‘Swimmin’ pools and movie stars’; was how the Beverly Hillbillies saw it.

How you see it could be one of many things. Tinsel town, LA LA Land, Hollywood, Disneyland, the City of Angels, the city of Los Angeles is one destination that everyone on the planet has some kind of an impression of.

From the ancient La Brea Tar Pits to the major film studio’s of the movie business, to Venice Beach, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, South Central LA, our modern popular culture has made a huge space for the incredibly rich legacy of Los Angeles.

In order to understand how Los Angeles, California transformed into the diverse and unique metropolitan region of today, we need to take a look at the past.

Circa 500 AD - Amongst the first were theTongva Indians who settled in the Los Angeles basin. Some accounts say they displaced the Chumash.

In 1492 we all know Columbus sailed to discover the East Coast of America. And it was here that the colobisation of the Americas began.

But on the West coast it was a different story.

EDITED BY Brigette Halpin