Brea
[key], city (2020 pop. 47,325), Orange co., S Calif.; inc. 1917. It is an
industrial, commercial, and residential community in an oil and citrus-fruit
area some 30 mi (48 km) east of downtown Los Angeles. Most industries are
related to the production and processing of oil. Other manufactures include
rubber products, tools, automobile parts, and chemicals. In recent years
Brea has attracted insurance, banking, and other white-collar companies. The
city developed after oil was discovered (1898), causing an oil boom in the
early 1900s, and was an oil center and bedroom community for oil-industry
employees into the 1960s. In the late 1990s, Brea undertook the development
a new downtown section with apartments, retail stores, and entertainment
sites. Of note is the campsite of the Spanish explorer Don Gaspar de
Portolá,
the first European to visit the area.
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