SeeCalifornia.com

You’ve been to the city of San Pedro where the cruise ships leave Los Angeles harbor, right? Probably not. San Pedro isn’t a city. It’s a region within the City of Los Angeles. The same goes for Hollywood and North Hollywood where you take the Starline or TMZ tours and see the movie stars. They aren’t cities. Los Angeles County contains 88 cities, but there’s almost an equal number of places that seem like cities, but they are not.   27% of California’s population (close to 10.5 million people) live in Los Angeles County and for those who have chosen to reside in “not a city” places such as Sherman Oaks, Northridge and Panorama City, their communities have come up with coping mechanisms to establish identities and not feel forgotten or lost. For instance, San Pedro has a chamber of commerce, a visitors bureau, a maritime museum, an aquarium, historical society, historic theater, two ship museums, the cruise port, two historic lighthouses, a military museum, beaches, a pier, a replica red car ride, whale watching cruises, concerts, Fanfare fountains, and the list goes on and on. And where do the tax dollars go in San Pedro? To the city of Los Angeles, of course.  So the next time you stand near the corner of Hollywood & Highland and gaze out at the “HOLLYWOOD” sign, you’ll understand why tourists love L.A. Hollywood is a small part that very big city.