Editing Monterey Park, California (section)

==History==

===Early history===
For at least seven thousand years<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Verdugo_HS/classes/multimedia/intro.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020529030242/http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Verdugo_HS/classes/multimedia/intro.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 29, 2002 |title=introduction |publisher=Lausd.k12.ca.us |access-date=August 17, 2010}}</ref> the land was populated by the [[Tongva people|Tongva]] ([[Gabrielino]]) Native Americans. The Tongva lived in dome like structures with thatched exteriors, with an open smoke hole for ventilation and light at the top.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Verdugo_HS/classes/multimedia/house.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120803140800/http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Verdugo_HS/classes/multimedia/house.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 3, 2012 |title=Housing |publisher=Lausd.k12.ca.us |access-date=August 17, 2010}}</ref>  Both sexes wore long hair styles and tattooed their bodies. During warm weather the men wore few clothes, and the women wore minimal skirts made of animal hides. During the cold weather they would wear animal skin capes and occasionally wore sandals made from hide or yucca fiber.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Verdugo_HS/classes/multimedia/cloth.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021227103238/http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Verdugo_HS/classes/multimedia/cloth.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 27, 2002 |title=clothing |publisher=Lausd.k12.ca.us |access-date=August 17, 2010}}</ref>  With the arrival of the Spaniards, [[Old World]] diseases killed off many of the Tongva, and by 1870 very few Native-Americans had survived. In the early 19th century the area was part of the [[Mission San Gabriel Arcángel]] mission system and later the [[Rancho San Antonio (Lugo)|Rancho San Antonio]].

===1860s–1960s===
Following the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], an Italian, Alessandro Repetto, purchased {{convert|5,000|acre|km2}} of the rancho and built his ranch house on the hill overlooking his land, about a half-mile north of where [[Garfield Avenue (Los Angeles County)|Garfield Avenue]] crosses the Pomona Freeway,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofmontebello.com/about/default.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121151731/http://www.cityofmontebello.com/about/default.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 21, 2008 |title=About Montebello |publisher=City of Montebello |date=October 19, 1920 |access-date=August 17, 2010}}</ref> not far from where the [[Southern California Edison|Edison]] substation is now located on Garfield Avenue.<ref name="ci.monterey-park.ca.us">{{cite web |url=http://www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us/index.aspx?page=1079 |title=City of Monterey Park : History of Monterey Park |publisher=Ci.monterey-park.ca.us |access-date=August 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811225519/http://www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us/index.aspx?page=1079 |archive-date=August 11, 2010 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> In 1886, a northwestern portion of the rancho was bought by [[Isaias W. Hellman|Isaias Wolf Hellman]], a Bavarian-born banker and philanthropist who is the namesake of Hellman Avenue, a street that partly forms the northern boundary of Monterey Park.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sonksen|first1=Mike|title=The Historical Arc of Monterey Park: How a Few Streets Got Their Names|volume=XXIII, No. VI|page=15|newspaper=Cascades|publisher=City of Monterey Park|year=2024|quote=Hellman is named after Isaias Wolf Hellman, a Bavarian-born banker and philanthropist, who bought the northwestern part of the Repetto Rancho in 1886.}}</ref>

It was at this time, Richard Garvey, a mail rider for the U.S. Army whose route took him through Monterey Pass, a trail that is now [[Garvey Avenue]], settled down in the King's Hills. Garvey began developing the land by bringing in spring water from near the Hondo River and by constructing a {{convert|54|ft|m|adj=mid|-high|0}} dam to form Garvey Lake located where Garvey Ranch Park is now. To pay for his development and past debts, Garvey began selling portions of his property. In 1906, the first subdivision in the area, Ramona Acres (named after the developer's daughter, who would also later inspire the title of the novel ''[[Ramona]]''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-01-17-me-12794-story.html|title=L.A. Scene / The City Then and Now|last=Cecilia|first=Rasmussen|date=January 17, 1994|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date= July 19, 2011}}</ref>), was developed north of Garvey and east of Garfield Avenues.<ref name="ci.monterey-park.ca.us"/>

In 1916, the new residents of the area initiated action to become a city when the cities of [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]], [[South Pasadena, California|South Pasadena]], and [[Alhambra, California|Alhambra]] proposed to put a large sewage treatment facility in the area. The community voted itself into cityhood on May 29, 1916, by a vote of 455 to 33. The city's new board of directors immediately outlawed sewage plants within city boundaries and named the new city Monterey Park. The name was taken from an old government map showing the oak-covered hills of the area as Monterey Hills. In 1920, a large area on the south edge of the city broke away and the separate city of [[Montebello, California|Montebello]] was established.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.montebellochamber.org/History.aspx |title=Chamber History |publisher=Montebellochamber.org |access-date=August 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113105038/http://www.montebellochamber.org/History.aspx |archive-date=November 13, 2010 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

By 1920, the white and Spanish-surname settlers were joined by Asian residents who began farming potatoes and flowers and developing nurseries in the Monterey Highlands area. They improved the Monterey Pass Trail with a road to aid in shipping their produce to Los Angeles. The nameless pass, which had been used as a location for western movies, was called Coyote Pass by Pioneer Masami Abe.<ref name="ci.monterey-park.ca.us"/>

In 1926, near the corner of [[Atlantic Boulevard (Los Angeles County)|Atlantic Boulevard]] and Garvey Avenue, [[Laura Scudder]] invented the first sealed bag of potato chips. In an effort to maintain quality and freshness, Laura's team would iron sheets of wax paper together to form a bag. They would fill these bags with potato chips; iron the top closed, and then deliver them to various retailers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.laurascudders.com/History |title=Laura Scudder's |publisher=Laurascudders.com |access-date=August 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110111143650/http://www.laurascudders.com/History |archive-date=January 11, 2011 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Cascadeswaterfallmontereypa.jpg|thumb|right|Cascades Waterfall in Cascades Park, located off Atlantic Boulevard]] -->
Real estate became a thriving industry during the late 1920s with investors attracted to the many subdivisions under development and increasing commercial opportunities. The Midwick View Estates by Peter N. Snyder, a proposed garden community that was designed to rival [[Bel Air, California|Bel Air]] and [[Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills]]. Known as the "Father of the East Side", Mr. Snyder was a key player in the vast undertaking in the 1920s of developing the East Side as part of the industrial base of Los Angeles.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-12-ga-3068-story.html|title=Showing Their Pride in the Past : History: City officials plan to revive Jardin El Encanto and waterfall, which could become a key part of a community hall.|author-last1=Chang|author-first1=Irene|date=September 12, 1991|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 8, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> His efforts to build Atlantic Boulevard, his work with the East Side organization to bring industry to the East Side, and his residential and commercial development projects along Atlantic Boulevard (Gardens Square, Golden Gate Square, and the Midwick View Estates) were a major influence to the surrounding communities. The focal point of the Midwick View Estates was "Jardin del Encanto", otherwise known as "El Encanto," a Spanish style building that was to serve as the administration building and community center for Midwick View Estates. The development also included an observation terrace above Jardin del Encanto and the fountain with cascading water going down the hillside in stepped pools to De La Fuente.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-monterey-park-statue-20170420-htmlstory.html|title=A proposed statue with a Chinese face sparks resistance and debate in Monterey Park|last=Shyong|first=Frank|date=April 24, 2017|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 8, 2019}}</ref> Now known as Heritage Falls Park or "the Cascades."  The [[Great Depression]] brought an abrupt end to the real estate boom, as well as the Midwick proposal. From the late 1920s, the city had little development for nearly two decades.<ref name="ci.monterey-park.ca.us"/>

The end of [[World War II]] resulted in a revived growth trend with explosive population gains during the late 1940s and 1950s. Until this time, the population was concentrated in the northern and southern portions of the city, with the Garvey and Monterey Hills forming a natural barrier. With the renewed growth, many new subdivisions were developed, utilizing even the previously undeveloped central area to allow for maximum growth potential. A series of annexations of surrounding land also occurred.<ref name="ci.monterey-park.ca.us"/> Many veterans settled in Monterey Park and continued through the 1950s. Around this time, Japanese Americans from the [[Westside (Los Angeles County)|West Side]], Chinese Americans from [[Chinatown, Los Angeles|Chinatown]], and Latinos from [[East Los Angeles, California|East Los Angeles]] also began settling in the area and largely assimilated into the small-town suburban culture.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Brief History of Monterey Park, California |url=https://kraftedbykelly.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/a-brief-history-of-monterey-park-california/ |website=Krafted by Kelly |publisher=Wordpress |access-date=December 31, 2018|date=August 19, 2010 }}</ref>

===1970s–1990s===
Beginning in the 1970s, middle-class ethnic [[Asian Americans]] and Asian immigrants began settling in the west [[San Gabriel Valley]], primarily to Monterey Park.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pierson |first=David |date=January 23, 2023 |title=Monterey Park transformed the Chinese American experience. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/23/us/monterey-park-history-chinese.html |access-date=January 24, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>Horton, John. ''The Politics of Diversity: Immigration, Resistance, and Change in Monterey Park, California ''. Temple University Press, 195. p. 80.Chapter 4</ref> The City Council of Monterey Park subsequently tried and failed to pass English-only ordinances.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-feb-07-cl-21953-story.html|title=A Chronicle of Triumph, Pain in Chinese American Community|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=February 7, 2001| first=Jonathan|last=Kirsch|access-date=January 18, 2016}}</ref> In 1985 the Council approved drafting of a proposal that would require all businesses in Monterey Park to display [[English language]] identification on business signs.<ref>Arax, Mark. "Stronger Rules on English in Signs Pushed by Council." ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. December 5, 1985. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-12-05-ga-633-story.html 1]. Retrieved on March 29, 2010.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-31-me-748-story.html|title=Pride or Prejudice? : Monterey Park Debates Mayor's Plan to Erect Washington Statue|last=Hudson|first=Berkley|date=March 31, 1989|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 8, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref>

In the 1980s, Monterey Park was referred to as "Little [[Taipei]]" or "The Chinese Beverly Hills".<ref name="asianweek">{{cite web |author=Eljera |first=Bert |date=May 1996 |title=The Chinese Beverly Hills |url=http://asianweek.com/052496/LittleTaipei.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609165853/http://asianweek.com/052496/LittleTaipei.html |archive-date=June 9, 2010 |access-date= |website=Asian Week }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-feb-28-me-montereypark28-story.html|title=A city tries to find itself|last=Pierson|first=David|date=February 28, 2008|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 8, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035 }}</ref> Frederic Hsieh, a local realtor who bought land in Monterey Park and sold it to newly arrived immigrants, is credited with engendering Monterey Park's Chinese American community.<ref name="Frederic Hsieh, 54.">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/20/us/frederic-hsieh-is-dead-at-54-made-asian-american-suburb.html|title=Frederic Hsieh Is Dead at 54; Made Asian-American Suburb|first=Christian|last=Berthelsen|date=August 20, 1999|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=July 5, 2018}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-04-06-mn-135-story.html|title=Monterey Park : Nation's 1st Suburban Chinatown|last1=Arax|first1=Mark|date=April 6, 1987|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 8, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035 }}</ref> Many businesses from [[Chinatown, Los Angeles|the Chinatown in downtown LA]] began to open up stores in Monterey Park. In the 1970s and 1980s, many affluent ''[[waishengren|waisheng ren]]'' [[Taiwan]]ese immigrants moved abroad from [[Taiwan]] and began settling into Monterey Park.<ref name="temple.edu">{{cite book |first=Timothy P. |last=Fong |url=http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/997_reg_print.html |title=The First Suburban Chinatown |publisher=Temple University |isbn=978-1-56639-262-4 |year=1994 |access-date=June 21, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616085841/http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/997_reg_print.html |archive-date=June 16, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Mandarin Chinese]] became the most widely spoken language in many Chinese businesses of the city during that time, displacing [[Cantonese]] that had been common previously.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Park |first1=Jeong |last2=Smith |first2=Doug |date=January 23, 2023 |title=Lunar New Year shooting: A grim moment in Monterey Park, America's first suburban Chinatown |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-01-22/lunar-new-year-mass-shooting-a-grim-moment-in-monterey-park |access-date=January 23, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Cantonese has dominated the [[Chinatowns in Canada and the United States|Chinatowns of North America]] for decades, but Mandarin is the most common language of Chinese immigrants in the past few decades.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pierson |first=David |date=January 3, 2006 |title=Cantonese Is Losing Its Voice |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jan-03-me-cantonese3-story.html |access-date=January 23, 2023 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1983, [[Lily Lee Chen]] became the first Chinese American woman to be elected mayor of a U.S. city.<ref>Shyong, Frank (February 24, 2015) [https://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-race-monterey-park-elections-20150225-story.html "Monterey Park nears a demographic milestone, yet race rarely discussed"] [[Los Angeles Times]]</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-04-02-ga-1247-story.html|title=Too Long in the SPOTLIGHT : Monterey Park, Star 'Melting Pot,' Getting Fed Up With the Publicity|last=HUDSON|first=BERKLEY|date=April 2, 1989|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 8, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> By the late 1980s, immigrants from [[mainland China]] and [[Vietnam]] began moving into Monterey Park. By the 1990 census, Monterey Park became the first city with an Asian descent majority population in the continental United States. Timothy P. Fong, a professor and director of Asian American studies at [[California State University, Sacramento]], describes Monterey Park as the "First Suburban [[Chinatown]]".<ref name="temple.edu"/><ref name=":0" />

In the 1980s, the second generation Chinese Americans generally moved out of the old Chinatown and into the San Gabriel Valley suburbs, joining the new immigrants from Taiwan and mainland China.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.raulareyes.com/Site/Monterey_Park.html/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314104458/http://www.raulareyes.com/Site/Monterey_Park.html/|url-status=dead|title=San Gabriel Valley Tribune|archivedate=March 14, 2012}}</ref> From that time, with a combined influx of Vietnamese, Taiwanese and [[Hong Kong]] immigrant students at the time, [[Mark Keppel High School]], constructed during the [[New Deal]] era and located in [[Alhambra, California|Alhambra]], but also serving most of Monterey Park and portions of [[Rosemead]], felt the impact of this new immigration as the student population increased dramatically, leading to overcrowding.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mkhs.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=62613&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=97013 |title=Mark Keppel High School |publisher=Mkhs.org |date=December 31, 1999 |access-date=August 17, 2010}}</ref> Today, many students are second or third-generation Asian Americans.<ref>[http://www.hks.harvard.edu/aapr/doc/tsai76-98.pdf Harvard University]{{dead link|date=May 2018}}</ref>

In 1988, the City of Monterey Park passed an ordinance declaring a moratorium on new building, in an attempt to regulate the rapid growth the city experienced as a result of the influx of Asian immigrants.<ref name="asianweek"/><ref>{{cite news |date=May 12, 1988 |title=Local News in Brief : Building Bans Imposed |work=Los Angeles Times |publisher= |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-05-12-me-4230-story.html |access-date=August 17, 2010}}</ref>  This moratorium was challenged and defeated in 1989.<ref name="sfgate.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/05/MNSG1DQ1BL.DTL |title=Whites in state 'below the replacement' level |publisher=Sfgate.com |date=June 5, 2010 |access-date=August 17, 2010 | first=Justin | last=Berton}}</ref> This controversial move caused many Asian residents and businesses to shift focus, establishing themselves in the neighboring city of [[Alhambra, California|Alhambra]]. When the potential loss of business revenue was recognized,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.docstoc.com/docs/48018067/The-First-Suburban-Chinatown |title=The First Suburban Chinatown |access-date=October 29, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918181333/http://www.docstoc.com/docs/48018067/The-First-Suburban-Chinatown |archive-date=September 18, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> "Monterey Park went through a lot of upheaval that a lot of people regret," and relocation back to Monterey Park was highly encouraged in the [[Asian American]] community.<ref>Quan, Douglas. "[http://www.pe.com/localnews/rivcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_D_asian07.25558b4.html Some in Chino Hills nervous about ethnic shift]." ''[[The Press-Enterprise]]''. Tuesday February 6, 2007. Retrieved on January 21, 2010.</ref>

Since the early 1990s, Taiwanese people are no longer the majority in the city. The construction boom of shopping centers had declined, but plans for redevelopment sought to change that. High property values and overcrowding in Monterey Park<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us/index.aspx?page=726 |title=City of Monterey Park : Housing Needs |access-date=October 29, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717011110/http://www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us/index.aspx?page=726 |archive-date=July 17, 2011 }}</ref> have contributed to a secondary migration away from Monterey Park.

===2000s–present===
Redevelopment produced several projects included the massive Atlantic Times Square development that opened in 2010 with ground-floor shops and restaurants.<ref>Hawthorne, Christopher (May 13, 2012) [https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/boulevards/la-ca-atlantic-boulevard-los-angeles-index,0,378106.htmlstory "Atlantic on the move"] ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''</ref> The Atlantic Times Square,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us/index.aspx?page=1403|title=Atlantic Times Square|access-date=January 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302051508/http://www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us/index.aspx?page=1403|archive-date=March 2, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> which has {{convert|215000|sqft|m2|-2}}, is anchored by a multi-plex theater and a fitness center, in addition to eating establishments and other stores. The development includes 210 condos on the third through sixth floors.<ref name="MP">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us/Index.aspx?page=286 |title=City of Monterey Park : A Tradition of Redevelopment Success |access-date=October 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717010756/http://www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us/Index.aspx?page=286 |archive-date=July 17, 2011 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

Monterey Park Village is a 40,000 sq. ft. shopping center on South [[Atlantic Boulevard (Los Angeles County)|Atlantic Boulevard]] commercial corridor. Tenants include: Staples, Walgreens and Togo's eatery.<ref name="MP"/> The CVS Center on South Garfield Avenue is a redevelopment of infill site into a {{convert|17000|sqft|m2|-2}} neighborhood convenience center. Anchor tenant CVS Pharmacy brings a full-service drug store back to the downtown project,<ref name="MP"/> and the center includes a Subway sandwich shop.<ref name="MP"/> The {{convert|507000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} Monterey Park Marketplace is the largest shopping center in the city. Located along the [[California State Route 60|Pomona (60) Freeway]] west of Paramount Boulevard, this center is a 45-acre regional shopping center for the San Gabriel Valley.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us/index.aspx?page=1284 |title=City of Monterey Park : Cascades Market Place |access-date=October 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717010947/http://www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us/index.aspx?page=1284 |archive-date=July 17, 2011 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

In 2017, Monterey Park was recognized as "America's Best Places to Live 2017" ranked at #3 by Money magazine and three local news TV stations. It also ranked at #2 in Money Magazine's "The 10 Best Places in America to Raise a Family".<ref>{{cite news |last=Renzulli |first=Kerri Anne |date=December 12, 2017 |title=The 10 Best Places in America to Raise a Family Now |website=[[Money.com]] |url=https://money.com/best-places-america-raise-family/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527191336/https://money.com/best-places-america-raise-family/ |archive-date=May 27, 2022}}</ref>

On January 21, 2023, [[2023 Monterey Park shooting|a mass shooting occurred]] at a dance studio in the city, after a [[Chinese New Year]] celebration where twenty people were shot, killing eleven of them, and injuring nine others. The gunman, identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, fled and was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in [[Torrance, California|Torrance]] the next day.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 22, 2023 |title=10 dead in Monterey Park mass shooting, police say |url=https://abc7.com/monterey-park-mass-shooting-california-lunar-new-year-event-dead/12725372/ |access-date=January 22, 2023 |website=KABC-TV |language=en}}</ref>