Los Angeles also contains many parks, including the Griffith Park of three thousand acres, and the Eastlake Park and Westlake Park, each with a small lake. The University of Southern California is situated at Wesley Avenue and Thirty-fifth Street.
The small plaza, with the Old Mission Church, at the north end of the business-town, is interesting as a survival of the ancient settlement. Just beyond is a genuine Chinatown, keeping many of the original adobe structures. An excellent view of the city can be obtained from the tower at “Angel’s Flight,” corner Hill and Third Streets. Opposite Eastlake Park is an Ostrich Farm, with some two hundred adult birds.
Los Angeles is the center of the orange-growing industry. The residents are principally occupied in the cultivation and export of oranges, grapes, and other fruits, as well as the manufacture of wine. There are rich oil-wells in and near the city and this district now forms part of one of the richest petroleum fields in the world. Many invalids resort to Los Angeles in the winter because of its mild and equable climate. The city has a harbor on the coast, eighteen miles off.
It is one of the oldest towns in the Western states, and was already a thriving place when the Franciscan fathers established a mission there in 1781. Under Mexican rule Los Angeles alternated with Monterey as the capital of California. From 1835 to 1847 it was the capital of the State of California. In 1846 it was occupied by the United States forces. For the first century of its history Los Angeles was only a small pueblo constructed mainly of adobe in the Mexican style, but the advent of the railroad brought a sudden impetus. It was the first city in the United States to be lighted with electricity.
Louisville (lōō´ĭ-vĭl, or lōō´ĭs-vĭl), Ky. [The “Falls City”; named by act of the Virginian Legislature in 1780, in honor of Louis XVI. of France, then assisting the American colonies in their revolutionary struggle.]
It is the largest city of Kentucky, and is situated on the Ohio River, one hundred and thirty miles by water southwest of Cincinnati. The river is here crossed by two railroad bridges, and forms a series of rapids—the “Falls of Ohio”—descending twenty-six feet in two miles.
Louisville covers about forty square miles of a plain, and is nearly enclosed by hills. It is handsomely built and extends for nearly eight miles along the river. Its well-shaded streets are from sixty to one hundred and twenty feet wide, and slope up from the river.
Perhaps the most prominent building in Louisville is the Custom House, in Chestnut Street between Third and Fourth Streets. The Court House is in Jefferson Street between Fifth and Sixth Streets, and is adjoined by the City Hall, with its square clock-tower.
The Louisville Public Library, at the corner of Fourth and York Streets, contains also an art gallery and a small museum, including the Troost Collection of Minerals.
The Farmers’ Tobacco Warehouse, in Main Street, is the center of the tobacco trade and has a large storage capacity. The University of Louisville, at corner of Eighth and Chestnut Streets, is housed in a handsome building. The Lincoln Bank, corner of Fourth and Market Streets, is fifteen stories high, with a splendid view from upper windows and roof.