AREA HAS BEEN LURING VISITORS FOR 200 YEARS.

Byline: Bill Allen

ON Sept. 8, the Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana, from which we draw our name as the San Fernando Valley, will celebrate its bicentennial. Even 200 years ago, men of enterprising vision saw the potential of this magnificent region.

When Gaspar de Portola and Father Juan Crespi first visited the Valley in 1769, they noted its natural beauty and the remarkably friendly American Indians who welcomed them. In 1797, the mission opened its doors to travelers along the Royal Road (El Camino Real). And ever since, we have welcomed visitors to share in the splendid charms of the San Fernando Valley.

But Crespi and Portola were not the only legendary figures captivated by those charms. Over the years, some of our most famous visitors were sufficiently moved to make the Valley their home.

Scores of television and movie stars like Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, John Wayne, W.C. Fields, Gene Autry, Abbott and Costello, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz all settled in our neighborhoods.

The Valley has also produced its own share of stars. Marilyn Monroe, Debbie Reynolds, Annette Funicello, Ron Howard, Ritchie Valens, Sally Field and Tom Selleck are but a few who grew up in our communities, attended our schools and launched their stellar careers here.

And our stars come from other fields as well. Baseball's Don Drysdale, Bret Saberhagen and Robin Yount grew up and developed their competitive talents here, as did Heisman Trophy winner Charles White, basketball Hall-of-Famer Gail Goodrich and boxing champion Bobby Chacon. Popular broadcasters Dick Enberg and Keith Jackson have long made the Valley their home, as has the Wizard of Westwood, John Wooden. Literary giants like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ayn Rand, and even aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, all lived here at one time or another.

Today the stars of our Valley include some of America's most successful businesses. We are home to health care giants like Blue Cross, defense technology powerhouses like Litton Industries and Rocketdyne, and America's largest Ford dealership, Galpin Motors. And just this summer, we've welcomed the arrival of the corporate headquarters for America's No. 1 home mortgage service and provider, Countrywide Credit Industries.

But we're perhaps best known as home to the world's top entertainment corporations, including the Walt Disney Co., Universal Studios, Warner Bros. and America's No. 1 television network, NBC. Valley companies produce everything from ``Jurassic Park'' to ``The Tonight Show.'' And since surveys report that tourists come to L.A. to ``see the stars,'' it's no surprise that Los Angeles County's top tourist destination, visited by 10 million people a year, is our Universal Studios.

For all these reasons, the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, a strong and growing partnership of the area's top leaders of industry, government and education, recently commissioned the development of a marketing campaign to celebrate our Valley's heritage and enhance its image. With the help of our new San Fernando Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, and inspired by the American Indians who welcomed visitors to our home more than 200 years ago, our campaign will serve to encourage our world neighbors to visit what has truly become the ``Valley of the Stars.''