When was downey ca founded

For over 40 years, thousands of engineers, mechanics, and factory workers were employed on the premises until massive layoffs afflicted the aerospace industry during the s and s. By , the famed site where so much of the American space program had begun, was no longer in operation. For over 10 years following the closing of the Boeing site, the large aircraft hangars became the Downey Studios.

An organization called "The Aerospace Legacy Foundation" still exists in Downey, and they have done ample research and archiving to preserve the rich aerospace history of the city. According to the Foundation, many writers and historians refer to the city as the "Cradle of the Cosmic Age.

The former Boeing site is so large that a number of new developments have come to rise on its land. The Columbia Memorial Space Center is a 20, square foot interactive learning center that opened in to commemorate the aerospace history of the area. Located a half block east of Lakewood Boulevard and a block north of Imperial Highway, this hands-on site not only celebrates the history of the Apollo Space Program, NASA, and the Space Shuttle, it also includes two floors of exhibits and laboratories for local students to engage in science learning and technology.

A program allows students to design their own airplane, and test their design on the center's airplane launcher. There is also a memorial dedicated to the astronauts lost in the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. On the day when I was there, two full school buses from the Montebello Unified School District were visiting.

The robot laboratory and shuttle simulator were surrounded by dozens of students. A large chart showed the evolution of the space program over the 20th Century, from the earliest rockets, all the way up to the space shuttle. My favorite exhibit was the huge projected satellite images of Earth that were shot from outer space. This center, located on the site of where both the Apollo and Space Shuttle space craft were designed and built, is a treasure trove for aerospace aficionados and local school children, and is definitely one of Downey's crown jewels.

Located in the southwestern quadrant of the city, Apollo Park is home to the Downey Historical Society. Apollo Park was once called Imperial Park, and the name was changed over a generation ago to commemorate Downey's influential role in the Apollo Space Program. When I went to the historical society, I met their president, Bob Thompson, an alumni of Downey High School who has lived his entire life in Downey and worked in the aerospace industry for 42 years. Thompson's childhood home in the southern part of the city was among the hundreds of Downey homes demolished for the construction of the Freeway over four decades ago.

The museum not only honors the obvious city history, like the Carpenter's and the Apollo Space program, it is also filled with historic photos, maps, memorabilia, and countless objects reflecting over plus years.

A small historic house from , called "The Dismukes House," is also on the premises. Thompson showed me shelves of yearbooks from Downey High School that dated back to before ; they also have all of the yearbooks from Warren High School since its opening in One of Thompson's own projects is compiling a record of all the planes that were built in Downey. The boxes and boxes of archives on site are his source materials.

One of their rooms is filled with newspaper clippings and thousands of articles and historical documents related to the city. Thompson told me that they have enough material to create a second edition. Downey was once called "Little Beverly Hills," according to Thompson. For this reason, Downey has always had many great restaurants, and has even had its own Symphony and Art Museum for over 50 years.

Many of these homes were owned by engineers from the aerospace industry, as well as many doctors and other wealthy individuals. After the Carpenter's made their money in the music industry, they returned to Downey to buy one of the large homes on the city's north-side. Known as one of the largest rehabilitation hospitals in the United States, it has been there over years. Though a large part of the site has become essentially an abandoned ghost town , the operating facilities still offer a wide array of services in stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury, pediatrics, orthopedics and diabetes care, pressure ulcer management, limb preservation and post-amputation care.

Considering the city's connection to the space program and that much of Downey was built during the s, it is no surprise that the city is filled with Mid-Century Googie architecture.

Ignacio Gonzalez, who has lived most of his life in nearby Bell Gardens, and for over the last decade in Downey, told me about the local efforts a few years back to save Johnnie's from the wrecking ball after it had temporarily became a used car lot. I passed by late one Sunday evening and I saw that they were demolishing the place.

A group of local residents gathered to protest. The protest worked because the demolition stopped and it is now a Bob's Big Boy. Another famous historic architectural site in Downey is the oldest standing McDonald's still in operation. Located on the corner of Lakewood and Florence, this McDonald's was built in , with the iconic golden arches that are much bigger than the ones seen in newer versions of their franchise.

Similar to the Johnie's Broiler, this location was closed following the Northridge earthquake of , but protests by preservationists eventually led to it being restored.

At the end of his gubernatorial term, he returned to Los Angeles and made plans to divide his 17,acre Rancho Santa Gertrudes into small farms nestled along the banks of the San Gabriel River. The subdivision began in John Downey divided the land into agricultural plots and new residents fleeing the ravages of the Civil War developed a community.

By , the Southern Pacific Railroad built a line to this area between two settled areas called Gallatin and College Settlement and laid the foundations for a future city which marked a new era of prosperity for what became known as Downey City. The Downey area grew in sporadic leaps. On December 17, the community of Downey, having a population of approximately 90, people living within an area of By an overwhelming mandate, the citizens of Downey voted for a Council-Manager form of government to run their community — the largest in population ever known to have incorporated in the United States.

Downey holds a rich history of aviation and aerospace that spans more than 70 years. At approximately 21, acres 8, ha; 85 km 2 , Santa Gertrudes was itself a sizable rancho and contained the old Nietos homestead, which was a center of social life east of the pueblo of Los Angeles. After the Mexican—American War concluded in , 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. 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.

He pioneered the modern subdivision. Farmers in the area grew grain, corn, castor beans and fruit, and by Downey was characterized as an "orange-grove town". Downey was incorporated in , and instituted a charter form of government in Suburban homes and factories replaced the farms after World War II. 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 s, the facilities encompassed some 1,, square feet , m 2 of enclosed area over more than acres 81 ha. But, by the post-Cold War s, Downey was brutally hit by cutbacks in the defense budget. Rockwell International, who once had over 30, employees, had less than 5, in The seventy-year history of airplane and space vehicle manufacturing in Downey came to an end when the Rockwell plant closed in The former North American Rockwell plant was demolished, and the site now features the Columbia Memorial Space Center , Downey Landing shopping center, a Kaiser Permanente hospital, a city recreation fields park, and the former movie studio site of Downey Studios.

Near the center of the city lies what was the s the busiest intersections in California, the intersection of Lakewood Boulevard State Route 19 and Firestone Boulevard former State Route In the s 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.

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 American action comedy film Pineapple Express.

Many of the buildings along Florence Avenue are seen in a driving sequence early in the film. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of The United States Census reported that Downey had a population of , The population density was The racial makeup of Downey was 63, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 78, persons The Census reported that , people There were 33, households, out of which 15, There were 2, 6.

The average household size was 3. There were 26, families The population was spread out with 29, people The median age was For every females there were For every females age 18 and over, there were There were 35, housing units at an average density of 2,