Today, the downtown district of Los Angeles is one of the US's biggest central business districts. They called it Hollywoodland. The last letters have long since dropped off, but just 30 years after the sign was erected, the area below the sign had become the centre of a fast-developing global film industry. Beyond the film industry, Los Angeles adopted a unique Spanish-inspired architectural style, an aviation pioneering and military history, and a diverse culture that hasn’t always been embraced.