50s Milestones
This mobile radio transmitter only broadcast for three weeks in 1957, but its significance at the onset of a two-decade race ensured its place in history.
Sputnik 1
Named from the Athabaskan words meaning “little dog,” this breed was developed in the late 20th century.
Alaskan Klee Kai
The founder of this brand owned Coronado Yachts before selling the company to produce a design previously rejected by Columbia Yachts. It shares a name with a favorite island.
Catalina
Containing the highest point of elevation in the contiguous US and the largest individual-form organism in the world, these parks are administered as one.
Sequoia and King’s Canyon
This area was formally established in 1914 and became a training center during World War I. Large gun batteries for harbor defense were installed here in 1917, decommissioned by 1948.
Fort MacArthur
This product was the first widely successful consumer application of a revolutionary electronic component, becoming ubiquitous after its introduction in 1954.
Transistor radio
Considered a diverse grouping of breeds, this type of dog is descended from an extinct breed described in the early 19th century as “courageous beyond every other creature in the world, for he will attack any animal, whatever be his magnitude.”
Pit Bull
This brand made a strong impression with its first boat, a 40-foot design by naval architect C. William Lapworth that won first overall in the 1965 Transpac race and continues as a competitive modern racer.
Cal
The largest in the contiguous US, this park contains the lowest point of elevation in North America.
Death Valley
Opened in 1928, this manmade area is notable not least for its bathhouse building, built in 1932 and the original site of the adjacent aquarium starting in 1935.
Cabrillo Beach
Following the largest medical experiment in history at that time, the approval of this for mass inoculations in 1955 made Jonas Salk a household name.
Polio vaccine
Also known in Britain as an Alsatian, this breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz as a sheep herding dog.
German Shepherd
This class of sailing dinghies is perhaps the most common, with more than 215,000 boats worldwide using a common hull design and its own international and Olympic racing class.
Laser
Another named for its woody denizens, this park is managed jointly with three adjoining state parks, all sharing the name of the tallest living thing on earth.
Redwood
The site of a lighthouse built in 1874, this area is also home to the “sunken city”, which began sliding into the ocean in 1929.
Point Fermin
On this day, Hungary’s soccer team beat England, previously undefeated on their home turf, 6–3 in a game which became known as the Match of the Century.
November 25, 1953
Named after the 18th century leader of the rebellion against the House of Orange, this breed is descended from ancient Arctic dogs.
Keeshond
Originally produced by the manufacturer that became Columbia Yachts, this brand has had so many different owners and manufacturers, one could say it’s been “island” hopping.
Islander
Yet another named for its distinctive arboreal inhabitants, this park is also known for its inselbergs, “island mountain” rock formations.
Joshua Tree
This structure opened in 1963 and is the only one of its kind in the greater Los Angeles area and the fourth longest in California.
Vincent Thomas Bridge
William E. Boeing, founder of the Boeing Company in 1916, now the largest exporter in the US, died on this day.
September 28, 1956
This hunting breed's original foundation stock came from Congo, where it is known as "dog of the savages," "dog of the villagers," or “dog of the bush.”
Basenji
Although their fiberglass designs are often associated with newer boats in the US, where a production facility opened in 1986, this brand has been manufacturing boats in France since 1884.
Beneteau
“It is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter.” – John Muir
Yosemite
Named after a real estate developer who deeded it to the city of LA in 1920, this 10 acre green space is full of life and close to home.
Averill Park