
Los Angeles Airport in operation.
Pueblo Del Rio housing complex built.
Turnabout Theatre of puppets established.
1942
US-Mexico Bracero program begins.
Parking meters installed.
1943 – Ethnic Zoot Suit Riots occur.
1944 – Imperial Courts and Jordan Downs housing projects built.
1946
Los Angeles Rams football team active.
Kosher Burrito in business.
1947 – KTLA television begins broadcasting.
1948 – In-N-Out Burger is founded
1949 – Los Angeles Valley College opens in the Valley Glen neighborhood of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley.
1950
Fictional Sunset Boulevard film released.
Population: 1,970,358 city; 4,151,687 county.
1951 – Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority created.
1953 – Four Level Interchange highway begins operating.
1954 – Church of Scientology and Getty Museum open.
1955
Nickerson Gardens housing complex built.
Disneyland amusement park opens in nearby Anaheim.
1956 – Capitol Records Tower built.
1957 – Ferus Gallery of art opens.
1958 – Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team active.
1959
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena opens.
Grammy Award begins.
KPFK radio begins broadcasting.
Sister city relationships established with Eilat, Israel; and Nagoya, Japan.
1960
July: 1960 Democratic National Convention held.
Hollywood Walk of Fame established.
Los Angeles Lakers basketball team active.
1961
Theme Building constructed at Los Angeles Airport.
Pacific Electric Railway ceases operations (last line in service was Long Beach Line
1962
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner newspaper in publication.
City Cultural Heritage Board created.
Dodger Stadium opens.
Sister city relationship established with Salvador, Brazil.
1963
Vincent Thomas Bridge opens.
Century City development begins.
1964
Whisky a Go Go nightclub and Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (concert hall) opens.
UCLA Labor Center and Los Angeles Master Chorale founded.
Sister city relationship established with Bordeaux, France.
1965
August 11–17: Watts Riots.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art opens on Wilshire Boulevard.
Marina del Rey harbor opens in Los Angeles County.
1966
Los Angeles Zoo opens.
Gemini G.E.L. art studio founded.
1967
Super Bowl I is held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
City's Community Analysis Bureau established.
Two California Plaza built.
Los Angeles Advocate newsletter begins publication.
Mark Taper Forum (theatre) and Brockman Gallery of art open.
Forum (arena) opens in nearby Inglewood.
Los Angeles Kings hockey team active.
Sister city relationship established with Berlin, Germany.
1968
June 5: Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel.
Sister city relationship established with Lusaka, Zambia.
1969 – Sister city relationship established with Mexico City, Mexico.
1970 – Chinatown Service Center established.
1971
February 9: 1971 San Fernando earthquake.
Six Flags Magic Mountain (originally named Magic Mountain) opens in Valencia.
Los Angeles Convention Center opens.
California Institute of the Arts opens in nearby Valencia.
Sister city relationships established with Auckland, New Zealand; and Busan, South Korea.
1972
Womanhouse art event occurs.
Self Help Graphics & Art active.
Sister city relationships established with Mumbai, India; and Tehran, Iran.
1973
Tom Bradley becomes mayor.
Aon Center built.
1974 – Security Pacific Plaza built.
1975 – Chinese Historical Society of Southern California founded.
1976 – Los Angeles City Historical Society founded.[2]
1977 – X (musical group) formed.
1978
LA Weekly begins publication.
Los Angeles Conservancy founded.
1979
Sister city relationship established with Taipei, Taiwan.
1980 – Population: 2,966,850 city; 7,477,421 county.
1981 – Sister city relationship established with Guangzhou, China.
1983
Crocker Tower built.
Red Hot Chili Peppers (musical group) formed.
1984
1984 Summer Olympics held.
Forever 21 clothier in business.
West Hollywood incorporated in Los Angeles County.
Sister city relationships established with Athens, Greece; and Saint Petersburg, USSR.
1985 – Latino Theater Company founded.
1986
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles established.
Los Angeles Opera active.
Sister city relationship established with Vancouver, Canada.
Proposition U passed
1988 – Museum of Jurassic Technology founded.
1989
U.S. Bank Tower built.
Sister city relationship established with Giza, Egypt.
1990
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra founded.
Sanwa Bank Plaza built.
Population: 3,485,398.
Sony Pictures Entertainment headquartered in nearby Culver City.
Sister city relationship established with Jakarta, Indonesia.
Metro Blue Line opens, re-establishing light rail in the city
1991
Gas Company Tower and 777 Tower built.
Maxine Waters becomes U.S. representative for California's 29th congressional district.
Sister city relationship established with Kaunas, Lithuania.
1992
April 29: Rodney King riots begin.
Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance founded.
Sister city relationship established with Makati, Philippines.
1993
Richard Riordan becomes mayor
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority created.
Metro Red Line opens.
Sister city relationship established with Split, Croatia.
1994 – January 17: 1994 Northridge earthquake.
1995
City website launched.
Los Angeles Independent Film Festival and LA as Subject project begin.
Drudge Report begins publication.
1996
Loyola Marymount University's Center for the Study of Los Angeles founded.
Council on American–Islamic Relations Los Angeles chapter founded.[3]
Museum of Television & Radio opens in Beverly Hills.
1997
Homies Unidos (community group) active.[4]
American Apparel clothier headquartered in Los Angeles.
The Getty Center opens in Brentwood.
1998 – Los Angeles Almanac begins publication.California Science Center opens to the public.
1999 – Staples Center (sports arena) opens.
2000
August: 2000 Democratic National Convention held.
Los Angeles Police Rampart scandal report issued.
2001
James Hahn becomes mayor
Kodak Theatre opens.
Disney California Adventure opens adjacent to Disneyland.
2002 – Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels built.
2003
Walt Disney Concert Hall and Chinese American Museum open.
Los Angeles Derby Dolls (rollerderby) team formed.
2004 – National Day Laborer Organizing Network headquartered in Los Angeles (approximate date).
2005
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority homeless census begins.
Breitbart.com headquartered in Los Angeles.
Antonio Villaraigosa becomes mayor.
Sister city relationship established with San Salvador, El Salvador.
2006
LA Weekly Detour Music Festival begins.
City Office of Historic Resources created.[5]
Sister city relationships established with Beirut, Lebanon; and Ischia, Italy.
2007
May 1: 2007 MacArthur Park rallies.
Los Angeles Theatre Center opens.[6]
Sister city relationship established with Yerevan, Armenia.
2008 – Los Angeles Heritage Alliance formed.[7]
Anime Expo first arrives at the Los Angeles Convention Center
2009 – Los Angeles Times' Mapping L.A. project and Maron's WTF podcast begin.
2010
Population: 3,792,621 city; 9,818,605 county; metro 12,828,837.
Area of city: 503 square miles.
2011
October 1: Occupy Los Angeles begins.
QuakeBot in use.
2012
Metro Expo Line opens.
Los Angeles Review of Books begins publication.
Wilshire Grand Tower, the new tallest building in the city begins groundbreaking in downtown LA.
September 19–21: Endeavour makes final landing at LAX.
2013
Eric Garcetti becomes mayor.
Population: 3,884,307.
2014 – DataLA (city data website) begins publication.Concrete foundation poured for the Wilshire Grand Tower.
The long-stalled Metropolis Towers has broken ground and began construction in downtown LA.
Vertical construction began for the Wilshire Grand Tower.
2015
June 19: US president visits podcaster Maron's garage.
Oceanwide Plaza Towers in downtown LA has broken ground and began construction.
August: Shade balls put into Los Angeles Reservoir during 2015 California drought.
2016
Los Angeles Rams NFL football team moves back to Los Angeles.
City of Los Angeles population now over 4 million people.
ET94 Space Shuttle fuel tank arrives in LA at the California Science Center.
2017
Measure S fails
Timeline of Los Angeles Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA