El Segundo, California
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This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (June 2007) |
- El Segundo is also the name of a champion Australian racehorse.
| City of El Segundo, California | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
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| Nickname(s): 'Gundo, The 'Gundo[citation needed] | |
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| Coordinates: 33°55′17″N 118°24′22″W / 33.92139°N 118.40611°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Los Angeles |
| Incorporated (city) | 1917-01-18[1] |
| Government | |
| - City Council | Kelly McDowell, Mayor,[2] Eric Busch, Jim Boulgarides, Bill Fisher, Carl Jacobson |
| - City Clerk | Cindy Mortesen |
| - City Treasurer | Ralph Lanphere, CCMT |
| Area | |
| - Total | 10.80 sq mi (27.97 km2) |
| - Land | 5.54 sq mi (14.35 km2) |
| - Water | 5.26 sq mi (13.63 km2) 48.72% |
| Elevation | 115 ft (35 m) |
| Population (2000)[3] | |
| - Total | 16,033 |
| - Density | 2,894.6/sq mi (1,117.6/km2) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) |
| - Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| ZIP Code | 90245[4] |
| Area code(s) | 310 |
| FIPS code | 06-22412 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1660605 |
| Website | http://www.elsegundo.org/ |
El Segundo is a city in Los Angeles County, California on the Santa Monica Bay, incorporated on January 18, 1917. It is one of the Beach Cities of Los Angeles County and part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments. The population was 16,033 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] History
The El Segundo and Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva (or Gabrieleños) and Chumash Native American tribes hundreds of years ago. The area was once a part of Rancho San Pedro and later became Rancho Sausal Redondo ("Round Willow Patch Ranch"). Rancho Sausal Redondo extended from Playa Del Rey in the North to Redondo Beach in the South. Originally a Spanish land grant, the rancho was later purchased by a Scotch baronet named Sir Robert Burnett. After his return to Scotland, the property was purchased by then current manager of the rancho, Daniel Freeman. Daniel Freeman sold portions of the rancho to multiple owners. George H. Peck (1856–1940) owned the 840 acres (3.4 km2) of land the Chevron Refinery now sits on. Peck also developed land in neighboring El Porto where a street still stands to his name. The city earned its name because it was the site of the second ("el segundo" in Spanish) Standard Oil refinery on the West Coast when Standard Oil purchased the 840 acres (3.4 km2) of farm land in 1911. This is now known as the Chevron Refinery.[5] The city was incorporated in 1917.
[edit] Overview
In 2006, El Segundo won an Eddy award for being the most business friendly city in Los Angeles county.[6][7] El Segundo is in transition from being a predominantly Caucasian, blue-collar 'company town' to being a 'corporate' town where the tax base relies on a non-resident working population. Pollution and toxic waste cleanup remain issues as El Segundo restores industrial sites to shopping malls and sports facilities. The north and south boundaries of the town are the LAX airport and Manhattan Beach with the Pacific as the western boundary. The most prominent feature of the town is the massive oil refinery which borders the town center and the massive sewage treatment facility on the west side of the town. Office towers are not a prominent feature of this town from any but a very select vantage point. Aircraft noise from LAX is a major issue for residents on the north side of El Segundo. Residents are currently active in tree-planting along Imperial Highway.
[edit] Economy
El Segundo has many aviation-related and petroleum-related industries and operations.
In 1911, Chevron began its second refinery in 1911; the name El Segundo, Spanish for "The Second," came from the second oil refinery.[8] In 1928 William Mines, an immigrant from Canada, leased land for a flying field.[9] In 1930 Los Angeles Municipal Airport, later Los Angeles International Airport, opened north of El Segundo; its presence lead to the concentration of aerospace and aviation-related firms in the El Segundo area.[8]
Many large aerospace companies have facilities in El Segundo, including Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, SpaceX and The Aerospace Corporation, which is headquartered there. It is also home to the Los Angeles Air Force Base and the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), which is responsible for space-related acquisition for the military. In addition to the Chevron oil refinery, El Segundo is also home to the El Segundo power plant and adjacent to the Hyperion sewage treatment plant.[citation needed]
Toy manufacturer Mattel, satellite TV provider DirecTV, IT services firm Computer Sciences Corporation, power semiconductor company International Rectifier, grocery chain Fresh and Easy, the Internet company Internet Brands (parent company of CarsDirect), the vulnerability assessment company Rapid7, Teledyne Controls, and other companies are in El Segundo.[citation needed]
Prior to its dissolution, Unocal was headquartered in El Segundo.[10][11]
According to the City's 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[12] the top employers in the city are:
| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raytheon Company | 7,591 |
| 2 | Boeing Satellite Systems | 5,853 |
| 3 | Northrop Grumman Corporation | 5,446 |
| 4 | Aerospace Corporation | 3,048 |
| 5 | Mattel, Inc. | 1,771 |
| 6 | DirecTV Operations, Inc. | 1,448 |
| 7 | Chevron Products Company/USA Inc. | 1,886 |
| 8 | Accenture | 684 |
| 9 | International Rectifier Corporation | 530 |
| 10 | Xerox Corporation | 543 |
[edit] Subsidiaries of foreign companies
The North American branch of the Japanese video game publisher and developer Square Enix has its headquarters in El Segundo.[13]
By 1978 El Segundo, the host of various aviation-related companies, became the host of several offices of airlines.[14] Japan Airlines operates its United States headquarters, which was moved from New York City to El Segundo in around 2003.[15] at Suite 620 of 300 Continental Boulevard;[16] Air New Zealand operates its United States headquarters in El Segundo.[17] Other airlines with offices in El Segundo include Air Tahiti Nui,[18] Aeroméxico,[19] China Airlines,[20] EVA Air,[21] Air China,[22] and Singapore Airlines.[23]
[edit] Geography
El Segundo is located at 33°55′17″N 118°24′22″W / 33.92139°N 118.40611°W (33.921313, -118.406233).[24]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.0 km² (10.8 mi²). 14.3 km² (5.5 mi²) of it is land and 13.6 km² (5.3 mi²) of it (48.70%) is water.
[edit] Famous residents
El Segundo is well known for its star athletes. Hall of Fame baseball player George Brett is from El Segundo and first played at the fields in Rec Park and at El Segundo High School. His older brother Ken Brett also had a long career in Major League Baseball. They grew up in a home at 628 Penn St. in El Segundo. George Brett's high school teammate Scott McGregor additionally went on to a long career in Major League Baseball. Other professional athletes from El Segundo include pitcher Dave LaRoche and basketball player and coach Paul Westphal.[25]
[edit] Demographics
As of 2007, El Segundo's population is 16,526 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of 3.07 percent.
Forbes lists El Segundo as having the 357th most expensive zip code in the country with a median home price of $816,536. Compared to the rest of the country, El Segundo's cost of living is 91.16% higher than the U.S. average. El Segundo public schools spend $5,494 per student. The average school expenditure in the U.S. is $6,058. There are about 23 students per teacher in El Segundo.
As of the 2000 Census, the population density was 1,117.4/km² (2,894.6/mi²). There were 7,261 housing units at an average density of 506.0/km² (1,310.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.61% White, 1.17% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 6.41% Asian, 0.29% Pacific Islander, 3.51% from other races, and 4.55% from two or more races. 11.01% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 7,060 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.6% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 38.7% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $61,341, and the median income for a family was $74,007. Males had a median income of $52,486 versus $41,682 for females. The per capita income for the city was $33,996. About 3.1% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Government
[edit] Local government
According to the city’s most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city’s various funds had $99.0 million in Revenues, $91.0 million in expenditures, $206.5 million in total assets, $33.6 million in total liabilities, and $50.4 million in cash and investments.[12]
Management of the city and coordination of city services are provided by:[26]
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| City Manager | Jack Wayt |
| Chief of Police | David Cummings |
| Fire Chief | Kevin Smith |
| Director of Finance | Deborah Cullen |
| Director of Library Services | Debra Brighton |
| Director of Recreation & Parks | Robert H. Cummings |
| Director of Public Works | Dana Greenwood |
| Director of Planning & Building Safety | Greg Carpenter |
| Director of Human Resources | Robert Hyland |
The United States Postal Service operates the El Segundo Finance Post Office at 1007 North Sepulveda Boulevard and the Bay Cities Annex Post Office at 2130 East Mariposa Avenue.[27][28]
[edit] Political representation
In the state legislature El Segundo is located in the 28th Senate District, represented by Democrat Jenny Oropeza, and in the 53rd Assembly District, represented by Democrat Ted Lieu. Federally, El Segundo is located in California's 36th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of D +11[29] and is represented by Democrat Jane Harman.
[edit] Education
The El Segundo Unified School District serves the residential district of El Segundo, west of Sepulveda Blvd. The school district is listed as one of the state's 29 academic outperformers by Standards and Poor's in 2005.
Eastern El Segundo is part of the tax base for the Wiseburn School District and the Centinela Valley Union High School District. There are no residential areas in the eastern part of the city.
Vistamar School is a private school in El Segundo.
[edit] Parks and recreation
Dockweiler State Beach is partially located in El Segundo, including the only RV park on the beach in Los Angeles County.
[edit] Transportation
Los Angeles International Airport is located immediately to the north of El Segundo.
Amtrak's El Segundo Bus Stop (ESG) is located at the Los Angeles County Metro Green Line Douglas Station and is serviced by Thruway Motorcoach. The stop is on Amtrak's 1c bus route that runs four times a day between Amtrak's Torrance Bus Stop (Alpine Village) and the Bakersfield Amtrak Station where passengers transfer to and from trains on Amtrak's San Joaquin route; passengers can also connect with Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner route at the Van Nuys Amtrak Station.
[edit] In popular culture
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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007) |
- El Segundo is home to the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings practice facility.
- The hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest wrote the song "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo," which was included on their 1990 album People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. The elderly landlady (Irma P. Hall as Marva Munson) in The Ladykillers repeatedly complained about the inanity of this lyric.
- The singer Robbie Williams sings a reference to "I left my wallet in El Segundo" in his song Me & my monkey.
- The city is referenced in post-hardcore band Glassjaw's song Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence from their debut album of the same name.
- Besides mentioning Watts, Redd Foxx often referred to El Segundo on the 1972 hit TV show Sanford and Son. In one episode, he refers to his Ripple wine as coming from "the vineyards of El Segundo. He was also thrown off a bridge by a bigot in El Segundo"
- The alternative ending of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery states that subsequent to the crash-landing of Dr. Evil's Bob's Big Boy rocket, Dr. Evil found work as the night manager of a Big Boy restaurant in El Segundo, though one does not nor ever did once exist in the city.
- The movie Dude, Where's My Car? was filmed in El Segundo, in front of the ice cream parlor formerly known as Scoops.
- The beginning of the Blink 182 video of their song "First Date" lists El Segundo, 1974 as its location.
- El Segundo High School has been featured in many films and television shows, including Superbad, WarGames, Joe Dirt, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Boston Public, The Hot Chick, Yours, Mine and Ours, Even Stevens, 24, Joan of Arcadia, The O.C., Room 222, Epic Movie, Shredderman Rules, "90210", Blackboard Jungle,"Medium" and many others. Some promotional T-shirts sold in El Segundo claim that El Segundo High School has appeared in more films and TV shows than any other high school.
- David Spade mentioned El Segundo on The Showbiz Show with David Spade.
- An episode of Bones was filmed at the Hyperion sewage treatment plant, which lies on El Segundo's western border.
- Many years ago a Ripley's Believe It Or Not newspaper item suggested that El Segundo was one of the few U.S. cities where every street had a hill. However, that is only true of the western residential area of the city.
- CSI: Miami is filmed in parts of El Segundo.
- A couple of episodes of Medium was filmed at El Segundo Middle School.
- In the movie "Crash," Ryan Phillippe plays a Los Angeles police officer who lives in El Segundo.
[edit] References
- ^ "Incorporation Dates of California Cities". http://www.cacities.org/resource_files/20457.IncorpDateLO.doc. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
- ^ "El Segundo Website - Elected Officials". http://www.elsegundo.org/depts/elected/default.asp. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
- ^ "El Segundo city, California - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder". http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=&_cityTown=El%20Segundo&_state=04000US06&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
- ^ "USPS - ZIP Code Lookup - Find a ZIP+ 4 Code By City Results". http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/zcl_1_results.jsp?visited=1&pagenumber=0&state=ca&city=El%20Segundo. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
- ^ Hunter, Eileen Curry. El Segundo Seventy-Five Years El Segundo: H2 Limited, 1991
- ^ "LAEDC 2006 Eddy Awards" (PDF). http://www.laedc.org/eddy/2006_Eddy_BL.pdf.
- ^ "LAEDC Press Release" (PDF). http://www.laedc.org/newsroom/businessleader/BusinessLeader_200607_Winter.pdf.
- ^ a b Greenberg, David."Aerospace woes take a toll, but LAX neighbor has bright spots." Los Angeles Business Journal. August 11, 2003. Retrieved on April 13, 2009.
- ^ Ripton, Ray. "El Segundo Will Celebrate 50th Year for a Week." Los Angeles Times. May 14, 1967. CS1.
- ^ "Unocal World On-Line." Unocal Corporation. December 27, 1996. Retrieved on July 7, 2009.
- ^ Home page. Unocal Corporation. January 29, 2005. Retrieved on July 7, 2009.
- ^ a b City of El Segundo CAFR Retrieved 2009-08-18
- ^ "Corporate Locations." Square Enix Japan. Accessed September 20, 2008.
- ^ "El Segundo to Be Airline Office Site." Los Angeles Times. May 21, 1978. Section Part IX, K24. Retrieved on April 14, 2009.
- ^ Lauro, Patricia Winters. "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING -- ADDENDA; Japan Airlines Moves Its Account." The New York Times. March 5, 2003.
- ^ "JAL Passenger Services America, Inc." Japan Airlines. Accessed September 20, 2008.
- ^ "CRT/tanaka Wins Air New Zealand Account." Air New Zealand. December 5, 2007. Retrieved on August 26, 2009.
- ^ "Worldwide Offices and Sales Agents:." Air Tahiti Nui. Retrieved on January 20, 2009.
- ^ "Ticketing Offices California." Aeroméxico. Retrieved on January 20, 2009.
- ^ "Branch Offices North America." China Airlines. Retrieved on January 21, 2009.
- ^ "Contact Us America." EVA Air. Retrieved on January 28, 2009.
- ^ "International Offices." Air China. Retrieved on January 18, 2009.
- ^ "Contact Us." Singapore Airlines. Retrieved on January 28, 2009.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1124692/1/index.htm Love And Hate In El Segundo." Sports Illustrated. August 17, 1981. Retrieved on June 15, 2009.
- ^ City of El Segundo Website retrieved 2009-06-04
- ^ "Post Office Location - MANHATTAN BEACH." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.
- ^ "Post Office Location - BAY CITIES ANNEX." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.
- ^ "Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest?". Campaign Legal Center Blog. http://www.clcblog.org/blog_item-85.html. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
[edit] External links
- City of El Segundo website
- City of El Segundo - pro-business website
- El Segundo Chamber of Commerce
- El Segundo.net - News and Information
- El Segundo Unified School District
- El Segundo, California is at coordinates 33°55′17″N 118°24′22″W / 33.921313°N 118.406233°WCoordinates: 33°55′17″N 118°24′22″W / 33.921313°N 118.406233°W
