|
Carson is a business-friendly
city with oil refineries, large corporate entities and an ideal
location for commutes to Los Angeles. Long recognized for the
Goodyear Blimp that sits in a field adjacent to the 405 Freeway,
Carson is also home to California State University, Dominguez
Hills and Home Depot Center, considered the nation’s most
complete training facility for Olympic, amateur and professional
athletes.
Created around a 27,000-seat soccer stadium, 13,000-seat tennis
stadium, 20,000-seat track & field facility and indoor velodrome, the complex is
located on the university campus. Home of the 2002 MLS Cup
Champion Los Angeles Galaxy and the U.S. Soccer Federation
(national team training headquarters, the complex has also been
designated “official” training sites for USA Cycling, United
States Track & Field, the AVP and the USTA. Concerts are
held there, as well.
Carson, named after one of the
region's settlers, is in the South Bay's “Golden Triangle” of trade -an area
bounded by LAX, the twin ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles,
and the Alameda Corridor. One of the most significant Southern
California locations, Carson can seem quite industrial but
enjoys beautiful neighborhoods with parks, schools and an
attractive civic center. A tour of the grounds can include a
walk on a footbridge to a bricked courtyard with a water
fountain surrounded by flowers, views of grass lawns leading to
a community recreation building framed by purple jacaranda trees
and a stroll through a small Xeriscape garden.
Incorporated in 1968, the city of
Carson is named after John Manuel Carson, a key
figure in the development of the South Bay in the 20th Century,
and the head of the Dominguez Water Corporation.
Inhabited by Gabrielino Indians
over 6,000 years ago, Native Americans like the Suangna or Tongva established villages in the Rancho San Pedro
long before the first white men arrived on the shores of
Southern California. In 1782 the Spanish governor of
California created the very first land grant in the history of
California - a vast expanse of 75,000 acres of land, which he
named Rancho San Pedro. It stretched from the Los Angeles river
all the way west to the Pacific Ocean, encompassing what today
would be the cities of Carson, Torrance, Redondo Beach, Lomita,
Wilmington, and parts of San Pedro.
The center of this region was the Dominguez Rancho
homestead, located in what today is the eastern portion of
Carson, known as Dominguez Hills. It is there that historic Dominguez Ranch Adobe
was built in 1826. It still stands today, perched atop a hill and surrounded by acres of
well-tended landscaping. The 170-year-old Dominguez Ranch Adobe
features scheduled tours and an historical museum open to the
public. Location: 18127 Alameda Street. Call: (310) 631-5981 or
(310) 636-6030.
Other points of interest include
Southbay Pavilion, a shopping mall with JC Penney, a Food Court
and IKEA Home Furnishings located next door, Victoria Park & The
Links at Victoria Golf Course, weekly Farmer's Market, Filipino festival, concerts, sporting
events and more.
|
