Downey, California, United States

🇺🇸 Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, 13 mi (21 km) south-east of Downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program. It is also the home of the oldest operating McDonald's restaurant in the world.

History: 18th century to World War II Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was initially founded on September 8, 1771, near settlements of the Tongva people. It was located in the Whittier Narrows on a bluff overlooking the Rio Hondo, near the intersection of today's San Gabriel Blvd and Lincoln Avenue. After five years, flooding forced the relocation of the mission to its present site in San Gabriel.

In 1784, Governor Pedro Fages granted to former soldier Manuel Nieto (1734–1804) the largest of the land concessions made in what was then Alta California, a province of New Spain. Its 300,000 acres (120,000 ha; 1,200 km²) stretched from the Santa Ana River on the east to the Old San Gabriel River (now the Rio Hondo and Los Angeles River) on the west, and from the mission highway (approximately Whittier Boulevard) on the north to the ocean on the south. Its acreage was slightly reduced later at the insistence of Mission San Gabriel on whose lands it infringed. The Spanish concessions, of which 25 were made in California, were unlike the later Mexican land grants in that title was not transferred but were similar to grazing permits with the title remaining with the Spanish crown.

The Rancho Los Nietos passed to Manuel Nieto's four children upon his death and remained intact until 1833 when his heirs petitioned Mexican Governor José Figueroa to partition the property. The north-western portion of the original rancho, comprising the Downey-Norwalk area, was granted as Rancho Santa Gertrudes to Josefa Cota, the widow of Manuel's son, Antonio Nieto. At approximately 21,000 acres (8,500 ha; 85 km²), Santa Gertrudes was itself a sizable rancho and contained the old Nietos homestead, which was a centre of social life east of the pueblo of Los Angeles. After the Mexican–American War concluded in 1848, many of the Californio ranchos were obtained by affluent Anglo-Americans who were immigrating west under the United States manifest destiny doctrine, and marrying into established Californio Spanish families. This migration was distinct from that prompted by the California Gold Rush farther north.

Dairy was a major industry in Downey. The Central Milk Agency marketed the milk for "seven hundred dairymen whose dairy herds range from thirty to two thousand head" with the value of the products marketed in excess of $1,000,000 per month.

Some of Downey's settlers came from Ireland. Downey was founded by and named for the former and youngest ever governor of California, John Gately Downey, who was born in Ireland. Although he was an Irish Democrat, he supported the Republican Lincoln in his efforts to keep the Union intact during the American Civil War. He pioneered the modern subdivision with land he acquired between the Rio Hondo and the San Gabriel River, in about 1865. Downey was convinced that oranges would flourish in Southern California, so he imported several varieties, and therefore set in motion what became one of the state's biggest cash crops. In conjunction with the construction of the Tehachapi Loop, the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived in 1873.

Gallatin Two small settlements were established along the Rio Hondo River - College Settlement and Gallatin, the latter near where today, Paramount Boulevard and Florence Avenue cross. In the late 1860s the Gallatin residents built a small school known as the "Little Red Gallatin School House". By 1871, it wasn't large enough and a two-story school was built. Gallatin School moved in 1893 to its present site. Later, Alameda School and Downey School were built. By 1883, College Settlement, Gallatin, and Downey joined together, and with the help of Governor Downey convinced the Southern Pacific Railroad to route through and stop in Downey. The new centre of activity migrated to the depot area, and this became the centre of a new larger Downey, uniting the three previous settlements.

After World War II Farmers in the area grew grain, corn, castor beans, and fruit, and by 1935 Downey was characterized as an "orange-grove town". Downey was incorporated in 1956 and instituted a charter form of government in 1964. Suburban homes and factories replaced the farms after World War II.

Aerospace Vultee Aircraft was Downey's largest employer during World War II producing 15% of all of America's military aircraft by 1941. The company was a pioneer in the use of women in manufacturing positions and was the first aircraft company to build airplanes on a powered assembly line. Vultee became a part of North American Aviation (later North American Rockwell, then Rockwell International which was then bought by the Boeing company) whose facilities were the birthplace of the systems for the Apollo Space Program as well as the Space Shuttle. For over 70 years, Downey's Rockwell NASA plant produced and tested many of the 20th century's greatest aviation, missile, and space endeavors.

By the early 1970s, the facilities encompassed some 1,700,000 square feet (160,000 m²) of enclosed area over more than 200 acres (81 ha). But, by the post-Cold War 1990s, Downey was severely hit by cutbacks in the defense budget. Rockwell International which once had more than 30,000 employees had fewer than 5,000 in 1992. The seventy-year history of airplane and space vehicle manufacturing in Downey came to an end when the Rockwell plant closed in 1999. The former North American Rockwell plant was demolished, and the site now features the Columbia Memorial Space Center, Downey Landing shopping centre, Promenade at Downey shopping centre (the former movie studio site of Downey Studios), a Kaiser Permanente hospital, and a city recreation fields park.

Other landmarks Near the centre of the city lies what was in the 1960s one of the busiest intersections in California, the intersection of Lakewood Boulevard (State Route 19) and Firestone Boulevard (former State Route 42). Route 19 was a major thoroughfare between Pasadena and the port at Long Beach and Route 42 was along part of the old Spanish El Camino Real trail that connected Pueblo de Los Angeles to San Diego.

In the 1960s, the town's Downey Records achieved some notoriety with recordings such as The Chantays' surfing instrumental "Pipeline"; nearly two decades later, Downey local music scene led to the founding of The Blasters and Dark Angel.

Downey is home to Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center which is the main public rehabilitation hospital for Los Angeles County. Rancho Los Amigos is renowned worldwide for its innovative contributions to the care of spinal cord injuries and post-polio syndrome.

Downey was featured in the 2008 American action-comedy film Pineapple Express. Many of the buildings along Florence Avenue are seen in a driving sequence early in the film.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau the city has a total area of 12.6 square miles (33 km²). 12.4 square miles (32 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) of it is water.

The cities of South Gate and Bell Gardens are adjacent to the west and north-west, Pico Rivera lies to the north-east, Santa Fe Springs and Norwalk to the east, and Paramount and Bellflower are to the south.

Economy Most Business-Friendly Award In 2017, the City of Downey was recognised as L.A. County's "Most Business-Friendly City" by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation for cities with a population greater than 68,000.

Largest employers According to a recent Financial Report, the top employers in the city include: 1 Kaiser Permanente; 2 Stonewood Center; 3 Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center; 4 PIH Health Hospital - Downey; 5 Office of Education, County of Los Angeles; 6 Downey Unified School District; 7 Coca-Cola Refreshments; 8 Internal Service Department, County of Los Angeles; 9 City of Downey; 10 Lakewood Health Center.

Culture The author Tom Wolfe wrote about Downey. His article "The Hair Boys" was about Harvey's Drive-in and the fashions that the hair boys wore. He claimed that Harvey's was one of the great unacknowledged centres of fashion in the world. The essay appears in his 1968 book "The Pump House Gang". His drawing of one of the hair boys appears in his book "In Our Time".

In 1955, Downey was featured in newspapers worldwide when truck driver George Di Peso lived at 7739 Alderdale Street and had a gopher problem. He tried to solve it by putting a hose down a gopher hole and turning on the water to drown it, but he couldn't get the hose out afterwards. He then noticed that the hose was slowly being pulled down the hole. Wire services found out about this, and the mysterious phenomenon was reported in newspapers worldwide. According to a July 3, 1955 front-page article in the Los Angeles Times ("Tokyo Awaits Arrival of Downey Hose"), "A message received from Tokyo at the United Press office here read 'Tell Di Peso in Downey the other end of his hose has not turned up here, but we're all still looking.'" There was a great deal of speculation about the cause of the disappearing hose. Eventually the hose vanished completely. The most likely explanation was that there was an underground river that pulled at the hose.

In the early 1960s, it was widely reported that the Downey City Library had banned Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan books because Tarzan was not married to Jane when they conceived Boy. Evidence for the rumor's staying power is in articles in the Los Angeles Times that were published in the 1970s (for example, "Downey Sends L.A. Back to the Bush League", Jack Smith, May 8, 1970). The rumor about Tarzan was, however, a wild exaggeration. According to "Zane Grey Also Safe: Tarzan’s Marital Status No Issue as Downey School Ban Is Denied" (Los Angeles Times December 28, 1961), a rumor spread that one of Downey's elementary schools had removed Edgar Rice Burroughs and Zane Grey books from its library because "1—There was no indication that Tarzan and his mate, Jane, were ever married before they took up housekeeping in the treetops", and "2—Grey was known to put such expletives as 'damn!’ and 'hell' in the mouths of his western cowhands". It turns out that there was no "ban". What happened was that in one elementary school, a parent had put two Zane Grey books "out of site in a desk drawer". No Tarzan books were involved. The Zane Grey books were put back on the shelves.

Libraries The Downey City Library serves the city. The first library in Downey was established in 1901 by a women's social club that was founded in 1898. The County of Los Angeles Public Library opened a branch in Downey in September 1915. The county branch moved several times; its final location was in the County Civic Center. In 1958 the Downey City Council voted to establish its own library and withdraw from the county system. The city library services were originally provided out of the back of a bookstore. The city library opened in the former cafeteria of the former Downey Elementary School, then being used as the city hall and police station, on July 1, 1958. A permanent library building was built on December 7, 1959. It had almost 16,000 square feet (1,500 m²) and it was built for $186,200, costing $11.97 per square foot. It was dedicated on December 17 and opened on December 18. In February 1984 an addition of almost 12,000 square feet (1,100 m²) was completed and dedicated.

In addition the headquarters of the County of Los Angeles Public Library are located in Downey.

Health care The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health operates the Whittier Health Center in Whittier, serving Downey.

Post office The United States Postal Service operates the Downey Post Office at 8111 Firestone Boulevard, the North Downey Post Office at 10409 Lakewood Boulevard, and the South Downey Post Office at 7911 Imperial Highway.

Transport The city can be conveniently reached by any of four freeways: Interstate 105 with its Metro rail line passes through the southern part of the city, Interstate 5 passes through the northern part, Interstate 605 passes along the eastern side, and Interstate 710 passes just west of the city.

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) provides bus services to the city, and is served by the Lakewood Boulevard station of the Green Line (Los Angeles Metro). The city also operates a local bus service called DowneyLINK.