Los Angeles

Formed February 18, 1850 (6^th county)

Los Angeles County (10,014,042), Los Angeles (3,898,767)

The massive, masonry courthouse of Los Angeles County fits the size of the surrounding area.  It was built in 1954 at Hill and 1^st streets in Art Deco style.  Stanton, Williams, Field, and Frey provided the designs.  United States Highway 101 is two blocks to the northeast.  There are multiple courthouses in Los Angeles but an 1891 earlier county courthouse was the main one for the county.  There are Criminal Courts (1970) building and Hall of Records (1960) building which augment the main courthouse in downtown.  Los Angeles is an original county formed on February 18, 1850 (6^th county) with Los Angeles as the only county seat.  Los Angeles is Spanish for “the angels.”  The community was originally named as El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Poricuncula.  Los Angeles County was the birthplace of 1 California Governor, Earl Warren. 

Los Angeles County government consists of a sheriff, assessor, controller, and treasurer (executive).  It has 5 Supervisors (legislative.)  Four hundred thirteen Superior Court Judges, clerk, and counsel serve Los Angeles County (judicial.)  The county is in southern California on the Pacific Ocean.  San Diego, California is southeast of the county.  The county center is in Los Angeles 3.2 miles North of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Kern, San Bernardino, and Orange counties and the Pacific Ocean and Ventura County.  The county is shaped like a boot with the top leaning to the west.  The City of Los Angeles dominates the western part of the county; however, the county’s center is only slightly north in the city limits.  Los Angeles is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 38.9% of the county population.  The county and county seat are pronounced LOSS AN-GE-LESS.  

The area of the county is 4060 square miles.  It is 11 out of 58 in the state.  It ranks 1 out of 58 in population in the state.  It has a density of 2466.5 persons per square mile making it 3 out of 58 in the state.  Los Angeles County has 89.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 5 crosses from the northwest to the southeast, Kern County to Orange County.  Interstate Highway 10 enters from San Bernardino County on the east and terminates in the county.  There are many Interstate loops and extensions in and around the county.  United States Highway 101 enters from Ventura County on the west and terminates in the county.  This county is in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana Metropolitan Statistical Area.

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