After the Jesuits built a series of missions along the coast of Alta California, the Spaniards established a port in 1781 as a supply stop for their coastal shipping routes. With the arrival of the transcontinental railroad and the discovery of oil, people began to arrive in droves. In 1923 the much-photographed giant letters were erected on the hill, and the golden age of Hollywood was born. The scale of Los Angeles, 90 miles long by 50 miles wide, defies belief.