Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...

in the

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley ( es, Valle de San Gabriel) is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, lying immediately to the east of the eastern city limits of the city of Los Angeles, and occupying the vast majority of the eastern part ...

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The population was 37,931 at the 2020 census. Monrovia has been used for filming TV shows, movies and commercials.

History

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

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

, and

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

, 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. Around 500 BC, the

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...

, a band of Shoshonean-speaking Indians, established settlements in what is now the San Gabriel Valley. They were called the Gabrieliño Indians by early Spanish missionaries, a tribe of

Mission Indians Mission Indians are the indigenous peoples of California who lived in Southern California and were forcibly relocated from their traditional dwellings, villages, and homelands to live and work at 15 Franciscan missions in Southern California and ...

. The Tongva were not farmers; they gathered wild seeds, berries, and plants along rivers and in marshlands. Abundant oaks in the Valley, such as

Coast Live Oak ''Quercus agrifolia'', the California live oak, or coast live oak, is a highly variable, often evergreen oak tree, a type of live oak, native to the California Floristic Province. It may be shrubby, depending on age and growing location, but is ...

and

Interior Live Oak ''Quercus wislizeni'', known by the common name interior live oak, is an evergreen oak, highly variable and often shrubby, found in many areas of California in the United States continuing south into northern Baja California in Mexico. It genera ...

, provided a staple of the Tongva diet:

acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

mush made of boiled acorn flour. In 1769, the Portolà expedition was the first recorded Spanish (or any European) land entry and exploration of present-day California, then the Spanish colonial ''

Las Californias Province The Californias (Spanish: ''Las Californias''), occasionally known as The Three Californias or Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican sta ...

'' of the

Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Amer ...

(colonial México). In 1542,

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo ( pt, João Rodrigues Cabrilho; c. 1499 – January 3, 1543) was an Iberian maritime explorer best known for investigations of the West Coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. He was the firs ...

claimed it from sea for the

King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

. The expedition led by

Gaspar de Portolà Gaspar is a given and/or surname of French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish origin, cognate to Casper (given name) or Casper (surname). It is a name of biblical origin, per Saint Gaspar, one of the wise men mentioned in the Bible. Notable peo ...

proceeded north from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, passing through the area en route to

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by ...

. Accompanying Portolà was

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

padre

Juan Crespí Joan Crespí or Juan Crespí (1 March 1721 – 1 January 1782) was a Franciscan missionary and explorer of Las Californias. Biography A native of Majorca, Crespí entered the Franciscan order at the age of seventeen. He came to New Spain ...

, the expedition's diarist. Much of what is known of early California is from Crespi's detailed descriptions. In 1771, Franciscans established the Mission San Gabriel Arcangel in the San Gabriel Valley. The mission continued after Mexican independence in 1822. In 1833, the Mexican Congress initiated

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

of the missions in

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New 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 ...

, to begin seizure of mission properties for sale to private rancho grantees. In 1841,

Governor Juan Alvarado issued

Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...

s for

Rancho Azusa de Duarte Rancho Azusa de Duarte was a Mexican land grant in present day Los Angeles County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Andres Duarte, a former Mexican corporal. Cities that have been established on the Rancho lands originally ...

to Andrés Duarte, a Mexican soldier; and for

Rancho Santa Anita Rancho Santa Anita was a land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California given to naturalized Scottish immigrant Hugo Reid and his Kizh people wife. Reid built an adobe residence there in 1839, and the land grant was formally recognized ...

Hugo Reid Hugo Reid (April 18, 1811 – December 12, 1852), a Scottish immigrant, was an early resident of Los Angeles County who became known for writing a series of newspaper articles, or "letters," that described the culture, language, and contemporary c ...

, a naturalized Mexican citizen of Scottish birth. Monrovia is made of parts of these two ranchos. In the mid-19th century, most of Rancho Azusa de Duarte was subdivided and sold by Duarte to settle his debts. Some of those parcels became part of the ranch of William N. Monroe, Monrovia's

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

. Rancho Santa Anita changed hands several times before the multimillionaire, silver baron and rancher E.J. "Lucky" Baldwin acquired it in 1875. That same year his Los Angeles Investment Company began subdividing and selling parcels from many of his ranchos. In 1883, 240 acres (970,000 m²) of Rancho Santa Anita were sold to Monroe for $30,000. Additional parcels of Rancho Santa Anita were sold to Edward F. Spence, John D. Bicknell, James F. Crank, and J.F. Falvey. The completion of the

Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad The Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad was a railroad founded on Sept. 5, 1883, by James F. Crank with the goal of bringing a rail line to Pasadena from downtown Los Angeles. Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad was sold and cons ...

in 1887, later sold to the Santa Fe (which would run through Monrovia) and

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

railroads to Southern California brought new people looking for homes and investment opportunities. With this in mind, Monroe, Spence, Bicknell, Crank, and Falvey combined their land under the business name of the Monrovia Land and Water Company in 1886, centered at Orange (now Colorado Boulevard) and Myrtle Avenues; the first tract extended from Magnolia Avenue on the west to Charlotte Avenue (Canyon Boulevard) on the east, a half block south of Walnut on the south and a half block north of Lime on the north. The subdivision was subdivided into 600 by (1.84 acre) lots and sold. The town was incorporated in 1887 under the leadership of prohibitionists who wished to control the arrival of an unwelcome saloon. The newly formed government's first order of business was to pass a tippler's law, prohibiting the sale of alcohol. 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 ad ...

) 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 Roberts International Airport , informally also known as ''Robertsfield'', is an international airport in the West African nation of Liberia. Located near the town of Harbel in Margibi County, the single runway airport is about outside of ...

, 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 ''The Fighting Pilot'' (aka ''Fighting Pilot'') is a 1935 American action film directed by Noel M. Smith and starring Richard Talmadge, Gertrude Messinger and Robert Frazer. When an inventor develops a new type of aircraft, a crooked businessman ...

. 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 act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

. 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 Consolidated Engineering Corporation was a chemical instrument manufacturer from 1937 to 1960 when it became a subsidiary of Bell and Howell Corp. History CEC was founded in 1937 by Herbert Hoover Jr., eldest son of former United States presiden ...

for redevelopment as a result of increased land values. Monrovia was the home to the precursor to

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

. 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 San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

to the corner of West 14th Street and 1398 North E Street, renaming it "McDonald's". UptonSinclairHouse-186-sm

The Upton Sinclair House, home to activist and author

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in seve ...

, is in Monrovia and is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. In 1995, Monrovia received the

All America City The All-America City Award is a community recognition program in the United States given by the National Civic League. The award recognizes the work of communities in using inclusive civic engagement to address critical issues and create stronge ...

Award from the

National Civic League The National Civic League is an American nonpartisan, non-profit organization founded in 1894 with a mission to advance civic engagement to create equitable, thriving communities. The League envisions a country where the full diversity of communi ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

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

Demographics

2010

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

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 hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

(41.1% Non-Hispanic White), 4,107 (11.2%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 2,500 (6.8%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

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

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, 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 the original p ...

, 5,818 (15.9%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1,878 (5.1%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

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 Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

(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 2,686.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,037.0/km²). There were 13,957 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 62.92%

, 8.67%

, 7.02%

, 0.87% Native American, 0.13%

, 15.61% from

, and 4.77% from two or more races.

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 total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

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 t ...

, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...

, 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, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, Monrovia is split between , and . The

Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (abbreviated DHS and LADHS) operates the public hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles County, and is the United States' second largest municipal health system, after NYC Health + Hospitals. DHS ope ...

operates the Monrovia Health Center in Monrovia.

Education

Public schools

Monrovia Unified School District operates public schools.

Monrovia High School Monrovia High School is a public high school located in Monrovia, California, a northeastern suburb of Los Angeles, United States. Monrovia High School is the only grades 9–12 comprehensive high school in the Monrovia Unified School Distric ...

was built in 1887. It was where Monroe School now stands, and housed the entire elementary and high school student body. A new high school on the property now occupied by Clifton Middle School was erected in 1905, and in 1912 was greatly expanded by the addition of new buildings. In 1928 a high school to serve the communities of Monrovia,

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

and

Duarte Duarte may refer to: * Duarte (surname), person's surname (or composed surname) and given name * Duarte, California, United States * Duarte Province, Dominican Republic * Pico Duarte Pico Duarte is the highest peak in the Dominican Republic, on th ...

was built. The same structure now serves only Monrovia students, as the elementary and high school district were unified into one district in 1961. The district now has one high school, one continuation school, two middle schools and five elementary schools. The city's public schools are: * Bradoaks Elementary School, K-5, 930 E. Lemon * Canyon Early Learning Center, public pre-K, 1000 South Canyon * Canyon Oaks High School (public alternative), 7-12, 930 Royal Oaks Drive * Clifton Middle School, 6-8, 226 S. Ivy * Mayflower Elementary School, K-5, 210 North Mayflower * Monroe Elementary School, K-5, 402 W. Colorado * Monrovia Community Adult School 920 South Mountain * Monrovia High School 9-12, 845 W. Colorado Boulevard * Monrovia Mountain School, public Alternative K-8, 950 S. Mountain Avenue * Plymouth Elementary K-5, 1300 Boley Street * Santa Fe Middle School 6-8, 148 W. Duarte Road * Serendipity Early Care and Education Center, K, 940 W. Duarte Road * Wild Rose Elementary, A California Distinguished School K-5, 232 Jasmine * Vista Ridge Academy, 1311S. Shamrock

Private schools

* Calvary Road Baptist Academy, K-12, 319 W. Olive * Church of the Nazarene, K-6 303 W. Colorado * First Lutheran School, pre-K-8, 1323 South Magnolia * First Presbyterian Church Preschool, 101 E. Foothill Boulevard * Immaculate Conception School, K-8, 726 Shamrock

Lycée International de Los Angeles The International School of Los Angeles (french: Lycée International de Los Angeles, LILA) is a private, international school for students aged 4 to 18. The International School of Los Angeles holds accreditation by the French Ministry of Educat ...

previously had its San Gabriel Valley campus in Monrovia. It opened in 1990 on the property of the United Methodist Church.Klein, Karen E.
Monrovia Will Get a Taste of France With New School

Archive
. ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

''. June 20, 1990. Retrieved on June 29, 2015. Its area campus moved to

in 2006.

Miscellaneous education

* Joe Ferrante Music Academy, K-12, 126 E. Colorado Blvd.

Colleges and universities

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

Media

Monrovia community news is provided by the '' San Gabriel Valley Tribune'', published by Digital First Media, and ''Monrovia Weekly'', a community newspaper published by Beacon Media News. Both newspapers have offices in Monrovia. Public access television is provided by KGEM-TV, which is available primarily to cable viewers, with some content online.

Transportation

Monrovia's main roads include Foothill Boulevard and Huntington Drive (historic

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

). It is also served by the

Foothill Freeway The Foothill Freeway is a freeway in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, California, running from the Sylmar district of Los Angeles east to Redlands. The western segment is signed as Interstate 210 (I-210) from its western end at I-5 to S ...

(I-210). In 2016,

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

opened a new at-grade

light rail station A tram stop, tram station, streetcar stop, or light rail station is a place designated for a tram, streetcar, or light rail vehicle to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Generally, tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, b ...

in Monrovia, Monrovia Station, at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Duarte Road. It is served by the Metro L Line. It is at the location of the former Santa Fe Depot, which still stands.

Economy

Original Tommy's Original Tommy's, previously known as Original Tommy's World Famous Hamburgers, is a fast food hamburger restaurant chain in Southern California, United States. It is known for its hamburgers and chili burgers. History The original locati ...

Trader Joe's Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States. The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, Californi ...

, Green Dot and Naked Juice are based in Monrovia. Monrovia has a "Technology Corridor," primarily on Huntington Drive ( old Route 66) east of Primrose Avenue, which includes AeroVironment, Tanner Research,

Parasoft Parasoft (officially Parasoft Corporation) is an independent software vendor specializing in automated software testing and application security with headquarters in Monrovia, California. It was founded in 1987 by four graduates of the Californ ...

, 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:

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 condi ...

'' is at 329 Melrose Avenue in Monrovia.

Notable people

* Kenny Baker, singer and actor * Dicky Barrett, frontman,

Mighty Mighty Bosstones The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (informally referred to as The Bosstones and often stylized as The Mighty Mighty BossToneS) were an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. From the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky ...

, late-night TV announcer *

Corie Blount Corie Kasoun Blount (born January 4, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player born in Monrovia, California. Career A 6'9" power forward/center, Blount starred at the University of Cincinnati during the early 1990s, where he hel ...

, 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 league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

Cisco Carlos Francisco Manuel Carlos Guzmán (born September 17, 1940), best known as Cisco Carlos, is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played from 1967 through 1970 for the Chicago White Sox and Washington Senators of Major League Baseba ...

, Major League Baseball pitcher *

Jason Earles Jason Daniel Earles (born April 26, 1977) is an American actor. Known for his role as Jackson Stewart in the Disney Channel sitcom ''Hannah Montana'' and his role as Rudy Gillespie in the Disney XD series '' Kickin' It''. Early life Earles was ...

, actor *

Mary Ford Mary Ford (born Iris Colleen Summers; July 7, 1924 – September 30, 1977) was an American vocalist and guitarist, comprising half of the husband-and-wife musical team Les Paul and Mary Ford. Between 1950 and 1954, the couple had 16 top-ten hit ...

, vocalist and guitarist * Jim Fuller, guitarist for

The Surfaris The Surfaris are an American surf rock band formed in Glendora, California, United States, in 1962. They are best known for two songs that hit the charts in the Los Angeles area, and nationally by May 1963: "Surfer Joe" and " Wipe Out", which ...

(of "Wipeout" fame) * Prince Gomolvilas, playwright * Dean R. Hirsch, president of

World Vision International World Vision International is an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization. It prefers to present itself as interdenominational and also employs staff from non-evangelical Christian denominations. It was ...

* 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 * 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. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

* Corky King, founder of Summum *

Scott Land Scott Land (born 1962) is a producer and puppeteer. He started puppetry at the age of ten after seeing Bob Baker perform his marionettes at the National Orange Show in 1972. While later studying psychology at UCLA The University of California ...

, puppeteer/actor *

Don Mankiewicz Don Martin Mankiewicz (January 20, 1922 – April 25, 2015) was an American screenwriter and novelist best known for his novel, ''Trial''. Early life Born in Berlin, Germany, he was the son of Sara (née Aaronson) and the screenwriter Herman J. ...

, screenwriter and novelist * Francis M. Pottenger, Jr., nutrition researcher *

Kim Rhode Kimberly Susan Rhode (born July 16, 1979) is an American double trap and skeet shooter. A California native, she is a six-time Olympic medal winner, including three gold medals, and six-time national champion in double trap. She is the most succ ...

, three-time Olympic gold medalist (six medals total) in trap and skeet shooting *

Thomas J. Sargent Thomas John Sargent (born July 19, 1943) is an American economist and the W.R. Berkley Professor of Economics and Business at New York University. He specializes in the fields of macroeconomics, monetary economics, and time series econometrics ...

, 2011 Nobel Prize in Economics, graduated from

in 1961 *

and

Mary Craig Sinclair Mary Craig Sinclair (1882–1961) was a writer and the wife of Upton Sinclair. Early life and education She was born Mary Craig Kimbrough in Greenwood, Mississippi on February 12, 1882, the oldest child of Mary Hunter (Southworth) and Allan McCas ...

, authors and producers * Jacob Smith, actor * William A. Spinks (1865–1933), champion

carom billiards Carom billiards, sometimes called carambole billiards, is the overarching title of a family of cue sports generally played on cloth-covered, billiard tables. In its simplest form, the object of the game is to score or "counts" by ' one's o ...

pro, co-inventor of modern billiards cue chalk, oil investor, and flower and

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for i ...

farmer (developer of the Spinks avocado

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

); also maintained home and farm in nearby Duarte *

Leslie Van Houten Leslie Louise Van Houten (born August 23, 1949) is an American convicted murderer and former member of the Manson Family. During her time with Manson's group, she was known by various aliases such as Louella Alexandria, Leslie Marie Sankston, Li ...

, Monrovia High School graduate,

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

follower *

Henry B. Walthall Henry Brazeale Walthall (March 16, 1878 – June 17, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915). Early life Henry B. Walthall was born March 16, 1878 on a ...

(1878-1936), actor *

The Fabulous Wonder Twins Louis Alberto Campos and Carlos Eduardo Campos (born October 28, 1967), known as The Fabulous Wonder Twins, are a pair of identical twin brothers who have perform together as drag queens. Early life Born in San Salvador, El Savador, in 1967, ...

, entertainers * Ashley Sanchez Professional Soccer Player for the

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and cont ...

in the NWSL and the

USWNT The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles (1991, 1999, 2015, a ...

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