San Luis Obispo (1990 pop., 41,958), the seat of San Luis Obispo
County in southwestern California, is located at the base of Santa
Lucia Mountain on San Luis Obispo Creek. It is famed for its Spanish
mission, San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, which was founded by Father
JunÃÆÃÆÃâ ÃâÃÆÃâÃâÃÂpero Serra in 1772 and named for Saint Louis, bishop of Toulouse
(127497). One of the most elegant of the old California
missions, it is still used as a Catholic parish church. The economy
of the city is largely based on oil that is pumped and refined
locally and shipped through Port San Luis on the Pacific Coast. Light
manufacturing, wineries, printing, and tourism are also important.
The city, founded in 1850, developed as a farming community around the mission but grew rapidly after 1894 when the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived. Educational institutions include California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo College (1901), and Cuesta College (1963). Situated about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo was a natural stopover for motorists traveling between the two cities in the days before the freeways. In 1925 the Milestone Motel opened there; the first motel in the country, it survives as the Motel Inn.
