The New Student's Reference Work/Los Angeles

Los An'geles, the most populous city in southern California, situated on the Southern Pacific, Santa Fe and San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake railroads was a thriving place when the Franciscans founded a mission there in 1781. It is the center of orange-growing. A large industry is the manufacture of water-pipes for irrigation purposes. A 209 mile aqueduct from the Sierra Nevada Mountains supplies drinking water and in the city are irrigating reservoirs with a capacity of 850,000 gallons. The University of Southern California, founded in 1880, with colleges of letters, music and medicine, has its seat here; here, also are Occidental College, founded in 1887, and St. Vincent's College, established in 1865. The city has a notable observatory, a cathedral, a fine botanic garden, six parks and many fine buildings among other attractions. Its exports are largely oranges, grapes and wine which is manufactured. It was founded by the Spaniards, and called The Town of the Queen of the Angels from its delightful climate. The Spanish population is rapidly disappearing. The present population, according to the latest census (1910) is 319,198.