From the team that brought you the 50 States comes 50 Cities of the U.S.A. Explore skyscraper streets, museum miles, local food trucks and city parks from Anchorage to Washington D.C., and discover more than 2,000 facts that celebrate the people, culture, and diversity that have helped make America what it is today.
I had the opportunity to participate in The 50 Cities Blog Extravaganza and I received a copy of this awesome book!
I really enjoyed seeing all the facts about Los Angeles!
Here are many of the fun facts:
- BILL PICKETT RODEO This annual rodeo is named for the cowboy entertainer who invented bulldogging a type of steer wrestling.
- BURRITO This veggie, bean, and cheese-stuffed tortilla takes its name from the Spanish word for “little donkey.”
- CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER Explore chemical reactions while making glow-in-the-dark slime in the Ooey Gooey Slime Lab here.
- CHINATOWN A New Year Parade, lantern festival, Moon Festival, and firecracker run and fun walk are some events held here.
- ECHO MOUNTAIN The Santa Monica Mountains teams with wildlife and runs through LA, giving urban dwellers a unique chance to experience hikes and nature.
- GRAMMY MUSEUM celebrates the creative process of music with soundboards and costumes, like the light-up suits worn during the Daft Punk-Kayne 2008 GRAMMY performance.
- HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME Big Bird, Shrek, and The Simpsons are some of the 16 fictional characters celebrated with this entertainment industry star.
- LA BREA TAR PITS AND MUSEUM Ice Age fossils, like the skeleton of a Harlan’s ground sloth, are found in these still bubbling tar pits.
- LOS ANGELES FLAG The three stripes of color represent the area’s plentiful olive trees, orange groves, and vineyards.
- LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL COLISEUM The U.S. won a record 83 gold medals when L.A. Hosted the XXIIIrd Olympic Summer Games in 1984.
- MEDICAL HISTORY In 1986, ophthalmologist and inventor Dr. Patricia Bath’s made history with her eye surgery patent, becoming the first African American woman with a medical patent.
- MISSION SAN FERNANDO REY DE ESPAÑA In the 1800s, Spanish Catholics here raised livestock and made rawhide strips, used to build in the absence of nails!
- MOUNTAIN LIONS Southern California’s largest carnivore lives and hunts in the mountains surrounding LA.
- MUSCLE BEACH Before L.A. Had a professional sports team, sports fans hit up the original Muscle Beach in Santa Monica to see incredible feats of athleticism.
- OLIVE TREES High in healthy fats, these veggies have excellent anti-inflammatory nutrients and are healthy for your heart.
- PORT OF LOS ANGELES LOBSTER FESTIVAL This annual event has won four Guinness records and raises funds for local charities.
- RAMEN This Japanese noodle soup is made with tonkatsu (pork)- and shoyo (soy sauce)-based broths.
- SHANE’S INSPIRATION AT GRIFFITH PARK This Boundless Playground is fully accessible to disabled kiddos and has awesome features for everyone
- SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET The L.A. coroner’s office sells souvenirs, like a beach towel that features a chalk-outline of a crime scene murder!
- THE GREAT WALL OF LOS ANGELES Chicana artist Judy Baca, 80 kids,10 artists, and 5 historians painted this, one of the world’s longest murals.
- THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN This 90-year-old sign has its own security system with helicopter patrols and infrared technology.
- TRIFORIUM Joseph Young’s 60-ton, 60-foot-tall tower with rainbow prisms and bells was unveiled to great controversy in 1975.
- URBAN LIGHT Chris Burden’s sculpture contains 200 street lamps from the 1920’s and 1930’s, arranged like a forest.
- WATTS TOWERS For 33 years, an immigrant construction worker built these 17 structures, decorating them with found objects like ceramic tiles and seashells.
- WHAM-O The first super ball was made here in 1982, by the same people who make Frisbees and Hula Hoops.
Find out more here!
Self Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book to participate in this Blog Extravaganza. Photos and facts were also provided.
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