Monrovia, CA

Monrovia grew from the Southern California land boom of the 1880s, and its original center remains legible in the street pattern. William Monroe and four partners laid out a 120-acre townsite around present-day Colorado Boulevard and Myrtle Avenue; lots went on sale in 1886, and Monrovia incorporated in 1887 as Los Angeles County's fourth city. Author and social critic Upton Sinclair later made a 1923 house on North Myrtle Avenue his principal home from 1942 through 1966 and wrote virtually all of his later work there. The property is now a National Historic Landmark on the same north-south street that still organizes much of Monrovia's community activity. That places a nationally known writer's working life inside the main corridor connecting Old Town with the foothills.

ATTRWehwalt / CC BY-SA 3.0

Myrtle Avenue rises toward the San Gabriel foothills and Monrovia Canyon Park. The 80-acre park contains hiking and nature trails leading toward a waterfall, along with a nature center and picnic areas. Its recent history shows the practical effect of living beside steep mountain terrain. Beginning in 2020, the park endured closures associated with the pandemic, the Bobcat Fire, and damaging rainstorms. It reopened in 2025 after work that expanded parking, replaced infrastructure, added an outdoor education area, and created an overlook near the Nature Center. Vehicle parking fees began in September 2025, and annual passes are sold at the park and Monrovia Community Center. The refreshed Nature Center reopened in August 2025 with wildlife displays, local park history, and a changing seasonal exhibit; city programs in 2026 included children's nature crafts there.

ATTRHolly Cheng / CC BY-SA 3.0

South of Old Town, Station Square forms a newer center around the 1926 Santa Fe depot and Monrovia Station. The city invested about $25 million in a transit plaza, promenade, park, streets, and other improvements as rail service arrived; the station now lies on Metro's A Line, with a current Foothill Transit connection. Several new apartment buildings have opened around the square, adding homes beside rail and public space. Corporate and research work broadens the economy beyond Old Town retail. Trader Joe's and Southern California News Group have offices in Monrovia, alongside biotechnology, aerospace, and research organizations including Xencor, AeroVironment, and Oak Crest Institute of Science.

ATTRAntony-22 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Myrtle Avenue remains the most continuous setting for shared routines. Old Town combines restaurants, shops, and civic gathering places with a year-round Friday Night Street Fair and Market offering produce, prepared foods, vendors, and live music. Library Park, beside the public library, hosts much of the annual Monrovia Days festival and part of the city's summer concert series. Station Square Park hosts the rest, linking the older center with the rail district through the same seasonal program. In 2026, concerts at the two parks ranged from salsa and jazz to funk, reggae, and rock. On Friday evenings, the street market returns to Myrtle; on summer Sundays, music shifts between the library lawn and the station plaza.