Arcadia, California
Encyclopedia
Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California
, United States, and located approximately 13 miles (20.9 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley
and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains
.
Arcadia is part of a cluster of cities, along with Temple City
, Rosemead, Monterey Park
, San Marino
, and San Gabriel
, in the west San Gabriel Valley
with a growing Asian population. It is the site of the Santa Anita Park
racetrack and home to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
. The city had a population of 56,364 at the 2010 census, up from 53,248 at the 2000 census. The city is named after Arcadia
, Greece.
In 2010, Bloomberg Businessweek named Arcadia as one of the "Best Places to Raise Your Kids: 2010," for the second year in a row.
, Arcadia is bordered by six other communities: Pasadena
, Sierra Madre
, El Monte
, San Marino
, Monrovia
, and Temple City
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 11.1 square miles (28.7 km²). 10.9 square miles (28.2 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (1.87%) is water.
was 5,062.5 people per square mile (1,954.6/km²). The racial makeup of Arcadia was 18,191 (32.3%) White, 681 (1.2%) African American, 186 (0.3%) Native American, 33,353 (59.2%) Asian, 16 (0.0290909%) Pacific Islander, 2,352 (4.2%) from other races
, and 1,585 (2.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6,799 persons (12.1%).
The Census reported that 55,502 people (98.5% of the population) lived in households, 639 (1.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 223 (0.4%) were institutionalized.
There were 19,592 households, out of which 7,336 (37.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 11,703 (59.7%) were opposite-sex married couples
living together, 2,437 (12.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 865 (4.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 469 (2.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
, and 92 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,855 households (19.7%) were made up of individuals and 1,926 (9.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83. There were 15,005 families
(76.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.26.
The population was spread out with 12,290 people (21.8%) under the age of 18, 4,102 people (7.3%) aged 18 to 24, 13,409 people (23.8%) aged 25 to 44, 17,349 people (30.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 9,214 people (16.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.1 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.
There were 20,686 housing units at an average density of 1,858.0 per square mile (717.4/km²), of which 12,371 (63.1%) were owner-occupied, and 7,221 (36.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.7%. 37,000 people (65.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 18,502 people (32.8%) lived in rental housing
units.
In 2009, the median income for a household in the city was $107,877. Males had a median income of $80,594 versus $66,138 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $67,400. About 2.7% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.8% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.
of 2000, there were 53,054 people, 19,149 households, and 14,151 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,865.6/km² (4,830.0/mi²). There were 19,970 housing units at an average density of 702.2/km² (1,818.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 45.58% White
, 1.13% Black
or African American
, 0.25% Native American
, 45.41% Asian
, 0.08% Pacific Islander
, 4.16% from other races
, and 3.39% from two or more races. 10.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino
of any race.
There were 19,149 households out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples
living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.
(in present-day San Gabriel, California
), and under whose control these people worked during the mission period in California. One of Arcadia's settlements of these Native Americans was known as Aleupkigna (or “Aluupkenga) (McCawley, William. The First Angelinos: The Gabrielino Indians of Los Angeles. Malki Museum/Ballena Press, 1996) on what later became the Rancho Santa Anita
, one of many land grants created during Mexican rule of California (1821–1848). The Tongva are still alive and well today, living in the Los Angeles area and other neighboring communities.
In 1839, a large area of land that included the present-day borders of Arcadia was sold to a Scottish immigrant, Hugo Reid
. Reid documented the Native Americans in a series of letters written in 1852 (Reid, Hugo. The Indians of Los Angeles County: Hugo Reid's Letters of 1853. Southwest Museum, 1968) and served as a delegate to the 1849 California Constitutional Convention.
The land holding changed owners several times before being acquired by the real estate speculator and notorious womanizer Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin
in 1875. Baldwin purchased 8000 acres (32.4 km²) of Santa Anita for $200,000. Upon seeing the area, Baldwin gasped “By Gads! This is paradise!”. Upon buying the land, Lucky chose to make the area his home and immediately started erecting buildings and cultivating the land for farming, orchards and ranches. In 1885, the main line of the Santa Fe Railroad, in which Baldwin was a stockholder, was opened through the ranch, making subdivision of part of the land into a town site practical. In 1889, on a site just north of the corner of First Avenue and St. Joseph Street, adjacent to the Santa Fe tracks, Baldwin opened the 35 room Hotel Oakwood to be the centerpiece of his new town.
During World War I
, Arcadia was home to the U.S. Army's Ross Field Balloon School in what is now Los Angeles County Park. Here observers were trained to watch enemy activity from hot air balloons. After World War I, Arcadia's population grew and local businesses included many chicken ranches and other agricultural activities. During the 1920s and 1930s, Arcadia began its transition to the fine residential city that it is today as small farms and chicken ranches gave way to homes and numerous civic improvements, including a City Library and a City Hall. Scenes of many of Arcadia's interesting historic sites can be viewed in a series of historic watercolors painted by local artists Edna Lenz and Justine Wishek.
Thoroughbred horse racing, which had flourished briefly under Lucky Baldwin until it was outlawed by the state of California in 1909, returned to Arcadia with the opening of the beautiful Santa Anita Park in December 1934 when racing was legalized again.
During World War II
, Arcadia's Santa Anita Park
racetrack became the site of the Santa Anita Assembly Center for the Japanese, where Japanese Americans were interned under President Franklin Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066
(See: Japanese internment in the United States). At one point, the assembly center at the racetrack was the largest Japanese American
assembly center in the United States. 400 temporary barracks were constructed in the racetrack parking lot to house the prisoners. Internees lived three families to a barrack (or horse-stable in some cases), took group showers, lacked private bathrooms, and lived under 24-hour armed surveillance. Conditions were extremely difficult with each resident being given an “Army manufacture bed, one blanket and one straw tick” (McAdam, Pat and Snider, Sandy. Arcadia: Where Ranch and City Meet, p. 147) The Assembly Center, which opened in April 1942, ran until the end of October 1943, when the internees were relocated inland to more permanent internment camps in Owens Valley
, Utah
, and Wyoming
. In March 1943, Camp Santa Anita was established for 20,000 Army Ordnance troops. At the time, Arcadia's civic leaders were very vocal in their support of the internment policies of the Federal Government. (See: Japanese internment in the United States)
, with many early residents being the sons and daughters of long established Southern California families. A large tract of estate homes was developed by Harry Chandler, the scion of the Los Angeles Times, who lived in adjacent Sierra Madre, California
. The city also became the residence of choice for many corporate chief executives, including those in aerospace, the horse racing industry, and finance.
The postwar boom saw Arcadia grow rapidly into a suburban residential community, with many of the chicken ranches being subdivided into home lots. Between 1940 and 1950, the population grew by more than two and a half times. The housing boom continued through the 1950s and 1960s and along with that growth came the necessary infrastructure of schools, commercial buildings, and expanded city services.
During the postwar boom, a modern commercial district developed along Baldwin Avenue south of Huntington Drive in west Arcadia. In 1951 this strip, called the West Arcadia Hub, was anchored by a new, locally owned department store called Hinshaw's
. This was the first large department store to be built in Arcadia, and the largest in the western San Gabriel Valley
outside the city of Pasadena
. This development marked the beginning of Arcadia's gradual transformation into one of the leading shopping districts of the San Gabriel Valley.
In 1947, 111 acre (0.44920146 km²) that comprised the heart of the Baldwin Ranch were deeded to the State of California and the County of Los Angeles, and developed into Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
.
Until a Supreme Court
ruling in 1965, every property sale contract within the borders of Arcadia had to include a provision that the new owner could only sell the property to a white Protestant, though many non-Protestant families did, in fact, own homes and live in Arcadia long before that ruling.
In October 1975, the Santa Anita Fashion Park was opened to the public on the corner of Baldwin Avenue and Huntington Drive. The center court featured a gigantic blue head by Roy Lichtenstein
, later removed. Now known as Westfield Santa Anita
, the mall was expanded in 2004. The mall was affected by the recession in the late 2000s, but continues to do a relatively brisk business. This mall has been embroiled in a battle against Caruso Affiliated, a real estate development company which has proposed the building of a large outdoor entertainment, shopping, and dining complex in the parking lot of the adjacent Santa Anita Park racetrack. The proposed project, called the "Shops at Santa Anita", would be roughly the same size as the existing Westfield mall.
James Dobson
, a previous Arcadia resident, founded the nonprofit Christian
ministry Focus on the Family
in the city in 1977. Its original office still stands on the south side of Foothill Blvd. Focus grew to larger quarters in the city, and in intervening years expanded to Monrovia
for warehouse space before moving out of Arcadia completely in 1990. Focus of the Family is now based in Colorado Springs, Colorado
; but still has thousands of members in Arcadia.
In the late 1990s, Native American
activists threatened to sue Arcadia High School
over its use of the "Apache
" mascot. The high school's use of Native American symbols, including an "Apache Joe" mascot, the Pow Wow school newspaper, the "Apache News" television program, the "Smoke Signals" news bulletin boards, the school's auxiliary team's marching "Apache Princesses" and opposing football team fans' "Scalp the Apaches" signs were viewed by these Native American activists and many Arcadia community members as being offensive. The school consulted with Native American groups and made some concessions but didn't change the mascot. Some residents of Arcadia, who are former students at the school and have Native American ancestry, do not take offense to the school's use of these symbols. Arcadia High School has established good relations with the Apache community with their yearly charity drive to aid them.
The Westfield Santa Anita
mall (formerly the Santa Anita Fashion Park) is a major shopping center in the city. In 2005, the Westfield Santa Anita completed its first phase of expansion featuring a new food court, Sport Chalet
, Borders Books and Music, Dave & Busters, numerous smaller retailers, various full-service eateries in an area known as Restaurant Square, and a 16-screen AMC Theatres
. In 2008, expansion of the mall continued as the Promenade outdoor structure was completed, with new high-end retailers such as Coach and Talbots
.
The proposal by Caruso Affiliated
and Magna Entertainment to build a second large shopping mall adjacent to Westfield Santa Anita on the grounds of the Santa Anita Park racetrack will be coming into fruition in 2010. The controversial project, known as "The Shops at Santa Anita", has prompted heated debate among some residents in the community and enormous spending by corporate interests in favor and against the project. If the second mall is built, the combined size of the two malls will make Arcadia the largest retail shopping district in Los Angeles county. "The Shops at Santa Anita", which required City Council approval, will, according to early plans, include signature retail, restaurants, and landscaping featuring a large decorative water display, all situated in what is the race track's southern parking area.
with a five member city council, Peter Amundson, Mayor, Roger Chandler, Bob Harbicht, Gary Kovacic, and Mickey Segal). Arcadia is a charter city governed by a five-member City Council (which also serves as the City's Redevelopment Agency), with each member serving a four-year term. The Council elects from its membership a Mayor to serve as its presiding officer for a one-year term.
In the state legislature
Arcadia is located in the 29th Senate
District, represented by Republican Bob Huff
, and in the 44th and 59th Assembly
Districts, represented by Democrat Anthony J. Portantino
and Republican Tim Donnelly
respectively. Federally, Arcadia is located in California's 26th congressional district
, which has a Cook PVI
of R +4 and is represented by Republican David Dreier
.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
operates the Monrovia Health Center in Monrovia
, serving Arcadia.
In 2014, Metro
will open a new light-rail station in Arcadia. Arcadia Station
will be located northwest of the intersection of 1st Avenue and Santa Clara Street, and will be served by the Metro Gold Line.
. Reading scores for the AUSD are 76.6% higher than the state average and math scores are 67.9% higher than the state average. It is estimated that 88% of Arcadia students are at public schools and 12% in private and/or parochial institutions.
Arcadia Unified School District has one highly ranked and prestigious high school, Arcadia High School
. It is among the few public high schools in California to receive a distinguished GreatSchools Rating of 10 out of 10. There are three middle schools , and six elementary schools, two which are winners in the United States Department of Education's Blue Ribbon Schools program. Approximately five percent of California schools are awarded this honor each year following a rigorous selection process. Eligibility is based on federal and state criteria including the No Child Left Behind program, Academic Performance Index
(API), and Adequate Yearly Progress
(AYP). The requirements are many and strict, and are based on such areas as a strong curriculum, solid library media services, professional teachers, and counseling programs at all grade levels. In 2010, BusinessWeek
ranked Arcadia as the best place to raise children in the state of California for the second year in a row by, citing the city's excellent school system as one of the factors in addition to the city's low crime rate.
Academic Performance Index
(A.P.I.) measures the academic performance and growth of schools on a variety of academic measures.Arcadia H.S. scored 890, making it the highest performing large high school in California. In 2010, Arcadia High had 29 National Merit Award Finalists.
.
To keep up with the changing needs of the community, several upgrades have been made to the original facility. In 1998, the Berger Tower was completed, adding 169 beds. Methodist underwent a major renovation and expansion in 2006, and in the fall of 2011, a new five-story patient tower and new emergency department are scheduled for completion.
, immortalized in song and literature, passes through Arcadia, on Huntington Drive in Downtown Arcadia, before turning off onto Colorado Place and then Colorado Street. After intersecting the 210 freeway, Route 66 runs parallel to and south of the freeway, cutting across the middle section of Arcadia.
The city is mentioned by Jack Kerouac
in his novel On the Road
: Sal, the protagonist, is put off by "preppy
" teens when he stops for food at a local drive-in restaurant with a young Mexican woman. The vignette demonstrates the culture clash between the "Beatnik
" way of life and that of 1950s conservative America.
In a motel located in Arcadia across the street north-east from Santa Anita Racetrack, author Hunter S. Thompson
wrote much of his novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in the 1970s. In Michael Cunningham's novel The Hours
, Laura Brown mentions that she heard of a man who died in nearby Arcadia.
The McDonald brothers, who later began the McDonald's
hamburger restaurant chain, opened their first restaurant, The Airdrome, near Monrovia Airport, on the Arcadia/Monrovia border in 1937. The restaurant was located on historic route 66, now Huntington Drive, but later moved to San Bernardino, California in 1940.
In the comic strip Pearls Before Swine
, Pastis`s mother lives in Arcadia.
The city is mentioned in the twenty-first episode of ABC's FlashFoward, which is set in Los Angeles.
The X-Files
episode Arcadia demonstrates the downfalls of fascist conformity in the upper-middle class planned communities in the town.
Many films (including Tarzan and the Bing Crosby On the Road movies), television shows, most notably Fantasy Island
. The house with the bell tower, where Tattoo rings the bell, is the Queen Anne Cottage
, located in the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
in Arcadia. The plane, "arriving" with the guests, was filmed in the lagoon behind the Queen Anne Cottage. Occasionally, outdoor scenes and commercials are filmed at the Arboretum have been filmed on the grounds of the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.
The Santa Anita Park
Racetrack. is another popular filming locations. The 2003 true story film Seabiscuit
was filmed and takes place at the Santa Anita race track. A commercial for Claritin allergy medicine, a Lexus
commercial, and three episodes of Grey's Anatomy
have used it as a location ("Walk on Water," "Drowning on Dry Land," and "Some Kind of Miracle").
Scenes in the movie Deal of a Lifetime
were filmed on location at Arcadia High School
.
This city was one of the filming locations for the Columbia Pictures
1994 comedy film North
.
Matilda was shot here in 1996.
In the film "War of the Worlds", the aliens land in nearby Chantry Flats.
A scene from "Step Brothers" was shot at the nearby Derby restaurant.
Scenes from "Mission Impossible 3" were shot at Methodist Hospital.
In the movie Cloverfield
the scene in which the survivors walk inside Bloomingdale's
was actually filmed inside a Robinsons-May
store under reconstruction inside the Westfield Santa Anita
in Arcadia. Eagle Eye
was also filmed in this location.
Scenes from "Kicking and Screaming" were shot at Foothill Middle School and in Arcadia homes.
The film Deal of a Lifetime
was completely shot and filmed at Arcadia High School.
is located in Arcadia across from the Santa Anita mall and racetrack. It is a popular attraction, especially for the flock of peafowl
that inhabit the grounds and neighborhood near the arboretum. The peafowl are a remainder of the former Baldwin ranch. The peafowl were originally introduced to help Baldwin control the snakes and snails on his farm but they have since gone wild. They are considered an attraction to some residents and a nuisance to others due to their loud cries and the droppings they leave on residents' properties. The Arcadia Festival of Bands is a popular local yearly event.
(Newcastle
, Australia
Australia), as designated by Sister Cities International
. Consequently, on Colorado Boulevard is Newcastle Park. There is also an Arcadia Park in Newcastle.
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
, United States, and located approximately 13 miles (20.9 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, United States. It lies to the east of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and west of the Inland Empire. It derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows...
and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains
San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...
.
Arcadia is part of a cluster of cities, along with Temple City
Temple City, California
Temple City is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Temple City is part of a cluster of cities, along with Arcadia, Rosemead, Monterey Park, San Marino, and San Gabriel, in the west San Gabriel Valley with a rapidly growing Asian population. Temple City also has a Cuban and Puerto Rican...
, Rosemead, Monterey Park
Monterey Park, California
Monterey Park is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. The city's motto is "Pride in the past, Faith in the future"...
, San Marino
San Marino, California
San Marino is a small, affluent city in Los Angeles County, California. Incorporated in 1913, the City founders designed the community to be uniquely residential, with expansive properties surrounded by beautiful gardens, wide streets, and well maintained parkways...
, and San Gabriel
San Gabriel
San Gabriel may mean:Ecuador*San Gabriel, EcuadorGuatemala*San Gabriel, SuchitepéquezMexico*San Gabriel, Durango*San Gabriel, Guanajuato*San Gabriel, Jalisco*San Gabriel Chilac, Puebla*San Gabriel Mixtepec, OaxacaPhilippines*San Gabriel, La Union...
, in the west San Gabriel Valley
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, United States. It lies to the east of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and west of the Inland Empire. It derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows...
with a growing Asian population. It is the site of the Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
racetrack and home to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 127 acres , is an arboretum, botanical garden, and historical site nestled into hills near the San Gabriel Mountains, at 301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA...
. The city had a population of 56,364 at the 2010 census, up from 53,248 at the 2000 census. The city is named after Arcadia
Arcadia
Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...
, Greece.
In 2010, Bloomberg Businessweek named Arcadia as one of the "Best Places to Raise Your Kids: 2010," for the second year in a row.
Geography
Located northeast of downtown Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Arcadia is bordered by six other communities: Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, Sierra Madre
Sierra Madre, California
The city of Sierra Madre is a municipality in Los Angeles County, California whose population was 10,917 at the 2010 census, up from 10,580 at the time of the 2000 census. The city is located in the Foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains below the southern edge of the Angeles National Forest. ...
, El Monte
El Monte, California
El Monte is a residential, industrial, and commercial city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte," and historically is known as "The End of the Santa Fe Trail." As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 113,475,...
, San Marino
San Marino, California
San Marino is a small, affluent city in Los Angeles County, California. Incorporated in 1913, the City founders designed the community to be uniquely residential, with expansive properties surrounded by beautiful gardens, wide streets, and well maintained parkways...
, Monrovia
Monrovia, California
Monrovia is a city located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 36,590 at the 2010 census, down from 36,929 at the 2000 census...
, and Temple City
Temple City, California
Temple City is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Temple City is part of a cluster of cities, along with Arcadia, Rosemead, Monterey Park, San Marino, and San Gabriel, in the west San Gabriel Valley with a rapidly growing Asian population. Temple City also has a Cuban and Puerto Rican...
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 11.1 square miles (28.7 km²). 10.9 square miles (28.2 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (1.87%) is water.
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Arcadia had a population of 56,364. The population densityPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 5,062.5 people per square mile (1,954.6/km²). The racial makeup of Arcadia was 18,191 (32.3%) White, 681 (1.2%) African American, 186 (0.3%) Native American, 33,353 (59.2%) Asian, 16 (0.0290909%) Pacific Islander, 2,352 (4.2%) from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1,585 (2.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6,799 persons (12.1%).
The Census reported that 55,502 people (98.5% of the population) lived in households, 639 (1.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 223 (0.4%) were institutionalized.
There were 19,592 households, out of which 7,336 (37.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 11,703 (59.7%) were opposite-sex married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 2,437 (12.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 865 (4.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 469 (2.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
POSSLQ
POSSLQ is an abbreviation for "Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters," a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of cohabitation in American households....
, and 92 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,855 households (19.7%) were made up of individuals and 1,926 (9.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83. There were 15,005 families
Family (U.S. Census)
A family or family household is defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes as "a householder and one or more other people related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. They do not include same-sex married couples even if the marriage was performed in a state...
(76.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.26.
The population was spread out with 12,290 people (21.8%) under the age of 18, 4,102 people (7.3%) aged 18 to 24, 13,409 people (23.8%) aged 25 to 44, 17,349 people (30.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 9,214 people (16.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.1 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.
There were 20,686 housing units at an average density of 1,858.0 per square mile (717.4/km²), of which 12,371 (63.1%) were owner-occupied, and 7,221 (36.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.7%. 37,000 people (65.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 18,502 people (32.8%) lived in rental housing
units.
In 2009, the median income for a household in the city was $107,877. Males had a median income of $80,594 versus $66,138 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $67,400. About 2.7% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.8% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.
2000
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 53,054 people, 19,149 households, and 14,151 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,865.6/km² (4,830.0/mi²). There were 19,970 housing units at an average density of 702.2/km² (1,818.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 45.58% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 1.13% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.25% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 45.41% Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
, 0.08% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 4.16% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 3.39% from two or more races. 10.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 19,149 households out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.
History
Arcadia's beginnings go back over 3,000 years to the Tongva ("Gabrielino") Indian tribe, whose inhabitants lived in what is today Los Angeles County. Their fluid borders stretched from the San Gabriel Mountains in the north to Long Beach in the south, and from the island of Pimu (Catalina) in the west into today's San Bernardino County to the east. These people were also known as the Gabrielinos, a name taken from the Spanish San Gabriel MissionMission San Gabriel Arcángel
The Mission San Gabriel Arcángel is a fully functioning Roman Catholic mission and a historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. The settlement was founded by Spaniards of the Franciscan order on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary," September 8, 1771, as the fourth of what would become 21 Spanish...
(in present-day San Gabriel, California
San Gabriel, California
San Gabriel is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is named after the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, founded by Junipero Serra. The city grew outward from the mission and in 1852 became the original township of Los Angeles County. San Gabriel was incorporated in 1913...
), and under whose control these people worked during the mission period in California. One of Arcadia's settlements of these Native Americans was known as Aleupkigna (or “Aluupkenga) (McCawley, William. The First Angelinos: The Gabrielino Indians of Los Angeles. Malki Museum/Ballena Press, 1996) on what later became the Rancho Santa Anita
Rancho Santa Anita
Rancho Santa Anita was a land grant in present day Los Angeles County, California given to Perfecto Hugo Reid. The land grant was formally recognized by Governor Pio Pico in 1845. The land grant covered all or portions of the present day cities of Arcadia, Monrovia, Sierra Madre, Pasadena and San...
, one of many land grants created during Mexican rule of California (1821–1848). The Tongva are still alive and well today, living in the Los Angeles area and other neighboring communities.
Rancho period
Originally part of "Rancho Santa Anita", and owned by San Gabriel Mission, Mayor-Domo, Claudio Lopez. It was named after a family relation named "Anita Cota", on his wife's side.In 1839, a large area of land that included the present-day borders of Arcadia was sold to a Scottish immigrant, Hugo Reid
Hugo Reid
Hugo Reid was a resident of Los Angeles, California who wrote a series of newspaper letters that described the culture, language, and modern circumstances of the local Gabrieliño Indians and criticized their treatment under the Franciscan mission system.-Life:Born in 1809 or 1810 in Cardross,...
. Reid documented the Native Americans in a series of letters written in 1852 (Reid, Hugo. The Indians of Los Angeles County: Hugo Reid's Letters of 1853. Southwest Museum, 1968) and served as a delegate to the 1849 California Constitutional Convention.
Lucky Baldwin
Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin was a prominent California businessman and investor of the second half of the 19th century.-Biography:...
in 1875. Baldwin purchased 8000 acres (32.4 km²) of Santa Anita for $200,000. Upon seeing the area, Baldwin gasped “By Gads! This is paradise!”. Upon buying the land, Lucky chose to make the area his home and immediately started erecting buildings and cultivating the land for farming, orchards and ranches. In 1885, the main line of the Santa Fe Railroad, in which Baldwin was a stockholder, was opened through the ranch, making subdivision of part of the land into a town site practical. In 1889, on a site just north of the corner of First Avenue and St. Joseph Street, adjacent to the Santa Fe tracks, Baldwin opened the 35 room Hotel Oakwood to be the centerpiece of his new town.
Incorporation
By the turn of the 20th century, Arcadia had a population nearing 500, and a economy that was becoming based on entertainment, sporting, hospitality and gambling opportunities; the latter including an early version of the Santa Anita race track. Baldwin went on to oversee Arcadia's incorporation in 1903 and became the city's first mayor. His daughter, Anita Baldwin, built a stately mansion named Anoakia in 1914 on 19 acres (76,890.3 m²) of land. Anita converted the home into "The Anoakia School for Girls". The school later became coeducational but moved out of Arcadia in 1990 after the Anoakia building was declared a fire trap and earthquake danger. The old estate became overgrown with weeds, and after an extended local debate and efforts to preserve the historic home, the Anoakia mansion, the oldest remaining private property in the city, was finally bulldozed to clear space for 31 luxury homes in 2000. The old estate featured numerous one-of-a-kind architectural features and a structure whose facade was a replica of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Only the perimeter wall and a guardhouse located at the south-east corner of the property remain to surround the "Anoakia Estates" housing development which occupies the land today. Murals and artifacts from the home are preserved in museums throughout California.World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Arcadia was home to the U.S. Army's Ross Field Balloon School in what is now Los Angeles County Park. Here observers were trained to watch enemy activity from hot air balloons. After World War I, Arcadia's population grew and local businesses included many chicken ranches and other agricultural activities. During the 1920s and 1930s, Arcadia began its transition to the fine residential city that it is today as small farms and chicken ranches gave way to homes and numerous civic improvements, including a City Library and a City Hall. Scenes of many of Arcadia's interesting historic sites can be viewed in a series of historic watercolors painted by local artists Edna Lenz and Justine Wishek.
Thoroughbred horse racing, which had flourished briefly under Lucky Baldwin until it was outlawed by the state of California in 1909, returned to Arcadia with the opening of the beautiful Santa Anita Park in December 1934 when racing was legalized again.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Arcadia's Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
racetrack became the site of the Santa Anita Assembly Center for the Japanese, where Japanese Americans were interned under President Franklin Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066
Executive Order 9066
United States Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones...
(See: Japanese internment in the United States). At one point, the assembly center at the racetrack was the largest Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
assembly center in the United States. 400 temporary barracks were constructed in the racetrack parking lot to house the prisoners. Internees lived three families to a barrack (or horse-stable in some cases), took group showers, lacked private bathrooms, and lived under 24-hour armed surveillance. Conditions were extremely difficult with each resident being given an “Army manufacture bed, one blanket and one straw tick” (McAdam, Pat and Snider, Sandy. Arcadia: Where Ranch and City Meet, p. 147) The Assembly Center, which opened in April 1942, ran until the end of October 1943, when the internees were relocated inland to more permanent internment camps in Owens Valley
Owens Valley
Owens Valley is the arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States, to the east of the Sierra Nevada and west of the White Mountains and Inyo Mountains on the west edge of the Great Basin section...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. In March 1943, Camp Santa Anita was established for 20,000 Army Ordnance troops. At the time, Arcadia's civic leaders were very vocal in their support of the internment policies of the Federal Government. (See: Japanese internment in the United States)
Postwar period
Arcadia largely grew up as the well-to-do suburb of neighboring PasadenaPasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, with many early residents being the sons and daughters of long established Southern California families. A large tract of estate homes was developed by Harry Chandler, the scion of the Los Angeles Times, who lived in adjacent Sierra Madre, California
Sierra Madre, California
The city of Sierra Madre is a municipality in Los Angeles County, California whose population was 10,917 at the 2010 census, up from 10,580 at the time of the 2000 census. The city is located in the Foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains below the southern edge of the Angeles National Forest. ...
. The city also became the residence of choice for many corporate chief executives, including those in aerospace, the horse racing industry, and finance.
The postwar boom saw Arcadia grow rapidly into a suburban residential community, with many of the chicken ranches being subdivided into home lots. Between 1940 and 1950, the population grew by more than two and a half times. The housing boom continued through the 1950s and 1960s and along with that growth came the necessary infrastructure of schools, commercial buildings, and expanded city services.
During the postwar boom, a modern commercial district developed along Baldwin Avenue south of Huntington Drive in west Arcadia. In 1951 this strip, called the West Arcadia Hub, was anchored by a new, locally owned department store called Hinshaw's
Hinshaw's Department Stores
-Founder:Hinshaw's was founded by Ezra Bushong Hinshaw, who was born 4 April 1899, in Windsor, North Carolina and raised in Boise, Idaho. He was raised in the Quaker faith. Prior to opening his own store he had been a manager of a Montgomery Ward store and, after relocating to California, became...
. This was the first large department store to be built in Arcadia, and the largest in the western San Gabriel Valley
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, United States. It lies to the east of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and west of the Inland Empire. It derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows...
outside the city of Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
. This development marked the beginning of Arcadia's gradual transformation into one of the leading shopping districts of the San Gabriel Valley.
In 1947, 111 acre (0.44920146 km²) that comprised the heart of the Baldwin Ranch were deeded to the State of California and the County of Los Angeles, and developed into Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 127 acres , is an arboretum, botanical garden, and historical site nestled into hills near the San Gabriel Mountains, at 301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA...
.
Until a Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
ruling in 1965, every property sale contract within the borders of Arcadia had to include a provision that the new owner could only sell the property to a white Protestant, though many non-Protestant families did, in fact, own homes and live in Arcadia long before that ruling.
In October 1975, the Santa Anita Fashion Park was opened to the public on the corner of Baldwin Avenue and Huntington Drive. The center court featured a gigantic blue head by Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
, later removed. Now known as Westfield Santa Anita
Westfield Santa Anita
Westfield Santa Anita, formerly Santa Anita Fashion Park, is a shopping mall in Arcadia, California, owned by the Westfield Group. Its anchor stores are JCPenney, Macy's and Nordstrom. There is also an AMC Theatres multiplex and Dave & Buster's restaurant and entertainment venue.The mall's...
, the mall was expanded in 2004. The mall was affected by the recession in the late 2000s, but continues to do a relatively brisk business. This mall has been embroiled in a battle against Caruso Affiliated, a real estate development company which has proposed the building of a large outdoor entertainment, shopping, and dining complex in the parking lot of the adjacent Santa Anita Park racetrack. The proposed project, called the "Shops at Santa Anita", would be roughly the same size as the existing Westfield mall.
James Dobson
James Dobson
James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder in 1977 of Focus on the Family , which he led until 2003. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesman for conservative social positions in American public life...
, a previous Arcadia resident, founded the nonprofit Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
ministry Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...
in the city in 1977. Its original office still stands on the south side of Foothill Blvd. Focus grew to larger quarters in the city, and in intervening years expanded to Monrovia
Monrovia, California
Monrovia is a city located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 36,590 at the 2010 census, down from 36,929 at the 2000 census...
for warehouse space before moving out of Arcadia completely in 1990. Focus of the Family is now based in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
; but still has thousands of members in Arcadia.
In the late 1990s, Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
activists threatened to sue Arcadia High School
Arcadia High School (Arcadia, California)
Arcadia High School is a part of the Arcadia Unified School District and is a four-year comprehensive secondary school located on a site in Arcadia, California. Their motto is"Our Caring Makes a Difference."...
over its use of the "Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
" mascot. The high school's use of Native American symbols, including an "Apache Joe" mascot, the Pow Wow school newspaper, the "Apache News" television program, the "Smoke Signals" news bulletin boards, the school's auxiliary team's marching "Apache Princesses" and opposing football team fans' "Scalp the Apaches" signs were viewed by these Native American activists and many Arcadia community members as being offensive. The school consulted with Native American groups and made some concessions but didn't change the mascot. Some residents of Arcadia, who are former students at the school and have Native American ancestry, do not take offense to the school's use of these symbols. Arcadia High School has established good relations with the Apache community with their yearly charity drive to aid them.
Economy
Arcadia's economy is driven by wholesale trade, retail trade, manufacturing, health care and social assistance, arts, entertainment, and recreation. Revenue from the Santa Anita Racetrack has long supported capital improvements for the City of Arcadia, resulting in the City having very little bonded indebtedness.The Westfield Santa Anita
Westfield Santa Anita
Westfield Santa Anita, formerly Santa Anita Fashion Park, is a shopping mall in Arcadia, California, owned by the Westfield Group. Its anchor stores are JCPenney, Macy's and Nordstrom. There is also an AMC Theatres multiplex and Dave & Buster's restaurant and entertainment venue.The mall's...
mall (formerly the Santa Anita Fashion Park) is a major shopping center in the city. In 2005, the Westfield Santa Anita completed its first phase of expansion featuring a new food court, Sport Chalet
Sport Chalet
Sport Chalet operates 52 owned stores in Southern & Northern California, Arizona, Nevada, and most recently in Utah . Most stores are over in size, with many including dive pools and offering SCUBA classes...
, Borders Books and Music, Dave & Busters, numerous smaller retailers, various full-service eateries in an area known as Restaurant Square, and a 16-screen AMC Theatres
AMC Theatres
AMC Theatres , officially known as AMC Entertainment, Inc., is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 5,325 screens, second only to Regal Entertainment Group, and one of the United States's four national cinema chains AMC Theatres (American Multi-Cinema), officially known as...
. In 2008, expansion of the mall continued as the Promenade outdoor structure was completed, with new high-end retailers such as Coach and Talbots
Talbots
Talbots is a specialty retailer and direct marketer of women’s classic clothing, shoes and accessories. Established in 1947, the company sells items such as the blazer, trench, white shirt, ballet flats and pearls....
.
The proposal by Caruso Affiliated
Caruso Affiliated
Caruso Affiliated is a real estate development company in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Rick J. Caruso is the company's President and Chief Executive Officer.It is known particularly for building higher-end outdoor shopping centers....
and Magna Entertainment to build a second large shopping mall adjacent to Westfield Santa Anita on the grounds of the Santa Anita Park racetrack will be coming into fruition in 2010. The controversial project, known as "The Shops at Santa Anita", has prompted heated debate among some residents in the community and enormous spending by corporate interests in favor and against the project. If the second mall is built, the combined size of the two malls will make Arcadia the largest retail shopping district in Los Angeles county. "The Shops at Santa Anita", which required City Council approval, will, according to early plans, include signature retail, restaurants, and landscaping featuring a large decorative water display, all situated in what is the race track's southern parking area.
Top employers
According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vons Vons Vons is a southern California and southern Nevada supermarket chain and a division of Safeway Inc. It is headquartered in Arcadia, California, and operates stores under the Vons and Pavilions banners.-Beginning:... |
459 |
| 2 | Emergency Groups' Office | 300 |
| 3 | Macy's Macy's Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States... |
294 |
| 4 | Nordstrom Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings... |
293 |
| 5 | WorleyParsons WorleyParsons WorleyParsons Limited is a large Australian provider of professional services to the energy, resource, and complex process industries.The company has a market capitalisation greater than A$6 billion, and makes up about 0.55% of the S&P/ASX 200 index.... |
277 |
| 6 | J. C. Penney J. C. Penney -External links:*... |
272 |
| 7 | MWH MWH Global MWH Global is a global Wet Infrastructure firm, providing technical engineering, construction services and consulting solutions to protect, enhance, store and distribute water. The firm has provided planning, design and construction management services for a wide range of water resources projects... |
177 |
| 8 | 24 Hour Fitness | 164 |
| 9 | The Cheesecake Factory The Cheesecake Factory The Cheesecake Factory, Inc. is a restaurant company in the United States. The company operates 165 upscale, casual, full-service dining restaurants: 151 under The Cheesecake Factory mark, 13 under the Grand Lux Cafe mark and one under the RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen mark... |
152 |
| 10 | Dave & Buster's Dave & Buster's Dave & Buster's is an American restaurant and entertainment business headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Each D&B has a full-service restaurant and a video arcade. As of July 1, 2009, the company had 57 locations across the United States and two in Canada. The company also licenses the D&B concept... |
151 |
Government
The city has a council-manager governmentCouncil-manager government
The council–manager government form is one of two predominant forms of municipal government in the United States; the other common form of local government is the mayor-council government form, which characteristically occurs in large cities...
with a five member city council, Peter Amundson, Mayor, Roger Chandler, Bob Harbicht, Gary Kovacic, and Mickey Segal). Arcadia is a charter city governed by a five-member City Council (which also serves as the City's Redevelopment Agency), with each member serving a four-year term. The Council elects from its membership a Mayor to serve as its presiding officer for a one-year term.
In the state legislature
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...
Arcadia is located in the 29th Senate
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
District, represented by Republican Bob Huff
Bob Huff
Robert S. Huff is a U.S. politician, who is a Republican member of the California State Senate, representing the 29th Senate District, which includes portions of Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino counties...
, and in the 44th and 59th Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
Districts, represented by Democrat Anthony J. Portantino
Anthony J. Portantino
Anthony J. Portantino , has represented California's 44th assembly district since December 2006. He is a Democrat.- Entertainment career :...
and Republican Tim Donnelly
Tim Donnelly (politician)
Tim Donnelly is a member of the California State Assembly, representing the 59th District. He is a Republican, and is vice chairman of the Higher Education Committee. Before his election to the Assembly in November, 2010, Donnelly was a small businessman in Southern California...
respectively. Federally, Arcadia is located in California's 26th congressional district
California's 26th congressional district
California 26th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California that spans the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley from La Cañada Flintridge to Rancho Cucamonga...
, which has a Cook PVI
Cook Partisan Voting Index
The Cook Partisan Voting Index , sometimes referred to as simply the Partisan Voting Index , is a measurement of how strongly an American congressional district or state leans toward one political party compared to the nation as a whole...
of R +4 and is represented by Republican David Dreier
David Dreier
David Timothy Dreier is the U.S. Representative for , serving in Congress since 1981. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education, and business career:...
.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
Health services to over 10 million residents in the Los Angeles County are provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Mental health services are provided by the County Department of Mental Health...
operates the Monrovia Health Center in Monrovia
Monrovia, California
Monrovia is a city located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 36,590 at the 2010 census, down from 36,929 at the 2000 census...
, serving Arcadia.
Transportation
Arcadia has several main roads, including Foothill Boulevard and Huntington Drive. It is also served by the Foothill Freeway (I-210).In 2014, Metro
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the California state-chartered regional transportation planning agency and public transportation operating agency for the County of Los Angeles formed in 1993 out of a merger of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the...
will open a new light-rail station in Arcadia. Arcadia Station
Arcadia (Los Angeles Metro station)
Arcadia Station is a future light rail station in the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system. It will be located at the intersection of 1st Avenue and Santa Clara Street in Arcadia, California. When it opens, this station will be served by the Metro Gold Line....
will be located northwest of the intersection of 1st Avenue and Santa Clara Street, and will be served by the Metro Gold Line.
Education
For primary and secondary education the city is served by the Arcadia Unified School DistrictArcadia Unified School District
The Arcadia Unified School District is a school district located in Arcadia, California.-Schools:The district consists of six elementary schools , three middle schools The Arcadia Unified School District is a school district located in Arcadia, California.-Schools:The district consists of six...
. Reading scores for the AUSD are 76.6% higher than the state average and math scores are 67.9% higher than the state average. It is estimated that 88% of Arcadia students are at public schools and 12% in private and/or parochial institutions.
Arcadia Unified School District has one highly ranked and prestigious high school, Arcadia High School
Arcadia High School (Arcadia, California)
Arcadia High School is a part of the Arcadia Unified School District and is a four-year comprehensive secondary school located on a site in Arcadia, California. Their motto is"Our Caring Makes a Difference."...
. It is among the few public high schools in California to receive a distinguished GreatSchools Rating of 10 out of 10. There are three middle schools , and six elementary schools, two which are winners in the United States Department of Education's Blue Ribbon Schools program. Approximately five percent of California schools are awarded this honor each year following a rigorous selection process. Eligibility is based on federal and state criteria including the No Child Left Behind program, Academic Performance Index
Academic Performance Index
The Academic Performance Index is a measurement of academic performance and progress of individual schools in California, United States. It is one of the main components of the Public Schools Accountability Act passed by the California legislature in 1999...
(API), and Adequate Yearly Progress
Adequate Yearly Progress
Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing academically according to results on standardized...
(AYP). The requirements are many and strict, and are based on such areas as a strong curriculum, solid library media services, professional teachers, and counseling programs at all grade levels. In 2010, BusinessWeek
BusinessWeek
Bloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...
ranked Arcadia as the best place to raise children in the state of California for the second year in a row by, citing the city's excellent school system as one of the factors in addition to the city's low crime rate.
- ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
- Baldwin Stocker Elementary 422 West Lemon Ave. Arcadia K–5 604 students
- Camino Grove Elementary 700 Camino Grove Ave. Arcadia K–5 682
- Highland Oaks Elementary 10 Virginia Dr. Arcadia K–5 628
- Holly Avenue Elementary 360 West Duarte Rd. Arcadia K–5 623
- Longley Way Elementary 2601 Longley Way Arcadia K–5 485
- Reid (Hugo) Elementary 1000 Hugo Reid Dr. Arcadia K–5 620
- MIDDLE SCHOOLS
- Dana (Richard Henry) Middle 1401 South First Ave. Arcadia 6–8 782
- First Avenue MiddleFirst Avenue Middle SchoolFirst Avenue Middle School, located in Arcadia, California, is an Arcadia Unified School District three-year comprehensive middle school for students in grades six through eight. The school runs by a trimester year....
301 South First Ave. Arcadia 6–8 839 - Foothills MiddleFoothills Middle SchoolFoothills Middle School is a part of the Arcadia Unified School District and is a three-year comprehensive middle school for students in grades 6 through 8, located within the city of Arcadia, California. Feeder elementary schools to this student body population of 843 are primarily Highland Oaks...
171 East Sycamore Ave. Arcadia 6–8 836
- HIGH SCHOOLS
- Arcadia High SchoolArcadia High SchoolArcadia High School may refer to:*Arcadia High School *Arcadia High School *Arcadia High School *Arcadia High School *Arcadia High School *Arcadia High School...
180 Campus Dr. Arcadia 9–12 3,657
- Arcadia High School
Academic Performance Index
Academic Performance Index
The Academic Performance Index is a measurement of academic performance and progress of individual schools in California, United States. It is one of the main components of the Public Schools Accountability Act passed by the California legislature in 1999...
(A.P.I.) measures the academic performance and growth of schools on a variety of academic measures.Arcadia H.S. scored 890, making it the highest performing large high school in California. In 2010, Arcadia High had 29 National Merit Award Finalists.
Hospital
Located at 300 W. Huntington Drive, Methodist Hospital sits on 22 acres (89,030.9 m²) of land. The 460-bed hospital opened in Arcadia in 1957, after moving from downtown Los Angeles. Methodist was the state's first community hospital to have a psychiatric unit. Its nursery school was one of the first corporate daycare facilities in the U.S. It was an Official Hospital of the 1984 Olympic Games1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
.
To keep up with the changing needs of the community, several upgrades have been made to the original facility. In 1998, the Berger Tower was completed, adding 169 beds. Methodist underwent a major renovation and expansion in 2006, and in the fall of 2011, a new five-story patient tower and new emergency department are scheduled for completion.
The Methodist Hospital School of Nursing
A School of Nursing opened at the hospital in 1915, with a class of 30 students. Ten years later, a residence was built to accommodate 150 graduate and student nurses. This four-story brick building, known as Philomena Hall, was connected to the hospital by an underground corridor and provided accommodations, classrooms and a gymnasium for the nurses. Beginning in 1944 (after a nine-year school closure), additional housing for nurses was provided in a refurbished residential house adjacent to Philomena Hall. After more than 40 years of operation and the graduation of hundreds of talented young nurses, the School of Nursing closed. Times had changed, and the practice of nursing education had moved into the domain of the formal education system. The school was phased out in 1958 with the graduation of the last nursing class.Popular culture
The famous U.S. Route 66U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66 was a highway within the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926 -- with road signs erected the following year...
, immortalized in song and literature, passes through Arcadia, on Huntington Drive in Downtown Arcadia, before turning off onto Colorado Place and then Colorado Street. After intersecting the 210 freeway, Route 66 runs parallel to and south of the freeway, cutting across the middle section of Arcadia.
The city is mentioned by Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
in his novel On the Road
On the Road
On the Road is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, written in April 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. It is a largely autobiographical work that was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of...
: Sal, the protagonist, is put off by "preppy
Preppy
Preppy, preppie, or prep refers to a modern, widespread United States clique, often considered a subculture...
" teens when he stops for food at a local drive-in restaurant with a young Mexican woman. The vignette demonstrates the culture clash between the "Beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
" way of life and that of 1950s conservative America.
In a motel located in Arcadia across the street north-east from Santa Anita Racetrack, author Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
wrote much of his novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in the 1970s. In Michael Cunningham's novel The Hours
The Hours (novel)
The Hours is a 1998 novel written by Michael Cunningham. It won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the 1999 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and was later made into an Oscar-winning 2002 movie of the same name starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore.-Plot introduction:The book...
, Laura Brown mentions that she heard of a man who died in nearby Arcadia.
The McDonald brothers, who later began the McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
hamburger restaurant chain, opened their first restaurant, The Airdrome, near Monrovia Airport, on the Arcadia/Monrovia border in 1937. The restaurant was located on historic route 66, now Huntington Drive, but later moved to San Bernardino, California in 1940.
In the comic strip Pearls Before Swine
Pearls Before Swine (comic strip)
Pearls Before Swine is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Stephan Pastis, who was formerly a lawyer in San Francisco, California. It chronicles the daily lives of four anthropomorphic animals, Pig, Rat, Zebra, and Goat, as well as a number of supporting characters...
, Pastis`s mother lives in Arcadia.
The city is mentioned in the twenty-first episode of ABC's FlashFoward, which is set in Los Angeles.
The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
episode Arcadia demonstrates the downfalls of fascist conformity in the upper-middle class planned communities in the town.
Filming location
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
. The house with the bell tower, where Tattoo rings the bell, is the Queen Anne Cottage
Queen Anne Cottage and Coach Barn
Queen Anne Cottage and Coach Barn is a National Register of Historic Places structure on the grounds of the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia, California...
, located in the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 127 acres , is an arboretum, botanical garden, and historical site nestled into hills near the San Gabriel Mountains, at 301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA...
in Arcadia. The plane, "arriving" with the guests, was filmed in the lagoon behind the Queen Anne Cottage. Occasionally, outdoor scenes and commercials are filmed at the Arboretum have been filmed on the grounds of the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.
The Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
Racetrack. is another popular filming locations. The 2003 true story film Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit (film)
Seabiscuit is a 2003 American biographical film based on the best-selling non-fiction book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand...
was filmed and takes place at the Santa Anita race track. A commercial for Claritin allergy medicine, a Lexus
Lexus
is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. First introduced in 1989 in the United States, Lexus is now sold globally and has become Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. The Lexus marque is marketed in over 70 countries and territories worldwide, and has...
commercial, and three episodes of Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
have used it as a location ("Walk on Water," "Drowning on Dry Land," and "Some Kind of Miracle").
Scenes in the movie Deal of a Lifetime
Deal of a Lifetime
Deal of a Lifetime is a 1999 US romantic comedy film starring Shiri Appleby, Michael A. Goorjian, and Kevin Pollak.The film centers around the main character Henry Spooner , the school nerd who has a crush on Lori, the prettiest, most popular girl in his high school...
were filmed on location at Arcadia High School
Arcadia High School (Arcadia, California)
Arcadia High School is a part of the Arcadia Unified School District and is a four-year comprehensive secondary school located on a site in Arcadia, California. Their motto is"Our Caring Makes a Difference."...
.
This city was one of the filming locations for the Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
1994 comedy film North
North (film)
North is an American 1994 comedy film directed by Rob Reiner, and starring Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Dan Aykroyd, Reba McEntire, and Alan Arkin...
.
Matilda was shot here in 1996.
In the film "War of the Worlds", the aliens land in nearby Chantry Flats.
A scene from "Step Brothers" was shot at the nearby Derby restaurant.
Scenes from "Mission Impossible 3" were shot at Methodist Hospital.
In the movie Cloverfield
Cloverfield
Cloverfield is a 2008 American disaster-monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.The film follows six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city...
the scene in which the survivors walk inside Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's is an American department store owned by Macy's, Inc. .Bloomingdale's started in 1861 when brothers Joseph and Lyman G. Bloomingdale started selling hoop-skirts in their Ladies Notions' Shop on Manhattan's Lower East Side...
was actually filmed inside a Robinsons-May
Robinsons-May
Robinsons-May was a chain of department stores operating in Southern California, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada, previously with headquarters in North Hollywood, California...
store under reconstruction inside the Westfield Santa Anita
Westfield Santa Anita
Westfield Santa Anita, formerly Santa Anita Fashion Park, is a shopping mall in Arcadia, California, owned by the Westfield Group. Its anchor stores are JCPenney, Macy's and Nordstrom. There is also an AMC Theatres multiplex and Dave & Buster's restaurant and entertainment venue.The mall's...
in Arcadia. Eagle Eye
Eagle Eye
Eagle Eye is a 2008 thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. The two portray a young man and a single mother who are brought together and coerced by an anonymous caller into carrying out a plan by a possible terrorist organization...
was also filmed in this location.
Scenes from "Kicking and Screaming" were shot at Foothill Middle School and in Arcadia homes.
The film Deal of a Lifetime
Deal of a Lifetime
Deal of a Lifetime is a 1999 US romantic comedy film starring Shiri Appleby, Michael A. Goorjian, and Kevin Pollak.The film centers around the main character Henry Spooner , the school nerd who has a crush on Lori, the prettiest, most popular girl in his high school...
was completely shot and filmed at Arcadia High School.
Sights
The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic GardenLos Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 127 acres , is an arboretum, botanical garden, and historical site nestled into hills near the San Gabriel Mountains, at 301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA...
is located in Arcadia across from the Santa Anita mall and racetrack. It is a popular attraction, especially for the flock of peafowl
Peafowl
Peafowl are two Asiatic species of flying birds in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks. The adult female...
that inhabit the grounds and neighborhood near the arboretum. The peafowl are a remainder of the former Baldwin ranch. The peafowl were originally introduced to help Baldwin control the snakes and snails on his farm but they have since gone wild. They are considered an attraction to some residents and a nuisance to others due to their loud cries and the droppings they leave on residents' properties. The Arcadia Festival of Bands is a popular local yearly event.
Notable residents
Some notable Arcadians:- Michael Anthony of the band Van HalenVan HalenVan Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
graduated from Arcadia High School in 1972 - Phil HendriePhil HendriePhilip Stephen Hendrie is an American radio personality. He is best known as the host of The Phil Hendrie Show, a comedy talk radio program that is syndicated throughout North America on Talk Radio Network...
radio personality, grew up in Arcadia and graduated from Arcadia High School in 1970. - Jet LiJet LiThe fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...
International Martial Arts Movie Star, former resident along with his wife, former Miss China - Johnny LindellJohnny LindellJohn Harlan Lindell was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder and pitcher in the Major League Baseball from to and from to . Lindell played for the New York Yankees, St...
, former Major League Baseball player - Mirai NagasuMirai NagasuMirai Aileen Nagasu , born April 16, 1993 is an American figure skater. She is the 2008 U.S. national champion, 2010 U.S. silver medalist, 2011 Four Continents bronze medalist, and 2007–2008 Junior Grand Prix Final champion....
Olympic Figure Skater - Wil WheatonWil WheatonRichard William "Wil" Wheaton III is an American actor and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me and Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers...
Actor in Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
Sister cities
Arcadia has one sister cityTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
(Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, Australia
Australia), as designated by Sister Cities InternationalSister Cities International
Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between United States and international communities. More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in 136 countries around the world...
. Consequently, on Colorado Boulevard is Newcastle Park. There is also an Arcadia Park in Newcastle.
See also
- Arcadia InvitationalArcadia InvitationalArcadia Invitational is among the most competitive high school track and field competitions in the United States. It has been billed as "Home of National Records." The meet is held at Arcadia High School in Arcadia, California, on the second weekend in April...