Bell Gardens is a city in the U.S. state of California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Located in Los Angeles County, the city's population was 42,072 at the 2010 census, down from 44,054 at the 2000 census. Bell Gardens is part of the Gateway Cities Region, a largely urbanized region located in southeastern Los Angeles County. Bell Gardens is notable for being one of only six Los Angeles County cities (out of 88 total) to permit casino gambling and for being home of the oldest building in Los Angeles County. Bell Gardens is named after James George Bell, an American businessman. The “Gardens” in its name derives from the many Japanese who, early in Bell Gardens’ existence, established vegetable gardens and rice fields. The adjacent city of Bell is also named after James George Bell.