Los Angeles herald., 1891-11-21
A UNIQUE CITY AND REGION.

1t calls tor great deal OF intrepidlty
in an Angelefio to dare to forecast, even
in modest hues. the future of his city and
county. 1t would really require wiz
ards pen to do justice to the subject.
The wonders accomplished by the lamp
of Aladdin have already been achieved
in this city, to say nothing of the county.
The true significance of the results
already recorded in Los Angeles proper
are not understood by one man out of
ten, because the municipality covers
thirty-six square miles. OF course this
superfcies is diminutive as compared
with the two hundred and twelve square
miles of London, but then the metropo-
lis of the world contains over four mill
lions of people while we are con-
tent to let Los Angeles pass at seventy
five thousand. If our area were COM
mensurate in population and consequent
mileage with London, our city would
cover quite two Thousand square miles.
But, keeping it down to its modest
area OF thirty-six square miles, what
wonders OF development do we not see
in it?
Everything is comparative. Fifteen
years ago Los Angeles was simply a
'dobie town-that and nothing more.
The Temple block, the Downey block
and the Pico house were the acmes of
our then attainments. The Los Angeles
of today, as compared with the
amorphous town of two decades ago, is
as gorgeous as imperial Rome. We
have made an incredible progress, and
we are but in the initial of metropol-
itan evolution.
What power can stop progress which
is owing to agencies of development that
have scarcely shown their first fruits
Even Mr.. Porter's census has shown
that the 'dobie, half American, half
Spanish town OF IL 800 inhabitants of
1880, has become the superb American
city of 50,3S4. of 1890. Is it at all likely
that agencies which have shown such
tremendous energy will lose their eff
cacy and lapse into an innocuous
desuetude? Well, scarcely
The 'dobies of fifteen years ago have
given place to elegant modern edifces
OF today, and they will shortly be re-
placed by palaces of ornate design, and
multitudinous as to numbers. While
we may scarcely hope, in the next ten
years, for ratio of increase like that in
the decade between 1880 and 1890,
which would make our population, in
the opening year of the twentieth
century, two hundred and fifty thou
sand, we are not prepared to admit OF
much of a discount on that figure. As
to the character of the city which is
being evolved, let no one doubt that it
will be exquisite and delightful. Archi-
lecture will here take on varied and en-
chanting forms. Enough has already
been seen OF the vari-colored sandstones
and marbles of this region to assuie us
building materials never heretofore sur
passed in the history OF the world. Los
Angeles is today, to any one who will
intelligently traverse its thirty-six
square miles, the handsomest city in
America. What it will become under
the agencies which are now pushing it
to the front alta resistless pace the mind
of man can scarcely conceive.
And, as to the country, the outlook is,
if possible, still more gratifying. 1t is
hard within the compass OF the mind OF
man to outline scheme of development
which is advancing at more rapid rate
than the agricultural and horticultural
progress of Los Angeles. With the abil-
ity, literally, to produce almost every sta
pie, outside of the distinctively tropical
ones, on the face of the earth, it would
be a wonder if, with the energetic
schemes of development now on hand,
there should not be an ext .aordinary ac-
count render in everything valued by
man in the ample domain OF Los An
geles county. This prolific region pro-
duces the corn, wine and oil of the COM
merce of all ages, and it ad Is to these
primal staples every fruit of classical
and scriptural narrative, with the home
ly potato buttressing the pomegranate,
and the orange, lemon, lime, olive, fig
and grape rounding out the picture, and
all being cultivated with gratifying as
siduity.
Truly we have magical region. Po-
etcal now, the time is not distant when
anything heretofore recorded on earth
will be eclipsed, and when Los Angeles
county will be known as the embodi-
ment OF the Garden of Eden, the land OF
Goshen, flowing with milk and honey,
and the Wales OF Cashmere and Eschol
combined. And this picture is no effort
at strained writing. 1t is mere prosaic
outlines of what will be an everyday
e,on,,rrar, 40 In this nantinn