Palmdale CA Moving Companies

Palmdale, California

Palmdale, California located in the Antelope Valley in the north of Los Angeles County, was incorporated as a city in 1962. It has a culturally mixed population of over 150,000, a large proportion of which works in Los Angeles. Between the 1980s and 1990s Palmdale grew at a rate faster than any other city in the U.S. Even taking into account the continuing sub-prime mortgage problems, it remains the fastest growing city in California. It is served by the LA/Palmdale Regional Airport.Those moving to Palmdale will discover extremely dry and hot summers and cool, damp winters, averaging 300 sunny days annually.

History:
The first Europeans who settled in the Palmdale area in 1886 were Lutherans of Swiss and German decent who migrated from the American mid west. Originally called Palmenthal (which translates from German as Palm Valley), the town took on official status when a post office opened in 1888, but hard times befell these settlers who did not know how to cultivate crops in a desert climate. Most abandoned the town and relocated nearer to the Southern Pacific Railroad which had connections to San Francisco and Los Angeles and this area became Palmdale. In 1913 the California-Los Angeles Aqueduct was completed, bringing much needed water to the growing town. The Harold Reservoir and the Littlerock Dam were later constructed to further boost the town’s water supplies.

Economy:
Muroc Air Base was established near the town in 1933 and was later renamed Edwards Air Force Base. Then, in 1952, US Government purchased Palmdale Airport and United States Air Force Base 43, used as a testing and development unit, was established. In 1953 Lockheed joined this facility, creating the largest employer in Palmdale and the aerospace industry remains so to this day. The City of Palmdale offers reduced taxes to manufacturers who relocate their business to the specially developed Enterprise Zone or the Palmdale Federal Foreign Trade Zone.

Tourism:
The majority of tourist locations in the area are in Los Angeles, but Palmdale does have some sites of interest to visitors. The Devil’s Punchbowl, a protected nature reserve, is a smaller version of the Grand Canyon and has hiking trails along Big Rock Creek. For winter travelers, the High Mountain Ski Resort is close to Palmdale and, in summer, the Palmdale Amphitheater holds world class concerts in the evenings.

Colleges/Universities:

• California State University
• Chapman University
• University of La Verne
• The AERO Institute

Interesting Fact:

• Palmdale has connections to the motion film industry, with many movies having been filmed in and around the city, such as Star Trek Generations and Star Trek Nemesis, Volcano, Bubble Boy, The Terminal, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.