Editing Monrovia, California (section)

==History==
[[Image:Monrovia-1886.jpg|left|thumb|Monrovia, 1886 (Myrtle Avenue, looking north)]]

[[Image:Monrovia-1892.jpg|left|thumb|Monrovia, 1892 (Myrtle Avenue, looking north)]]
The San Gabriel Valley was first inhabited by the [[Tongva]] whose traditional lands extended throughout the area of modern-day [[greater Los Angeles]].<ref name="Sepulveda2018">{{Cite journal |last=Sepulveda |first=Charles |date=January 2018 |title=Our Sacred Waters: Theorizing Kuuyam as a Decolonial Possibility |url=https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/des/article/view/30384/23037 |journal=Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society |volume=7 |issue=1 |p=49}}</ref> While [[Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo]] first discovered California for Spain in 1542, Spanish colonization did not begin until 1769 with the [[Portolá expedition]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Servin |first=Manuel P. |date=Winter 1973 |title=California’s Hispanic Heritage: A View Into the Spanish Myth |url=https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1973/january/myth/ |journal=[[Journal of San Diego History]] |volume=19 |issue=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619160011/https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1973/january/myth/ |archive-date=June 19, 2024}}</ref> In 1771, the entire valley, including present-day Monrovia, came under the domain of the newly established [[Mission San Gabriel Arcángel|Mission San Gabriel]], initially located along the [[San Gabriel River (California)|San Gabriel River]] near the southern edge of the valley. The mission utilized the lower portion of the valley for raising cattle and farming while the uplands, including Monrovia, remained untouched.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=W.W. |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31158005928097&seq=5 |title=Monrovia : A Calendar of Events in the Making of a City |publisher=Title Guarantee and Trust Co. |year=1936 |location=Los Angeles |pages=5–6}}</ref>

Following Mexico's [[Mexican War of Independence|independence]] from Spain and the [[Congress of the Union|Mexican Congress]]'s enactment of [[Mexican Secularization Act of 1833|secularization laws]] in 1833, the government of [[Alta California]] began the process of secularizing missions and dispersing their property.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ryan |first=MaryEllen |last2=Breschini |first2=Gary S. |title=Secularization and the Ranchos, 1826-1846 |url=https://mchsmuseum.com/local-history/mexican-era/secularization-and-the-ranchos-1826-1846/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126142630/https://mchsmuseum.com/local-history/mexican-era/secularization-and-the-ranchos-1826-1846/ |archive-date=January 26, 2025 |access-date=February 14, 2025 |website= |publisher=Monterey County Historical Society}}</ref> On April 16, 1841, [[Hugo Reid]], a naturalized Mexican citizen from Great Britain, was provisionally granted ownership of [[Rancho Santa Anita]], which included most of present-day Monrovia to the west of Norumbega Drive, and received a [[fee simple]] title to the land in 1845.<ref>{{harvp|Robinson|1936|p=7–9}}.</ref> Rancho Santa Anita then changed hands several times before [[Lucky Baldwin]] acquired it on April 8, 1875.<ref>{{harvp|Robinson|1936|p=9–14}}.</ref> In 1884, [[William Newton Monroe|William N. Monroe]] purchased a 120-acre plot from Baldwin in present-day Monrovia that encompassed both sides of White Oak Avenue (now [[Foothill Boulevard (Southern California)|Foothill Boulevard]]). Monroe acquired an additional 90 acres in 1885.<ref>{{harvp|Robinson|1936|p=16–17}}.</ref> 

In 1886, Monroe partnered with [[Edward Falles Spence|Edward F. Spence]], [[John Dustin Bicknell|John D. Bicknell]], and [[James F. Crank]] to form a 120-acre town centered around Myrtle Avenue and present-day Colorado Boulevard; the first sale of townsite lots began on May 17, 1886.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Shannon |url=https://www.monroviaca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/15147/636594844097370000 |title=City of Monrovia Historic Context Statement |last2=Novell |first2=Marilyn |last3=Taylor Kung |first3=Laura |last4=Voisin George |first4=Laura |publisher=ASM Affiliates, Inc. |year=2018 |pages=17–18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203143027/https://www.monroviaca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/15147/636594844097370000 |archive-date=December 3, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Robinson|1936|p=19}}.</ref> Within nineteen months, several banks, hotels, churches, and schools were built.<ref>{{harvp|Davis|Novell|Taylor Kung|Voisin George|2018|p=18}}.</ref> In 1887, Monrovia reached a population of 500 and was incorporated on December 15, making it the fourth incorporated city in Los Angeles County after Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Pasadena.<ref>{{harvp|Robinson|1936|p=19}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Early Monrovia History |url=https://www.mohpg.org/early-monrovia-history.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250217001405/https://www.mohpg.org/early-monrovia-history.html |archive-date=February 17, 2025 |access-date=February 16, 2025 |publisher=Monrovia Historical Preservation Group}}</ref> Monrovia was connected to Los Angeles by rail in 1888 through the efforts of the [[San Gabriel Valley Rapid Transit Railroad Company]]. The [[Los Angeles Terminal Railway]] briefly assumed control over the rail line in 1892 before selling the railway to [[Southern Pacific Railroad|Southern Pacific]] in 1893.<ref>{{harvp|Davis|Novell|Taylor Kung|Voisin George|2018|p=18–19}}.</ref>[[Image:Monrovia-1903.jpg|left|thumb|Pacific Electric in Monrovia, 1903]]
In 1903, the ''Monrovia News'' was established. The same year, the [[Pacific Electric]] was opened, providing transportation to and from Los Angeles, making it possible for Monrovia homeowners to work in Los Angeles.[[Image:Monrovia-May-16-1914.jpg|thumb|Monrovia, 1914 (Myrtle Avenue, looking north)]]
In 1905, [[Andrew Carnegie|Carnegie]] funds became available and, with the help of the Board of Trade (forerunner to the [[Chamber of Commerce]]) and the Monrovia Women's Club, a bond issue was passed to purchase the Granite Bank Building to be used as a city hall, and to acquire property for a public park. The Granite Building has served as the city hall, fire and police department facilities since 1961 and the fire department since 1974. In 1956, the old [[Carnegie library]] building was torn down and a new library was constructed. In March 2007, a new library was voted on by the people of Monrovia. It won with 70% yes votes. The library now has 190,000 books, a heritage room for historical documents, and areas for children, teens, and adults.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://monrovia.patch.com/listings/monrovia-public-library |title=Monrovia Public Library – Monrovia Patch – Patch.com |publisher=Monrovia.patch.com |date=January 27, 2011 |access-date=July 1, 2013}}</ref>

A [[Council–manager government|city council–manager]] type government was instituted in 1923.

In 1930, the [[Monrovia Airport, California|Monrovia Airport]], also known as the Foothill Flying Club, was commercially established. The small airstrip claimed to have had 12,000 paying customers use the airfield in 1932 and on May 19, 1938, the first airmail flight took off from Monrovia Airport. Ownership of the airport changed hands several times while it was in operation; pilots remembered it as "the friendliest little airport in the country." Apart from usage by Riley Brothers, TWA Captain and former airshow pilot Kalman Irwin, and [[Pancho Barnes]], the airfield is well known for its use as a movie-filming location. The first movie filmed at the Monrovia Airport was [[The Fighting Pilot]]. Other films shot at the airfield include [[20,000 Men a Year]], [[The Great Plane Robbery (1940 film)|The Great Plane Robbery]], and most notably, [[The Big Noise (1944 film)|The Big Noise]], featuring [[Laurel and Hardy]]. The 35-acre airfield, used as a runway as well as an airplane repair and storage service, was forced to close in 1953 after being sold to [[Consolidated Engineering Corporation]] for redevelopment as a result of increased land values.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/CA/Airfields_CA_LA_E.htm#monrovia | title=Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: California, East Los Angeles area}}</ref>

Monrovia was the home to the precursor to [[McDonald's]]. In 1937, Patrick McDonald opened a food stand on Huntington Drive (Route 66) near the old Monrovia Airport called "The Airdrome" (hamburgers were ten cents, and all-you-can-drink orange juice was five cents); it remained there until 1940, when he and his two sons, [[Richard and Maurice McDonald|Maurice and Richard]], moved the building {{convert|40|mi|km}} east to [[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]] to the corner of West 14th Street and 1398 North E Street, renaming it "McDonald's".

In 1995, Monrovia received the [[All America City]] Award from the [[National Civic League]].