Santa Monica, California: Difference between revisions
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I think there needs to be at least one picture of the pier, wich is probably the most notable part of Santa Monica, the pic of the entrance isn't enough. |
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:''For the Philippine municipality, see [[Santa Monica, Surigao del Norte]]'' |
:''For the Philippine municipality, see [[Santa Monica, Surigao del Norte]]'' |
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[[Image:Santa Monica Harbor.jpg|thumb|Santa Monica Pier]] |
[[Image:Santa Monica Harbor.jpg|thumb|Santa Monica Pier entrance]] |
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[[Image:Santa Monica Pier 2006.JPG|thumb|Santa Monica pier]] |
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'''Santa Monica''' is a coastal city in western [[Los Angeles County, California]], [[United States|USA]]. It borders [[Santa Monica Bay]] (part of the [[Pacific Ocean]]) on the west, [[Pacific Palisades]] and [[Brentwood, Los Angeles, California|Brentwood]] on the north, [[West Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California|West Los Angeles]] and [[Mar Vista, Los Angeles, California|Mar Vista]] on the east, and [[Venice, California|Venice]] on the south. As of the late 2004 census, the city had a population of 96,500, although, an early 2006 estimate has the city at 103,255 people. Santa Monica is named for [[Monica of Hippo|Saint Monica of Hippo]] because it was first visited by Spaniards on her feast day. In the [[skateboard]] and [[surfing]] communities Santa Monica's Ocean Park neighborhood and adjacent parts of Venice are sometimes called ''Dogtown''. |
'''Santa Monica''' is a coastal city in western [[Los Angeles County, California]], [[United States|USA]]. It borders [[Santa Monica Bay]] (part of the [[Pacific Ocean]]) on the west, [[Pacific Palisades]] and [[Brentwood, Los Angeles, California|Brentwood]] on the north, [[West Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California|West Los Angeles]] and [[Mar Vista, Los Angeles, California|Mar Vista]] on the east, and [[Venice, California|Venice]] on the south. As of the late 2004 census, the city had a population of 96,500, although, an early 2006 estimate has the city at 103,255 people. Santa Monica is named for [[Monica of Hippo|Saint Monica of Hippo]] because it was first visited by Spaniards on her feast day. In the [[skateboard]] and [[surfing]] communities Santa Monica's Ocean Park neighborhood and adjacent parts of Venice are sometimes called ''Dogtown''. |
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Revision as of 21:06, 4 May 2006
- For the Philippine municipality, see Santa Monica, Surigao del Norte
Santa Monica is a coastal city in western Los Angeles County, California, USA. It borders Santa Monica Bay (part of the Pacific Ocean) on the west, Pacific Palisades and Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles and Mar Vista on the east, and Venice on the south. As of the late 2004 census, the city had a population of 96,500, although, an early 2006 estimate has the city at 103,255 people. Santa Monica is named for Saint Monica of Hippo because it was first visited by Spaniards on her feast day. In the skateboard and surfing communities Santa Monica's Ocean Park neighborhood and adjacent parts of Venice are sometimes called Dogtown.
Because of its agreeable weather, Santa Monica had become a famed resort town by the early 20th century. The city has experienced a boom since the late 1980s through the revitalization of its downtown core, significant job growth, and increased tourism.
Santa Monica is known for its progressive politics, including policies that address the needs of renters, consumers, and the homeless. Residents of the city are among the largest contributors in the nation to Democratic Party candidates. The city was well known for its strict rent control ordinance, which had been enacted in 1978 and was partially overriden by state law in 1999. Santa Monica is sometimes called the "Homeless Capital of the West" due to the presence of the third largest homeless population in Los Angeles County (after Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood), a large number of whom are teenaged runaways; satirist Harry Shearer calls it "The home of the homeless."
History
Main article: History of Santa Monica, California
Attractions and cultural resources
The Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome (carousel) is a National Historic Landmark. It sits on the Santa Monica Pier, which was built in 1909. The La Monica Ballroom on the pier was once the largest ballroom in the US, and the source for many New Year's Eve national network broadcasts.
The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium was an important music venue for several decades and hosted the Academy Awards in the 1960s. McCabe's Guitar Shop is still a leading acoustic performance space. Bergamot Station is a city-owned art gallery compound that includes the Santa Monica Museum of Art. The city is also home to the Santa Monica Heritage Museum.
Its two hospitals are Saint Johns and the Santa Monica Medical Center. Its cemetery is Woodlawn Memorial.
The oldest theater in the city is the 1912 Majestic, also known as the Mayfair Theatre, closed since the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The Aero Theater (now operated by the American Cinematheque) and Criterion Theater were built in the 1930s and still show movies. The Santa Monica Promenade alone supports more than two dozen movie screens.
Palisades Park stretches out on the crumbling bluffs overlooking the Pacific and is a favorite walking area to view the ocean. It features a camera obscura. For 48 years local churches and the Police Association assembled a twelve-tableau story of Christmas in Palisades Park. The sheds were open on the street side, protected by chain-link fencing. Inside were dioramas of the Holy Family made from store mannequins; critics argued that many of them did not resemble real people, were damaged, or were otherwise inappropriate. In 2001 the city decided to temporarily end the practice of allowing private groups to place displays in city parks, but in 2004 the Christmas displays returned.
Santa Monica is known for having a large population of British and Irish expatriates, which accounts for the numerous pubs in the city. Some bars are as likely to show English Premiership games as they are American football games.
Natives and tourists alike have enjoyed the Santa Monica Rugby Club since 1972. The club has been very successful since its conception winning its most recent Division 1 National Championship in 2005.
They offer Men's, Women's and a thriving childrens programs.
Education
Founded in 1929 with an enrollment of 153, Santa Monica College (SMC, informally known as Pico Tech or Harvard-by-the-Sea), a junior college, now occupies 35 acres (14 ha) and enrolls 30,000 students annually. The two-year college is the leading source of transfers to the University of California system. Rolling Stone magazine rated it among the top ten community colleges in the nation in 1998. Notable SMC alumni and dropouts include: James Dean, Dustin Hoffman, Rickie Lee Jones, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and former Microsoft chief technology officer Nathan Myhrvold. The college also serves as the location of the studios of 89.9 KCRW, a National Public Radio affiliate know for its eclectic music programming.
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District provides public education at the elementary and secondary levels. Private high schools in the city include the Crossroads School, New Roads School, Lighthouse Christian Academy and Saint Monica's Parochial School.
Transportation
The Santa Monica Freeway (Interstate I-10) begins in the Santa Monica near the Pacific Ocean and heads east from there. The Santa Monica Freeway between Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles has the distinction of being one of the busiest highways in all of North America. After traversing Los Angeles County, I-10 continues all the way across the USA, crossing seven more states, to the Atlantic Ocean at Jacksonville, Florida. At the eastern edge of Santa Monica, there is a large road sign designating this route as the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway, but it is doubtful that more of these signs have been erected by the states. California State Highway 1 (Lincoln Boulevard/Pacific Coast Highway) passes through Santa Monica on its way from the southern boundary of California to the northern boundary. California State Route 2 (Santa Monica Boulevard) begins in Santa Monica and continues northeast across Los Angeles County, crossing the San Gabriel Mountains as the Angeles Crest Highway. Santa Monica is also the western (Pacific) terminus of historic U.S. Route 66, a road from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles County. Route 66 terminates at the Santa Monica Pier, a location that has served as the setting for numerous television shows, commercials and movies. Close to the eastern boundary of Santa Monica the very long Sepulveda Boulevard passes on its way from southmost Los Angeles County to the San Fernando Valley. Also close to the eastern boundary of Santa Monica lies Interstate-405, the San Diego Freeway, a major north-south route in Los Angeles County. To summarize, in spite of its relatively small land area, Santa Monica is a critical highway junction and terminus.
Santa Monica is also the home for the Third Street Promenade, a major outdoor pedestrian oriented shopping district that stretches for four blocks between Wilshire Blvd. and Colorado Blvd.
The City of Santa Monica runs its own award-winning bus service, the Big Blue Bus, which also serves much of Los Angeles's Westside and UCLA. A Big Blue Bus was featured prominently in the motion picture Speed.
The city is also served by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's bus lines. Metro also complements Big Blue service, as when Big Blue routes are not operational overnight, Metro buses make all Big Blue Bus stops, in addition to MTA stops. It currently has no rail service but Metro is working on bringing light rail to Santa Monica in the form of the Exposition Line. The Red Line subway is also in the midst of an extension to Santa Monica, dubbed "subway to the sea". In the past, Santa Monica had rail service operated by the Pacific Electric Railway, until it was dismantled in the 1960's.
The city owns and operates a general aviation airport, Santa Monica Airport, which has been the site of several important aviation achievements. Passenger flights are available at Los Angeles International Airport just to the south of Santa Monica via Sepulveda Boulevard.
Like all Los Angeles County cities, Santa Monica is dependent upon the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles for international ship cargo. In the 1890s, Santa Monica was once in competition with Wilmington, Calif., and San Pedro for recognition as the "Port of Los Angeles" (see History of Santa Monica, California).
Geography
Santa Monica is situated at 34°1'19" North, 118°28'53" West (34.022059, -118.481336)Template:GR.
The city rests on a mostly flat slope that angles down towards Ocean Ave and towards the south. Some beautiful high bluffs separate the city from the beaches.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 41.2 km² (15.9 mi²); 21.4 km² (8.3 mi²) of it is land. Its borders extend three nautical miles (5.6 km) out to sea, and so 19.8 km² (7.7 mi²) of it is water for a total area that is 48.08% water.
Weather
Santa Monica enjoys an average of 325 days of sunshine a year. Because of its location, nestled on a vast open bay (Santa Monica Bay), morning fog and haze is a common phenomenon in May, June and early July (caused by ocean temperature variations and currents). Locals have a particular terminology for this phenomenon: the "May Gray" and the "June Gloom". Overcast skies are common for June mornings, but usually the strong sun burns the fog off by noon. Nonetheless, it will sometimes stay cloudy and cool all day during June, even as other parts of the Los Angeles area will enjoy sunny skies and warmer temperatures. At times, the sun shines east of 20th St while the beach area is overcast
As a general rule, the temperature is from 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit (3 to 5.5 degrees Celsius) cooler than it is inland. A typical spring day (Mid-April) is sunny, pleasant and about 68 °F (20 °C). In the summer, which stretches basically from May to late October, temperatures can reach to the mid-80's Fahrenheit (about 30 °C) at the beach. The average temperature for August is 71 °F (21 °C). September is the warmest month of the year in Santa Monica, with an average of 73 °F (22 °C). It is also in September that records tend to be broken. In early September 2004, temperatures of 92 °F to 98 °F (33 °C to 37 °C) were recorded.
In early November, it is about 68 °F (20 °C). In late January, temperatures are around 63 °F (17 °C). It is winter, however, when the hot, dry winds of the Santa Anas are most common. In mid-December 2004, temperatures soared to 84 °F (28 °C) in Santa Monica, for a few straight days, with perfectly sunny skies.
The rainy season is from late October through late March. Winter storms usually approach from the northwest and pass quickly through the Southland. There is very little rain during the rest of the year.
Santa Monica usually enjoys a cool breeze blowing in from the ocean, keeping the air fresh and clean. Therefore, smog is less a problem for Santa Monica than elsewhere around Los Angeles. However, in the autumn months of September through November, the Santa Ana winds will sometimes blow from the East, bringing smoggy inland air to the beaches.
Demographics
Population grew from 417 in 1880 to 84,084 in 2000. For population statistics by decade, see History of Santa Monica, California.
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 84,084 people, 44,497 households, and 16,775 families in the city. The population density is 3,930.4/km² (10,178.7/mi²). There are 47,863 housing units at an average density of 2,237.3/km² (5,794.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 78.29% White, 3.78% African American, 0.47% Native American, 7.25% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 5.97% from other races, and 4.13% from two or more races. 13.44% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 44,497 households, out of which 15.8% have children under the age of 18, 27.5% are married couples living together, 7.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 62.3% are non-families. 51.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 1.83 and the average family size is 2.80.
The population is diverse in age, with 14.6% under 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 40.1% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% 65 years or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 91.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $50,714, and the median income for a family is $75,989. Males have a median income of $55,689 versus $42,948 for females. The per capita income for the city is $42,874. 10.4% of the population and 5.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.9% of those under the age of 18 and 10.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Notable people born in Santa Monica
- Tony Alva
- Kenneth Anger
- Sean Astin
- Jack Black
- Elonka Dunin
- Dwight Evans
- Miguel Ferrer
- Bobbi Fiedler
- Bonnie Franklin
- Lynette Fromme
- Sara Gilbert
- Anjelica Huston
- Lorenzo Lamas
- Lorna Luft
- Teena Marie
- Sean Penn
- Robert Redford
- Randy Rhoads
- Christina Ricci
- Mike Scott
- Bobby Sherman
- Amber Tamblyn
- Shirley Temple
- Robert Trujillo
- Suzanne Vega
- Trifun Zivanovic
See also
External links
