Bellflower

About Bellflower

Bellflower is a city in southeastern Los Angeles County, about 15 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles between Downey, Lakewood, Norwalk and Paramount. In the early 1900s the area was farm country known as Somerset, and it took the name Bellflower from the Bellflower apples grown in a local orchard. Dairy farms, many run by Dutch and Portuguese families, spread across the land in the following decades, and after World War II the fields gave way to new neighborhoods as Southern California boomed. The city incorporated in 1957.

Today Bellflower is a compact, diverse community of around 80,000 people. Bellflower Boulevard is the main street, with the city's civic center, shops and a long list of family-run restaurants, from Mexican seafood and taquerias to bakeries and Asian kitchens. The San Gabriel River runs along the city's eastern edge, and its riverside trail is a popular route for cyclists heading toward Long Beach and the coast.

For visitors, Bellflower's charm is in its local landmarks. The Los Angeles County Fire Museum shows vintage fire engines and firefighting history, and a giant concrete donut from a 1950s drive-in still sits on the roof of what is now Bellflower Bagels, one of the region's classic roadside signs. Parks such as Simms Park and Thompson Park offer shady lawns and sports fields, and the Clifton M. Brakensiek Library anchors the civic center.