It’s often said that Los Angeles is a city of immigrants. Although the same is almost never said of refugees, it should be. Together, immigrants and refugees account for roughly 35% of Angelenos. And while native Angelenos are often discusses as if they’re as rare as rain, California-born Angelenos actually account for about 52% of the population (how many were born elsewhere in the state is harder to determine). The remaining 13% of Angelenos were born within the US but outside of California. They are formally known as internal migrants — although they are more often characterized as “transplants.” And while they make up the smallest of these groups, their impact is large. To put it another way, Los Angeles is emphatically a city of transplants.
✾✾✾
It goes without saying that the City of Los Angeles owes its very existence to transplants — but the peopling of the area began thousands of years earlier. Paleoamericans settled what’s now Southern California at least 13,000 and lived on what’s now the mainland of Los Angeles for at least 11,000 years. Roughly 8,000 years ago, Chumash culture emerged in Southern California. Some 4,500 or so years later, the Uto-Aztecan language-speaking ʔívil̃uqaletem, Maarrênga’yam, Taaqtam, Tataviam, Tongva, Yuhaaviatam migrated into the region from Sonoran Desert to the east. In 1542, the Spanish sailed up the Pacific Coast and claimed all that they say for their empire — but it wasn’t until the 18th century that they actually began colonizing Alta California.
In 1781, four Spanish solidiers and two Catholic priests accompanied 44 pobladores to the vicinity of the Tongva village of Yaangna, where they founded El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles. They came from elsewhere in Nueva España. They were, for all all intents and purposes, transplants from Sinaloa and Sonora. But it was not just the foundation of the city which we owe to transplants – it was also its development. It was a transplant, after all who built the first railroad. It was a transplant who first struck oil. It was transplants who launched the town’s first and most important newspapers. .It was a transplant who founded the city’s first film studio. It was transplants who wrote the foundational texts. And it transplants who fueled the first real estate boom that transformed the dusty backwater pueblo into a nascent metropolis. From the 1910s until the 1970s, transplants regularly got together to to honor their roots and culture with State Society Picnics.
Transplants have been responsible for many of our cultural institutions. Without transplants, there’d be no Autry, no Disneyland, no Getty, no Hollywood Bowl, no Huntington Gardens, no Music Center, no LACMA, and no MOCA. Transplants have designed and constructed many of our most iconic architectural treasures. Without transplants there’d be no Bradbury Building, no Eames House, no Greene and Greenes, no Griffith Observatory, and no Hollyhock House. Transplants have founded many of our most beloved restaurants, too. Without transplants there’d be no Canter’s, no Fatburger, no Helms Bakery, no In-N-Out Burger, no McDonald’s, no Musso & Frank, no Roscoe’s and no Original Tommy’s. Our biggest sports teams are transplants. The Dodgers, Lakers, Rams, and Clippers all migrated here from other states. Many of our most well-known communities were founded by transplants. Without them there’d be no Beverly Hills, Burbank, Hollywood, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Glendale, or Venice.
Even our “natural” environment is largely characterized by the present of transplants. The Algerian ivy, American sweetgum, Argentine ant, Asian citrus psyllid, black bear, blue gum eucalyptus, blue-crowned conure, box elder, brown-headed cowbird, brown widow spider, bunya-bunya, Canary Island date palm, Chinese mitten crab, Chinese windmill palm, date palm, Deodar cedar, domestic cat, eastern fox squirrel, eastern redbud, Egyptian goose, English ivy, Eurasian collared dove, European fan palm, European green crab, European starling, fountain grass, giant reed, Himalayan blackberry, house sparrow, iceplant, Indian peafowl, Indian ringneck parakeet, jade, Japanese white-eye, Kentia palm, king palm, lilac-crowned parrot, Mexican fan palm, mitred conure, muscovy duck, mute swan, nanday parakeet, northern red bishop, nutria, olive trees, orange-cheeked waxbill, pencil cactus, periwinkle, pygmy date palm, pindo palm, pin-tailed whydah, quagga mussel, queen palm, red gum eucalyptus, red-eared slider, red-masked parakeet, rock dove, roof rat, rose-ringed parakeet, scaly-breasted munia, tree-of-heaven, tulip tree, Virginia opossum, yellow starthistle, yellow-chevroned parakeet, zebra mussel.– all common within Los Angeles — are also all transplants.
To paraphrase a famous transplant from East Harlem – “It wouldn’t be Los Angeles without transplants.“
We rightfully celebrate the fact that Metro Los Angeles is home to the largest communities (outside of their home countries) of Armenians, Belizeans, Cambodians, Filipinos, Guatemalans, Iranians, Koreans, Mexicans, Salvadorans, Taiwanese, Thai, and Vietnamese. We celebrate the fact that, within the US, Los Angeles is home to the largest populations of Australians, Canadians, English, Indonesians, and Mongolians. It’s worth celebrating, with the same spirit, the fact that California (and in most cases, Los Angeles) is also has the largest communities outside of their respective home states of Alaskans, Arizonans, Chamorros, Coloradans,, Hawaiians, Minnesotans, Mississippians, Nevadans, New Mexicans, Samoans, Utahns, and Washingtonians. Californians, too, migrate. Texas is the number one destination for transplants from California and Mexico is home to the largest community of immigrants from California. Finally, let’s remember to acknowledge that every single person living in Los Angeles today is either themself from somewhere else — or descended from someone who was. “I guess it ain’t where you’re from, it’s where you’re at,”
So let’s now celebrate all of the great states, territories, commonwealths, and districts of this country; their unique histories and innovations; and their peoples’ invaluable contributions to the identity and culture of Los Angeles. Maybe we’ll never see another state society picnic — but it could be fun to throw a state day party — so party on!
✾✾✾
ALABAMA – 14 DECEMBER (ALABAMA DAY)
Alabama is a state in the Deep South with cultural roots in the British Isles and West Africa. Its nicknames include the Yellowhammer State, the Heart of Dixie, and the Cotton State. It hosts the oldest Mardi Gras in the US. Alabama is one of the wettest states in the US. It’s the birthplace of airbags and klaxon horns.
Musically, Alabama is known for the Muscle Shoals sound. Musicians Lionel Richie and Nat King Cole were born in Alabama and later moved to Los Angeles. Culinarily, Alabama is the birthplace of Birmingham-style hot dogs, chicken and white BBQ sauce, Conecuh Sausage, fried crab claws, Golden Flake potato chips, lane cakes, and West Indies Salad. Beyond these facts, Alabama’s influence extends to Los Angeles through several prominent transplants.
While Georgia hosts the largest population of Alabamians outside of Alabama, Los Angeles is notably home to prominent Alabamian-Angelenos including Courtney Cox, J.L. Edmonds, James H. Garrott, Jim Nabors, Katherine Jackson, Kerry James Marshall, Mae Jemison, Michael Biehn, Octavia Spencer, Tallulah Bankhead, and Whitmer Thomas. Chapman Woods is named after Alabamian Angeleno real estate attorney and investor Alfred Beck Chapman. On a couple of occasions, Los Angeles has played Alabama in Hollywood. Hart of Dixie (2011–2015), set in the fictional Bluebell, Alabama, was mostly filmed in Burbank. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) was filmed in Universal City.
Alabama became a state on 14 December 1819. Since 1903, 14 December has been celebrated as Alabama Day.
ALASKA – 18 OCTOBER (ALASKA DAY)
Although sometimes characterized as a region unto itself, Alaska is a state in the Pacific Northwest. IT has cultural roots in Yup’ik, Tlingit, Haida, Russian, and German cultures. Alaska’s Yup’ik people are the largest single Alaska Native group in the state. It is the largest state in the US — larger in area than the smallest 28 states and territories combined – yet it is also the most sparsely populated by humans. Alaska also has more coastline than all other states combined. It is the furthest north part of the US and shares a maritime border with Chukotka. Its nickname is “the Last Frontier.” Its tallest peak, Denali, is also the tallest in North America.
California is home to more Alaskans than any state outside of Alaska. Homer, Alaska-born musician, Jewel, lived in her car in San Diego before relocating to Los Angeles. While, culinarily, Alaskan cuisine is more often associated with traditional foods like Akutaq and caribou sausage, it was in Alaska that ranch dressing was born in the 1950s, created by a plumber from Nebraska named Steven Hanson. Buoyed by its success, Hanson retired from plumbing and moved to Santa Barbara County where he founded Hidden Valley Ranch in 1956. Los Angeles was the filming location for The Alaskans (1959–1960), sometimes regarded as the worst American television series of all time, was filmed in a studio in Burbank.
Alaska became an American department in 1867, when the US purchased Russian America for $7.2 million. Alaska only became a state on 3 January 1959. Alaska Day is celebrated on 18 October, marking the day ownership was transferred from Russia to the US.
AMERICAN SAMOA – 17 APRIL (AMERICAN SAMOA FLAG DAY)
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States. Its culture is primarily Polynesian – mostly Samoan – but there are also significant populations of Tongans and Filipinos, too. The Samoan way of life is known as “Fa’a Samoa.” It is the southernmost territory in the United States and neighbors Samoa, which was granted independence in 1962. It is also the smallest continuously-inhabited US territory.
Signature dishes include Palusami, Oka I’a, Sapasui, Fa’alifu Taro, Pani Popo, and Keke Pua’a. Beyond the territory itself, American Samoan culture has a strong presence in Los Angeles. Local Samoan restaurants include OCI Polynesian Store, Park Avenue Restaurant Polynesian and Mexican Store, Poly Grill & Bakery, and Poasa Imports Samoan Market.
The state with the largest population of American Samoans is California. Prominent American Samoan Angelenos include Mike Iupati. Movies about Samoan-Angelenos include Vaitafe: Running Water (1981 and The Last Matai (2016). The film, On the Isle of Samoa (1950), was partly filmed at the Los Angeles County Arboretum.
There is a Samoa Avenue in the Tujunga neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was formerly known as San Ysidro Road but, after Tujunga was annexed by Los Angeles in 1932, its name had to be changed since there was already a San Ysidro Drive in Benedict Canyon. “Samoa” was probably chosen only because it began with the same two letters.
American Samoa Flag Day is celebrated on 17 April to commemorate the beginning of the US’s occupation in 1900. 125 years later, American Samoans are “nationals” rather than citizens, meaning, essentially, that they pay taxes to the US but are limited to representation by a non-voting delegate in the US House of Representatives.
ARIZONA
Arizona is a state in the Southwest with a Mexican American plurality. It’s also home to the largest population of Diné (Navajo) in the nation. It’s also home to the country’s largest canyon, the Grand Canyon. It is generally regarded as the sunniest state in the country, too. During the Second World War, the majority of the 13,000 Americans incarcerated at Arizona’s Gila River War Relocation Center concentration camp were from Los Angeles.
Arizona is the birthplace of the Best Western. Culinarily, it’s known for dishes like Sonoran hot dogs, Navajo fry bread, and prickly pear-flavored treats. The chimichanga – a deep-fried burrito – was born in Tucson in the 1920s. Arizona also gave us the American-Chinese chain and airport staple, P. F. Chang’s.
Musically, Arizona is noteworthy for having been the birthplace of The Alice Cooper Band, Chester Bennington, Dolan Ellis, Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, and Charles Mingus – all of whom became Angelenos later. Mingus was born near Nogales and moved to Watts in the 1940s where he established himself as a vital force in West Coast Jazz. A week after his death, Mingus Drive was named, presumably in his honor, in Westlake Village. There are also several streets named Arizona Avenue on the Westside. Temple was renamed Temple City to avoid confusion with Tempe.
California is home to the largest population of Arizonans outside of Arizona. Arizonan-Angelenos gathered for Arizona State Picnics from the 1930 until at least as late as 1973. Calzona Street, in Boyle Heights, is a portmanteau of “California” and “Arizona.” Prominent Arizonan Angelenos include Andy Devine, Barbara Eden, Cesar Chavez, Gottmik, Hailey Bieber, Jack Elam, and Kate Godfrey. Los Angeles has played Arizona in Hollywood more than once, including: The Grifters (1990), Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997), and Twilight (2008) (all of the Arizona scenes of which were filmed in Santa Clarita). In Bad Santa (2003), West Hills portrays Arizona.
Arizona became a state on 14 February 1912. Arizona has no official state day.
ARKANSAS
Arkansas is a state in the Upper South with significant cultural roots in the British Isles and Germany. It’s also home to the largest population of Marshallese in the country. It is home to the Boston Mountains. Arkansas is the country’s biggest source of bauxite (the raw material for aluminum) and the world’s biggest producer of bromine (used in pesticides and flame retardants). Arkansas gave the world Walmart and elected the first woman to US senate, Hattie Caraway, in 1932.
Mountain Valley Spring Water and Tyson Foods are both from Arkansas. The Rice Belt goes through Arkansas and Arkansas leads the country in rice production. Although California leads the US in sake breweries, specialized sake varieties like Yamada Nishiki are grown in Arkansas and in 2023, Origami Sake chose Hot Springs as its base of operations. This is rather poingant given Arkansas’s historical associations with Japan were dominated by it’s hosting the Rohwer War Relocation Center, a Second World War era Japanese concentration camp that housed much of Los Angeles’s Japanese population.
Arkansas is also known for its spinach. The town of Alma produces most of the country’s supply. Arkansas’s other culinary contributions include the invention of cheese dip and fried pickles. Arkansas is also the only state with an official State Cooking Vessel: the Dutch oven.
The largest population of Arkansans outside of Arkansas live in Texas. Famous Arkansan Angelenos include Billy Bob Thornton, Gil Gerard, Glen Campbell, Hillery and Rosa Broadus, Johnny Cash, Kaycee Moore, Kenneth Johnson, Mary Steenburgen, Ne-Yo, Rodger Bumpass, Rudy Ray Moore, and Symone. There are several streets in Los Angeles named after Arkansanians including Guess Street (after John Guess), Shader Drive ( after Carl Francis Shader), Tweedy Lane (after James Jackson Tweedy). There’s also an Arkansas Street in Southeast Los Angeles.
Arkansas became a state on 15 June 1836. There is no official Arkansas Day.
COLORADO – 1 AUGUST (COLORADO DAY)
Colorado is a state that straddles the Plains and the Mountain West with roots in the cultures of Germany, Ireland, and England. It has the highest average altitude of any US state. It is home to 58 of the country’s 91 mountain peaks that rise over 14,000 feet (4267 meters) – the so-called “fourteeners.” Colorado’s Eisenhower Tunnel is the highest vehicular tunnel in the world. Colorado has the tallest sand dunes in the US: The Great Sand Dunes National Park and the largest natural hot springs.
Colorado gave Southern California and the world Re/Max and the divisive foam clogs brand, Crocs. Culinarily, Colorado gave us Chipotle, Coors (aka “Colorado Kool-Aid”), Jolly Rancher, Qdoba, Rocky Mountain Oysters, and the root beer float. Colorado was also the first state to license a recreational cannabis dispensary.
Musically, Colorado has given us a lot of jam bands. Whilst not a jam band, OneRepublic were formed in Colorado and later relocated to Los Angeles. Perhaps the best-known patriotic “jam” with roots in Colorado is “America the Beautiful,” which began as a poem written by Katherine Lee Bates after she was inspired by the view from Pikes Peak.
California is home to more Coloradans than any state outside of Colorado. Prominent Coloradan-Angelenos include Bill Baldwin, Chauncey Billips, David Fincher, Denver Pyle, Douglas Fairbanks, Hannah R. Hall, and Tim Allen. One of the most celebrated Coloradan-Angelenos is Carey McWilliams, who wrote the seminal Southern California: An Island on the Land in 1946. Another, John Fante, who moved to Los Angeles in 1929 and wrote important Los Angeles-set works like The Road to Los Angeles (c. 1936), Ask the Dust (1939), and Dreams from Bunker Hill (1982).
Coloradan-Angelenos organized Colorado State Picnics in Los Angeles from the 1910s until at least 1977. There are several Los Angeles places with names derived from Colorado. There’s a Denver Avenue in Southeast Los Angeles and Long Beach’s Upper Westside. Of course, Colorado Boulevard is one of the most prominent streets in Pasadena (and becomes Colorado Street in Glendale) – but there’s also a Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach. There’s also a short spur of the Colorado Freeway in Los Angeles. Schuyler Road, in Beverly Hills, is named after Colorado Springs-born Walter Farnan Schulyer).
Hollywood has used Los Angeles to play in numerous films and television series Mork & Mindy (1978–1982), Dynasty (1981–1989), The Grifters (1990), Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993–1998), The Big Lebowski (1998). Community (2009–2015), and Good Luck Charlie (2010–2014).
Colorado became a state on 1 August 1876. The first Colorado Day was organized by the Sons of Colorado in 1907. It originally took place on 1 August. In 1967, it was moved to the first Monday in August when many federal holidays were moving to Mondays in order to create three-day weekends.
CONNECTICUT
Connecticut is a state in New England famous, among other things, for its large concentration of major insurance companies.The primary ethnicities of Connecticuters are Italian, Irish, and English. It also has the highest percentage of Puerto Ricans outside of Puerto Rico. Its nicknames include “the Land of Steady Habits,” “the Provisions State,” “the Constitution State,” and “the Nutmeg State.” Hartford’s newspaper, The Hartford Courant, is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the nation, having been founded in 1764. Connecticut gave the world the helicopter, the telephone book, Timex watches, and the Frisbee.
The Ovation Guitar company was founded in Connecticut. Several prominent musical acts and musicians that were founded in Connecticut later relocated to Los Angeles including Ben Goldwasser (MGMT), The Carpenters, John Mayer, and Vinnie Vincent (KISS). Cuisine-wise, Connecticut gave the world grinders, hot lobster rolls, the lollipop, the steamed hamburger, white clam pizza, and the submarine sandwich chain, Subway. Girl & the Goat, in the Arts District, is run by Stamford native chef, Stephanie Izard.
Florida is home to the largest population of Connecticuters (or Nutmeggers) outside of Connecticut. Prominent Connecticuter-Angelenos include Alexandra Breckenridge, Anthony Tyler Quinn, Ernest Borgnine, James Van Der Beek, Jesse Bradford, John Huggins, Jonathan Brandis, Leo Tover, Madeline Zima, Seth MacFarlane, and Titus Welliver. There are several places in Los Angeles with nominal ties to Connecticut. The San Gabriel Valley community of Charter Oak is named in honor of the famous Charter Oak in Hartford. There’s a Connecticut Street in Westlake. Streets and places named after Connecticuter-Angelenos Eaton Canyon (Benjamin S. Eaton), Pinney Street (Dr. Elbert Pinney), and Warner Drive (Jonathan Trumbull Warner). Los Angeles played Connecticut in Christmas in Connecticut (1945), Bewitched (1964–1972), and Gilmore Girls (2000–2007).
Connecticut became a state on 9 January 1788. There is no official Connecticut Day.
DELAWARE – 7 DECEMBER (DELAWARE DAY)
Delaware is a state that is located at the nexus of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Old South that is known for its cozy relationship with corporations. One of Delaware’s homegrown companies, the multinational chemical company, DuPont, gave the world Nylon, Kevlar, Neoprene, and Teflon. With only three counties (Castle, Kent, and Sussex), it has the fewest of any state. Delaware has the lowest mean elevation of any state.Delaware gave the nic-o-boli, and slippery dumplings.
Delawareans are largely of Irish, German, and West African ancestry. Maryland is the state with the greatest number of Delawareans outside of Delaware. Prominent Delawarean-Angelenos include Aubrey Plaza, Bill Marsilii, Elisabeth Shue, Estelle Taylor, Judge Reinhold, Ti West, and Valerie Bertinelli. Places and streets in Los Angeles named after Delawarean-Angelenos include Banning Boulevard (Phineas Banning). Banning named the community of Wilmington, in the Harbor, after his birthplace. It was annexed by Los Angeles in 1909. There’s a Delaware Avenue in Eagle Rock and a Delaware Road in Burbank. In Fight Club (1999), Los Angeles played Wilmington, Delaware.
Delaware was the first state to ratify the US Constitution and became a state on 7 December 1787, earning it the nickname, “the First State.” 7 December has been officially observed as Delaware Day since 1933.
FLORIDA – 2 APRIL (PASCUA FLORIDA DAY)
Florida is a state that straddles the South and Caribbean cultural regions. Florida is known for its sizable Latino populations, which include Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Haitians, Brazilians, Colombians, Venezuelans (all of which are the largest in the US outside of their respective homelands). Floridians’ primary ethnicities, though, are German, Irish, and English. It’s the only state to border both the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. It’s also the only state where alligators and crocodiles coexist in the same ecosystem. It is very flat and has the lowest highest point of any state – 105 meters above sea level.
Restaurant chains founded in Florida include Burger King, Hooters, Red Lobster, Outback Steakhouse, and Yardbird Table & Bar. The Boca Burger was created in and named after Boca Raton. Florida is also the birthplace of concentrated orange juice and Gatorade. Wally Amos, who founded Famous Amos Cookies in Los Angeles in 1975, was from Tallahassee. Other Floridian culinary inventions include Key lime pie. El Floridita, in Central Hollywood, is a Cuban restaurant that opened in 1987. There’s also Florida Restaurant in Downey.
Florida gave us some of the best known Southern Rock bands: Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, and Molly Hatchet. Florida also gave us Death Metal. Although Bass music is strongly associated with Miami and Orlando, Florida-loved bass pioneers DJ Joe Cooley is from Compton and Rodney O is from Riverside. DJ Mr. Mixx and Fresh Kid Ice founded 2 Live Crew in Riverside, too, before relocating to Florida. Los Angeles-associated musicians Ariana Grande, Jim Morrison, and Tom Petty were also all born in Florida.
Georgia is home to the largest population of Floridians outside of Florida. Floridian-Angelenos, though, include Anya Taylor-Joy, Ariana Grande, Bella Thorne, Carla Gugino, Catherine Keener. Debbie Harry, Detox, Eva Mendes, Faye Dunaway, Jazz Jennings, Maya Rudolph, Miriam Matthews, Norman Reedus, Ricou Browning, Sidney Poitier, and Wesley Snipes.
There’s a Florida Street in the Franklin neighborhood of Long Beach and a Florida Circle in Costa Mesa. Los Angeles played Florida in I Dream of Jeannie (1965–1970), Scarface (1983), The Golden Girls (1985–1992), CSI: Miami (2002–2012), Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005), Dexter (2006–2013), Fresh Off the Boat (2015–2020), Griselda (2024), and Palm Royale (2024).
Florida became a state on 3 March 1845. Florida doesn’t have an official Florida Day but Pascua Florida Day is celebrated on 2 April, marking the day Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de León, landed in Timucua country. He later sailed to Calusa country, and they killed him when he tried to establish a colony he named Florida.
GEORGIA – 12 FEBRUARY (GEORGIA DAY)
Georgia is a state that’s part of both the Old South and Deep South. Georgians are mostly of West African, English, or Irish ancestry. Wesleyan College, founded in 1836 as the Georgia Female College, was the first college in the world to grant degrees to women. Okefenokee Swamp, located mostly in Georgia, is the largest blackwater swamp in the US. Georgia leads the nation in the production of timber, peanuts, and pecans (but not peaches. That would be California). It’s also the birthplace of Home Depot, CNN, and Delta.
Culinarily speaking, Georgia gave the world peach French toast, Vidalia onions, and waffle irons. Georgia is also the birthplace of Applebees (originally a fern bar chain called T.J. Applebee’s Rx for Edibles & Elixirs), Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola, H.W. Lay & Company (Lay’s), lemon pepper wet wings, RC Cola, and Waffle House. Musically speaking, Georgia gave the world Piedmont blues and crunk. Musicians from Georgia who later became Angelenos include Janelle Monáe, Jason Aldean, Kanye West, Lil Nas X, Little Richard, Otis Redding, Playboi Carti, Ray Charles, and Robert Cray.
Either Florida or Texas is home to more Georgians than any other state – but in addition to the aforementioned Georgian-Angeleno musicians, other prominent Georgian-Angleenos include Blake Clark, Chris Tucker, Dakota and Elle Fanning, DeForest Kelley, Holly Hunter, Jackie Robinson, John C. Fremont, Julia Roberts, Kim Basinger, Laurence Fishburne, Nikki DeLoach, Oliver Hardy, Robert Patrick, and Sterling Holloway.
There is a Georgia Street in Los Angeles – but it’s named after Georgia Herrick Bell – not the state. Places actually named after Georgians include the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Jackie Robinson Park, and Rives Avenue (Judge James Christopher Rives). Los Angeles played Georgia in Gone with the Wind (1939), The Dukes of Hazzard (1979–1985), Matlock (1986–1995), and Designing Women (1986–1993).
Georgia became a state on 2 January 1788. There is no official Georgia Day but 12 February has traditionally been observed as Georgia Day because it marks the landing of James Oglethorpe and the first colonists in Yamacraw country, whose inhabitants granted the colonists permission to found the Georgia Colony.
GUAM – 3 MARCH (GUAM HISTORY & CHAMORRO HERITAGE DAY)
Guam is the southernmost island in the Mariana Islands that was settled by Micronesian Chamorro people some 4,000 years ago. Today, there are nearly as many Filipinos as Chamorros on the island. Guam is, notably, the furthest west point in the US – so far west, in fact, that it’s on the other side of the International Date Line, meaning it’s also the furthest east – the basis of its slogan “Where America’s Day Begins.” Guam is also notable for having a higher rate of enlistment in the US armed forces than any other state or territory.
Signature Guamanian Chamorro dishes include hineska’ agaga, kelaguen, fina’denne’, kådu, Chamorro barbecue, and tityas. Chamorro restaurants in Metro Los Angeles and Southern California include Chamorro Grill, Guahan Grill, JJ’s Island Grindz, and Månnge Town Cafe.
Southern California, especially San Diego, is likely home to the largest community of Guamanian Chamorros outside of the island (Hawaii is another contender). Prominent Guamanian-Angelenos include Pia Mia Perez and Q. Allan Brocka.
The US acquired Guam from Spain in a bloodless invasion on 21 June 1898. In 1969, Guamanian voters rejected an attempt to reunify them with the Northern Mariana Islands. As a result, Guam remains neither a state nor commonwealth – just an unincorporated organized territory. There is, therefore, no Guam Day but 3 March is observed as Guam History & Chamorro Heritage Day.
HAWAII – THIRD FRIDAY OF AUGUST (STATEHOOD DAY) OR 28 NOVEMBER (HAWAIIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY)
Hawaii is located at the northernmost point of the Polynesian Triangle. Its people are primarily Filipino, Native Hawaiian, Japanese, or Chinese. Honolulu is home, in fact, to the largest Japanese population in the US – and, outside of Japan, is second only to São Paulo. It is the most isolated populated landmass on Earth. It is home to the tallest mountain on Earth (Mauna Kea). It is the only US state with active volcanos. Hawaii is highly diverse; It has the largest proportion of multiracial people and is the only state with an Asian plurality. Hawaiians have the longest life expectancy of any Americans. It is also the only state with two official languages: English and the critically endangered Hawaiian.
The steel guitar was invented in Hawaii in the 19th century and adopted by Bakersfield country and Los Angeles western swing musicians and later, surf rock bands. Aloha shirts were invented by Japanese Hawaiians in the 1920s and became a staple, along with surfing, and tiki culture, of mid-20th century Southern California. One of the oldest Hawaiian-indebted tiki bars is Torrance’s Hale Hawaii. Hawaiian-born musicians Bruno Mars, Bette Midler, Jack Johnson, and Nicole Scherzinger all moved to Los Angeles at some point.
The popular King’s Hawaiian brand was founded in Hawaii and moved to Torrance in the 1970s. Other Hawaiian culinary contributions include haupia, Kalua pig, Kona coffee, loco moco, malasadas, poké, saimin, shave ice, and spam musubi. There are at least two locally prominent Hawaiian fast food chains. L&L Hawaiian Barbecue was founded in Hawaii. Ono Hawaiian BBQ was founded in California.
Los Angeles is home to the largest number of Hawaiians outside of Hawaii. Prominent Hawaiian Angelenos include Al Kikume, Clyde Kusatsu, Don Stroud, Duke Kahanamoku, Erin Gray, Kaliko Kauahi, Keiko Agena, Kelly Hu, Kelly Preston, James Shigeta, Janel Parrish, Jason Momoa, Maggie Q, Maki Hako, Matthew Sato, Richard Loo, Shannyn Sossamon, Taylor Wily, Tia Carrere, Timothy Olyphant, and Toru Tanaka.
Place names in Los Angeles that evoke Hawaii or honor Hawaiian-Angelenos include Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Street, Hawaiian Gardens (the smallest city in Los Angeles County), Aloha Street, Honolulu Avenue, Kinneloa Mesa, Makee Avenue (named after the Makee Sugar Company), and Mauna Loa Avenue, and Punahou Street. Hawaii was portrayed by Los Angeles in films and series including Hawaiian Eye (1959–1963), The Byrds of Paradise (1994) and Pearl Harbor (2001). Westlake Village was created by the American-Hawaiian Land Company in 1966.
Of the US’s fiver permanently-inhabited island territories, Hawaii is the only one that has so far granted statehood, which it was on 21 August 1959. Statehood Day is observed on the third Friday in August. Hawaii’s status as a state isn’t universally celebrated by Hawaii since it was an independent nation that was overthrown by a US-supported coup in 1893. When Hawaiians tried to resist, the armed provisional government violently suppressed the rebellion and imprisoned Queen Liliʻuokalani. The US, after an investigation, even admitted that it had committed an “act of war” and formally apologized for the invation and coup in 1993. Lā Kūʻokoʻa (Hawaiian Independence Day) is celebrated on 28 November, marking the recognition of Hawaiʻi’s independence in 1843.
IDAHO – 4 MARCH (IDAHO DAY)
Idaho is a state in the Mountain West that is occasionally included within the Pacific Northwest region. Its people, Idahoans, are primarily German, English, or of Irish ancestry. It was likely the birthplace of Sacagawea, when it was Akaitikka country. It is also home to the largest Basque population in the US. It’s home to the greatest number of usable hot springs. It is the birthplace of the ski lift and was the first state with a state seal designed by a woman (Emma Edwards Green in 1891).
Idaho is widely known for its potatoes, which can be boiled, mashed, or stuck in a stew. Idaho produces roughly 30% of potatoes in the US. Signature Idahoan dishes include finger steaks and ice cream potatoes. Idaho is the birthplace of the grocery store chain, Albertsons.
The greatest population of Idahoans outside of Idaho can be found in Washington. 1960s hitmakers, Paul Revere & the Raiders, were formed in Boise and relocated to Los Angeles in 1965.. Prominent Idahoan-Angelenos include Aaron Paul, Bayley Corman, Bryan Fuller, Kimberlee Peterson, Kristine Sutherland, Lana Turner, Marjorie Reynolds, Roger Torry, Sherry Jackson, and Slim Gaut. Coeur d’Alene Avenue, in Venice, is named after Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Santa Monica is also home to Idaho Avenue.
Idaho became a state on 3 July 1890. Because of the date, it’s inevitably overshadowed by the 4th of July; therefore, most celebrants favor 4 March – Idaho Day – the date in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill establishing the Idaho Territory.
ILLINOIS
Illinois is a state in the Midwest (although Little Egypt is sometimes considered part of the Upper South). Illinoisans are mostly German, West African, or Irish. It has, historically, had the nation’s largest Polish community (although it’s possible that that distinction is now claimed by New York). It is the nation’s largest generator of nuclear energy and the top producer of pumpkins. Illinois is also the birthplace of the television remote control, and spray paint.
Illinois is the birthplace of Chicago Blues, Chicago Jazz, and house music. All of the original members of quintessential Los Angeles punk band, X (except for the drummer) were born in Illinois. Billy Corgan, Chicago, DJ Douggpound, Howard Keel, Jeff Parker, Lou Rawls, Ludacris, Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, and Ray Manzarek were all born in Illinois and moved to Los Angeles.
Illinois is the birthplace of the brownie, the Chicago mix, Chicago-style hot dog, Chicago-style gyro, Chicago-style pizza, the Chicago-style tamale, Chicken Vesuvio, cozy dogs, Cracker Jack, Dippin’ Dots, Ferrara Pan, Flaming saganaki, Horseshoe sandwiches, Kraft Foods, Oscar Mayer, the malted milkshake, the rainbow cone, and twinkies. Chicagoan-Angleno restaurants include Gino’s East of Chicago, Masa, and Portillo’s.
Florida (or possibly Arizona) is home to more Illinoisans than any state outside of Illinois. Prominent Illinoisans who moved to Los Angeles include Barack Obama, Betty White, Bruce Dern, Carl Maston, Charles White, Charlton Heston, Chloe Bennet, Colleen Moore, Daryl Hannah, Dorothy Chandler, Frank Lloyd Wright Jr., Harrison Ford, John Belushi, June Wayne, Karl Benjamin, Kim Novak, Melissa McCarthy, Michael Peña, Raquel Welch, Richard Pryor, Raymond Chandler, Robin Williams, Rock Hudson, Ronald Reagan, Sam J. Jones, Thom Andersen, Tim O’Connor, Walt Disney, and William Pereira.
Los Angeles played Illinois in Joanie Loves Chachi (1982-1983), Pretty in Pink (1986), Perfect Strangers (1986-1993), Family Matters (1989-1997), Wayne’s World (1992), and Shameless (2011–2021). Wild Bill Hickock, born in Illinois and later of Kansas, was the subject of several Hollywood films shot in Los Angeles including The Plainsman (1936), I Killed Wild Bill Hickok (1956), Wild Bill (1995), and Hickok (2017). Old West character, Wyatt Earp, actually moved to and died in Los Angeles.
There are several places in Los Angeles named in reference to Illinois, including the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Winnetka and Hollywood, named after an estate in Brookfield. Hazard Park (and by extension, Big Hazard), is named after Illinois-born mayor, Henry Thomas Hazard. Mandeville Canyon is named after Illinoisan-Angeleno Guy C. Manville. The Torrance neighborhood of Walteria is named after Illinois-born Captain A. Richard Walters. The Hollywood neighborhood of Spaulding Square is named after Illinois-born architect Albert Starr Spaulding,
There are a lot of streets named after Illinoisan-Angelenos, including Ada Avenue (Ada Louisa Bradley), Atwood Boulevard (Marshall Wesley Atwood), Bestor Boulevard (Arthur Eugene Bestor), Bradbury Road (Ralph Bradbury Butterfield), Butterfield Road (Edith Butterfield Sheldon), Colden Avenue (Charles J. Colden), Davenport Road (John Dryden Davenport), Duncan Avenue (James Oliver Duncan), Edloft Avenue (Edward Michael Loftus), Elmhurst Drive (Elmhurst University), Gay Street (The Gay Family) Hartzell Street (Joseph Crane Hartzell), Highland Avenue (Highland Mary Price), Maude Avenue (Maude Hansen), McClellan Drive (Reuben Frederick McClellan), Morgan Hill Drive (Jeremiah James Morgan), Otis Avenue and Street (Otis Freeman Bell), Parmelee Avenue (Zelotes Larkin Parmelee), Rossmore Avenue (Ida Hancock Ross), Selig Place (William Nicholas Selig), Spaulding Street (Albert Starr Spaulding), Trask Avenue (Walter J. Trask), Tweedy Boulevard (Robert D. Tweedy), Vanderlip Drive (Narcissa Cox Vanderlip), Vose Street (Emily Vose Wright), Wornom Avenue (James Thomas “J.T.” Wornom), and Zook Drive (Omer Law “O.L.” Zook). There’s also Watseka Avenue (named after Watseka, Illinois).
Illinois became a state on 3 December 1818. Some Illinoisans celebrate Illinois’s birthday on that date but there is no official state day.
INDIANA — 11 DECEMBER (INDIANA STATEHOOD DAY)
Indiana is a state in the Middle West. Indianans are mostly of German, English, or Irish backgrounds. It also has the nation’s largest Burmese population, mostly Chin refugees. It’s home to the world’s largest single-day sporting event by attendance, the Indianapolis 500. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is also the highest-capacity sports venue in the world. It is, on a related not, the birthplace of the rearview mirror. It’s also the RV capital of the US and the birthplace of the first, practical gasoline pump. Wabash was the first city to be lit with electric lights. Parke County is the “covered bridge capital of the world.”
Pasadena began its existence as the Indiana Colony in 1874. Monrovia was named after Indiana-born developer William Newton “Daddy” Monroe. Indiana-born citrus magnate and developer William S. Sparr’s Sparr Realty Corporation began operation in 1922 and Sparr’s offices were converted into a streetcar station in order to promote the streetcar suburb of Sparr Heights.
Indiana’s culinary innovations include fried biscuits, the Hoosier Pork tenderloin sandwich, Jiffy Pop, Morningstar Farms, Orville Redenbacher’s Popcorn, persimmon pudding, sliced bacon, the Sugar Cream Pie, tomato juice, Van Camp’s canned beans, and Wonder Bread. Indiana-founded restaurant chains found in Los Angeles include Papa John’s. The Root Glass Company in Indiana invented the famous, contoured Coca-Cola bottle, too. Dorito’s, although invented in California, were invented by Indiana-born Angeleno, Arch West.
Musically, Indiana is known for its jazz, punk, and the label, Vee-Jay Records. Musicians born in Indiana who later moved to Los Angeles included Axl Rose, Babyface, Cole Porter, David Lee Roth, Hoagy Carmichael, Izzy Stradlin, The Jackson 5, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Shannon Hoon, Wes Montgomery, and Willis Kirk.
Los Angeles streets named after Indianan-Angelenos include Alexander Avenue (William Alvin Alexander), Bryson Avenue (Louis Leroy Bryson), Clark Street (Oliver P. Clark), Cory Avenue (Nathan and Gertrude Cory), Davidson Drive (William Milhous Davidson), Gunn Avenue (Smith Reuben Gunn), Hartsook Avenue (Fred Hartsook), Haskell Avenue (Arnold Delbert Haskell), Hines Drive (John Martin Hines), Huston Street (Emma Huston), Killion Street (Richard Miller Killion), Lucas Avenue (John Henry Lucas), Melbourne Avenue (Horace Alrah Bourne), Monon Street (Monon, Indiana), Newlin Avenue (Thomas Elwood Newlin), Rush Street ( Elizabeth “Lizzie” Rush), Scott Avenue (Parmer Milton Scott), Shrode Avenue (David Shaw Shrode), and Stocker Street (Howard Justis Stocker). Indiana Street, in the Eastside, was the original eastern border of the city. There’s also an Indiana Street in Buena Park.
Illinois is the state with the largest population of Indianans outside of Indiana.Prominent Indiana-Angelenos, though, include Anne Baxter, Art LaFleur, Bill Thompson, Carole Lombard, Florence Henderson, James Dean, Katy O’Brian, Lance Stephenson, Phillip Arthur Ranelin, Ray Enright, Ryan Murphy, Robert Wise, Steve McQueen, and Troy Murphy. In television, both Eerie, Indiana and Parks and Recreation were set in Indiana but filmed in Los Angeles.
Indiana became a state on 11 December 1816. Indiana Statehood Day has been formally observed on 11 December since 1916.
IOWA
Iowa is a state in the Midwest with a strongly agricultural character and roots in German, Irish, and English cultures. It is the state with the largest percentage of land devoted to agriculture, in fact, and leads the nation in the production of maize (corn) and its derivative, ethanol. It is the only state with eastern and western borders formed entirely by rivers (the Mississippi and Missouri). Iowa gave the world the modern trampoline.
It also leads the nation in the breeding and the slaughter of hogs. Other culinary contributions include Maid-Rite’s loose meat sandwich, the “Delicious” apple, and Eskimo Pies. Although it’s not an Iowan restaurant, Agnes Restaurant and Cheesery was founded by an Iowan-Angeleno.
Today, Florida is home to the greatest number of Iowans outside of Iowa. There were regular Iowa State Society Picnics in Los Angeles, however, from at least 1910 until the 1970s. Prominent Iowan-Angelenos include Ashton Kutcher, Bob Jellison, Bobby Driscoll, Cloris Leachman, Del Tenney, Donna Reed, Elijah Wood, Eric Brightwell, Frank Tenney Johnson, George Reeves, Harry Langdon, Hope Newell, Jan Eddy, John Wayne, Johnny Carson, Joseph Kosinski, Kate Mulgrew, Kian Lawley, Lara Flynn Boyle, Linnea Quigley, Louise Carver, Michelle Monaghan, Nicholas Downs, Richard Beymer, and Ron Livingston. Musically speaking, Iowa gave the world Andy Williams, Art Farmer, Charlie Haden, Glenn Miller, and the Everly Brothers – all of whom relocated to Los Angeles.
Los Angeles studios portrayed the fictional Iowa town of River City in The Music Man but, for whatever reason, Hollywood seems to usually film on location when movies are set there (e.g. The Bridges of Madison County, Field of Dreams, and The Straight Story. Cedar Rapids was filmed in Michigan). One of Iowa’s most famous sons, William F. Cody, was nicknamed Buffalo Bill for, by his own admission, having slaughtered over 4,000 bison in eighteen months, in part to help the government subjugate indigenous people who relied on them. He later expressed regret for having contributed to their near extinction and was the subject, later, of films and television series including Buffalo Bill (1944), Days of Buffalo Bill (1946), abd Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory (1952) were mostly shot in Chatsworth or Malibu.
There are Los Angeles places named after Iowan-Angelenos and places in Iowa, though, including the Tommy Lasorda Field of Dreams, John Wayne Airport, Grinnell Drive, Wapello Street, and Waterloo Street. Of course, Iowa Avenue, on the Westside, is named after Iowa. Same goes for the Iowa Avenue in Pasadena’s Monk’s Hill neighborhood and Iowa Street in Downey. The “Father of Bellflower,” Frank E. Woodruff, was also an Iowan-Angeleno. One of Long Beach’s nicknames is “Iowa by the Sea,” due to its historically huge population of Iowans. In the Southern California heyday of State Society Picnics, Long Beach’s Iowa picnic attracted crowds of up to 150,000 – more than lived in any city in Iowa at that time.
Places and streets named after Iowan-Angelenos include Boyce Avenue (Allen Ellsworth Boyce), Bundy Drive (Charles Leroy Bundy), Clark Street (Eli Payson Clark), Ellison Street (Caleb Heacock Ellison), Emerson Avenue (Willis George Emerson), Forbes Avenue (Clarence Robert Forbes), Gillette Crescent (Walter Arthur Gillette), Gilmore Avenue (Marcia Gilmore), Graceland Way (Grace Farrar), Greene Avenue (Hal Albert Greene), Harwood Street (William Herbert Harwood), Hoover Avenue (Lou Henry Hoover), Keeler Street (Fred Elbridge Keeler), Keith Avenue (Belle Keith Ramage), Leolang Avenue (Leo L. Lang), Maxwellton Road (David and Mary Maxwell), McCarty Drive (George McCarty), McPherrin Avenue (Paul Harris McPherrin), Myrtle Avenue (Myrtle Mignonette Monroe), Nella Vista Avenue (Nella Wilde Mead), Nina Street (Nina Rose Wachtel), Plevka Avenue (Matt and Emma Plevka), Priscilla Lane (Priscilla Lane), Ramona Street (Ramona Inez Bodell), Virginia Road (Virginia E. Crenshaw), Vossler Avenue (Henry August Vossler), Wardlow Road (Robert Bruce Wardlow), Wilcox Avenue (Roy Franklin Wilcox), Willey Lane (James Harley Willey), Woodbury Road (The Woodbury Family), Yeager Place (Charles A. Yeager)
Iowa became a state on 28 December 1846. It is not observed as an official state day, primarily, because it falls on the fourth day of Christmas and is overshadowed.
KANSAS — 29 JANUARY (KANSAS DAY)
Kansas is a Plains state whose people, Kansans, are mostly of German, Irish, or West African backgrounds. The famous frontier town, Dodge City, was founded there in 1872. Kansas is the birthplace of the bumper sticker, Cessna, Coleman, and the multiplex cinema.
Musically speaking, is the birthplace of Charlie Parker, Joe Walsh, Melissa Etheridge, and Stan Kenton – all of whom moved to Los Angeles at points of their lives. Kansas’s contributions to the culinary world include BBQ rib sandwiches, chili and cinnamon rolls, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, the ICEE, Pizza Hut, the Valomilk Candy Cup, and White Castle
The largest community of Kansans outside of Kansas have historically been found in Missouri – but recent data suggests that Arizona or Texas may hold that honor today. Regardless, prominent Kansan-Angelenos include Amelia Earhart, Annette Bening, Buster Keaton, Dennis Hopper, Hattie McDaniel, Hugh Beaumont, Loren Miller, Louise Brooks, Paul Hoy Helms (of Helms Bakeries), and Vivian Vance. Hollywood recreated Kansas for The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Picnic (1955) – and Valencia played Kansas in Critters (1986).
Kansan-Angeleno Earl Loy White founded Magnolia Park in Burbank. Streets named after Kansan-Angelenos include Bynner Drive (Bynner Albert Martin), Duletext Avenue (Samuel Mallison Dudlext), Earhart Avenue (Amelia Earhart), Fairmount Road (Fairmount College), Helen Street (Helen Mordoff Newlin), McLaughlin Avenue (The McLaughlin Family), and Rideout Way (Raymond “Bert” Rideout).
Kansas became a state on 29 January 1861. Kansas Day has been informally observed on 29 January since 1877.
KENTUCKY
Kentucky is a state in the Upper South, the Appalachian culture of which is rooted in the cultures of Germany, Ireland, and West Africa. Kentucky is home to the longest cave system in the world, the longest-running horse race (the Kentucky Derby), and the largest baseball bat in the world (at the Louisville Slugger Museum). Kentucky is the birthplace of Reynolds Wrap.
Musically, Kentucky is celebrated as the birthplace of Bluegrass – which is essentially Hillbilly jazz. It’s also the birthplace of jug band music, which was made possible thanks to the preponderance of bourbon jugs in Louisville. Musicians and musical acts from Kentucky include Cage the Elephant, Dwight Yoakam, the Judds, Les McCann, Rosemary Clooney, and Tinashe – all of whom moved to Los Angeles.
Kentucky’s culinary contributions include Ale-8-One, beer cheese, Benedictine, Bourbon, burgoo, the Derby Pie, the Hot Brown, Jif, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Modjeskas, mutton barbecue, and spoonbread.
Indiana is home to more Kentuckians than any other state. However, Angeneleno Kentuckians include George Clooney, Grace Victoria Cox, Jennifer Lawrence, Johnny Depp, Patricia Neal, and William Conrad. Hollywood has used Los Angeles to portray Kentucky on A Father for Charlie (1995) and Justified (2010–2015). Places in Los Angeles named after people and places in Kentucky include Kentucky Avenue (in Whittier), Bowling Green Way, Barbee Street (Thomas Fry Barbee), Cazador Street (Jesse D. Hunter), Elenda Street (Elenda Young), Moore Drive (Benjamin Davies Moore), Parcels Avenue (Horatio Sutton Parcels), Sanford Avenue (William T.B. Sanford), Sanford Street (Cyrus Sanford Jr.), and Wolfskill Street (John Reid Wolfskill). The Los Angeles County city of Bell was founded by Kentuckian-Angeleno, James George Bell.
Kentucky began a state on 1 June 1792. There is no formally recognized Kentucky Day.
LOUISIANA – 30 APRIL (LOUISIANA DAY)
Louisiana is a state in the Deep South known for its Creole and Cajun cultures with roots in West Africa and France. Louisiana is the only state with a civil law system, parishes rather than counties, and the largest wetland and swamp in the US (the Atchafalaya Basin).
Louisiana is largely known for both Cajun and Creole cuisines. It is the birthplace of Bananas Foster, barbecue shrimp, crawfish étouffée, gumbo, the Hurricane, jambalaya, oysters Rockefeller, muffuletta, pecan pralines, po’ boys, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, the Sazerac, Tabasco sauce, and Zatarain’s. Local restaurants serving Louisiana style dishes include Darrow’s New Orleans Grill, Gumbo Boys, The Gumbo Pot, La Louisanne, The Little Jewel of New Orleans, Mardi Gras Tuesday, and Stevie’s Creole Café. The most established is probably Harold & Belle’s, founded in 1969 by Louisianan-Angelenos Ryan and Jessica Legaux.
Louisiana is the birthplace of jazz, bounce, Cajun music, swamp pop, swamp blues, and zydeco. Brenton Wood, Freddie Keppard, Jelly Roll Morton, Joe Osborn, Louis Armstrong, Lucinda Williams, Nellie Lutcher, and The Original Creole Orchestra were all born or formed in Louisiana and later lived, at some point, in Los Angeles.
Texas is home to more Louisianans than any state outside of Louisiana. Prominent Louisianan-Angelenos, though, include Alprentice “Bunchy” Carter, Carl Weathers, Danneel Ackles, Ellen DeGeneres, Eli Manning, Georgia Ann Robinson, Geronimo Ji-Jaga, Ian Somerhalder, Louis Armstrong, Randy Jackson, Reese Witherspoon, Sir Lady Java, Stan Tookie Williams, Theo Von, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
It was largely migrants from Louisiana (and Texas) who came to Little Tokyo (after the Japanese were imprisoned in concentration camps) and transformed it, for a time, into Bronzeville. Before that, it was largely migrants from Louisiana who came to Jefferson Street Park (now Jefferson Park) and formed the enclave of “Little New Orleans.”
Streets named after Louisianan-Angelenos included Irving Tabor Court (Irving Burns Tabor), Johnnie Cochran Vista (Johnnie Cochran), and Rolland Curtis Place (Rolland Joseph “Speedy” Curtis). Hollywood used Los Angeles to portray Louisiana in King Creole (1958), Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), and Scream Queens (Season 2, 2016).
Louisiana became a state on 30 April 1812. 30 April was formally designated Louisiana Day in 1954.
MAINE – 15 MARCH (STATEHOOD DAY)
Maine is a maritime state in New England with cultural ties to that region as well as French Canada. Its people are primarily of English, Irish, and French backgrounds. Maine is the most forested state; has the oldest median age; and has the highest proportion of people with French, French-Canadian, or Acadian ancestry of any state in the US. Maine is the birthplace of Burt’s Bees, earmuffs, L.L. Bean, and Tom’s of Maine.
Musically, Maine is known for its regional folk, sea shanties, and Shaker spirituals. Culinarily, Maine is known for its blueberries, clam chowder, lobster, maple syrup, Needhams, and the whoopie pie. Luke’s Lobster, which has a location in Santa Monica, was founded by a Mainer. So was Cousins Maine Lobster.
Massachusetts is home to more Mainers than any state outside of Maine. Prominent Mainer-Angelenos include Anna Kendrick, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Judd Nelson, and Patrick Dempsey. Hollywood used Los Angeles to portray Maine in Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996). The posh equestrian community of Bradbury, in the San Gabriel Valley, and the iconic Bradbury Building are both named after Mainer-Angeleno Lewis Leonard Bradbury. Sawtelle was named after Mainer-Angeleno, William Edward Sawtelle. Jotham Bixby, the “Father of Long Beach,” was also from Maine.
Streets named after Mainer-Angelenos include Averill Avenue (George Averill), Corson Street (Joseph Barrett and Flora Ann Corson), Currier Road (Alvan Tyler Currier), Fickett Street (Charles Rice Fickett), Foster Drive (Stephen Clark Foster), Garland Avenue (William May Garland), Gower Street (John Truman Gower), Kittredge Street (Captain Willard Kittredge), Lyons Avenue (Sanford and Cyrus Lyons), Manchester Boulevard (James Somes Manchester), McClellan Drive (Reuben Frederick “McClellan), Sproul Street (Atwood and Gilbert Horace Sproul), Stimson Avenue (Charles Milton Stimson), Treadwell Street (John Bartlett Treadwell), Weymouth Avenue (Harry Lee Weymouth), Whittier Drive (Mericos H. “Max” Whittier).
Maine became a state on 15 March 1820. 15 March was formally designated Statehood Day in 1979.
MARYLAND – 25 MARCH (MARYLAND DAY)
Maryland is a state located at the junction of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Old South. Marylanders are primarily of West African, German, and Irish ancestry. Maryland is situated around Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the US. The state is the birthplace of the gas light and home to the US’s first dental school.
Maryland is known for B’more club music and is the birthplace of Adam Duritz, Alex Somers, Dave Nada, Frank Zappa, and Maggie Rogers – all of whom moved to Los Angeles. Signature Marylander dishes include coddies and Smith Island cakes. Spice brand, McCormick, was also founded in Maryland.
The largest population of Marylanders outside of Maryland live in Virginia. Well known Marylander Angelenos include Anna Faris, Julie Bowen, Jada Pinkett-Smith, James M. Cain, Lex Scott Davis, Michael Ealy, and Penn Badgley. The community of Somerset Farm was founded in 1882 by a Maryland Quaker named John Calvin Sherer. It became a neighborhood of Glendale in 1887. Homewood Road is named after Marylander-Angelena Judith Scott Walter’s Brentwood estate, Homewood.
Los Angeles streets named after places in Maryland or Angelenos from Maryland include Alosta Avenue (Anna Losta Fuller), Avoca Street (Avoca Resolution Manor), Blair Drive (John Hoxie Blair), Boyce Avenue (Allen Ellsworth Boyce), Clark Avenue (William Andrews Clark), Dymond Street (Levi Alphonso “Al” Dymond), Gillette Crescent (Walter Arthur Gillette), Harriet Tubman Way (Harriet Tubman), Hayes Drive (Benjamin Ignatius Hayes), Italia Street (Italia Isabella Cook), Kaufman Avenue (Milton Melvin Kauffman), Mamie Avenue (Mamie Geneva Doud), Ord Street (Edward Otho Cresap Ord), Penmar Avenue (Pen Mar Park), Velma Drive (Velma Blair), and Wiley Post Avenue (Wiley Hardeman Post). Maryland Street, in Westlake, is also presumably named after the state.
Maryland became a state on 28 April 1788. However, Maryland Day commemorates the landing on 25 March 1634 of Cecilius Calvert, the 2nd Baron Baltimore, in Yaocomico country and the beginning of the Maryland Colony.
MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts is a state in New England with a heritage rooted in its beginnings as a Puritan colony and the intellectual traditions of its universities. Its people are primarily of Irish, Italian, or English heritage. Massachusetts has the highest percentage of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher, is home to the country’s oldest institution of higher learning (Harvard), has the highest median household income, and the nation’s oldest public park (Boston Common). Massachusetts is the birthplace of basketball, volleyball, the telephone, and vulcanized rubber.
Massachusetts is the birthplace of Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson, the Pixies, and Rob Zombie – all of whom moved to Los Angeles. Ed Cobb, who was born in Pasadena, wrote “26 Miles (Santa Catalina)” for his band, The Four Preps, and “Dirty Water,” about the Boston’s Charles River, for The Standells. Culinarily, Massachusetts is the birthplace of the Boston baked beans, Boston cream pie, chocolate chip cookies, Dunkin’ Donuts, Fig Newtons, the microwave oven, and Tupperware.
Manchester-born brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald, opened a restaurant in Riverside called McDonald’s Bar-B-Q. In 1948, they pivoted to McDonald’s Famous Hamburgers. In 1953, it was shortened just to McDonald’s.
New Hampshire is home to more Massachusettsans than any state outside of Massachusetts. Prominent Massachusettsan-Angelenos include Anthony Michael Hall, Ben and Casey Affleck, Cecil B. DeMille, Chris Evans, Conan O’Brien, Elizabeth Banks, Geena Davis, John Cena, Kurt Russell, Marky Mark Wahlberg, Marsian De Lellis, Matt Damon, Matthew Perry, Steve Carell, and Uma Thurman.
The Los Angeles County communities of Acton and Saugus were named by their Massachusettsan-Angeleno founders after towns or schools in Massachusetts, as were Boylston Street, Cambridge Street, Harvard Road, Holyoke Street, Melrose Avenue.
Other streets and towns named after places in Massachusetts or Massachusettsans include Commonwealth Avenue (Commonwealth of Massachusetts), Elizabeth Street (Elizabeth Howard), Flintridge (Frank Putnam Flint), Georgia Street (Georgia Herrick), Greenleaf Avenue (John Greenleaf Whittier), Hawthorne Avenue (Nathaniel Hawthorne), Katya Zamolodchikova, Kenneth Road (Walter Kenneth Dow), Lawton Street (Frank Lawton), Mabery Road (Henry Nelson Mabery), Norton Avenue (John H. Norton), Robinson Road (Jane Bancroft Robinson), Severance Street (Theodoric Cordenio Severance), Stearns Street (Abel Stearns), Sweetzer Avenue (Edward H. Sweetser), Temple Street (John Temple), Towne Avenue (Alban Nelson Towne), Whittier Avenue (John Greenleaf Whittier), and Wood Terrace (Jacob Hager Wood). The term, “Downtown,” was likely first coined in Boston (although some claim New York City), and later applied to Los Angeles’s city center.
Massachusetts became a state on 6 February 1788. It does not have a formally recognized state day.
MICHIGAN – 26 JANUARY (MICHIGAN DAY)
Michigan is a state in the Midwest. Most Michiganders are of German, West African, or English ancestral origins – but it also has the nation’s largest populations of Chaldeans, Iraqis, and Yemenis. Michigan has the longest freshwater coastline in the US (and the largest number of lighthouses), the highest percentage of water area, and it’s the only state divided into two, distinct regions. It’s home to the largest Christmas Tree store (Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland). Michigan is also the birthplace of Buick, Carhartt, Chrysler, Dodge, Dow Chemical, Ford, General Motors, kitty litter, La-Z-Boy, Oldsmobile, and Whirlpool.
Musically, Michigan is known for the Motown sound, proto-punk, and as the birthplace of techno. Berry Gordy Jr., founder of Motown, was born in Michigan, He and much of the label’s roster – including Diana Ross and The Supremes, Lamont Dozier, Martha Reeves, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and The Temptations – all moved to Los Angeles. So, too, did Detroit born rockers Alice Cooper, Anthony Kiedis, Doug Fieger, Glenn Frey, Iggy Pop, and Wayne Kramer; and singer Lizzo.
Michigan is known for its cherries, Coney dogs, corn flakes (and Kellogg’s and its rival, Post), Detroit-style pizza, Mackinac Island fudge, Pop-Tarts, and Vlasic. Michigan leads the US in the production of mead. It’s also the birthplace of Domino’s Pizza, Little Caesars, and canned baby food. Los Angeles restaurants serving Detroit-style pizza include Detroit Pizza Depot and Dtown Pizzeria. Hawaiian-Asian fusion restaurant, Broken Mouth, is overseen by Detroit-raised chef-owner, Tim Lee. Despite its name, Louisiana Fried Chicken was founded in Los Angeles by Michigan transplant, Joe Dion, in 1976.
Florida is home to the largest population of Michiganders outside of Michigan. Prominent Michigander-Angelenos include Andy Richter, Burt Reynolds, Byron Allen, David Spade, Dean Cain, Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr., Francis Ford Coppola, Jerry Bruckheimer, John Lautner, Ken Jeong, Kristen Bell, Lee Majors, Matthew Lillard, Robert Wagner, Sonny Bono, Steve Ballmer, Steven Seagal, Terry Crews, Tim Allen, and Tom Selleck.
Hollywood’s Formosa Tract was founded by Michiganders Andrew and Lizzie Hay. Glendale’s White Woods was named after Michander Perry Whiting. Santa Catalina was once owned by Michigander George Shatto, whose Flint-born sister-in-law, Etta Whitney, named Avalon there. Detroit Street and Michigan Avenue are obviously named after Michigan.
Streets named after Michigander-Angelenos include Alfred Street (Alfred Horace Rush), Allaseba Drive (Allaseba Howard), Allison Avenue (Allison T. Hall), Bronson Avenue (Marenus Alonzo Bronson), Durant Drive (Russell “Cliff” Durant), Gardner Street (Alan Gardner), Hobart Boulevard (Hobart Addison Stewart), Holt Avenue (Luther Myrick Holt), Kellogg Drive (Will Keith Kellogg), Klump Avenue (William Klump), La Peer Drive (Lapeer Michigan), Longridge Avenue (Willis Douglas Longyear), Marilla Avenue (Etta Marilla Whitney), Martel Avenue (Martel Field), Pomeroy Avenue (Abram Ehle Pomeroy), Shatto Street (George Rufus and Clara Ruth Shatto), Stoner Avenue (Albert James Stoner), and Young Drive (Almon M. “Andy” Young).
Michigan became a state on 26 January 1837. In 2016, House Resolution 206 proclaimed 26 January “Michigan Day.” House Resolution 11 did the same the following year.
MINNESOTA
Minnesota is a state in the Midwest. Minnesotans are primarily of German, Norwegian, and Irish ancestral origin – but it is also home to the US’s largest populations of Finnish, Liberian, Somali, and Swedish Americans. Minneapolis is home to the largest contiguous but not overall) network of skyways of any American city. Minnesota is the birthplace of Best Buy, the black box, General Mills, Hormel Foods, the indoor shopping mall, Nerf, Post-it notes, rollerblades, Target, 3M, and waterskis.
Minnesota’s musical contributions include the Minneapolis sound, exemplified by Prince, The Time, and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – all of whom moved to Los Angeles. So, too, did Minnesota-born Bob Dylan, Caroline Smith, Chad Smith, Dan Wilson (of Semisonic), and Michael Z. Gordon.
Minnesota is known in the culinary scene for and/or the birthplace of battered and deep-fried cheese curds, the Bundt pan and cake, the Honeycrisp apple, hotdish, the Jucy Lucy, microwavable popcorn, the pop-up toaster, SPAM, Totino’s Pizza Rolls, Wheaties, and wild rice (not actually rice).
As unlikely as it sounds, California is supposedly home to more Minnesotans than any other state. From the 1940s until the 1970s, Minnesotan-Angelenos organized Minnesota State Society Picnics. Prominent Minnesotan-Angelenos include Chris Pratt, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jane Russell, Jessica Biel, Jessica Lange, Joel and Ethan Coen, James Hong, Josh Hartnett, Judy Garland, Julia Duffy, Leah Thompson, Manila Luzon, Peter Graves, Rachael Leigh Cook, Sean William Scott, Vince Vaughn, Vincent Kartheiser, Winona Ryder. Los Angeles played Minnesota on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977) and Little House on the Prairie (1974-1983).
A couple of important institutions in Los Angeles owe their existence to Minnesota. The Getty Museum and Getty Villa both owe their existence to J. Paul Getty, who was born in Minneapolis and moved to Los Angeles in 1905. The Los Angeles Lakers actually began life, in Detroit, as the Detroit Gems. It was after they moved to Minnesota – the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” in 1947, that they became the Lakers. In 1960, they relocated to the “Land of 30 or so Lakes (and Reservoirs).”
Alhambra’s Bean Tract was founded by and named after Minnesotan-Angeleno Jacob Bean. Streets in Los Angeles named after Minneota include the obvious Minnesota Avenue (Glendora and South Gate), Minnesota Street (in Lincoln Height), and the less obvious Winona Avenue (after Winona County). Streets named after Minnesotan-Angelenos include Carlton Way (Carleton Willard Warner), Evans Avenue (Wolcott H. Evans), Hamlin Street (Homer Hamlin), Mona Boulevard (Mona Isabel Clague), Orcutt Drive (William Warren Orcutt), and Stockwell Street (Lucien Fremont Stockwell).
Minnesota became a state on 11 May 1858. There is no formally designated Minnesota Statehood Day.
MISSISSPPI
Mississippi is a state in the Deep South. Most Mississippians are ancestrally descended from West Africa, England, or Ireland. Mississippi has the highest percentage of Black American residents of any state. Mississippi is the birthplace of Pine-Sol and the soft toilet seat.
Musically, Mississippi is closely associated with the Blues. Ma Rainey, the Georgia-born “Mother of the Blues,” first heard the Blues, according to her own account, in Missouri – likely near the Bootheel town of Charleston, on the Mississippi River (and in Mississippi County). However, the Blues are especially associated with the delta located between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers further downriver in Mississippi. In the northern part of the state, Fife and Drum Blues emerged. Many Blues musicians from the Delta moved to Los Angeles as part of the Great Migration. Mississippi Blues musicians who later lived in Los Angeles include Al Wilson, K.C. Douglas, Smokey Wilson. In the 1910s, Mississippian-Angelenos gathered at Sycamore Grove Park for Mississippi State Society picnics.
The great Mississippian, Sam Cooke – the “King of Soul” – moved to Los Angeles in 1957 and was killed there in 1964. Thanks to the Great Migration, California is still estimated to be home to more Mississippians than any state outside of Mississippi. The first Mississippi State Society Picnics were held at Sycamore Grove Park in the 1910s. Prominent Mississippian-Angelenos include Daniel Curtis Lee, Fred Armisen, Joshua Alba, Rozzell Sykes, Taylor Spreitler, Ted Watkins, and Tennessee Williams.
Mississippi is the biggest producer of farm-raised catfish and is known for its fried catfish as well as for being the birthplace of Barq’s root beer, comeback sauce, Delta tamales, Mississippi mud pies, pig ear sandwiches, and pressed po’ boys. Locally, it was a Mississippian-Angelena, Lovie Yancey, who opened the first Fatburger in 1947.
Los Angeles places and streets with nominal connections to Mississippi include Barthe Drive (Richmond Barthé), Corinth Avenue, Evers Avenue (Medgar Evers), Galloway Street (Charles Betts Galloway), Gibson Road (Fielding Wesley Gibson), Orr and Day Road (James Warren Day), and Wicks Street (Moses Langley Wicks).
Mississippi became a state on 10 December 1817. It has no formal state day.
MISSOURI – THIRD WEDNESDAY OF OCTOBER (MISSOURI DAY)
Missouri is a state located at the junction of the Midwest, Plains, and Upper South. Although it remained in the US during the Civil War, it was the most populous slave state after West Virginia split from Virginia in 1863. Its distinct geographic and cultural areas include the Bootheel, Creole Corridor, Honeylands, Lead Belt, Little Dixie, Ozarks, and Rhineland. Its two most populous cities, Kansas City and St. Louis, are neighbored by cross-river cities named after them – Kansas City, Kansas and East St. Louis, Illinois. Along with Tennessee, it is bordered by more states than any other in the US.
Missourians are primarily of German, Irish, English, or West African ancestry. It’s home to the tallest human-made national monument in the US (St. Louis’s Gateway Arch), the city with the most fountains in the US (Kansas City), the largest single-outlet spring (Big Spring), the US’s largest brewery (Anheuser-Busch). It was the birthplace of the US’s first public kindergarten as well as Route 66. Missouri is also the birthplace of Bass Pro Shops, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Hallmark Cards, H&R Block, the monster truck, Purina, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and Rawlings.
Musically, Missouri is known as the birthplace of Ragtime, Kansas City Jazz, St. Louis Blues, and Missouri fiddling styles (Hoedown, Hornpipe, Jig-Bow, and Little Dixie); and for its significant contributions to boogie-woogie and jump blues. Missourians like Stagger Lee and Frankie Baker (“Frankie and Johnny”) are the source of many musical folk tales.
Missouri is the birthplace of numerous musicians and composers who later moved to Los Angeles, including Angela Winbush, Ann Peebles, Basil Poledouris, Billy Davis Jr., Burt Bacharach, Chappell Roan, Cliff “Ukulele Ike” Edwards, Curtis Counce, Curtis J. Mosby, D.H. Peligro, The Dillards, Domino, Ellen Foley, Elva Miller, Felix Slatkin, Ferlin Husky, Gayle McCormick, Gene Clark, Gene Phillips, Glen Glenn, Harry Babbitt, Hembree, Herb Reed, Ike & Tina Turner, Jackie Ross, Jan Howard, Jerry Wallace, Jessie Smith, Jim Lowe, Jimmy Forrest, John Seiter Johnny Haymer, Johnny Johnston, Kay Thompson, Korla Pandit, Krizz Kaliko, Louise Post, Luther Henderson, Michael McDonald, Pete Johnson, Quilla Hugh “Porky” Freeman, Roberta Sherwood, Ronald Stein, SZA, T-Bone Burnett, Tech N9ne, Tim Spencer, Tommy Rall, and Wynn Stewart .
Missouri was the birthplace, in 1928, of sliced bread — invented at the Chillicothe Baking Company in Chillicothe and often held up as one of the greatest inventions of all time. Missouri’s other culinary contributions include Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser, Busch, Michelob), Aunt Jemima, burnt ends, cashew chicken, the Cherry Mash, Chicken Spiedini, the Gerber sandwich, gooey butter cake, iced tea, Kansas City-style barbecue, Panera, Pixy Stix, Provel cheese, St. Louis style pizza, the St. Paul sandwich, Saltines, 7up, slingers, Sprees, SweeTarts, toasted ravioli, Valomilk… and Tums. Local restaurants serving Missouri-style dishes and/or with Missourian-Angeleno owners include Baby Blues BBQ, the Bear Pit, Gus’s BBQ, KC Trey’s BBQ, Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, Sauced BBQ & Spirits, and Smokehouse Social Barbecue.
Kansas is home to more Missourians than any other state. However, prominent Missourian-Angelenos (in addition to the aforementioned musicians) include Alan J. Levi, Alissa Walker, Allan Melvin, Andreas Katsulas, Anita Barone, Annalise Basso, Annie Wersching, Anthony Cistaro, Ben Baker, Bert Convy, Betty Garrett, Betty Grable, Brandy Colbert, Brenda Joyce, Brian Vincent, Cailee Spaeny, Carlton S. King, Cecil Cunningham, Cedric the Entertainer, Charles Eames, Charles “Slim” Whitaker, Chip McAllister, Chris Cooper, Craig Stevens, Cy Kendall, Dan Gilvezan, Dan O’Bannon, David Burton Morris, David Koechner, David Rasche, David Sharpe, Debbie Lum, Dee Wallace Stone, Del Andrews, Dennis Weaver, Diane Brewster, Dianne Wiest, Dick Gregory, Dick van Dyke, Dolores Michaels, Don C. Harvey, Don Cheadle, Don Johnson, Doris Roberts, Dorothea Kent, Douglass Biggs, Eddie Griffin, Edie McClurg, Edward Pawley, Edwin August, Edwin Hubble, Edythe Sterling, Elizabeth Kerr, Ellen Drew, Elsa Benham, Eric Kilpatrick, Eulalie Jensen, Evan Peters, F. Richard Jones, Fannie Ward, Frances Guihan, Frank Converse, Frank Faylen, Fred Berry, Fred Kohler, Fred S. Fox, Gabriel Basso, Gene Gauntier, George Hearn, Georgia Hale, Geraldine Page, Gina Goff, Ginger Rogers, Hall Bartlett, Harry Depp, Harry Goz, Harry Harris, Helen Martin, Irving Baker, Isadore “Friz” Freleng, Jack Danon, James Gunn, Jane Novak, Jane Wyman, Janet Jones, Jan Duggan, Jason Wiles, Jean Harlow, Jenifer Lewis, Jim Bannon, Jim Finn, Joe Besser, Joe S. Camp Jr., Joel Huggins, John Ashley, John Bailey, John Beal, John Goodman, John Hamm, John Hancock, John Huston, John Milius, John Pankow, John Stix, Joy Harmon, Joyce Holden, Julia Montgomery, Jules Buck, June Clyde, Kasi Lemmons, Kathleen Turner, Kathryn Adams, Ken Page, King Baggot, Krista Tesreau, Langston Hughes, Larry McCormick, Laura La Plante, Lawrence H. Woolner, Leroy J. Prinz, Leslie Charleson, Lew Kelly, Lige Conley, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Linda Blair, Linden Chiles, Lori Saunders, Lottie Briscoe, Lucas Grabeel, Margaret Campbell, Marguerite Churchill, Marian Ainslee, Marian Shockley, Marjorie Beebe, Mark Linn-Baker, Mark Patton, Marsha Mason, Martine Bartlett, Marvin Miller, Mary Frann, Mary Treen, Mary Wickes, Matthew Betz, Maxine Waters, Maya Angelou, Melanie Fullerton, Mildred June, Mike Nader, Monique Gabrielle, Morris Carnovsky, Moses Gunn, Mykelti Williamson, Nathaniel Taylor, Nicholas Corea, Nicholas Worth, Noah Beery, Norbert F. Brodin, Olive Young, Otto H. Fries, Patricia Farr, Patsy Ruth Miller, Paul Yawitz, Phyllis Fraser, Phyllis Smith, Pooja Kumar, Porter Strong, Ray Young, Red Foxx, Richard Shepherd, Rob Benedict, Robert Altman, Robert Cummings, Robert Guillaume, Robert Lowery, Robert Vaughn, Rochelle Firestone, Roderick Sykes, Ronald Stein, Rosemary Theby, Ruth Warrick, Sally Long, “Sam the Mule Skinner” Smiser, Sandahl Bergman, Sara Shane, Scott Bakula, Sean Gunn, Shelby Storck, Sr., Stan Brakhage, Stephanie E. Williams, Sterling K. Brown, Teddy Infuhr, Thomas Hart Benton, Todd Newton, Todd Susman, Ub Iwerks, Victor “Denver Dixon” Adamson, Vincent Price, Virginia Gibson, Virginia Mayo, Violet LaPlante, Walker Edmiston, Wallace Beery, William Christy Cabanne, William Fairbanks, William S. Burroughs, William Smith, Wilton Graff, William Henry Workman, Winston Miller, and Yvette Vickers.
Hollywood and Los Angeles played Missouri in numerous television series and films, including Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Down Missouri Way (1946), Across the Wide Missouri (1951), The Missouri Traveler (1958), The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (1959), Thunder in the Sun (1959), Road House (1989), Grace Under Fire (1993–1998), Waiting for Guffman (1996), Switched at Birth (2011–2017), Defiance (2013), Gone Girl (2014), Ozark (2017–2022), and The Thing About Pam (2022).
Missouri produced many of the Wild West’s most notorious outlaws, many of whom were frequent subjects of Hollywood westerns shot, more often than not, in Chatsworth. Belle Star, the famous outlaw, was from Carthage, was the subject of Belle Starr (1941), Belle Starr’s Daughter (1948), and Montana Belle (1952) were all filmed in Chatsworth. Jackson County’s Dalton Gang were the subject of When the Daltons Rode (1940), The Daltons Ride Again (1945), and The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang (1979) – all shot in Los Angeles. The most notorious Missourian outlaw was Kearney-born Jesse James, who was the subject of Jesse James (1939), I Shot Jesse James (1949), The True Story of Jesse James (1957), Alias Jesse James (1959), and Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter (1966) – all shot in Los Angeles.
The Hollywood Bowl largely owes its existence to Missouri-born music teacher, Artie Mason Carter. LaClede Avenue, in Atwater, was named after the founder of St. Louis, Pierre Laclède, although he never likely visited Los Angeles. Missouri-Angeleno Benjamin Cushing Sheldon founded Country Club Highlands. Its Cushdon Avenue is a portmanteau of his middle and family names. El Miradero, Missouri-born Leslie Coombs Brand’s estate, forms the basis of Brand Park and Library and is the namesake of Brand Avenue. Missourian George Robert Lafayette Crenshaw opened LaFayette Square and is the namesake of Crenshaw Boulevard. The ghost town of Redman is named after Missouri-born Elias C. Redman.
Other streets named after Missourian-Angelenos include Bear Avenue (Maud Elizabeth and Francis Robertson “Frank” Bear), Bixby Drive (Lewis Hillard Bixby), Cravens Avenue (John Smith Cravens), Dryden Street (Helen Brand and Nathaniel Dryden), Ellis Lane (Asa Ellis), Oros Street (Esther Oros), Reese Place (Arthur William Reese), Rose Avenue (Anderson Rose), Steller Drive (Adolph William Steller), Wampler Street (Paul Wampler Garvey), Whites Canyon Road (Evan Stevenson White), and Williams Place (Guy Goodson Williams). Of course, there’s also St. Louis Avenue in the Harbor, Missouri Avenue (in the Westside and South Gate), and several Missouri Streets.
Missouri became a state on 10 August 1821. Missouri’s General Assembly designated the first Monday in October as Missouri Day in 1915. The date was moved to the third Wednesday of October in 1969.
MONTANA – 6 APRIL (406 DAY)
Montana is a state that straddles the Plains and Mountain West. Montanans are primarily descended from Germany, Ireland, and England. Montana is home to the first woman elected to Congress (Jeanette Rankin). It’s the birthplace of the Holter Monitor and commercial bear spray.
Montana is known for its huckleberries and flathead cherries. It’s the birthplace of the Great Harvest Bread Company, the Nut Burger, and the Pork Chop Sandwich. Washington is home to more Montanans than any state other than Montana. Prominent Montanan-Angelenos include Dana Carvey, David Lynch, Gary Cooper, Jeff Kober, Margaret Qualley, Tom Wilson, and Uan Rasey.
Montana is the namesake of the Montana Land Company (itself the namesake of Monlaco Road), the Montana Tract, Montana Avenue (and the Santa Monica neighborhood, North of Montana), and the Disney character, Hannah Montana.
Montana became a state on 8 November 1889. Montana’s centennial was formally celebrated in 1989, but, so far, there is no official statehood day. However, since 2012, some Montanans have celebrated 6 April as “406 Day,” a reference to Montana’s only area code. It was created by AT&T and the Bell System in 1947.
NEBRASKA
Nebraska is a Plains state. Nebraskans are primarily descended from Germans (especially Volga Germans), Irish, and Mexicans. Nebraska is home to Carhenge, the largest covered porch swing, and was the birthplace of Arbor Day. Berkshire Hathaway, CliffsNotes, Union Pacific Railroad, and Vise-Grips. Nebraska is the birthplace of Butter Brickle Ice Cream, Kool-Aid, the McRib, frozen “TV dinners,” and the Reuben sandwich.
Nebraska is known for its indie rock scene, especially Saddle Creek Records. Nebraska-born musicians who later became Angelenos include Bob Marlette, Bright Eyes, Elliott Smith, Lalomie Washburn, Matthew Sweet, Randy Meisner, 311, and Wynonie Harris.
California is home to more Nebraskans than any state besides Nebraska. From the 1910s until the 1970s, Nebraskan-Angelenos organized Nebraska State Society Picnics in Long Beach and elsewhere. Culver City was founded in 1914 by Nebraskan-Angleeno, Harry Hazel Culver. Other prominent Nebraskan-Angelenos include Cameron, Darryl F. Zanuck, Ed Ruscha, Fred Astaire, Gabrielle Union, Harold Lloyd, Henry Fonda, Hillary Swank, L. Ron Hubbard, Marlon Brando, and Nick Nolte. Nebraskan-Angeleno director Alexander Payne’s Election (1999) was set in Nebraska but largely filmed in Los Angeles. Los Angeles also played Nebraska in The Indian Runner (1991),
Streets named after Nebraskan-Angelenos include Davis Avenue (Walter Bennett Davis), Marlay Drive (Paul and Zida Marlay), Parish Place (John Wesley and Alice Adella Parish), Post Avenue (“Judge” George Wallace Post), and Sandison Street (Edwin Wallace Sandison Jr.). The Westside and South Gate are both home to streets named Nebraska Avenue.
Nebraska became a state on 1 March 1867. There is no formally recognized statehood day, however.
NEVADA – LAST FRIDAY OF OCTOBER (NEVADA DAY)
Nevada is a state that straddles the Mountain West and the Southwest. A plurality of Nevadans are of German, Mexican, or Irish ancestry. It is the driest state in the US, has the most named mountain ranges and is distinguished from other states by its culture of legalized gambling and prostitution. It is also the birthplace of riveted jeans.
In the 20th century, Nevada was associated with lounge music and big bands. Las Vegas’s Big Beat act, The Crystal Method, later relocated to Los Angeles. Culinarily, Nevada is known for its casino buffets, old school steakhouses, and Basque cuisine. It is the birthplace of the shrimp cocktail.
California is home to the largest number of Nevadans outside of Nevada. Prominent Nevadan-Angelenos include Daveigh Chase, Gabriel Damon, Grant Harvey, Jena Malone, and Michele Greene. Much or all of Nevada-set films and series Kill Me Again (1989), Las Vegas (2003–2008), were filmed in and around Los Angeles. There used to be a Nevada Avenue in Los Angeles but it was eventually swallowed by the expanding Wilshire Boulevard. There’s also Calada Street – a portmanteau of California and Nevada.
Nevada became a state on 31 October 1864. That day was observed as Nevada Day, beginning in 1933. However, in order to create a three-day weekend, it was moved to the last Friday of October in 2000.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
New Hampshire is a state in New England. Most New Hampshireites trace their ancestry to France, Ireland, and England. It’s home to the first free public library, and the first summer resort in the US. The Segway and Timberland were all founded or invented in New Hampshire. Culinarily, New Hampshire is known for apple crisp, the boiled dinner, cider donuts, and the first deep frying machine – the Frialator.
Massachusetts is home to more New Hampshireites than any other state but there are/were prominent New Hampshirite-Angelenos, of course. New Hampshire-born Ronnie James Dio (Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and Dio) later lived in Encino. Other prominent New Hampshirite-Angelenos include Christopher Stone, Gordon Clapp, Harry Chandler, Ilene Woods, Jared Sandler, Kerry O’Malley, Peter Bonerz, Sarah Silverman, and Wilson Bethel. Los Angeles was used to portray New Hampshire in What About Bob? (1991), The Good Son (1993), Providence (1999–2002), and The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire (2003).
Los Angeles places named after New Hampshire and New Hampshirite-Angelenos include New Hampshire Avenue, Claremont, and, most likely, the neighborhood of Mount Washington, which like the peak in New Hampshire, originally boasted an incline railway to a mountain-top resort hotel. Mount Lowe, which also had an incline railway and mountaintop resort, was named after New Hampshirite-Angeleno, Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe. Burbank was founded by and named after New Hampshirite-Angeleno dentist, David Burbank. Less obvious connections include Ellendale Place (Ellen S.C. Bowker) and Woodman Avenue (Frederic Thomas Woodman).
Although New Hampshire became a state all the way back on 21 June 1788, it has never designated an official statehood day.
NEW JERSEY – 24 JUNE (NEW JERSEY DAY)
New Jersey is a state in the Northeast and Tri-State Area. New Jerseyans mostly trace their ancestry to Italy, Ireland, or Germany. It is highly diverse, though, and notably home to both Princeton University, Atlantic City, and the Jersey Shore. It is also the most densely-populated state, is home to the most millionaires in the US, and is home to the most superfund sites. New Jersey is the birthplace of bubble wrap, color television, Johnson & Johnson, Toys “R” Us, and the transistor.
Musically, New Jersey has made important contributions to jazz, stride, and house music. New Jersey is the birthplace of Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Halsey, and Ho99o9 – all of whom moved to Los Angeles. Culinarily, New Jersey is known as “the diner capital of the world” and is the birthplace of blueberry muffins, Campbell Soup, candied apples, disco fries, fat sandwiches, Italian hot dogs, Jersey Mike’s Subs, M&M’s, saltwater taffy, the Taylor Ham, and the tomato pie. After 38 years in business, Westwood’s Jersey restaurant, Matteo’s Hoboken, closed. Langer’s, though, founded in 1947 by New Jersey transplant Al Langer, remains one of the most-celebrated delis in Los Angeles. Even older is Canter’s, which was first opened in Brooklyn Heights in 1931 before opening a second location on Fairfax.
It’s believed that Pennsylvania is home to more New Jerseyans than any state other than New Jersey. Los Angeles, though, has been home to prominent New Jerseyan-Angelenos including Alyssa Mann, Danny DeVito, Jack Nicholson, Jerry Lewis, Joseph Lockard “Lock” Martin Jr., Kal Penn, Kirsten Dunst, Lou Costello, Marc Maron, Michael J. Pollard, and Willie Banks. Historically, one of the biggest prominent New Jerseyan-Angelenos was Abbot Kinney, who first visited in 1880 and was cured of asthma. He is the namesake of Kinneloa Mesa and was the developer of “Venice of America.” Record Avenue, too, was named after New Jerseyan Edward Records.
New Jersey became a state on 18 December 1787. In 2009, the New Jersey Department of State, recognized 24 June as New Jersey Day because it was on that date, in 1664, that James, Duke of York received a royal grant to found the New Jersey colony.
NEW MEXICO
New Mexico is a state in the Southwest. Santa Fe and Taos art scenes. Most New Mexicans trace their ancestry to Mexico, Native America, and Germany. It has the highest percentage of Latinos of any state as well as major populations of the Diné, Apache, and Puebloan peoples. New Mexico is the birthplace of the atomic bomb and the personal computer (the MITS Altair 880).
New Mexico is known for its cuisine that relies heavily on chiles. It’s even the birthplace of the chain, The Green Chile. New Mexico is also known for biscochitos, frybread, and sopapillas. Local restaurants with New Mexican connections, flavors, and dishes include Panxa Cocina, which was founded by New Mexico restaurant-trained Arthur Gonzalez.
California is home to more New Mexicans than any other state other than New Mexico. Prominent New Mexican-Angelenos include Austin St. John, Chiara Aurelia, Demi Moore, Drew Goddard, Fred Haney, and Lauren Sanchez. Los Angeles streets with connections to New Mexico include Poe Parkway (Dale Eugene Poe), Sanchez Street (Juan Matias Sánchez), and Tularosa Drive (Tularosa Valley).
New Mexico became a state on 6 January 1912. There’s no official state day.
NEW YORK
New York is a state in the Northeast and Tri-State Area. Most foreign-born New Yorkers hail from the Dominican Republic, China, or Jamaica. Italian, Irish, and German are the most common ancestries but New York is also home to the largest populations of Jews, Dominicans, and Bangladeshis in the country. New York is the birthplace of Coach, Corningware, DKNY, the electric chair, Fisher-Price, IBM, Little Trees air fresheners, Macy’s, Pepto-Bismol, Ralph Lauren, Singer, Theosophy, and Xerox.
Musically, New York is known as the birthplace of Broadway, stride, Tin Pan Alley, salsa, Brill Building pop, hip-hop, new wave, punk, electrofunk, freestyle. Ben Williams, Bernard Herrmann, The Chainsmokers, Fiona Apple, Lenny Kravitz, Llana del Rey, The Mamas & the Papas, Post Malone, and Rivers Cuomo were all born or formed in New York and later moved to Los Angeles.
Culinarily, New York is known for having given birth to Baked Alaska, beef on weck, the Bloody Mary, Buffalo wings, chicken nuggets, Delmonico steak, the Egg cream, eggs Benedict, frozen custard, Hellman’s, hot dogs, Jell-O, Manhattan clam chowder, New York-style pizza, New York-style cheesecake, Oreos, Pasta primavera, potato chips, spaghetti and meatballs, the Tom Collins, Velveeta, and the Waldorf salad. Restaurants founded in New York and found in Los Angeles include Bruegger’s Bagels, Shake Shack, and T.G.I. Friday’s (originally a fern bar chain). Helms Bakery was founded in 1931 by New Yorker Paul Helms. There’s also Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles, founded by Harlem-native Herb Hudson in 1975.
Florida is home to more New Yorkers than any other state. Prominent New Yorker-Angelenos, however, include Al Pacino, Armand Hammer, Clara Bow, Crispin Glover, Daniel Zahler, Ed Wood, Edmund H. North, Eli Broad, Eli Wallach, Frances Bavier, George Burns, Harvey Keitel, Hugh Marlowe, Humphrey Bogart, Irving Gill, James Cagney, Jane Badler, John Carpenter, Jon Cryer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Katherine Victor, Kirk Douglas, L. Frank Baum, Larry Weschler, Mae West, Mickey Cohen, Nathanael West, Norma Merrick Sklarek, Paul Reubens, Robert Downey Jr., Robert Pullman, Shalom “Sam” Jaffe, Vin Scully, Walter Hopps, William Reynolds, and William S. Hart.
Both Fox and Paramount Studios feature New York street sets on their backlots but many locations in and around Los Angeles have portrayed New York in films and television series, including The Odd Couple (1970–1975), Kojak (1973–1978), Cagney & Lacey (1982-1988), Seinfeld (1989–1998), A Bronx Tale (1993), NYPD Blue (1993–2005), Friends (1994–2004), Catch Me If You Can (2002), Phone Booth (2002), Spider-Man (2002), CSI: NY (2004–2013), How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014), and Ugly Betty (2006–2010).
Although his east coast origins are nearly always overlooked, notorious outlaw, Billy the Kid, was born in Manhattan. His short life saw him move around the west but Billy the Kid (1930), Billy the Kid Wanted (1941), Billy the Kid in Santa Fe (1941), Billy the Kid Trapped (1942), The Left Handed Gun (1958), and Billy the Kid Versus Dracula (1966) were all filmed in Los Angeles or nearby Simi Valley.
One of Los Angeles’s first prominent architects, Ezra Franklin Kysor, was born in New York and arrived in Los Angeles in 1868. Here, he designed the Pico House and St. Vibiana’s Cathedral. He also developed Central Park Tract, which leant its name to Central Avenue, the namesake of the famed South Central neighborhood. Los Angeles was also home to a brewery, the New York Brewery, from 1875-1890. It was the sole source of beer for the New York Saloon, which opened in 1881 and also closed in ‘90.
Los Angeles neighborhoods with nominal ties to New York include Brooklyn Heights and New York Valley. Brooklyn Heights, although historically considered a distinct neighborhood, is today usually regarded as part of Boyle Heights. Brooklyn Avenue was officially renamed Avenida Cesar E. Chavez in 1994. Meanwhile, New York Street was changed to York Boulevard and New York Valley became just York Valley. In 1922, residents of York Valley voted to become part of Greater Highland Park. Additionally, the term Midtown first appeared in New York City and by 1930 was used to refer to the region of Los Angeles still so known. North Hollywood’s NoHo Arts District is a play on New York City’s’ Soho – “South of Houston.”
Henry E. Huntington was born in Oneonta in 1850. In 1898, Huntington bought the Los Angeles Railway (LARy). In 1901, he formed the Pacific Electric Railway (PE). From the 1910s until the 1930s, the combined transit network was the largest interurban electric railway in the world. The trains were primarily operated as real estate amenities in order to sell lots in communities developed by Huntington – and he had a hand in the development of Huntington Beach, Huntington Park, Oak Knoll, Redondo Beach, Riverside, and San Marino.
Los Angeles’s most popular sports team, the Dodgers, famously got their start in New York. They were founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Atlantics. In 1932, they became the Dodgers – as in “trolley dodgers.” The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958, when there were just five remaining LARy trolley lines in Los Angeles to “dodge.” Another of Los Angeles’s sports teams, the Clippers, also began life in New York. They formed in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves. They became the Clippers, though, after moving to San Diego, in reference to the city’s association with the great sailing ships that passed through San Diego Bay. In 1984, they moved to Los Angeles.
Los Angeles places founded by or named after New Yorkers include Benedict Canyon is named after New York-born shopkeeper, Edson Abijah Benedict. Nichols Canyon was named after New Yorker-Angeleno John Gregg Nichols. Diamond Bar Ranch was founded by New Yorker-Angeleno, Frederic Elliott Lewis 2nd. Carson is named after New York-born developer George Cady Carson. Van Nuys was founded by New York-born Isaac Newton Van Nuys. The town of Hollywood was founded by New York-born Harvey H. Wilcox.
Other streets and places with New York connections include Broadway (which was called Fort Street until 1890), Cattaraugus Avenue, Chautauqua Boulevard, Gramercy Place, Hartwick Street (Hartwick College), Lodi Place, Manhattan Beach, Manhattan Place, Mohawk Street, and Tuxedo Terrace. Los Angeles streets named after New Yorkers include Armour Lane (Philip Danforth Armour), Baxter Street (Reuben Baxter), Briggs Avenue (Benjamin Bennett Briggs), Bullis Road (The Bullis Family), Burns Avenue (James Franklin Burns), Camerford Avenue (Comerford Whitehouse McLoughlin), Canfield Avenue (Charles Adelbert Canfield), Cole Avenue (Cornelius Cole), Colfax Avenue (Schuyler Colfax), Commodore Sloat Drive (John Drake Sloat), Constance Street (Constance Elizabeth), Dennis Road (Dennis Tyre Haggott), Donmetz Street (Donald Lewis Metz), Emory Drive (Arthur Theodore “Ted” Emory), Everett Drive (Dorothy Everett), Fowling Street (Eldridge Merick Fowler), Gage Avenue (Henry Tifft Gage), Garthwaite Avenue (William Woodroffe Garthwaite), Gibbs Street (George Clinton Gibbs), Gregory Avenue (Gregory Van Sicklen McLoughlin), Hammond Street (Milton Ephriam Hammond), Harriman Avenue (Edward Henry Harriman), Italia Street (Italia Richmond), Jarvis Street (Walter Jarvis Barlow), Judson Street (Albert Henry Judson), Kalsman Drive (Irving Louis “Red” Kalsman), La Grange Avenue (Oscar Hugh La Grange), Maxella Avenue (Max and Ella Witkower), Maxson Road (Benjamin Franklin Maxson), McCadden Place (William G. McCadden), Mott Street (Thomas Dillingham Mott and/or Stephen Hathaway Mott), Nylic Court (New York Life Insurance Company), Ogden Drive (Mary Lodema Ogden), Powers Place (Pomeroy Wells Powers), Rowan Avenue (Thomas Edwin Rowan), Scott Road (Jonathan Rensselaer Scott), Severance Street (Caroline Maria Seymour Severance), Slauson Avenue (Jonathan Sayre Slauson), Tedmory Drive (Arthur Theodore “Ted” Emory), Wattles Drive (Gurdon Wallace Wattles), and Whipple Street (Willis Henry Whipple).
New York became a state on 26 July 1788. New York has no official statehood day.
NORTH CAROLINA – 12 OCTOBER AND 12 APRIL (NORTH CAROLINA DAY – FORMER)
North Carolina is a state in both the Old South and the Upper South. North Carolinians’ most popular places of origin are in West Africa, England, or Germany. North Carolina is home to the country’s largest furniture manufacturing company and textile mill. It was in North Carolina that the Wright brothers completed the first successful controlled and sustained powered aircraft flight. It’s the birthplace of the barcode, Hanes, and Vicks Vaporub.
Musical acts Ben Folds Five, Corrosion of Conformity, George Clinton, K-Ci & JoJo, Link Wray, and The Louvin Brothers were all born in North Carolina and later moved to Los Angeles. Culinarily, North Carolina is known for its barbecue styles and Carolina gold barbecue sauce. North Carolina is known for having produced Bojangles, Calabash-style seafood, Krispy Kreme, livermush, and Pepsi-cola – and for producing more sweet potatoes than any other state. North Carolina was also the birthplace of Hardee’s in 1960. In 1997, the parent company of Carl’s Jr bought the larger burger chain.
South Carolina, Florida, and Virginia are all contenders for the state that’s home to more North Carolinians than any other state. Prominent North Carolinian-Angelenos, however, include Andy Griffith, Ava Gardner, Britt Robertson, Emily Procter, Evan Rachel Wood, Heidi N Closet, Sidney Blackmer, and Thomas Sowell. Although The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968), Mayberry R.F.D. (1968–1971), The Carmichael Show (2015–2017), and The Unicorn (2019–2021) were all set in North Carolina, they were filmed entirely in Los Angeles. Hadley Street (Washington Hadley), Harper Avenue (Charles Franklin Harper), Killion Street (Richard Miller Killion), and Waltonia Drive (Robert Alexander Walton) are all Los Angeles streets named after North Carolinian-Angelenos.
North Carolina became a state on 21 November 1789. In 1901, the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association initiated the first “North Carolina Day” on 12 October – a date chosen merely for convenience. In 1981, a state law was passed establishing 12 April (the anniversary of the Halifax Resolves) as the official date of North Carolina Day. It was repealed, though, in 1997, leaving North Carolina without an official North Carolina Day.
NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota is a Plains state. The majority of North Dakotans or of either German or Norwegian ancestral origins. In fact, North Dakota has the highest percentage of Norwegians of any state (though Minnesota has a larger population). It is the only state in the Lower 48 and west of the Mississippi that I’ve not visited and I’m not alone. It’s the least-visited state in the US. The Fargo-Moorhead Visitors Center offers a “Best for Last Club” membership for travelers who visit North Dakota as their 50th state. North Dakota also leads the country in the production of Canola, Durum white, flaxseed, honey, Spring wheat, and both dry edible peas and dry edible beans. It is the birthplace of the automatic clothes dryer and Mr. Bubble. What’s more, North Dakota’s Enchanted Highway boasts the world’s largest collection of scrap metal sculptures. Culinarily, North Dakota is notable for being the birthplace of Cream of Wheat, Chippers, and Dot’s Pretzels.
Minnesota is home to more North Dakotans than any other state. Prominent North Dakotan-Angelenos, though, include Andrea Rene, Angie Dickinson, Kemper Nomland Sr., Michael Forest, Tom Brosseau, Virginia Bruce, and VIZIN. The film, Leprechaun (1993), was set in North Dakota but filmed in Los Angeles.
North Dakota became a state on 2 November 1889. It does not formally observe a state day, though.
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS – COMMONWEALTH COVENANT DAY (24 MARCH)
The Mariana Islands are an archipelago in Micronesia. The northern islands form the Northern Mariana Islands. Most Northern Marianans (CNMI) are either Filipinos, followed by Chamorros, who arrived some 3,500-4,000 years ago. The third largest group are the Carolinians, most of the ancestors of whom migrated there in the 19th century from the Carolines. The US census doesn’t differentiate between Northern Marianan and Guamanian Chamorros but California is home to the largest population of Chamorros outside of the islands.
Signature dishes of the Northern Marianas include kelaguen, apigigi’, kå’du fanihi, and buñelos uhang. There are several Chamorro restaurants in Southern California – mostly in San Diego – but it’s not evident if any are connected to the Northern Marianas rather than Guam.
Los Angeles native and Boyle Heights-raised Guy Gabaldon, was nicknamed the “Pied Piper of Saipan” for convincing Japanese soldiers to surrender in 1944, after which the US took control of the islands. There was an attempt to reunify the Northern Mariana Islands with Guam, the southernmost of the Marianas, but it was rejected by voters in 1969. The Northern Marianas granted commonwealth status on 9 January 1978. Commonwealth Covenant Day is celebrated on 24 March.
OHIO – OHIO STATEHOOD DAY (1 MARCH)
Ohio is a state in the Midwest – although the southeastern portion has cultural and geographic ties to the Upper South. Ohioans are mostly of German, Irish, English, or West African ancestral backgrounds. It is also home to the largest population of Hungarian Americans. It is home to the largest and oldest military aviation museum in the world (the National Museum of the US Air Force), has the largest Amish population in the US, and boasts the world’s largest cuckoo clock. Cleveland was the first city lit by electricity. Ohio is also the birthplace of the mechanical cash register, Goodyear, Kroger, the portable vacuum cleaner and Procter & Gamble. It is the birthplace of Firestone (which gave us the name of Firestone Boulevard.
Musically, Ohio is known for its funk music (Dayton is the Funk Capital of the World and was home to Ohio Players and Zapp & Roger). The first rock ‘n’ roll concert took place in 1952 in Cleveland – home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Musicians and groups from Ohio who relocated to Los Angeles include Black Veil Brides, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Dave Grohl, John Legend, Maynard James Keenan, Nine Inch Nails, Richie Furay, and Ronald Isley.
The tomato was first cultivated in the Andes and domesticated by the Aztecs – but for centuries it was believed to be poisonous for the Upper Classes in Europe. It began to be embraced in Italy in the 18th century. In 1820, Robert Gibbon Johnson ate a basket of tomatoes in front of a crowd and didn’t die. In 1870, Ohio farmer Alexander W. Livingston, developed the Paragon tomato, the first broadly commercialized tomato. Another fruit with Mexican roots, the avocado, owes its commercialization in large part to an Ohioan-Angeleno avocado farmer. Edwin G. Hart founded La Habra Heights, where the Hass Avocado mother tree was planted by Wisconsonite-Angeleno, Rudolph Hass, in 1926.
Ohio is also known as the birthplace of Barberton Chicken, Buckeyes, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cincinnati chili, the J.M. Smucker Company, the Klondike Bar, the Polish Boy sandwich, the pop-top can, and Wendy’s. In 1941, Ohioan-Angeleno Carl Karcher founded Carl’s Jr. In 1946, Ohioan-Angeleno Tom Koulax founded Original Tommy’s.
Florida is home to the largest population of Ohioans outside of Ohio. Los Angeles, however, has been home to prominent Ohioan-Angelenos including Anne Heche, Drew Carey, Holly Beth Vincent, Harrison Gray Otis, Luke Perry, Martin Sheen, Paul Lynde, Paul Newman, Roy Rogers, Steven Spielberg, Tony Hinchcliffe, William Crain, and Yvette Nicole Brown. Los Angeles portrayed Ohio in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Howard the Duck (1986), The Suite Life on Deck (2008–2011), and Scream (2022). One of the most famous Ohionans, Annie Oakeky, was the subject of numerous Hollywood films and television series shot in Los Angeles including Annie Oakley (1935), Annie Get Your Gun (1950), and Annie Oakley (1954–1957).
The Los Angeles Rams began life, in 1936, as the Cleveland Rams. They relocated to Los Angeles in 1946. In 1995, they turned their back on Los Angeles and headed to St. Louis, Missouri. They slinked back to Los Angeles in 2016.
The list of Los Angeles places with Ohio roots is surprisingly long. Los Angeles’s main street, although based on a road used by the Chumash for at least 8,000 years – was renamed after Ohio-born millionaire quack, Henry Gaylord Wilshire, in 1895. Santa Clara Street was named by Ohioan-Angelena, Clara Baldwin. Many of the homes of the somewhat redundantly named Bluff Heights were designed by Ohio-born architect, Miner Smith. Hansen Heights and Hansen Dam were named after Ohioan-Angeleno doctor Homer Alfred Hansen. The Crescenta Valley was named by another Ohioan-Angeleno doctor, Benjamin Bennett Briggs, who thought that it sounded Spanish (the actual Spanish name would be Valle del Creciente) and established a sanitorium there during the Cold Rush. Watts is named after Ohioan Charles Harvey Watts. The Baldwin name (seen in Baldwin Hills, Baldwin Park, Baldwin Avenue, Baldwin Lake, the Baldwin Stakes, and Lucky Baldwin’s are all named after Ohioan-Angeleno, Elias Jackson Baldwin.
The list of Los Angeles streets named after Ohio places and Ohioan-Angelenos is even longer and includes Adena Street (Mary Adena Janes), Ann Street (Sister Ann Gillen), Ayres Avenue (Frank Hurlbut Ayres), Banta Road (Earl Lott and George Henry Banta), Benton Way (William Benton Wilshire), Burdick Drive (Cyrus Burdick), Crumpston Street (Frank P. Cumpston), DeWitt Drive (Charles Floyd DeWitt), Euclid Avenue, (named after Euclid Avenue in Cleveland), Euclid Street (John Euclid Miles), Floyd Terrace (Charles Floyd DeWitt), Fryman Canyon (Harmon Christian Fryman), Garland Avenue (William May Garland), Garfield Avenue (James A. Garfield), Gorham Avenue (Harry Motson Gorham), Hammel Street (James Hammell), Hollenbeck Avenue (John Edward “Ed” Hollenbeck), Hudson Avenue (Thomas Hudson), Iliff Street (John Wesley Iliff), Jackson Street (William George Jackson), Jeffries Avenue (in Burbank, named after James Jackson “Jim” Jeffries), Jeffries Avenue (in Cypress Park, named after Alexis Cehon and Rebecca Boyer Jeffries), Kwis Avenue (John Davis Kwis), Malcolm Avenue (Malcolm McNaghten), McBroom Street (Mary Margaret McBroom), Monette Place (Mervin Jeremiah Monnette), Norton Avenue (Charles Edward Norton), Ohio Avenue, Painter Avenue (John Painter), Phillips Avenue (Joseph Swift Phillips), Pickering Avenue (Aquila Hurford Pickering), Pontius Avenue (either David Willard “Dave” Pontius or Bert Byron Pontius), Rosecrans Avenue (William Starke Rosecrans), Stocker Street (Ada Brand and Howard Justis Stocker), Stimson Avenue (Charles Milton Stimson), Thomas Street (Milton Thomas), Towsley Canyon Road (Darius Tousley), Unruh Avenue (Hiram Augustus Unruh), Weddington Street (The Weddington Family), Willaman Drive (Glenn Dresher Willaman), Woods Avenue (Judge Edward Payson Woods), and Yoakum Drive (Frank Benjamin Yoakum).
On 19 February 1803, President Thomas Jefferson signed an act of Congress that acknowledged Ohio had adopted a constitution and become one of the United States. It was discovered, however, in1953 that the new state government had failed to pass a formal resolution ratifying their constitution. The date of 1 March 1803 was retroactively established as Ohio’s official day of statehood since that’s the date the state legislature first convened. It was officially adopted as Ohio Statehood Day in 2023.
OKLAHOMA – 16 NOVEMBER (STATEHOOD DAY)
Oklahoma is a Plains state although the eastern counties are sometimes characterized as being located in the Upper South. According to recent surveys, most Oklahoma residents are of German, Mexican, Irish, and Native Ancestry. Only Alaska has a larger percentage of Natives. It was, after all, Indian Territory until 1889 and is still home to more tribal governments (39) than any other state. The Cherokee Nation, located in Oklahoma since their forcible relocation in the 1830s, is the most populous indigenous nation in the US.
Oklahoma became a state on 16 November 1907. There is no state mandated holiday celebrating Oklahoma’s creation but organizations like the Oklahoma Historical Society have long celebrated 16 November as “Statehood Day.”
Oklahoma is in “Tornado Alley” and has the highest density of tornadoes in the US. Cimarron County, in the panhandle, is the only county to border four states. It has produced more astronauts than any other state and is the birthplace of both the parking meter and shopping cart.
Musically, Oklahoma is known for Western Swing and the Tulsa Sound. Bob Wills, J.J. Cale, Jesse Ed Davis, and Leon Russell were all born in Oklahoma and later became Angelenos. Merle Haggard, who wrote “Okie from Muskogee,” was born in Oildale, California to Oklahoma refugees from the Dust Bowl. Woody Guthrie, who was born in Okemah, also fled the Dust Bown and migrated to Los Angeles in 1937 and hosted a show on KFVD until he was fired for being a Leftist. He also performed in Skid Row. His experiences in Los Angeles informed his songs, “Do Re Mi,” “Los Angeles New Year’s Flood,” “Downtown Traffic Blues,” and “Old L.A.“
Oklahoma’s culinary landscape is dominated by fast food chains. The Fried Onion Burger was invented in El Reno in the 1920s. The Big King sandwich was invented Sonic Drive-In was founded in Oklahoma and has locations in Los Angeles but there are better-loved independent local restaurants with ties to Oklahoma including Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen, Harry’s Oklahoma Style Smokehouse BBQ, OKC Smash Burgers, and Patty Boys.
Texas is home to more Oklahomans than any state other than Oklahoma. Oklahoman-Angelenos, though, include Ben Johnson, Brad Pitt, Chuck Norris, Cleavon Little, Dale Robertson, James Garner, Lon Chaney Jr., Reba McEntire, Ron Howard, Sheila Kuehl, Tony Randall, Van Heflin, Will Rogers, and Will Sampson. Los Angeles played Oklahoma in The Grapes of Wrath (1940). Los Angeles places named after Oklahoman-Angelenos include Eastham Drive (Earle Samuel Eastham), Will Rogers State Beach, and Will Rogers State Historic Park. There’s also Oklahoma Avenue and Tulsa Street in Chatsworth.
OREGON
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest. Most Oregonians have ancestral roots in Germany, England, Mexico, or Ireland. Oregon is home to the deepest lake in the US (Crater Lake), It’s the birthplace of the wiki, Nike, Columbia Sportswear, the Hydro Flask, Intel, Pendleton,t he modern Phillips-head screw, and plywood. Oregon is also home to one the contenders for the largest known living organism in the universe – Humongous Fungus – an Armillaria ostoyae with an estimated weight of 6,800 to 31,750 metric tons, an estimated age of 2,400 and 8,650 years, and occupying an area of 9.65 square kilometers.
Oregon, and Portland in particular, has gained national recognition for its culinary innovations in the areas of craft beer, fine dining, and creative food carts. It is where Marionberries were invented in 1945 and tater tots were invented in 1953. Portland is home to more craft beer breweries than any city anywhere. Oregon is the birthplace of Big League Chew, Bob’s Red Mill, Dave’s Killer Bread, Gardenburger, Kettle Foods, Maraschino cherries, Salt & Straw, Stumptown Coffee, Tazo,Tillamook, and Voodoo Doughnut. Locally, Musso & Frank Grill was founded by Oregonian-Angeleno Frank Toulet in 1919.
Washington is home to more Oregonians than any other state outside of Oregon. Prominent Oregonian-Angelenos, though, include Brenda Bakke, Howard Hesseman, Justin Kirk, Kaitlin Olson, Matt Groening, Norton Simon, Richard Diebenkorn, River Phoenix, Susan Ruttan, and Ty Burrell. Los Angeles’s 36th mayor, Norris Poulson (1895–1982), was born in Oregon. Los Angeles played Oregon on Monday Mornings (2013) and Stumptown (2019–2020). There used to be an Oregon Avenue in Santa Monica but it was incorporated into Santa Monica Boulevard in 1912.
Oregon became a state on 14 February 1859. There’s no official state day although some people reportedly celebrate Oregon’s statehood on the nearest Saturday to 14 February (Valentine’s Day).
PENNSYLVANNIA
Most Pennsylvanians have roots in Germany, Ireland, or Italy. Roughly a quarter of Pennsylvanians are German American, in fact, making it the state with the largest German American population of any. Germantown was founded there in 1683. Pennsylvania is the birthplace of the bifocals, Crayola, the Kewpie, Slinky, the smiley face, and the polio vaccine.
Pennsylvania is known for its contributions to various American musical genres. Especially notable is Philly Soul. Coolio, Les Brown, Mac Miller, MGMT, Poison, Ray Luzier, Taylor Swift, Tim Heidecker, Todd Rundgren, and Vic Berger were all formed or born in Pennsylvania – but later relocated to Los Angeles
Culinarily, Pennsylvania is credited as the birthplace of the Big Mac, hard pretzels, Lebanon bologna, the Philly cheesesteak, the shoo-fly pie, the Pittsburgh-style sandwich, the Primanti Bros. sandwich, scrapple, Tastykakes, and the Whoopie Pie. Pennsylvania is the birthplace of several food brands, including Hershey’s, Heinz, Just Born Quality Confections, and Planters. Pennsylvanian chains with locations in Los Angeles include Philly’s Best and Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard. Local restaurants Boo’s Philly Cheesesteaks, Figueroa Philly, Philly West Bar & Grill, and Vinny’s all have roots in Pennsylvania and serve Pennsylvania-style dishes.
The first beer brewery in Los Angeles, built on the site of the Tongva village of Yaangna, was the Philadelphia Brewery. It opened in 1874 and was renamed the Maier and Zobelein Brewing Company in 1882. Yaangna’s sacred tree, known in Spanish as El Aliso, was located in the brewery’s courtyard. El Aliso was chopped down in 1895 to make way (and provide lumber for) an expansion. Today a plaque marks the site of the tree and brewery, demolished in 1985 – across the street from Platinum Showgirls Gentlemen’s Club.
Florida is home to more Pennsylvanians than any other state – but prominent Pennsylvanian-Angelenos include Alaska Thunderfuck, Billy Porter, Caroline C. Burton, Chris Columbus, Elaine Brown, Gregory Ain, Jayne Mansfield, Jobriath, Kat Dennings, Kobe Bryant, Lee Iacocca, Maebe A. Girl, Man Ray, Peter Angelos, Ray Luzier, Riki Lindhome, Tom Mix, Willam Belli, and Wilt Chamberlain.
On television, shows set in Pennsylvania but filmed in Los Angeles include Mr. Belvedere (!985-1989), Equal Justice (1990-1991), Boy Meets World (1993-2000), My So-Called Life (1994-1995), The Office (2005-2013), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-the present), The Goldbergs (2013-2023), How to Get Away with Murder (2014-2020), and Abbott Elementary (2021-the present). Nothing But Trouble (1991) was set in Pennsylvania but mostly filmed in Los Angeles. Famous frontiersman, Daniel Boone – a native of Pennsylvannia who later lived in North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, and Missouri – was the subject of numerous films and television series filmed at the Iverson movie ranch in Chatsworth, including Daniel Boone (1936), Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer (1956), and Daniel Boone (1964–1970).
There are Pennsylvania avenues in Boyle Heights, Santa Monica, and Southeast Los Angeles; and a Philadelphia Street in Whittier. Other Los Angeles places named after Pennsylvania or Pennsylvanian-Angelenos include Albright Street (Jacob Albright), Barnsdall Art Park (Louise Aline Barnsdall), Budlong Avenue (Nancy A. Haughawout Budlong), Clark Drive (Percy Herman Clark), Clinton Street (Winfield Alberto Clinton), Eshelman Avenue (Matthew Mays Eshelman), Grange Street (Harold “Red” Grange), Graynold Avenue (William Herman Reynolds), Hughes Avenue (Thomas Hughes), Lemoyne Street (William LeMoyne Wills), Maclay Avenue/Street (Charles Maclay), Newmire Avenue (Earl Stewart Newmire), Pen Mar Park, Petit Avenue (William Justin Petit), Sartori Avenue (Joseph Francis Sartori), Strohm Avenue (Samuel Strohm), and Wiley Canyon Road (Henry Clay Wiley). Although not named after a Pennsylvanian-Angeleno, Pennsylvania-born horticulturalist Solomon Gates won the prize to name Pomona.
Pennsylvania became a state 12 December 1787. It has no widely observed statehood day, perhaps owing to its falling so close to Christmas.
PUERTO RICO – 25 JULY (PUERTO RICO CONSTITUTION DAY)
Puerto Rico is one of the three Caribbean territories claimed by the US. Puerto Rico is home to the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world (Mosquito Bay), the oldest executive residence in the Americas, the only tropical rainforest in the US National Forest System (El Yunque National Forest), and the largest rum distillery in the world. Puerto Rico is also the birthplace of the hammock and basketball’s three-point shot.
Traditional Puerto-Rican music is typically Afro-Caribbean. Genres born in Puerto Rico include Bomba, Jíbaro, Plena, and Reggaetón. Salsa, although rooted in Cuba, was significantly developed and popularized by Boricua musicians in New York City. Prominent Puerto Rican-Angeleno musicians include Jennifer Lopez, Pachyman and Ricky Martin.
Puerto Rican cuisine is a fusion of Taíno, Spanish, and West African influences. Signature cocina criolla dishes include alcapurrias, arroz con gandules, bacalaítos, Barrilito Rum, coquitos, Don Q Rum, Medalla Beer, mofongo, pasteles, pernil, and tripleta. Although not typically associated with Caribbean cuisine, the Whopper Jr. was invented in 1963 by Luis Arenas Pérez, a Burger King manager in Carolina. Local Puerto Rican restaurants include La Casa de Iris in Long Beach’s St. Mary’s neighborhood, Mofongos in North Hollywood, and Tainos L.A in Canoga Park. There’s also a food truck called The Puerto Rican Spot and a pop-up called Sweedith Bake’s – but neither have a brick-and-mortar location. You can find Puerto Rican products at El Mambi Market in Glendale’s Adams Square neighborhood or El Nuevo Mundo Market in Bell.
Florida is the state with the largest Puerto Rican population. Prominent Puerto Rican-Angelenos (in addition to the aforementioned musicians) include Benicio del Toro, Jimmy Smits, Joaquin Phoenix, José Ferrer, Lymari Nadal, Miguel Arteta, Pili Montilla, Raúl Juliá, Rita Moreno, Rosario Dawson, and Roselyn Sánchez.
Puerto Rico is the largest and most populous permanently inhabited US territory – larger than Delaware and Rhode Island – and more populous than 20 states. Since 2012, in at least four referendums, the majority of Puerto Rican have voted for statehood. However, after 127 years of American control, Puerto Rico is still not a state but rather an unincorporated territory. There is, therefore, no statehood day but 25 July, Puerto Rico Constitution Day, is a fully observed public holiday. Locally, there’s also the annual Día de San Juan Puerto Rican Festival, which takes place at Rainbow Lagoon Park in Long Beach’s Waterfront neighborhood.
RHODE ISLAND – 4 MAY (RHODE ISLAND INDEPENDENCE DAY)
Rhode Island is a state in New England with a strong maritime character that lends it the nickname, “the Ocean State.” Most Rhode Islanders are ancestrally descended from Italians, Irish, or English. Rhode Island is, famously, the smallest state in the US – smaller than Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Marianas, the US Virgin Islands, and American Samoa – all of which are still denied statehood.
Rhode Island is the birthplace of the modern sprinkler system. Rhode Island’s culinary contributions include Del’s Frozen Lemonade and party pizza (pizza strips). Musically, Rhode Island is known for its historic Newport folk and jazz festivals as well as bands like Belly and Throwing Muses. Claudia Lennear, The Cowsills, and Frank Potenza were all born or formed in Rhode Island and later moved to Los Angeles.
Places in Metro Los Angeles with a nominal connection to Rhode Island include Rhode Island Avenue on the Westside and, less obviously, San Fernando’s Truman Street (named after Benjamin Cummings Truman). Newport Beach is apparently not – rather it was supposedly named in 1870 by Captain Samuel S. Dunnells for being a “new port.” Los Angeles played Rhode Island on the series Providence (1999-2002) and Body of Proof (2011-2013). Whilst Massachusetts is home to more Rhode Islanders than any other state, prominent Rhode Islander-Angelenos include Christopher Stanley, Damien Chazelle, James Woods, Jason Marsden, Mena Suvari, and Sam Daly.
Rhode Island was the first colony to renounce its allegiance to King George III in May 1776. However, it was the last of the thirteen colonies to ratify the US constitution, which it did on 29 May 1790. Rather than celebrating a state day, Rhode Island celebrates Rhode Island Independence Day on 4 May.
SOUTH CAROLINA – 26 MARCH (SOUTH CAROLINA INDEPENDENCE DAY)
South Carolina is a state in both the Deep South and Old South. According to some sources (although not without contestation), South Carolina was the entrypoint for about 40% of all enslaved Africans into North America. From 1720 to 1920, West African-descended peoples comprised the majority of South Carolinians. Today, roughly 23% of South Carolinians are descended from West Africans, followed by Germans, English, and Irish.
South Carolina’s Middleton Place Gardens are the oldest landscaped gardens in America. South Carolina is home to the longest free-flowing blackwater river in the world (the Edisto River), the highest concentration of champion trees (in Congaree National Park), and the largest ginkgo farm. South Carolina is the birthplace of the laser and the free-fall amusement park ride.
South Carolina’s culinary contributions include Carolina gold barbecue sauce, Duke’s Mayonnaise, hoppin’ john, the Lowcountry boil, shrimp and grits, soda water, and sweet tea. Denny’s, founded in Lakewood in 1953, moved its headquarters to Spartanburg in 1991.
Musically, South Carolina is celebrated as the birthplace of Gullah Spirituals, Beach Music, and the Shag. James Brown and John Phillips were born in South Carolina and later became Angelenos. North Carolina is likely home to more South Carolininians than any other state; but prominent South Carolinian-Angelenos include Chadwick Boseman, Chris Rock, Elsa Raven, Jessica Stroup, Jonathan Mangum, Johnny Whitworth, Monique Coleman, and Shanola Hampton. Charlotta Bass was born Charlotta Spears in South Carolina in 1874. She moved to Los Angeles in 1910 and found work at the West Coast’s oldest black newspaper, The California Eagle, which she took over operations of in 1912. In 1952, she became the first black woman to be nominated for Vice President of the United States on the Progressive Party ticket. Toland Way, in Glassell Park, is named after another South Carolinian-Angelena, Lucy Toland Glassell.
South Carolina became a state on 23 May 1788. Legislation was passed in 2019-2020 to make 26 March 26th South Carolina Independence Day, however, to mark the date when South Carolina adopted its own constitution in 1776. It was also the first state to secede from the US, which it did in 1860.
SOUTH DAKOTA – 2 NOVEMBER (SOUTH DAKOTA STATEHOOD DAY)
South Dakota is a Plains state. The primary ethnicities of South Dakota are German, Norwegian, and Irish. South Dakota has a large Native population and in addition to English, South Dakota recognizes the language of the O’ceti Sakowin. It is also home to the largest population of Hutterites.
Nearly every attraction one associates with the Dakotas is found in South Dakota (e.g. the Badlands, the Black Hills, the Corn Palace, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park, Deadwood, Mount Rushmore, Sturgis, and Wall Drug). Culinary staples and innovations of South Dakota include chislic, Cookies ‘n Cream ice cream, kuchen, and “tiger meat.”
Minnesota is home to more South Dakotans than any other state. Prominent South Dakotan-Angelenos include Cheryl Ladd, January Jones, Kerry Knuppe, Mike Miller, and Nick Simon.
Los Angeles places and streets named after South Dakotans include Ianita Street (named after Ianita Roselle Habeck Boyar). South Dakotan John William Eggers and his Iowa born wife, Lucille Eleanor, combined their names to create “Lujon.” Los Angeles played South Dakota in Son in Law (1993), Deadwood (2004–2006), and Deadwood: The Movie (2019).
South Dakota became a state on 2 November 1889 – the same day as North Dakota. 2 November is observed as South Dakota Statehood Day.
TENNESSEE – 17 SEPTEMBER (TENNESSEE AND UNITED STATES CONSTITUTIONS DAY)
Tennessee is a state in the Upper South. A plurality of Tennesseans self-identify their ethnicity as “American,” which generally means English or Scotch-Irish. The second largest group are descended from West Africans. Tennessee is notable for having the most known caves of any state – over 10,000. Tennessee is the birthplace of FedEx and the tow truck.
Tennessee has contributed significantly to several American genres of music. Nashville, nicknamed “Music City” (and “Cashville”), is often regarded as the birthplace of recorded Hillbilly music (and later, Country) – beginning in 1927. Sun Records, founded in 1952, was important in recording iconic Blues, Rhythm & Blues, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and Rockabilly acts. Stax, founded in Tennessee in 1957, was an important incubator of Southern Soul. Juicy J, Justin Timberlake, Lisa Marie Presley, and the band, Paramore, all originated in Tennessee and later moved to Los Angeles.
Tennessee is celebrated in the culinary world for giving us Bush’s Baked Beans, cotton candy (Fairy Floss), Cracker Barrel, Goo Goo Clusters, Memphis dry rub ribs, Memphis-style barbecue, Memphis barbecue spaghetti, the Moon Pie, Mountain Dew, and Nashville hot chicken. Locally, Crimson Coward, Howlin’ Ray’s, and Tennessee Hot Chicken (THC). Unfortunately, Wolfie’s Hot Chicken in Highland Park closed a couple of years ago.
Florida is home to more Tennesseans than any other state. Los Angeles, though, is home to prominent Tennessean-Angelenos including Bettie Page, Brad Renfro, Christina Hendricks, Elaine Hendrix, Huell Howser, Jay Garner, John Cullum, Kathy Bates, Megan Fox, Morgan Freeman, Polly Bergen, Quentin Tarantino, and Randall Jarrell.
An historically important Tennessean-Angeleno was developer and former gum salesman Paul Whitney Trousdale, Jr., who bought the old Doheny Ranch in 1954 and turned it into Trousdale Estates – annexed by Beverly Hills in 1955. Lookout Mountain, above Laurel Canyon, was named after the prominence in Tennessee. On the more obvious end, there’s a Tennessee Avenue. On the less obvious end, Tennessee-born developer Ralph Rogers named that community’s Nolden Avenue after his wife, Julia Anna Nolden.
Other Los Angeles places with roots in Tennessee include Passons Boulevard (Oliver Perry Passons), Shields Street (John Howard Shields), Wiley Burke Avenue (Joseph Hartley Burke), and Wilson Avenue (Benjamin Davis Wilson). Los Angeles played Tennessee in Red Badge of Courage (1951). Davy Crockett was born in Southwest Territory, before it was Tennessee. Davy Crockett (1910) was filmed in a Los Angeles studio. Davy Crockett, Indian Scout (1950), Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier (1955), and Davy Crockett (1954–1955) were all shot at Iverson movie ranch or Janss Conejo Ranch in Thousand Oaks.
Southwest Territory became a state on 1 June 1796. Tennessee’ s statehood day isn’t formally recognized but, since 2004, 17 September has been observed as Tennessee and United States Constitutions Day.
TEXAS – 2 MARCH (TEXAS INDEPENDENCE DAY)
Texas is a massive state that spans parts of the Plains, the South, and the Southwest. Its culture is heavily influenced by Mexico, which it was part of until American immigrants – many of them illegal, like Davy Crockett and William Travis) – violently revolted. Mexican Americans are still the largest ethnicity in Texas, followed by smaller populations of German, Irish, English, and African Americans. Texas is also home to the country’s largest population of Czech Americans.
Texas is notable for having the most counties of any state, having the longest border with a foreign country, and for hosting the world’s largest livestock show. Texas is the birthplace of correction fluid, Dell, Dickies, handheld calculators, Mary Kay, the microchip, Neiman Marcus, Southwest Airlines, and 3D printing.
Musically, Texas is known for Tejano, Western Swing, Texas Blues, Boogie-Woogie, and Screw. Barry White, Beyoncé, Bubble Puppy, Don Henley, Fever Tree, Janis Joplin, Kenny Rogers, Meat Loaf, Nelly, Ornette Coleman, Orvon “Gene” Autry, Randy Meisner, Seals and Crofts, Selena Gomez, T-Bone Walker, Travis Scott, and ZZ Top were all formed or born in Texas but later moved to Los Angeles. Texas is also the birthplace of ClearChannel (now rebranded as iHeartMedia), the largest owner of radio stations in the US – and a major factor in the decline of musically recognizable regional music scenes.
Culinarily, Texas is known for Tex-Mex Cuisine. Texan inventions include chicken-fried steak, chili con carne, corn dogs, Dr. Pepper, fajitas, the Frito pie, and frozen margaritas, pumpable nacho cheese, “queso,” and the Ruby Red grapefruit. Texas-founded restaurants founded in Los Angeles include Chili’s (originally a fern bar chain), Church’s Chicken, Fuddruckers, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Whataburger, and Wingstop. While not exactly a restaurant or market (although it approaches them in Japan and Taiwan), it does sell edible substances and was founded in Texas, so I have to mention 7-Eleven. Whole Foods was also founded in Texas. Local Tex-Mex restaurants, restaurants serving other Texan-style dishes, or with Texas roots include Bar Amá, Bludso’s BBQ, HomeState, Maple Block Meat Co, and Ray’s Texas BBQ.
California is home to more Texans than any state other than Texas. Famous Texan (or Texican) Angelenos have included Angie Harmon, Ann Miller, Attica Locke, Barry Corbin, Bill Paxton, Chace Crawford, Craig Ellwood, Cyd Charisse, Dale Evans, Debbie Reynolds, Dennis and Randy Quaid, Eva Longoria, Evelyn Keyes, Fess Parker, Forest Whitaker, Frederick Bean “Tex” Avery, Gary Busey, Gene Roddenberry, Henry G. Sanders, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Joan Crawford, King Vidor, Jared Padalecki, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jensen Ackles, Jim Parsons, Laganja Estranja, Larry Hagman, Luke and Owen Wilson, Matt Stone, Matthew McConaughey, Michelle Rodriguez, Mike Judge, Nathan Janak, Nick Stahl, Paul Winfield, Powers Boothe, Renée Zellweger, Richard Linklater, Rico Rodriguez, Robert Rodriguez, Sissy Spacek, Stephen Stills, Summer Glau, Tom Bradley, Tommy Lee Jones, and Woody Harrelson.
Howard Hughes, born in Houston, was a Texan who had a massive impact on Los Angeles – doing much to shape its aerospace, film, and real estate industries. He produced and directed films, and bought RKO Pictures. His Spruce Goose made just one flight, in the Harbor, and remained in Long Beach until 1993. In the 1960s, Hughes helped oversee the development of Marina del Rey.
When the Japanese population of Little Tokyo was forcibly removed and interred in concentration camps, it was largely black Texan migrants (and Louisianans) who filled the void and transformed the nickname, for a few years, into Bronzeville. In 1979, Texas-based Six Flags took over the local amusement park, Magic Mountain.
Los Anglees streets with obvious ties to Texas include Austin Avenue, Dallas Drive, Houston Street, and Texas Avenue. Other streets with Texas roots include Alanreed Avenue (Alanreed, Texas), Autry Avenue (Gene Autry), Cranks Road (Lewis Astin Crank), Elden Avenue (Elden Patrick Bryan Jr.), Louise Street (Mary Louise Brand), Paddock Street (Charles William Paddock), and Vidor Drive (King Vidor). In Hollywood, Texas was played by Los Angeles in Telefon (1977), Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Reality Bites (1994), Reba (2001-2007), There Will Be Blood (2007), and The Bridge (2013-2014). Animated series, King of the Hill (1997-2010, 2025), set in Arlen, was animated in Los Angeles.
The Republic of Texas was founded by rebellious Texicans on 2 March 1836 – although it was never formally recognized by Mexico which maintained that Texas was a rebellious province still under its control. Texas was admitted to the US on 29 December 1845. Texas still doesn’t celebrate its statehood day, formally, but since 1874 has recognized Texas Independence Day as a legal holiday taking place on 2 March.
UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS – 31 MARCH (TRANSFER DAY)
The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) are located in the Caribbean. The majority of US Virgin Islanders are descended from West Africans. There are also significant populations of French Huguenots (who migrated from nearby Saint-Barthélemy), Jews, and Danes.
The USVI is the only US jurisdiction where cars drive on the left-hand side of the road. Point Udall, on St. Croix is the easternmost point in the United States. Virgin Islander cuisine is related to other Caribbean cuisines and includes items like Johnny cakes, callaloo, and conch fritters. USVI rum distilleries include Cruzan Rum and Diageo.
Musically, the US Virgin Islands are known for quelbe or “scratch music.” Timothy and Theron Thomas (Rock City) were born in USVI and later relocated to Los Angeles, where they’ve written and produced songs for pop stars including Beyoncé, Ciara, and Rihanna.
The state with the largest population of US Virgin Islanders living outside of the Virgin Islands is Florida, with Orlando, specifically, home to the largest community. Prominent Virgin Islander Angelenos, however, include Gabrielle Reece, Kelsey Grammer, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Lisa Canning, and Tim Duncan.
Fearing Germany might use them as a submarine base, the US bought the Danish West Indies for $25 million in 1916. They were transferred to the US and re-named them the United States Virgin Islands on 31 March 1917, which is commemorated annually with transfer day. 31 March has annually been observed as Transfer Day ever since.
UTAH – 24 JULY (PIONEER DAY)
Utah is a state in the Mountain West although, despite that descriptor, large portions are part of the non-mountainous Colorado Plateau and Great Basin. The culture of the state is significantly shaped by the influence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The primary ethnicities of Utahns are English, German, and Mexican. It has the largest percentage of English Americans of any state. It’s also home to the most dark sky parks, the world’s largest open-pit copper mine (the Bingham Canyon Mine), and the largest saltwater lake in the Americas (the Great Salt Lake).
Utah is home to the most Mormons of any state, has the youngest median age of any state, and the largest average household size – all of which are related. Los Angeles was historically home to several Mormon colonies founded by Utahns. The San Bernardino Colony (1851-1857) was founded by the Utahn apostles Amasa M. Lyman and Charles C. Rich. They established the Los Angeles branch in 1895. In the 1920s, the church purchased land in Westwood for the construction of the Los Angeles California Temple, completed in 1956.
Utah is the birthplace of the electric traffic light. Sky Saxon was born in Salt Lake City and later formed the hugely influential Los Angeles garage band, The Seeds. The Used and Neon Trees were formed in Utah and later relocated to Los Angeles. Culinarily, Utah is known for Bear Lake raspberry shakes, funeral potatoes, fry sauce (ketchup mixed with mayonnaise), and fried Utah scones.
California is home to more Utahns than any state outside of Utah. In the 1920s, Utahn-Californians gathered together at Sycamore Grove Park to celebrate their state with Utah State Society picnics. Prominent Utahn-Angelenos include Art Laboe, Julianne Hough, Lindsay Pulsipher, Loretta Young, Marie Windsor, Matthew W. Davis, Parley Baer, Roseanne Barr, and Wilford Brimley.
Alvaro Alma Pratt was a civil engineer from Salt Lake City who also developed parts of Los Angeles after going bankrupt trying to develop a summer resort there. In 1914, whilst living in Laurel Canyon, he married Anna Laura Tharsing. They named their children Dick and Lark. The Pratts subdivided their property, naming streets Dick and Lark Lane before moving to West Hollywood
Utah Street was created in Santa Monica in 1875. However, Santa Monicans rejected the name and renamed their avenue Broadway in a bid to increase property values in 1924. Across town, residents of Boyle Heights felt differently about the “Beehive State” and in 1896, successfully petitioned the city to rename Pleasant Street, Utah Street.
Attempts to make Utah a state stretched on for nearly fifty years, until the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints formally renounced polygamy in 1890. Utah finally became a state on 4 January 1896. It has no formally recognized statehood holiday but 24 July is recognized as Pioneer Day, marking the day in 1847 that Brigham Young led a group of Mormon pioneers into what was then the Mexican state of Alta California, seeking refuge from American persecution. It has been formally observed since 1849.
VERMONT – 4 MARCH (VERMONT DAY)
Vermont is a state in New England. The majority of Vermonters trace their ancestry to England, Ireland, or France. Vermont is notable for having both the least-populous capital, Montpellier (pop. 7,915) as well as the least-populous “largest city” of a state, Burlington (pop. 44,432). Vermont is the second-least populated state in the US, after Wyoming. Vermont, notably, was the first state to ban slavery, the first to ban billboards, and has the greatest concentration of covered bridges.
Musically, Vermont is known for its singer-songwriters and jam bands like Phish, which formed at the University of Vermont in 1983. Grace Potter, Gregory Douglass, and Noah Kahan were all born in Vermont but moved to Los Angeles. Culinarily, Vermont is significant for producing more maple syrup than any other state, having more beer breweries per capita than any other state, and for its artisanal cheese.
New York is home to more Vermonters than any state – but Damon Wayans Jr. is an Angeleno who was born in Vermont. Vermont Avenue, one of the most vibrant and significant streets in Los Angeles, was named by Vermonter, Ozro W. Childs – also the namesake of Silver Lake’s Childs Heights Tract and Childs Court. Childs Avenue was renamed Griffith Park Boulevard in 1925. Vermont Avenue, in turn, lends its name to the neighborhoods of Vermont Knolls, Vermont-Slauson, Vermont Square, and Vermont Vista. There’s also a Burlington Avenue and a Middlebury Street. Moses Hazeltine Sherman was also born in Vermont and lends his name to Sherman Oaks, Sherman Village, Sherman Way, and the town of Sherman (renamed West Hollywood in 1925). Porter Ranch is named after Vermonter-Angeleno, Benjamin Franklin Porter.
Other streets with roots in Vermont include Bicknell Avenue (John Dustin Bicknell), Colodny Drive (Isadorus Omar and Lippe Lafayette Colodny), Ellendale Place (Ellen S.Currier Bowker), Fiske Street (Willbur Fisk), Fisk Lane (James Fisk Jr.), Gould Avenue (Will Daniel Gould), Hooper Avenue (John W. and Adeline M. Hooper), Hoyt Street (George Washington Hoyt), Hubbard Street (Henry Cutler Hubbard), McNerney Avenue (Mary Elizabeth “Mamie” McNerney), Rue de Vallee (Rudy Vallée), Sherman Grove Avenue (Sherman Page), Wheeler Road (Harry Vespasian Wheeler), and Whitcomb Avenue (George Dexter Whitcomb).
Vermont became a state on 4 March 1791. 4 March is celebrated as Vermont Day.
VIRGINIA
Virginia is a state in the Old South although Northern Virginia (NoVA) is widely considered to be more culturally aligned with the Northeast whilst the Piedmont Region is more culturally aligned with the South. Virginia was the birthplace of the plantation economy. Its Tidewater Region has a strong maritime character. Most Virginians have ancestral origins in West Africa, Germany, England, or Ireland. Virginia has been the birthplace of more US presidents than any other state. It is home to the world’s largest naval base (Naval Station Norfolk), the world’s largest office building (the Pentagon), and the nation’s largest cemetery (Arlington National Cemetery).
Virginia is the birthplace of ChapStick. Foods invented in Virginia include Brunswick Stew and the Sailor Sandwich. In 1969, Virginia adopted the slogan, “Virginia is for lovers.” Musically, it is known as a cradle of hillbilly music. In the early 1990s, Virginia Beach emerged as an important center of Southern Hip-Hop. Bruce Hornsby, Chris Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Gene Vincent, Jason Mraz, John Roberts, Joseph Cotten, and Neko Case were all born in Virginia and later moved to Los Angeles.
Florida is likely home to the largest population of Virginians outside of Virginia, although North Carolina has a growing community as well. Well-known Virginian-Angelenos including Constance Wu, Rob Lowe, Sandra Bullock, Shirley MacLaine, Vince Gilligan, and Warren Beatty were all born in Virginia and later became Angelenos.
There are quite a few important developers and settlers in early Los Angeles and Orange County history. Erskine Mayo Ross moved to Los Angeles in 1868 and established Rossmoyne Ranch, which became the basis of the Rossmoyne Tract in 1923. The City of Compton was founded by and named after Dickenson Compton in 1869. John Strother Griffin began subdividing East Los Angeles (later Lincoln Heights) in 1870. Prospector William Kimber Henninger settled what became known as Henninger Flats around 1884. In 1906, Andrew Glassell Jr. founded the streetcar suburb of Glassell Park. He named Drew, Andrita, and Marguerite streets; and Toland Way, after members of his family. Born in Orange County, Virginia, he later co-founded Orange County, California.
There is a Virginia Street and a Virginia Road in Los Angeles – but they are likely named after Virginia Wright Hanna and Virginia E. Crenshaw, respectively, and not the state. Streets actually named after Virginian-Angelenos include Adkisson Avenue (William Thomas Adkisson), Bailey Street (“Uncle Jonathan” and “Aunt Rebecca” Bailey), Fishburn Avenue (John Eugene “J.E.” Fishburn), Toberman Street (James Ralph Toberman), Tullis Drive (The Tullis Family), Warner Drive (Charles Alfred Warner), and Woolwine Drive (William David Woolwine).
Virginia became a state on 25 June 1788. There is no formally celebrated statehood day.
WASHINGTON
Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest. Most Washingtoninians are German, Mexican, Irish, and/or English American. Washington is home to the largest ferry system in the US (Washington State Ferries). It is the birthplace of Amazon, the automatic car wash, Costco, Eddie Bauer, Microsoft, Nordstrom, pickleball, REI, Tommy Bahama, and the single-handle faucet.
Musically, Washington is widely recognized for Seattle grunge and Olympia‘s indie scene. K Records, Kill Rock Stars, and Sub Pop were all founded in Washington. Ben Gibbard, Damien Jurado, Duff McKagan, Jenn Champion, Kenny G, Queens of the Stone Age, and The Screamers were all born or formed in Washington and later relocated to Los Angeles.
Washington leads the nation in the production of apples, blueberries, hops, pears, spearmint oil, and sweet cherries. It produces the most cider and perry, by volume, of any state. Washington also gave the world applets & cotlets, Cinnabon, Cosmic Crisp apples, Dutch Baby pancakes, Rainier cherries, Seattle dogs, and Starbucks.
California is home to more Washingtonians than any other state and famous Washingtonian From the 1940s until at least the 1970s, Washingtonian-Angelenos celebrated Washington at Washington State Society picnics. Washingtonian-Angelenos include Adam West, Brandi Carlile, Constance Zimmer, Dove Cameron, Erika Christensen, Hilary Swank, Jean Smart, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyle MacLachlan, Mikaela Mehrizi Hoover, Rainn Wilson, Robert Young, and Welton Becket. Say Anything…: (1989), Frasier (1993-2004), Weeds (2005-2012), and Grey’s Anatomy (2005-the present) were/are all set in Seattle but were either entirely or primarily filmed in Los Angeles.
There are not many places in Los Angeles obviously named after places in or people from Washington. Most streets or places with “Wahsington” in the name are references to the American president or even Washington Irving – not the state. One exception is Washington Avenue inSanta Monica. Albright Avenue is named after Washingtonian-Angeleno developer Charles Chesley Albright, and created as part of his (and Harry Culver’s) subdivision called Albright. Skid Row, in Los Angeles, is named after the neighborhood in Seattle which was named after the skid-marked road down which lumber was moved there.
Washington became a state on 11 November 1889. There is, however, no formal state day.
WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA – 20 MAY (DC NATIVES DAY)
Washington, District of Columbia – often abbreviated to Washington, DC; Washington; or DC – is the nation’s capital and home, as such, to the nation’s capitol – which an 1899 law makes it illegal to build any structure taller than.
DC’s culture is connected to politics and government. Washington, DC was specifically established to be a federal district and not part of any state, giving the US Congress direct authority over it. Despite having a population larger than both Vermont and Wyoming – DC-ites do not have voting representation in Congress – the source of their license plate slogan “Taxation Without Representation.” Most DC-ites are descended from West Africans or English ancestors. Washington, DC is also home to the largest population of Ethiopians outside of Ethiopia.
Washington, DC is also distinguished from other regions by boasting the highest percentage of women-owned businesses. It is also the birthplace of the American football huddle, Amtrak, the drinking straw, Morse Code, and the telegraph. Washington, DC is the birhplace of several dishes and food items, including the Half-Smoke, Jumbo Slice Pizza, the Mighty Mo Burger, Mumbo Sauce, and the chain, Sweetgreen. Musically, DC is famous for its go-go (officially declared the music of Washington, DC in 2020) and hardcore punk, and emo scenes; as well as its contributions to jazz, centered on U Street. Ben Williams, Henry Rollins, Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen, and William DeVaughn were all born in DC but became Angelenos.
Maryland is home to the largest community of DC-ites outside of Washington, DC. Prominent DC-ite-Angelens, though, include Christopher Lamar, Goldie Hawn, Kellie Shanygne Williams, Leon Frederick, Marvin Gaye, Michael Ealy, Salman Agah, Taraji P. Henson, and William Hurt. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), The West Wing (1999-2006), National Treasure (2004), Scandal (2012-2018), and House of Cards (2013-2018) were all set in Washington, DC – but primarily filmed in Los Angeles studios and other locations. Los Anglees streets named after DC-ites include Dufour Avenue (Aveline Malin Dufour) and Gordon Street (John Turberville Gordon).
Washington, DC was founded on 16 July 1790. On 20 May 2019, that date was designated DC Natives Day, which is the closest Washington, DC has to an official day of recognition (albeit, apparently, one that excludes its immigrant, refugee, and transplant residents).
WEST VIRGINIA – 20 JUNE (WEST VIRGINIA DAY)
West Virginia is a state in the Upper South with a culture rooted in the culture of Appalachia. In fact, it is the only state located entirely in those mountains and one of its nicknames is “the Mountain State.” Most West Virginians trace their ancestry back to Germany, Ireland, or England. West Virginia also has the lowest percentage of residents who speak a language other than English at home.
West Virginia was, in 1908, the birthplace of Mother’s Day — although its founder, Anna Jarvis, grew so disillusioned with its commercialization that she attempted to have the holiday rescinded. West Virginia also gave us brick streets and the steamboat. Musically, West Virginia is known for Mountain Music and Old Time Music but the most prominent West Virginian musician to become an Angeleno was Bill Withers.
Culinarily, West Virginia gave the world the Golden Delicious apple, pepperoni rolls, slaw dogs, the soda fountain, and the Homer Laughlin China Company, upon whose dinnerware they’re all sometimes consumed.
The southern chain, Shoney’s, has historic and somewhat complicated connections to Los Angeles’s Bob’s Big Boy. Bob Wian founded Bob’s Pantry in 1936. The “big boy” was, originally, the name of its signature burger. Meanwhile, in Charleston, West Virginia; Alex Schoenbaum opened Parkette Drive-In in 1947. In 1949, it was renamed Shoney’s. By then, Wian was franchising Bob’s Big Boy and in 1952, Shoney’s became a franchisee of Bob’s Big Boy, and the first Shoney’s Big Boy opened in 1959. Eventually, two-thirds of Big Boy’s were Shoney’s and the two went their separate ways in 1984. At the time, there were 392 Shoney’s Big Boys and at its peak, there were 1,800 Shoney’s locations. Today, there are just 55 Shoney’s and only four Bob’s Big Boy’s left.
Ohio is home to more West Virginians than any other state. Prominent West Virginian Angelenos, however, include Ann Magnuson, Bernie Casey, Bill Withers, Clark Gable, Chuck Yeager, Jennifer Garner, Jeramie Rain, Jerry West, Joanne Dru, Steve Harvey, and Virginia Fox. Los Angeles Streets named after West Virginians include Graynold Avenue (Ella E. Gray), Leadora Avenue (Leadora Bennett Whitcomb), and McComas Street (Joseph Edward McComas).
West Virginia separated from Virginia in 1863 over economic divisions between free hillbillies and slave-owning plantation owners. It declared its statehood on 20 April of that year and the bill establishing it became effective on 20 June. 20 June, a date even featured on the state flag, was granted official recognition as West Virginia Day in 1927.
WISCONSIN
Wisconsin is a Midwestern state known for its strong German and Scandinavian cultural influences. Its people are mostly of German, Irish, or Polish backgrounds. Wisconsin was the birthplace of the blender, Carmex, Harley-Davidson, the outboard motor, the QWERTY keyboard, the snowmobile, and OshKosh B’gosh. The Republican party was founded there as.a progressive, anti-slavery party in 1854. The nation’s first kindergarten was established in Watertown two years later.
One of its nicknames is “the Badger State” and one of its slogans is “America’s Dairyland.” It is known for its beer and cheese — the foundations of both its rich bar culture and “Cheesehead culture.” Wisconsin’s culinary contributions include butter burgers, La Croix, malted milk, and the Miller Brewing Company. Wisconsin is the leading producer in the US of cranberries. Wisconsin’s state pastry is the kringle. Del Taco was co-founded in 1964 by Wisconsin native Ed Hackbarth and Corona native, David Jameson. One of Del Taco’s founders, Ed Hackbarth, was a transplant from Wisconsin. He moved to California in 1953 with the Air Force, and after working for Glen Bell of Taco Bell, he opened the first Casa Del Taco in Yermo, California in 1964.
Minnesota is home to more Wisconsinites than any state outside of Wisconsinites. Famous Wisconsinite-Angelenos (in addition to the aforementioned musicians) include Bonnie Bartlett, Chris Farley, Chris Noth, Deidre Hall, Ellen Corby, Gene Wilder, Heather Graham, Jane Kaczmarek, Jerry and David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Mark Ruffalo, Orson Welles, Rudolph Hass, Spencer Tracy, Tony Shalhoub, Trixie Mattel, Willem Dafoe, and Zack Snyder. Musically, Wisconsin is known for its associations with polka, but it also gave us Al Jarreau, Ava Max, Carlie Hanson, Greg Gaffin, Leland Sklar, Liberace – all of whom moved to Los Angeles. Los Angeles soundstages recreated Wisconsin on the series, Happy Days (1974-1984), Laverne & Shirley (1976-1983), That ’70s Show (1998-2006), and That ’90s Show (2023-2024).
Los Angeles streets named by Wisconsinite-Angelenos include Alta Vista Avenue (Jerome Increase Case), Manhattan Avenue (John Alexander Merrill), and Normandie Avenue (Edwin S. Rowley). Los Angeles streets named after Wisconsinite-Angelenos include Bashford Street (James Whitford Bashford), Burnett Street (Thomas Burr Burnett), Burton Way (Burton Edmond Green), Cecelia Street (Cecila Cudahy Casserly), De Adalena Street (Adeline Anna Schanel), De Wolf Road (Minnie Lynn DeWolfe), Doheny Drive (Edward Laurence Doheny), Effie Street (Effie M. Baxter), Fries Avenue (Amos Alfred Fries), Hoyt Street (George Washington Hoyt), Larrabee Street (William D. Larrabee), Leadora Avenue (Louella Irene Sibley), Mansfield Avenue (John Patrick Mansfield), Matthews Street (Walter J. Mathews), Sparks Street (Nellie Watson Sparks), Vesper Avenue (Frank Horn Vesper), Whitnall Highway (George Gordon Whitnall), Witmer Street (Henry Clayton Witmer), Woodley Avenue (Frank Erwin Woodley).
The site of the Kitanemuk village of Puyutsiwamǝŋ was known to the Americans as Cow Springs until the 1870s, when Danes from Neenah, Wisconsin settled there. When John A. Coovert opened the post office there in 1888, he misspelled it Neenach, which is the name of the Antelope Valley community there today. Beloit Avenue is named after Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin. Cudahy is named after Irish immigrant meatpacker Michael Cudahy, which the town in Wisconsin is also named after.
Wisconsin became a state on 29 May 1848. In 2017, the private company, National Day Calendar, designated a seemingly random date, 15 February, “National Wisconsin Day.” Not that nothing ever happened on that date of note in Wisconsin. In 2011, tens of thousands protested to “Kill the Bill” to stop far right governor Scott Walker’s proposed “Budget Repair Bill.” It was officially proclaimed “National Wisconsin Day” by Governor Tony Evers in 2024.
WYOMING – 10 JULY (WYOMING DAY)
Wyoming is both a Plains and Mountain West state. Most of its people are of German, English, or Irish ancestry. It is the least populous state in the US. Its beauty is showcased at Devils Tower and in the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National parks. Wyoming is the birthplace of the cartridge belt and the garage door opener. Its culinary contributions include chili meat, potato olés, and Wyoming soda bread.
One of its nicknames is “the Cowboy State.” Another is “The Equality State,” because in 1869, when it was still a territory, Wyoming granted women the right to vote before any state. In 1924, it was also the first state to elect a woman as governor.
The largest population of Wyomingites outside of Wyoming is the neighboring (and also-rectangular) state of Colorado. Prominent Angelenos born in Wyoming include Coco Kleppinger, Edward L. Doheny, Jim Beaver, Jim Siedow, John Buck. Mildred Harris, Seth Edeen, and Wally Wales. Los Angeles is home to Wyoming avenues (in Burbank and Sawtelle) and Wyoming Street (in Pasadena), Local streets named after Wyomingite-Angelenos include Milner Road (after Roy Virgin Milner). Los Angeles portrayed Wyoming on the television series, Laramie (1959–1963)
Wyoming became a state on 10 July 1890. 10 July was first celebrated as Wyoming Day in 1935.
CREDITS & FURTHER READING
Major shout-out to L.A. Street Names, a site that was indispensable in researching this piece. As always, additions will be considered and corrections made – especially if you can provide a reputable source. Also check out Daniel Immerwahr‘s book, How to Hide an Empire, which informed the way I conceive of the Greater US.
Support Eric Brightwell on Patreon
Eric Brightwell is an adventurer, essayist, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener who is always seeking paid writing, speaking, traveling, and art opportunities. He is not interested in generating advertorials, cranking out clickbait, or laboring away in a listicle mill “for exposure.”
Brightwell has written for Angels Walk LA, Amoeblog, Boom: A Journal of California, diaCRITICS, Hey Freelancer!, Hidden Los Angeles, and KCET Departures. His art has been featured by the American Institute of Architects, the Architecture & Design Museum, the Craft Contemporary, Form Follows Function, the Los Angeles County Store, Sidewalking: Coming to Terms With Los Angeles, Skid Row Housing Trust, the 1650 Gallery, and Abundant Housing LA.
Brightwell has been featured as subject and/or guest in The Los Angeles Times, VICE, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Magazine, LAist, CurbedLA, LA Times 404, Marketplace, Office Hours Live, L.A. Untangled, Spectrum News, Eastsider LA, Boing Boing, Los Angeles, I’m Yours, Notebook on Cities and Culture, the Silver Lake History Collective, KCRW‘s Which Way, LA?, All Valley Everything, Hear in LA, KPCC‘s How to LA, at Emerson College, and at the University of Southern California. He is the co-host of the podcast, Nobody Drives in LA.
Brightwell has written a haiku-inspired guidebook, Los Angeles Neighborhoods — From Academy Hill to Zamperini Field and All Points Between, that he hopes to have published. If you’re a literary agent or publisher, please contact him.
You can follow him on:
Bluesky, Duolingo, Facebook, Goodreads, iNaturalist, Instagram, Letterboxd, Medium, Mubi, Threads, and TikTok.
Eric Brightwell 