Editing La Mirada, California (section)

==History==
[[File:La Mirada depot, from a 1903 publication.png|thumb|La Mirada depot, from a 1903 publication]]
La Mirada ([[Spanish language|Spanish]] for ''the look'')<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ|title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Printing Office]]|author=Gannett, Henry|year=1905|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n179 180]}}</ref> was the creation of two men, [[Andrew McNally]], a printer and mapmaker from Chicago (see [[Rand McNally]]) and his son-in-law Edwin Neff. In 1888, McNally purchased over {{convert|2200|acre|km2}} of [[Rancho Los Coyotes]],<ref name="History of La Mirada">{{cite web|title=History of La Mirada |url=http://www.cityoflamirada.org/history.htm|access-date=October 15, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530212144/http://www.cityoflamirada.org/history.htm|archive-date=May 30, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> south of [[Whittier, California|Whittier]], for $200,000. He developed {{convert|700|acre|km2}} into his own home called Windermere Ranch and surrounded it with olive, orange and lemon groves. McNally built a plant to process the olive oil, which was of the best quality, as well as a railroad station on Stage Road.  From here his olive oil and fruit were shipped all over the U.S.

In 1896, McNally turned his property over to his daughter and his son-in-law. McNally and Neff formed the La Mirada Land Company, which published a booklet entitled "The Country Gentleman in California", advertising parcels of land for sale including pictures, a map and descriptions of the scenic olive, alfalfa, lemon and grapefruit groves.

In 1946, "Along Your Way", a "Station by Station Description of the Santa Fe Route Through the Southwest," describes La Mirada with a population of 213, surrounded by orange, lemon, walnut and olive groves; oil wells; olive oil factory; and fruit packing houses.

The city received a lot of attention for the fact that it was going to be completely structured and planned out. Referred to as "the Nation's completely planned city" during the early 1950s,<ref>{{cite web|title=Postcard from State Fair|url=http://ourlamirada.com/lamirada/modelhome1953.html/history.htm|access-date=October 15, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715022137/http://ourlamirada.com/lamirada/modelhome1953.html/history.htm|archive-date=July 15, 2011}}</ref> the city of La Mirada received a lot of attention from the [[California State Fair|State Fair]].<ref>{{cite web|title=1953 State Fair Article|url=http://ourlamirada.com/lamirada/calstatefair1953.html/history.htm|access-date=October 15, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715022213/http://ourlamirada.com/lamirada/calstatefair1953.html/history.htm|archive-date=July 15, 2011}}</ref> The Fair praised the city for planning for the future while still maintaining practicality for today.

In 1953, the land was sold to subdivisions for 5.2 million dollars, one of the largest real estate transactions in California. 
In 1954, Louis M. Halper, a prominent Southland residential and commercial builder, purchased 2,100 acres of La Mirada land for $8,000,000. Halper launched construction on what was to be a $150,000,000 community with schools, shopping centers, and 10,000 homes that he completed by the end of two years. His firm had taken over the acreage from a group of corporations and Harold L. Shaw, who launched the original La Mirada development. He said at the time the entire community would be redesigned for maximum advantages of a modern planned city. Halper had developed a new pattern for community development by wholesaling land to other builders and establishing the La Mirada Civic Council to control quality. Three and four-bedroom homes were sold in the $13,000 price range. By 1960, the year the city was incorporated, La Mirada had grown from a mere 100 homes to over 8,000.<ref name="History of La Mirada"/> The city was incorporated as "Mirada Hills" on March 23, 1960. On November 8, 1960, voters approved a change of name to the current La Mirada, which was officially certified on December 15, 1960.

Today, the current population is just over 50,000 with the addition of a new subdivision on the eastern portion of the town.