More about Monterey Park California

The area of Monterey Park was originally part of the Mission San Gabriel and later the Rancho San Antonio in the early 19th century. The area first began to break off into its own entity when 5,000 acres were purchased by Alessandro Repetto who built his home not far from where the Edison substation sits today. By 1870, Richard Garvey, a mail rider for the U.S. Army, took his route through Monterey Pass, a trail that is now known as Garvey Avenue. Garvey began bringing spring water to the area from the Hondo River and constructed a 54-foot high dam, forming Garvey Lake in what is now Garvey Ranch Park. The residents of the area began petitioning for city hood in 1916 after the cities of Pasadena, Alhambra and South Pasadena proposed to construct a large sewage treatment facility in the area. The residents officially incorporated in May 1916 by a vote of 455 to 33. The City’s Board of Directors outlawed sewage plants within the city limits and named the city Monterey Park; the city’s name was taken from an old map of the area showing oak covered hills called Monterey Hills. In 1920 a large section of the city broke off and became what is today known as the city of Montebello. Monterey Park is the home of the first sealed bag of potato chips; packaged by Laura Scudder in 1926, she ironed wax paper together to form a bag to maintain freshness and soon began to deliver the sealed bags of chips to various retailers. Monterey Park has seen its fair share of controversy along with discovery; in the late 1980s, the city passed an ordinance requiring all signs to be posted in English in an attempt to regulate the massive growth the city experienced from Asian immigrants. This move caused many Asian immigrants and businesses to shift and establish themselves in the neighboring city of Alhambra. The city is 42.32% Chinese, which makes it the community in the United States with the largest population of Chinese descent. The Chinese-American population in Monterey Park is very diverse, attracting immigrants from Taiwan, Vietnam. Myanmar, Indonesia and Mainland China. The city is also home to the Garvey Ranch Observatory, operated by the Loa Angeles Astronomical Society, it houses a telescope construction workshop, a library and a historical museum.