LA: Did You Know?

1. While practically everyone knows that Los Angeles means the City of Angels in Spanish, there are lots of other exciting secrets that few know about.  Let Destination Los Angeles help you discover these little-known facts about the city many think they know, but everyone loves. Contrary to common belief, Los Angeles is not part of a desert ecosystem. While it is located very close to deserts like Palm Springs, the city itself is actually situated on a Mediterranean biome between the mountains and the sea. While it gets very hot here during the day and cold at night, and while there always seems to be a drought here, the type of plants that grow here thrive in a more mild and temperate climate.

2. There’s an exclusive and secretive Magic Castle that hosts fancy old-fashioned dinners and magic shows. Entrance is for members and their guests only; but Destination LA can get you there to experience it.

3. Some of the classic hotels that old Hollywood stars stayed in, and even died in, are still running and open to patrons. For example, you can stay in the room where Marilyn Monroe allegedly died in the Roosevelt Hotel. Let Destination LA take you for a site inspection of some of the better-known properties. 

4. The famed Hollywood sign originally read ‘HollywoodLand’ when it was erected in 1923. Many people think it was part of a movie set, but it was actually part of an outdoor advertising campaign for suburban housing. When the ‘land’ part fell down years later, the now famous symbol of Hollywood was left for future generations.  How about letting Destination LA take you to the famed sign on horseback? 

5. If in LA, you must try In-N-Out burger.  Contrary to common belief, the popular burger joint wasn’t even started in LA. Technically, it was in an unincorporated city called Baldwin Park, where World War II Veteran and founder Harry Snyder grew up. It is still run by his family who are considered LA burger royalty.

6. The Hollywood Forever Cemetery is actually one of the city’s greatest attractions because of all the celebrities that have been buried there through the years.  The craziest thing about this cemetery, however, is that there are regular movie screenings projected on the wall of mausoleum, which are open to the public, so moviegoers can watch the films amongst the graves of the stars starring in them. 

7. Los Angeles wasn’t always the home of the film industry. The only reason it organically moved here over time from its original location of Atlantic City, New Jersey, was to bypass all the laws and patents that were already in place there. Filmmakers found freedom on the West Coast and started a trend that would influence the real birth of the West Coast as a place for innovation and creativity.

Let Destination LA showcase our creativity in the City of Angeles