In 1900 the United States had only

In 1900 the United States had only three cities with more than a million residentsNew
York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. By 1930, it had ten giant metropolises. The newer
ones experienced remarkable growth, which reflected basic changes in the economy.
Line The population of Los Angeles (114,000 in 1900) rose spectacularly in the early
(5) decades of the twentieth century, increasing a dramatic 1,400 percent from 1900 to 1930.
A number of circumstances contributed to the meteoric rise of Los Angeles. The
agricultural potential of the area was enormous if water for irrigation could be found, and
the city founders had the vision and dating to obtain it by constructing a 225-mile
aqueduct, completed in 1913, to tap the water of the Owens River. The city had a superb
(10) natural harbor, as well as excellent rail connections. The climate made it possible to shoot
motion pictures year-round; hence Hollywood. Hollywood not only supplied jobs; it
disseminated an image of the good life in Southern California on screens all across the
nation. The most important single industry powering the growth of Los Angeles, however,
was directly linked to the automobile. The demand for petroleum to fuel gasoline engines
(15) led to the opening of the Southern California oil fields, and made Los Angeles North
America's greatest refining center.
Los Angeles was a product of the auto age in another sense as well: its distinctive
spatial organization depended on widespread private ownership of automobiles. Los
Angeles was a decentralized metropolis, sprawling across the desert landscape over an
(20) area of 400 square miles. It was a city without a real center. The downtown business
district did not grow apace with the city as a whole, and the rapid transit system designed
to link the center with outlying areas withered away from disuse. Approximately 800,000
cars were registered in Los Angeles County in 1930, one per 2.7 residents. Some visitors
from the east coast were dismayed at the endless urban sprawl and dismissed Los
(25) Angeles as a mere collection of suburbs in search of a city. But the freedom and mobility
of a city built on wheels attracted floods of migrants to the city.