Victoria Bernal

Born in Los Angeles in the late 1860s, Manuela C. García is the voice behind over 100 songs in Charles Lummis' recordings of Southwest musical heritage. Known mostly by historians specializing in 19th-century Mexican American music, her voice connects California's present musical history with its past.

To walk the border of the sprawling City of Los Angeles as it is today (about 503 square miles) seems an inconceivable feat for most. But what if that walk circumnavigated the city as it was in 1781 or 1850, when Los Angeles was square-shaped measuring four square leagues?

Still performed today, La Pastorela was among the first theatrical productions staged in Southern California.

If you call L.A., Orange, or San Diego County home, you may well live on one of Pico's former ranchos.

Newcomers from Iowa famously congregated each year in Southern California for their state picnic. Such gatherings were important for migrants from other parts of the world, too.

L.A. City Councilmember Estelle Lawton Lindsey made history in 1915 when she served as acting mayor for 36 hours.

In the early 20th century, countless visitors toured Los Angeles on the red cars of the Pacific Electric's Balloon Route.

The Corona del Mar institution, named after Los Angeles land developer and railway baron Moses Sherman, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

Nellie Coffman opened the Desert Inn in 1909 as a sanatorium for tubercular patients. It soon grew into a famed resort.

For National Library Week, we honor the librarians that made Los Angeles a smarter place.