Most residents know La Mirada for its tree-lined neighborhoods, community spirit, and deep roots in Southern California history. But many are surprised to learn that when the city officially incorporated on March 23, 1960, it wasn’t called La Mirada at all.
For a brief period, the newly formed city carried the name Mirada Hills.
The decision was part of the incorporation process as community leaders worked to establish the city’s identity. However, many longtime residents were unhappy with the change. To them, “Mirada Hills” ignored the area’s rich heritage and severed the connection to the historic La Mirada ranch lands and citrus groves that had defined the community for decades.
The name “La Mirada” stretches back to the late nineteenth century when publisher and entrepreneur Andrew McNally established his vast ranch estate in the area. The ranch became known as La Mirada, Spanish for “the view” and over time the name became synonymous with the surrounding community.
As opposition to the new city name grew, residents organized an effort to restore the historic designation. Their opportunity came later that same year through a ballot measure known as Proposition T.
Voters overwhelmingly approved the measure, officially changing the city’s name from Mirada Hills back to La Mirada. Historical records indicate the action made La Mirada the first city in Los Angeles County to change its name through a vote of the people.
The episode lasted only a few months, but it revealed something important about the community’s character. Residents cared deeply about preserving their local identity and were willing to mobilize to protect it.
Today, more than sixty-five years later, the name La Mirada remains a direct link to the city’s agricultural beginnings, its ranching history, and the vision of the community’s earliest settlers.
So the next time someone says La Mirada has always been La Mirada, you can gently surprise them with a little piece of local trivia: For a few months in 1960, it was officially Mirada Hills and the people voted to change it back.
