Surroundings, Los Angeles

The Culver Studio is housed in a grand colonial mansion, best known as the location where Gone with the Wind and Wizard of Oz were filmed. The studio was built by silent movie pioneer Thomas Ince in 1918 and then purchased by Cecil B. DeMille. Culver Studio has seen the filming of Raging Bull, ET, City Slickers, The American President, Armageddon, Galaxy Quest, City Of Angels and Stuart Little.

CCLO is Culver City's premier performing arts program for youth ages 7 - 17 since 1987. Each summer, students train, rehearse and perform a full-scale, professional-quality Broadway Musical. A professional live orchestra accompanies each production.

ATTRACTION IS CLOSED.Exploration Station is a children's museum that houses tropical animals in installations created by Hollywood set designers.

Highlighting the Lower Jurassic era with a collection of artifacts, this educational museum also features a hands-on program.

Angeles National Forest offers visitors a variety of outdoor activities on its 650,000 acres. There are 110 campsites, hiking trails, 33 picnic areas, hiking trails and skiing in the winter.

The Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia has 127 acres of plants, a research center, a library and a bird sanctuary. There is also a lake.

Santa Anita Park in Arcadia was established in 1934 and is a major center for horse racing.

The Homestead Museum features the Workman House, an 1870s country home constructed around an 1840s adobe built by William and Nicolasa Workman; La Casa Nueva, a 1920s Spanish Colonial Revival mansion noted for its architectural crafts, built by the Workmans' grandson Walter Temple and his wife, Laura; and El Campo Santo, one of the region's oldest private cemeteries, containing the remains of Pio Pico, the last governor of Mexican California.

Industry Hills Golf Course is located in the city of Industry, near Los Angeles. Thirty-six holes of golf spanning 650 acres with 160 sand bunkers and eight lakes.

The Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology is located on the campus of a high school, The Webb Schools. The museum is named after Dr. Raymond M. Alf, a math and science teacher, and who dedicated his life to paleontology and ensuring his students took part in fossil-finding trips.The museum's collection can boast that 95% was found by students and staff of the school. The Hall of Footprints features a diverse array of footprints and trackways. The Hall of Life is dedicated to the history of life and features fossil mamals, dinosaur eggs and models of dinosaurs.

The Montgomery Gallery in Claremont has displays of fine art such as 15th and 16th century Italian panel paintings, 20th century American Indian art and artifacts, and photos.

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont is divided into three areas with displays of native flora. There are 85 acres to discover including a herbarium, seed storage, botanical library and educational programs.

Boomers offers video games, pinball machines and redemption games along with miniature golf, batting cages, bumper boats, go carts and a Kids Fun Zone. This location is one of four in San Diego County.

The El Monte Historical Society Museum has displays from the town's history including photos, clothing and furniture. Replicas of an early 1900s schoolroom and Victorian-era parlor are displayed.

The Great Western Forum in Inglewood serves as the home of Faithful Central Bible Church as well as concerts and community events.

The Descanso Gardens is a 165 acre woodland garden with an impressive display of camellia shrubs and roses. The garden features towering California oaks, a Japanese garden, a bird observation station and a grove of lilacs.

HistoryThis mission's church, which still serves as such today, was built by the Franciscan Antonio Cruzado in 1806, using as a model the Moorish cathedral at Cordoba, with some notable modifications. The bell-tower fell victim to an earthquake in 1812 but the church remained standing. North America's first grape-vines were cultivated on its land and, although others followed its example, San Gabriel's area of cultivation remained the biggest and its mission the most prosperous. Serra had brought some cuttings from Spanish vines with him in 1769 so as not to be dependent on imports from Spain.At the San Gabriel mission, where some 1000 Indians - called Neophytes - lived and worked, soap, leather and tallow were produced as well as barley, maize, beans, peas and lentils. More than 2,000 orange, lemon, fig, apple, peach and pear trees were planted.Places of interestThe museum with its parchment scrolls and old and valuable books going back to the 15th century is well worth a visit. On the mission land is a cemetery where more than 6,000 Indians are buried, mainly victims of epidemics. At the beginning of the 19th century about 100,000 of North America's 900,000 Indians must have lived in California.

The Pio Pico State Historic Park in Whittier contains the home of Pio Pico, California's last governor under Mexican rule. Using current construction techniques, Pico's adobe home has recently been "structurally stabilized."

The Rose Hills Memorial Park is located on Workman Mills Road in Whittier. With over 1,400 acres of property, it is one of the world's largest memorial parks.

ATTRACTION HAS MOVED.There is a museum devoted to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in Whittier.