Downey, California
Los Angeles County
06-19766
Downey is a city in Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California, United States, with 110 318 inhabitants ( as of 2004). The geographic coordinates are: 33.94 ° N, 118.13 ° West. The metropolitan area has a size of 32.6 km ². The city was founded by the then Governor John Gately Downey, and named after him.
History
Prior to the advent of the Spaniards, the area was inhabited by the Tongva Indians. The Spaniards called Gabrielino Indians.
1784 Governor Pedro Fages left the former soldier Manuel Nieto ( 1734-1804 ) is the largest property in California. The area of 1200 km ² expanded over the Santa Ana River to the east and the old San Gabriel River from the west.
After the Mexican-American War, many of the Californio ranchos, were taken over by rich Americans of British descent. These Americans migrated westward under the Manifest Destiny Doctrine and married into Californio families.
Downey was founded by John Gately Downey, the governor of California during the Civil War. The Southern Pacific Railroad reached the town in 1873. Farmers of the area built up to about 1940 grains, corn, castor beans and fruit to.
Downey was awarded in 1956, the status of city. After the Second World War, the farms were replaced by suburban areas and factories. It was originally Vultee Aircraft of the largest employers in the city, then North American Aviation (later North American Rockwell, then Rockwell International, which was sold to Boeing). The factories of the company presented both some system of the Apollo program and the Space Shuttle ago. Rockwell International was closed in 1999.
The two high schools of Downey are named after Governor John G. Downey and Governor Earl Warren. Downey is the seat of Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, which is the main public rehabilitation hospital of Los Angeles County.
Landmarks
The first Taco Bell restaurant was opened by Glen Bell in 1962 in Downey.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Dave Alvin, musicians
- Donavon Frankenreiter, surfers and musicians
- James Hetfield, songwriter, guitarist, frontman and vocalist of the band Metallica
- Kenneth Shelley, figure skaters