Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains () are a mountain range located in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Transverse Ranges and lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert ...

in the

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley (), sometimes referred to by its initials as SGV, is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, with the city of Los Angeles directly bordering it to the west and occupying the vast majority of the southeastern ...

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...

, United States. Monrovia is the fourth-oldest general-law city in Los Angeles County and the L.A. Basin (after

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, and Pasadena, all now charter cities). Incorporated in 1887, it has grown from a sparse community of orange ranches to a residential community of over 37,000. The population was 37,931 at the 2020 census.

History

The San Gabriel Valley was first inhabited by the

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous peoples of California, Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Channel Islands of California, Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . In the precolonial era, the peop ...

whose traditional lands extended throughout the area of modern-day

greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the eas ...

. While

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (; 1497 – January 3, 1543) was a Portuguese maritime explorer best known for investigations of the west coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. He was the first European to explore presen ...

first discovered California for Spain in 1542, Spanish colonization did not begin until 1769 with the Portolá expedition. In 1771, the entire valley, including present-day Monrovia, came under the domain of the newly established Mission San Gabriel, initially located along the San Gabriel River near the southern edge of the valley. The mission utilized the lower portion of the valley for raising cattle and farming while the uplands, including Monrovia, remained untouched. Following Mexico's

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

from Spain and the Mexican Congress's enactment of secularization laws in 1833, the government of

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

began the process of secularizing missions and dispersing their property. On April 16, 1841, Hugo Reid, a naturalized Mexican citizen from Great Britain, was provisionally granted ownership of Rancho Santa Anita, which included most of present-day Monrovia to the west of Norumbega Drive, and received a

fee simple In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., pe ...

title to the land in 1845. Rancho Santa Anita then changed hands several times before Lucky Baldwin acquired it on April 8, 1875. In 1884, William N. Monroe purchased a 120-acre plot from Baldwin in present-day Monrovia that encompassed both sides of White Oak Avenue (now Foothill Boulevard). Monroe acquired an additional 90 acres in 1885. In 1886, Monroe partnered with Edward F. Spence, John D. Bicknell, and James F. Crank to form a 120-acre town centered around Myrtle Avenue and present-day Colorado Boulevard; the first sale of townsite lots began on May 17, 1886. Within nineteen months, several banks, hotels, churches, and schools were built. In 1887, Monrovia reached a population of 500 and was incorporated on December 15, making it the fourth incorporated city in Los Angeles County after Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Pasadena. Monrovia was connected to Los Angeles by rail in 1888 through the efforts of the San Gabriel Valley Rapid Transit Railroad Company. The Los Angeles Terminal Railway briefly assumed control over the rail line in 1892 before selling the railway to Southern Pacific in 1893. In 1903, the ''Monrovia News'' was established. The same year, the Pacific Electric was opened, providing transportation to and from Los Angeles, making it possible for Monrovia homeowners to work in Los Angeles. In 1905, Carnegie funds became available and, with the help of the Board of Trade (forerunner to the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

) and the Monrovia Women's Club, a bond issue was passed to purchase the Granite Bank Building to be used as a city hall, and to acquire property for a public park. The Granite Building has served as the city hall, fire and police department facilities since 1961 and the fire department since 1974. In 1956, the old Carnegie library building was torn down and a new library was constructed. In March 2007, a new library was voted on by the people of Monrovia. It won with 70% yes votes. The library now has 190,000 books, a heritage room for historical documents, and areas for children, teens, and adults. A city council–manager type government was instituted in 1923. In 1930, the Monrovia Airport, also known as the Foothill Flying Club, was commercially established. The small airstrip claimed to have had 12,000 paying customers use the airfield in 1932 and on May 19, 1938, the first airmail flight took off from Monrovia Airport. Ownership of the airport changed hands several times while it was in operation; pilots remembered it as "the friendliest little airport in the country." Apart from usage by Riley Brothers, TWA Captain and former airshow pilot Kalman Irwin, and Pancho Barnes, the airfield is well known for its use as a movie-filming location. The first movie filmed at the Monrovia Airport was The Fighting Pilot. Other films shot at the airfield include 20,000 Men a Year, The Great Plane Robbery, and most notably, The Big Noise, featuring

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

. The 35-acre airfield, used as a runway as well as an airplane repair and storage service, was forced to close in 1953 after being sold to Consolidated Engineering Corporation for redevelopment as a result of increased land values. Monrovia was the home to the precursor to

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

. In 1937, Patrick McDonald opened a food stand on Huntington Drive (Route 66) near the old Monrovia Airport called "The Airdrome" (hamburgers were ten cents, and all-you-can-drink orange juice was five cents); it remained there until 1940, when he and his two sons, Maurice and Richard, moved the building east to San Bernardino to the corner of West 14th Street and 1398 North E Street, renaming it "McDonald's". In 1995, Monrovia received the All America City Award from the National Civic League.

Geography and ecology

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has an area of . of it is land and of it (0.79%) is water. Wildlife is abundant in the adjacent

, including

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

s like black bears,

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

gray fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener (biology), congener, the diminutive island fox ...

es, mountain lions, and

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

, many of which roam area neighborhoods and visit backyards. In 2024, a mother black bear and her young cubs began regularly visiting a home in Monrovia situated close to the mountains to cool-off and play in the property's swimming pool. By May, the bear family had become such regular visitors, with the homeowners posting numerous videos online, that it was reported on by multiple local, national and international news outlets, including

Sky News Australia Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs fe ...

Surrounding areas

: unincorporated Los Angeles County : unincorporated Los Angeles County Duarte : Arcadia Bradbury : Arcadia Duarte : Mayflower Village / South Monrovia Island

Demographics

Monrovia first appeared as a town in the 1890 U.S. Census; and as a city in the 1900 U.S. Census.

2020

2010

The 2010 United States census reported that Monrovia had a population of 36,590. The population density was . The racial makeup of Monrovia was 21,932 (59.9%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

(41.1% Non-Hispanic White), 4,107 (11.2%) Asian, 2,500 (6.8%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 279 (0.8%) Native American, 76 (0.2%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 5,818 (15.9%) from other races, and 1,878 (5.1%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 14,043 persons (38.4%). The census reported that 36,434 people (99.6% of the population) lived in households, 61 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 95 (0.3%) were institutionalized. There were 13,762 households, out of which 4,725 (34.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,295 (45.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,073 (15.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 778 (5.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 793 (5.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 131 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,649 households (26.5%) were made up of individuals, and 1,276 (9.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65. There were 9,146 families (66.5% of all households); the average family size was 3.24. The population was spread out, with 8,514 people (23.3%) under the age of 18, 3,084 people (8.4%) aged 18 to 24, 10,733 people (29.3%) aged 25 to 44, 10,018 people (27.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,241 people (11.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males. There were 14,473 housing units at an average density of , of which 6,809 (49.5%) were owner-occupied, and 6,953 (50.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%. 18,478 people (50.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 17,956 people (49.1%) lived in rental housing units. According to the 2010 United States census, Monrovia had a median household income of $71,768, with 9.8% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 36,929 people, 13,502 households, and 9,086 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 13,957 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 62.92%

, 8.67%

, 7.02% Asian, 0.87% Native American, 0.13%

, 15.61% from other races, and 4.77% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 35.24% of the population. There were 13,502 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.29. In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 27.4% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $45,375, and the median income for a family was $49,703. Males had a median income of $41,039 versus $32,259 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $21,686. About 9.7% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over. Mexican (27.0%) and German (7.9%) were the most common ancestries.

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

(48.1%) and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

(8.6%) were the most common foreign places of birth.

Economy

Original Tommy's,

Trader Joe's Trader Joe's is an American grocery store chain headquartered in Monrovia, California, with 597 locations across the US. The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, California. In 1979, the chain was s ...

, Green Dot and Naked Juice are based in Monrovia. Monrovia has a "Technology Corridor," which includes AeroVironment, Tanner Research, Parasoft, Xencor, and ITT Deep Space Division.

Top employers

According to the city's 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Arts and culture

Upton Sinclair House, home to author

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American author, muckraker journalist, and political activist, and the 1934 California gubernatorial election, 1934 Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, is in Monrovia and is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

Government

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

, Monrovia is in , and in . A small portion of the city is in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, Monrovia is mostly within with a small portion of the city in .

Education

Public schools

The Monrovia Unified School District operates 12 public schools, consisting of 5 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 1 alternative school, 1 independent study school, and 1 adult school:

Preschools (Pre-K)

* Canyon Early Learning Center

Elementary Schools (TK-5th)

* Bradoaks Elementary Science Academy * Mayflower Elementary School * Monroe Elementary School * Plymouth Elementary School * Wildrose School of Creative Arts

Middle Schools (6th-8th)

* Clifton Middle School * Santa Fe Computer Science Magnet School

High Schools (9th-12th)

* Monrovia High School (MHS)

Alternative Schools (7th-12th)

* Canyon Oaks High School

Independent-Study Schools (K-12th)

* Mountain Park School

Adult Schools

* Monrovia Community Adult School

Colleges and universities

The city is a part of the Citrus Community College District.

Media

Newspapers with offices in Monrovia include the ''

San Gabriel Valley Tribune The ''San Gabriel Valley Tribune'' is a paid daily newspaper headquartered in Monrovia, California, that serves the central and eastern San Gabriel Valley. It operated from a West Covina location from 1955 to 2015. The ''Tribune'' is a member of ...

'', which publishes community news, and ''Monrovia Weekly'', a community newspaper. Public access television is provided by KGEM-TV, which is available primarily to cable viewers, with some content online.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Monrovia's main roads include Foothill Boulevard and Huntington Drive (historic Route 66). It is also served by the Foothill Freeway (I-210). In 2016, Metro opened a new at-grade light rail station in Monrovia, Monrovia station, at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Duarte Road. It is served by the Metro A Line. It is at the location of the former Santa Fe Depot, which still stands.

Health care

The

Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Health Services Los Angeles County, officially the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, operates the public hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and is the United States' second largest municip ...

operates the Monrovia Health Center in Monrovia.

Notable people

* Allen Allensworth, American chaplain, colonel, and founder of Allensworth, Tulare County * Kenny Baker, singer and actor * Corie Blount, basketball player,

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

* Cisco Carlos, Major League Baseball pitcher * Jason Earles, actor * Mary Ford, vocalist and guitarist * Jim Fuller, guitarist for The Surfaris (of "Wipeout" fame) * Prince Gomolvilas, playwright * Dean R. Hirsch, president of

World Vision International World Vision International is an interdenominational Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization. It was founded in 1950 by Robert Pierce as a service organization to provide care for children in Korea. In 1975, emerge ...

* Ernie Johnson, former baseball player and member of the New York Yankees first World Series championship team 1923 * Ian Johnson, American football player * Katie Johnson, Mexican-American soccer player for the San Diego Wave in the

NWSL The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

* Anna H. Jones, African American educator and activist * Steven Kiyoshi Kuromiya, gay rights activist * Ellis McCarthy, defensive tackle for

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

* Corky King, founder of Summum * Scott Land, puppeteer/actor * Don Mankiewicz, screenwriter and novelist * Francis M. Pottenger, Jr., nutrition researcher * Kim Rhode, three-time Olympic gold medalist (six medals total) in trap and skeet shooting * Thomas J. Sargent, 2011 Nobel Prize in Economics, graduated from Monrovia High School in 1961 *

and Mary Craig Sinclair, authors and producers * Jacob Smith, actor * William A. Spinks (1865–1933), champion carom billiards pro, co-inventor of modern billiards cue chalk, oil investor, and flower and

avocado The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (''Persea americana'') is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was priz ...

farmer (developer of the Spinks avocado

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

); also maintained home and farm in nearby Duarte * Leslie Van Houten, Monrovia High School graduate,

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934 – November 19, 2017) was an American criminal, cult leader, and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some cult members committed a Manson ...

follower * Henry B. Walthall (1878–1936), actor * The Fabulous Wonder Twins, entertainers * Ashley Sanchez Professional Soccer Player for the

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the USL W-League (1995� ...

in the

and the USWNT

In popular culture

*The house seen in the 1986 horror-comedy cult film ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

'' is at 329 Melrose Avenue in Monrovia. *The exterior house seen in the 2018

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...

horror

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

'' Bird Box'', which was streamed worldwide on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, is at 304 North Canyon Boulevard and the corner of East Greystone Avenue in Monrovia.

References

External links

* City of Monrovia website * {{authority control 1887 establishments in California Cities in Los Angeles County, California Communities in the San Gabriel Valley Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1887