Submitted by Kristi Wachter on
Los Angeles was founded in 1771 as a tiny Spanish pueblo. It became part of Mexico in 1821. The city grew after 1876, with the arrival of the railroad, and the development of the oil industry in the early 1900s.
The success of the film industry helped spur further growth and development.
Los Angeles architecture is an eclectic mix of Mission, Craftsman, Spanish Colonial Revival, Art Deco, and Moderne, with some excellent Beaux-Arts examples in the financial district.
Innovative architects who contributed to the look of Los Angeles include Gilbert Stanley Underwood, R. M. Schindler, Greene and Greene, Irving J. Gill, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Richard Neutra, Raphael Soriano, and Frank Gehry.