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San Luis Obispo is a Central Coast city in California, located approximately halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The city is home to a population of more than 269,000 residents throughout its greater county region and is one of the oldest communities in California, originally established in 1772 by Spanish settlers.
The city's central gathering place, Mission Plaza, is home to a weekly farmer's market, a monthly Bike Nite social ride, and a summer concert series. Unusual local landmarks include the eccentric Madonna Inn, which sponsors the annual California Festival of Beers tasting festival, and the unique Bubblegum Alley, which has been covered with chewed pieces of gum since the early 1960s. Cultural attractions include the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, which highlights the works of California's contemporary artists, and the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, a preserved 18th-century Spanish mission that has been converted into a living history museum.
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