Lakewood, California—once the largest planned community in America—grew almost overnight. From lima bean and sugar beet fields, it became a model of postwar suburban development. Everything about the young Lakewood was new: constructing 17,500 homes in just 33 months, opening California's first regional shopping center in 1951, and achieving cityhood under an innovative plan for local government in 1954. Those early years tell an inspiring story of pioneering developers, enthusiastic residents, and the dedicated leaders of community institutions whose legacy continues to sustain Lakewood. Above all, the Lakewood story is about the ability of ordinary men and women to shape their future—and Lakewood's—as their city begins its seventh decade. Today, Lakewood residents continue to see—in their history, traditions, and values—a reflection of the quality of life they seek to pass to future generations, aided always by a community of caring neighbors.