Los Angeles California
Author: Kamyar Shah


Los Angeles California
Known as the City of Angels, Los Angeles, California is the
largest city in the state and the second-largest in the
United States. The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana
metropolitan area is home to 13 million people. The Greater
Los Angeles Area encompasses 5 counties and an estimated 18
million people.

Los Angeles, often abbreviated to L.A., is one of the
world's centers of culture, science, technology,
international trade and higher education. L.A.'s global
fame and international status stem from the city's
production of motion pictures, television and recorded
music.

Los Angeles has globally famous landmarks such as
Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Disney Concert Hall, Kodak
Theater, Griffith Observatory, Getty Center, Los Angeles
Memorial Coliseum, Los Angelels County Museum of Art,
Mann's Chinese Theater, the Hollywood sign, Hollywood
Boulevard, Los Angeles City Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Watts
Towers, Staples Center and La Placita Olvera.

L.A.'s night life includes hot spots such as Downtown Los
Angeles, Silver Lake, Hollywood and West Hollywood, which
is the home of the world-famous Sunset Strip. Some popular
clubs and bars include Fantasy Club, 2nd Street Jazz,
Weiland Brewery Restaurant, Jones Grain Mill, Club Soho,
Club Bahia Inc., La Hacienda Real, Mayan Night Club and La
Zona Rosa.

Shopping in Los Angeles is second to none. Some of the most
well known shopping areas are the Hollywood and Highland
complex, the Beverly Center, Melrose Avenue, Robertson
Boulevard, The Grove, Westside Pavillion, The Promenade at
Howard Hughes Center and Venice Boardwalk.

The Hollywood and Highlands Center includes stores such as
ALDO, American Eagle Outfitters, Ann Taylor Loft,
Apostrophe Cards & Stationary, Argenti Cigars & Tobacco,
Aveda, Baly's, bebe, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Claire's
Boutique, Express, Fossil, Gap, Grauman's Chinese 6
Theatres Box Office,  Hot Topic, Kodak Theatre Box Office,
Le Cloquette Couture, Louis Vuitton, Lucky Brand Jeans,
Neighborhoodies, Nine West, Oakley, Origins, Polo Ralph
Lauren, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Sephora,
Swarovski, Venetian Design, Victoria's Secret and Virgin
Megastore.

Melrose Avenue has glamorous shopping at trendsetting
stores such as Betsey Johnson, Cynthia Rowley, Jonathan
Adler, Miu Miu, Soolip Paperie and Press, Soolip Bungalow
and Fred Segal Melrose. Hardly a day goes by without seeing
the faces of A-list celebrities walking through the doors
to buy the latest fashion.

Popular stores such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Robeks, Firefly,
Popkiller Second, Dish Factory, Suss Design Retail, Guess?,
Art Cruz Retail, B Dalton Bookseller, Valley Book & Bible
Stores, Clutch, Wolford Boutique and more.

Los Angeles is a social center to the country and has some
of the country's finest dining including Asia de Cuba,
Ammo, Yamashiro, Valentino, Sam's by the Beach, Lucques,
Violet, Fleming's Steakhouse, Just Desserts, Eaturna, Fogo
De Chao, Il Fornaio, Olivia, Organic To Go, Porterhouse
Bistro, Sor Tino Restaurant, La Botte Ristorante, Osteria
Latini, Napa Rose, Chat Noir, 555 East Restaurant, L'Opera,
Café Del Rey, Traxx, South Street Cheesesteak and more.

American favorites such as In-N-Out, Carl's Jr, Hardee's,
Jack, KFC, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Burger King and
McDonald's are sprinkled throughout the city. Subway,
Hoagies & Wings, Big MO Sub Shop, Ruby's Diner, Astro
Burger, El Pollo Locco, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Hungry
Pocket Falafel House, The Stand Fuddruckers, Lucky Boy
Drive-In Restaurant, Mako Bowl and Fosters Freeze are a
some other popular eateries.

Sports fans from across the globe can find entertainment
from one of them any professional sports teams that call
L.A. home. The Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League
Baseball, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (MLB), the Los
Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League, the Los
Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers of the National
Basketball Association, the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA,
the Los Angeles Galaxy and Club Deportivo Chivas USA of
Major League Soccer, the Los Angeles Riptide of Major
League Lacrosse and the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena
Football League all reside within the city and spark team
spirit from their fans.

Los Angeles has also been credited for inventing beach
volleyball and windsurfing. Venice, a.k.a. Dogtown, is the
birthplace of skateboarding and the place where
rollerblading became popular.

L.A. hosts a number of sports venues including the Staples
Center and a sports entertainment complex that hosts
concerts and award shows such as the Grammy's. The Los
Angeles Convention Center in downtown L.A. hosts popular
events such as the annual LA Auto Show held in December.

The economy of Los Angeles is driven by international
trade, entertainment (television, motion pictures, recorded
music), aerospace, technology, petroleum, fashion, apparel,
and tourism. L.A. is the largest manufacturing center in
the United States. The ports of L.A. and Long Beach
together form the most significant port in North America
and one of the most important ports in the world. These
ports are vital to the trade within the Pacific Rim. Other
significant industries include media production, finance,
telecommunications, law, health and medicine and
transportation.

The city is home to five major Fortune 500 companies
including Northrop Grumman, Occidental Petroleum
Corporation, KB Home. The University of Southern California
(USC) is the city's largest private sector employer.

Several other large companies headquartered in Los Angeles
include Twentieth Centurty Fox, Latham & Watkins,
Univision, Metro Interactive, LLC, Premier America, CB
Richard Ellis, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Guess,
O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker
LLP, Tokyopop, The Jim Henson Company, Paramount Pictures,
Robinsons-May, Sunkist, Fox Sports Net, Health Net, Inc.,
21st Century Insurance, L.E.K. Consulting, and The Coffee
Bean & Tea  Leaf.

Many companies wish to escape the city's high taxes and are
headquartered in the county. Some of these companies
include Shakey's Pizza, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences, City National Bank, Hilton Hotels, DiC
Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros.,
Countrywide Financial Corporation, THQ, Belkin, Sony
Pictures Entertainment, Computer Sciences Corporation,
DirecTV, Mattel, Unocal, Dream Works SKG, Sea Launch,
ICANN, Cunard Line, Princess Cruise, Activision, and RAND.

L.A. is also home to the U.S. headquarters of all but two
of the major Asian automobile manufacturers. Virtually all
the world's automakers have design and/or tech centers in
the Los Angeles region.

Los Angeles is home to one of the largest freeway systems
in the world with 27 intertwining freeways. Journeying a
daily collective migration of about 100 million miles,
commuters make Los Angeles the most car-populated
metropolis in the world with 1 registered automobile for
every 1.8 people.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority and other agencies operate an extensive system of
bus lines, subways and light rail lines. L.A.'s mass
transit system does not have high rider ship, with 10.5% of
commuters using public transit, compared with 53% in New
York and 30% in Chicago.

The metropolitan area of L.A.  is served by more airports
than any major city in the world. Los Angeles International
Airport (LAX) is the fifth busiest commercial airport in
the world with over 61 million passengers and 2 million
tons of cargo in 2006.

Los Angeles is a focal point of higher education across the
world. There are three public universities in the city:
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), California
State University, Northridge (CSUN) and California State
University, Los Angeles (SCULA).

Private schools in the city include the University of
Southern California (USC), Antioch University's Los Angeles
campus, Loyola Marymount University (LMU), Mount St. Mary's
College, Occidental College ("Oxy"), Otis College of Art
and Design (Otis), American InterContinental University,
Alliant International University, California Institute of
Technology (Caltech), Southwestern University School of
Law, American Film Institute Conservatory, Charles R. Drew
University, Southern California Institute of Architecture
(SCI-Arc), Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising's
Los Angeles campus (FIDM), Woodbury University, Los Angeles
Film School, and Loyola Law School.

The community college system consists of nine campuses: Los
Angeles City College (LACC), Los Angeles Harbor College
(LAVC), Los Angeles Pierce College, Los Angeles Valley
College (LAVC), Los Angeles Mission College, East Los
Angeles College (ELAC), West Los Angeles College, Los
Angeles Southwest College, and Los Angeles Trade Technical
College.

Los Angeles, California is a great place to go outside and
relax or play. With venues such as Cabrillo Aquarium,
Elysian Park, Exposition Park Intergenerational Community
Complex (EPICC), Griffith Observatory, Griffith Park, Lake
Balboa, Los Angeles Zoo, Pershing Square and Sherman Oaks
Castle, finding a place to spread out a blanket and enjoy
the sun is easy.

Los Angeles' sunshine and entertainment attract tourists
from across the globe and make a unique place that millions
call home.


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Los Angeles California
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