Monterey Park, California

About Monterey Park, California

Monterey Park, which is in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley, has many chances for distinctive dining, fantastic shopping, and attendance at several special events. For a small city, Monterey Park is delighted to host the Harmony Festival Auto Show, the Cherry Blossom Festival, the Lunar New Year Festival, Play Days (the city’s birthday) parade and carnival, and the Cinco de Mayo Celebration.

Monterey Park is renowned for several extraordinarily large malls and shopping centers and its prolific real estate. Additionally, in the 2010s, the city ranked highly on several lists chronicling the best places to live in the country.

History

The History of Monterey Park dates back to the time before America was settled and the Native Tongva tribe lived. Years after the Spanish settled, industry came into the area.

Monterey Park, including Alessandro Repetto, an Italian immigrant who came to own 5,000 acres of town property & Richard Garvey, who built a dam and began using city-land/nearby water to develop various crops.

In 1850, California became a state in the union.

Neighboring cities Alhambra, Pasadena, and South Pasadena grew alongside Monterey Park and began to even eclipse it. In 1916, these other three communities having already been incorporated for several years, Monterey Park hastened to do the same, as its surrounding towns wished to use its unincorporated status as clearance to build a sewage treatment facility within the immediate area. Local residents near-unanimously voted to incorporate with haste, and the newly formed municipal government immediately voted to ban sewage plants within city limits.

The city also welcomed growth from immigrants, to increasing extents throughout the 20th century, predominantly from Asian nations. In fact, Chinese residents were the ethnic majority for multiple decades leading up to the new millennium, although that demographic landscape has become more multiculturally nuanced in recent years.

Post-World War II, farming has given way to a modern, commercial Monterey Park landscape.

Demographic

Colleges

East Los Angeles College

Address: 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park, CA

Avg cost after aid – $11,000

In-state tuition – $1,238

Enrollment: 29,275 undergraduate students

Points of Interest

Atlantic Times Square

Located at 500 N Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA 91754, Atlantic Times Square covers 215,000 feet and offers residents and tourists world-class restaurants, retail, and residences. Some of the stores it has are Aji Ichiban, Gemoire Fashion, and Teletron, one of the fastest-growing electronics stores in the Asian-American Community. They also have restaurants like Ok Cafe, Phoenix Food Boutique, and Street Churros.

Monterey Park Village

Located at 2345 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA 91754, this 40,000-foot shopping center is home to Togo Eatery, Staples, Pizza Hut, and Walgreens, among other stores that serve residents on South Atlantic Boulevard.

Garvey Ranch Observatory

Located at 781 S Orange Ave, Monterey Park, CA 91755, the Observatory in Garvey Ranch Park has an 8-inch refractor telescope and is open to the public and membership on Wednesday nights from 7:30 pm to 10 pm.

Monterey Park Historical Museum

Located at 781 S Orange Ave, Monterey Park, CA 91755, the historical museum is the former home of Richard Garvey and houses many historical pieces related to Monterey Park.

Monterey Park Mall

Located at 428 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA 91754, this shopping center is anchored by LA Fitness.

Vincent Price Art Museum

Located at 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park, CA 91754, and named after the actor who donated his personal art collection. The museum is open Wednesday to Saturday from 12 pm to 4 pm.

Notable People

Monterey Park, over the years, has given the world an eclectic array of professionals in a wide range of cultural and occupational disciplines.

While far from definitive, let’s take a brief look at some of the most notable individuals from Monterey Park in a few highly visible fields.

Entertainment

Enrique Torres
William Hung
Roberta Shore

Athletes

Walter Sarnoi Oupathana
Dan Haren
Saladin McCullough
Vania King

Politicians

Joyce Alene White Vance
Esther Salas
Betty Tom Chu
Michael Woo
Judy Chu

Fun Facts

The Shoshone Indians were the original inhabitants of Monterey Park.
In the 1800s, Monterey Park was a part of the Mission San Gabriel Archangel and, later, the Rancho San Antonio.
The area finally became its own when Alessandro Repetto bought 5,000 acres of the Rancho.
Garvey Avenue is lined with a number of eateries offering a variety of international cuisines, including Chinese, Mexican, Japanese, and Korean food.
In the 1980s, Monterey Park was called Little Taipei and The Chinese Beverly Hills.
By the 1990s, Monterey Park was the first continental city in the US that had an Asian majority population.
Money Magazine recognized Monterey Park as one of “America’s Best Places to Live” in 2017.
The Gotham vs. Metropolis football game in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) was filmed in Monterey Park at East Los Angeles College.

FAQs

Is Monterey Park, CA, safe?

While Monterey Park is a wonderful community and offers many wonderful amenities to residents, unfortunately Monterey Park is not the safest area in Los Angeles. According to statistics, your chance of being a victim of violent crime in Monterey Park is 1 in 542.

How far is Monterey Park from Los Angeles?

Monterey Park is 8 miles / about 11 minutes from Los Angeles via I-10 E.

What is Monterey Park known for?

What County is Monterey Park in?

Monterey Park is located in Los Angeles County.

How long does it take to drive from San Francisco to Monterey Park?

If you were to drive from Monterey Park to San Francisco, it would take about 5 hours and 46 minutes. You would travel 388 miles via I-5 S.