Los Santos in GTA III Era
| CITY Los Santos | |
|---|---|
| File:Los Santos.jpg | |
| Appearance(s): |
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Mentioned in GTA IVSeen in a poster of Umberto's house in GTA Vice City Stories. |
| State: | San Andreas |
| Population: | 3,200,000 |
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Los Santos is a fictional city located in San Andreas, and it is the first city encountered in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Los Santos is the capital of the State of San Andreas. Los Santos is based on Los Angeles, California. Los Santos translates to 'The Saints', a play on Los Angeles, meaning 'The Angels'. This also applies to the two cities' nicknames - "The City of Saints" and "City of Angels".
Like Los Angeles, Los Santos is a huge, sprawling co-mingling of cultures and perspectives, full of two-bit hoodlums and small-time actors. The population of over 3 million people is divided into 32 districts, which are home to movie and television studios, multi-million dollar estates, crack-ridden ghettos, and a busy international airport. Numerous roads and a central rail line connect Los Santos to San Fierro and Las Venturas. The most infamous street in the city is Grove Street, located in Ganton, southeast of downtown Los Santos, and just minutes south of East Los Santos, which contains a predominantly Hispanic population. Grove Street is home to the Families gang, a once powerful gang whose influence faded due to highly successful drug trafficking by the rival Ballas gang.
Los Santos' police are corrupt and the politicians avoid the streets like the plague. There is a motocross track, several basketball courts, and an observatory (modeled after the Griffith Observatory) to satisfy stargazers. Occasionally, independent drug dealers are seen carrying huge wads of cash from recent transactions. Graffiti is commonplace and gambling venues like the racetrack are frequented by many of the city's denizens. The suburbs nestled in the north hills (modeled after the Hollywood Hills) are home to wealthy businessmen, movie stars, and Madd Dogg, the killer rap artist, alike. The occasional shack or trailer park can also be spotted within this highly affluent district, testaments to the period prior to the gentrification of northern Los Santos.
Storyline
Los Santos is the hometown of GTA San Andreas protagonist Carl "CJ" Johnson, who returns from living in Liberty City for five years, after his brother informs him of their mother's death. The game starts upon CJ's arrival in Los Santos, and the story revolves around a lengthy Gang War between CJ's gang, The Grove Street Families, and their fiercest rivals, the Ballas. Tensions between rival Hispanic gangs, Varrios Los Aztecas and Los Santos Vagos, also threaten the tenuous hold with which GSF clings to its paltry territories. However, due to the betrayal of senior members Big Smoke and Ryder, GSF leader Sweet Johnson is arrested and CJ is run out of town by C.R.A.S.H., causing the disbandment of the Grove Street Families and the mass takeover of Los Santos by the Ballas and Vagos, with the Ballas taking all of what used to be Grove Street territory.
The city is torn apart over the issue of gang warfare. The Grove Street Families and Front Yard Ballas constantly spar over total dominance in Ganton, Idlewood, Jefferson, Willowfield, and even East Los Santos. In 1992, police officers Frank Tenpenny and Eddie Pulaski of C.R.A.S.H. (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) are charged with murder and sexual assault, after their extensive corruption becomes blatantly obvious, even to the general public. However, Pulaski had already been murdered by CJ in the Arco del Oeste area prior to those events, after he and Tenpenny, who were using CJ as their patsy, decide there is no more use for him. Alone at the court hearing, however, Tenpenny is released when the prosecutor inexplicably drops all charges. The entire city, outraged that Tenpenny walks free from horrendously heinous charges of which he is obviously guilty, erupts in riots. This is a reenactment of the L.A. Riots (also known as the Rodney King Riots) after the release of the police officers that brutally beat up Rodney King. During the ensuing chaos, CJ kills cocaine drug lord and ex-gang member Big Smoke. CJ then chases after Officer Tenpenny, who dies when his stolen Fire Truck careens off the side of the overpass over Grove Street. When news of Tenpenny's death reaches the people of Los Santos, the riots cease, and the Grove Street Families regain their spot as the strongest gang in Los Santos.
Landmarks
Los Santos has references to famous L.A. landmarks, including:
- Griffith Observatory
- City Hall (at Pershing Square).
- Hollywood Sign (as the Vinewood Sign).
- Walk of Fame
- Watts Towers
- Capitol Records Tower (as the Blastin' Fools Records Tower).
- U.S. Bank Tower
- Santa Monica Pier (incorporated into Santa Maria Beach).
- Los Angeles River
- The Forum (as the Los Santos Forum).
- Stahl House (as the Mulholland Safehouse).
- Union Station (as Unity Station).
- Two California Plaza
- Gas Company Tower
- Mulholland Drive (incorporated into Mulholland).
- House of Blues
- Grauman's Chinese Theater (as the Cathay Theater).
- Vincent Thomas Bridge (as the unnamed suspension bridge connecting the Ocean Docks island).
- Los Angeles Convention Center (as the Los Santos Conference Center).
- Chemosphere
- Beverly Wilshire Hotel
- Muscle Beach
- El Capitan Theater (as the El Dritch Theatre, across the street from Cathay Theater).
- Hollywood Boulevard
- Twin Towers Correctional Facility
- Bonaventure Hotel (as the Atrium).
- Shrine Auditorium (as the Alhambra).
- Rodeo Drive (incorporated into Rodeo).
- Sunset Boulevard
- Melrose Avenue
- Whisky a Go Go
- Randy's Donuts (as Jim's Sticky Ring).
- Standard Hotel
- Hyatt West Hollywood
- Argyle Hotel
- Terminal Island (incorporated into Ocean Docks).
- Imperial Courts
- Nickerson Gardens
- Jordan Downs
- Chateau Marmont Hotel
- Hollywood Masonic Temple (located just beside El Dritch Theatre, across the street from Cathay Theater).
- Sunset Vine Tower
- Beverly Hills City Hall (as the Los Santos Police Headquarters at Pershing Square).
- Biltmore Hotel (at Pershing Square).
- Century Plaza Hotel
- St. Regis Los Angeles Hotel & Spa
- Carney's Express Limited
- Figueroa Tower
- Venice Boardwalk
- North Broadway Viaduct
- 6th Street Bridge
Districts
- Commerce (Los Angeles Civic Center)
- Conference Center (Los Angeles Convention Center)
- Downtown Los Santos (Downtown Los Angeles)
- East Beach (Long Beach)
- East Los Santos (East Los Angeles)
- El Corona (El Sereno)
- Ganton (Compton)
- Glen Park (Echo Park)
- Idlewood (Inglewood)
- Jefferson (Watts)
- Las Colinas (Los Feliz)
- Little Mexico
- Los Flores (Boyle Heights)
- Los Santos International Airport (Los Angeles Int. Airport)
- Marina (Marina del Ray)
- Market (West Hollywood)
- Mulholland (Hollywood Hills)
- Mulholland Intersection (US 101 and SR 110 Intersection (Four Level Interchange))
- Ocean Docks (Port of Los Angeles)
- Pershing Square (Pershing Square)
- Playa del Seville (Playa del Ray)
- Richman (Bel Air)
- Rodeo (Beverly Hills)
- Santa Maria Beach (Santa Monica)
- Temple (North Hollywood)
- Verdant Bluffs (Griffith Park)
- Verona Beach (Venice Beach)
- Vinewood (Hollywood)
- Willowfield (Willowbrook)
Stations
Gang Territory
Los Santos is the only city that has gang territories (Without exploiting the Territory Glitch). There are 57 territories in Los Santos.