Many historical facts about Los Angeles are well known. Any guidebook or tour will tell you that LA is the birthplace of Mickey Mouse, or that the Hollywood sign first read “HollywoodLand” as an advertisement for a real estate development. With so much interest in the modern Los Angeles, many pieces of history have been nearly forgotten. We’ve gathered some historical facts we bet even some Angelenos don’t know. 

Beverly Hills’ Lima Beans

The legendary Beverly Hills Hotel was built on a former Lima bean ranch. After being settled in 1828,  the region was used for growing Lima beans and cabbage. Hundreds of acres sprawled the land because of the access to water through the Benedict Canyon. In the 1900’s, the land was divided and a parcel sold to Margaret Anderson, owner of the successful Hollywood Hotel. She built a new location in Beverly Hills, beginning the migration of the rich and famous that transformed the area.

The Speed of Light

Mount Wilson, an observatory located just outside Los Angeles, has seen three astrophysics breakthroughs. The first was by George Ellery Hale in 1908.  He used a 60-inch mirror to improve his telescope and show for the first time that the sun was not the center of the universe. Then, in the 1920s, Edwin Hubble discovered that what scientists were calling “spiral nebulas” were actually other far-away galaxies. The third and most well-known achievement occurred when Albert Michelson measured the speed of light using two giant mirrors, one at the Mount Wilson observatory and one 22 miles away on the the side of Mount San Antonio. The experiment documented that light traveled at two ten-thousandths of a second.

The Original Iron Man

Before the Marvel superhero, there was a different Iron Man. His real name was Joseph Ardizzone, a mafia member who became the first Boss of the Los Angeles crime family. He supplied alcohol to Los Angeles throughout the prohibition, but was also responsible for organizing illegal gambling, serving as a loan shark, and dealing drugs. No one is quite sure why he was called Iron Man, but he had a reputation for killing at least thirty men. After several attempts on his life, Ardizzone went mysteriously missing. After seven years, he was declared dead. 

The Battle of Los Angeles

In 1942, the Battle of Los Angeles, also sometimes referred to as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, took place. The incident lasted less than 24 hours, but a city-wide blackout was ordered. Shots were fired by the United States Air Force at what was believed to be a Japanese air barrage. It was later declared a false alarm, with the military blaming a weather balloon and “war nerves” that caused the military to panic and believe they saw more aircrafts. At the time, many newspapers speculated there was some sort of government cover-up. While no one was injured directly, some sources claim up to 30 victims from injuries caused by shock or car crashes. 

To find your way around Los Angeles without every getting lost, check out our LA Detailed Street Map  and our LA Freeway System & Major Streets Map.

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