East Palo Alto, California
Encyclopedia
East Palo Alto is a city in San Mateo County
, California
, United States
.
, roughly halfway between the cities of San Francisco
and San Jose
. To the north and east is the San Francisco Bay
, to the west is the city of Menlo Park
, and to the south the prosperous city of Palo Alto
. Despite being called "East" Palo Alto, this is a misnomer, as the city is precisely due north of Palo Alto. While widely assumed to be part of the city of Palo Alto, East Palo Alto has always been a separate entity, being located in a different county since its founding as an unincorporated community (Palo Alto is in Santa Clara County
) and until recently having an entirely different demographic makeup. The two cities are separated only by San Francisquito Creek
and, largely, the Bayshore Freeway
(the vast majority of East Palo Alto is northeast of the freeway, while all of the residential part of Palo Alto is southwest of the freeway). The revitalization projects in 2000, and the surge of high income high-tech professionals moving into the new developments (including employees from Google and Facebook), have begun to eliminate the cultural and economic differences between the two cities. East Palo Alto and Palo Alto share both telephone area codes and postal ZIP code
s.
About half of East Palo Alto's residents were African American
s in 1990, largely due to redlining
practices in Palo Alto . Latino
s now constitute about 65% of the total population, while the proportion of African Americans has decreased to about 15%. A small minority of Pacific Islander population also resides in East Palo Alto, mostly Tonga
ns with some Samoa
ns and Fiji
ans . East Palo Alto has the largest concentration of Pacific Islanders of any U.S. city or town outside of Hawaii
.
In the past, East Palo Alto experienced crime and poverty, especially during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1992, it had the highest homicide rate in the country with 24,322 people, and 42 murders, equaling a rate of 172.7 homicides per 100,000 residents. Since then the city's crime problems have subsided, and the murder rate in particular has declined to a typical urban level. In 2006, East Palo Alto experienced a comparatively low 6 murders. There were 7 murders in 2007, and only 5 in 2008. According to a 2008 report provided by Chief of Police Ron Davis, violence is on the decline. Davis reports an overall 42% reduction in homicides and a 20% reduction in overall crime between 2006–2008, compared to the previous three years.
The prosperity that benefited the Silicon Valley
during the dot-com boom
of the late 1990s largely bypassed East Palo Alto. The Ravenswood City School District
, which serves East Palo Alto and part of adjoining Menlo Park, has struggled with low academic performance. Eventually, however, the Peninsula's shortage of land and soaring property prices meant that even East Palo Alto became an option for urban regeneration. Until recently, gentrification
has been rare in East Palo Alto. East Palo Alto was depicted in the 1995 film Dangerous Minds
, which was based on the experiences of a Carlmont High School
teacher and her experiences with bused-in students from East Palo Alto.
East Palo Alto also includes a small piece of land across the Bayshore Freeway
(US 101) from the shopping center, a roughly triangular area between US 101 and San Francisquito Creek, which includes a former two-block-long retail business district known as Whiskey Gulch (the name dates back to the time that Stanford University
, in Palo Alto to the west, was dry and prohibited alcohol sales within a radius of one mile (1.6 km) from the campus: Whiskey Gulch was just outside the limits, and was home to a number of liquor stores and bars). The city has torn down Whiskey Gulch and replaced it with the University Circle office complex. A 200-room Four Seasons hotel opened in University Circle in 2006.
Over 25% of East Palo Alto (400+ acres) has been bulldozed and replaced with brand new housing and brand-name retail establishments over the last 10–15 years, including IKEA
, Sports Authority
, Home Depot, Nordstrom
, Togo's
, Starbucks
, Office Depot
, Mi Pueblo Grocery, and Best Buy
, 6 to 9 Dental, Jamba Juice, and Firehouse Grill attracting an entirely new demographic. University Square community has become particularly appealing to young high-tech professionals and high-income couples, including many employees from Google
, Facebook
, Sun Microsystems
, and various other software and startup companies.
tribe of Native Americans
inhabited this area at least by 1500 to 1000 BCE. One tumulus
was discovered in 1951 during development of the University Village subdivision near today's Costaño School. After a year-long excavation of 60 graves and 3,000 artifacts, researchers concluded Native Americans had utilized the area as a cemetery
and camp, rather than as a permanent settlement. In later years another mound was found near Willow Road and the railroad right-of-way
.
From the 1850s through the 1940s, East Palo Alto went through many changes. In 1849, Isaiah Woods attempted to make East Palo Alto a major shipping town and named the city Ravenswood. In 1868, after Woods' investments failed he sold the wharf to Lester Cooley, who built a brick factory. When the brick factory closed down, it reverted to a farming community.
With the outbreak of WW I, the north side of East Palo Alto became a military training ground with only the V.A. hospital in Menlo Park still extant. In the 1940s, East Palo Alto was a farming community with many Japanese residents. During the war, the Japanese were forced into internment camps and they lost their land, belongings, and livelihoods. After the war, many African-American families were diverted to EPA, and during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, there was a cultural re-awakening. The city was almost renamed Nairobi
in 1968 to reflect its population's African roots.
Significant gentrification
occurred in East Palo Alto from around 2000, with the construction of a large shopping center named Ravenswood 101 (including a Home Depot, a Best Buy
, and an IKEA
store) and several upscale housing communities (intended for high-earning Silicon Valley workers). This gentrification has faced opposition from some local residents, who charge that it serves to price locals out of one of the region's only affordable communities while providing only low-paying jobs in the retail developments and consuming a disproportionate quantity of the tiny city's land area (2.2 square miles).
In 2008, after 20 years without a supermarket, East Palo Alto individuals and organizations joined together to establish the East Palo Alto Community Farmers' Market. In November 2009, the Mi Pueblo Food Center grocery store was added to the Ravenswood 101 shopping center in place of the former Circuit City store. The opening of Mi Pueblo store in East Palo Alto was the city's first full-service supermarket in 23 years. Mi Pueblo operates more than a dozen markets in California, including one located in Mountain View. Although there are several local, small grocery stores in East Palo Alto, the establishment of Mi Pueblo Food Center in East Palo Alto marked a milestone in history for the city, as residents no longer have to drive to other cities to buy their groceries from a full-service supermarket.
Starting in 2006, a large real estate investor, Page Mill Properties, purchased almost the entire west side of East Palo Alto and contested most of the city's rent control laws in what many claimed was a predatory equity scheme. Page Mill left East Palo Alto in the fall of 2009 after defaulting on a $240-million bank loan.
, who represented one of the real-estate brokers whose original blockbusting
campaign had turned EPA into a mostly-black
The final tally was 1,777 for and 1,764 against, a margin of 13 votes; a majority of 50.2%.
are 37°28′1"N 122°8′23"W (37.467038, -122.139699). Despite its name, East Palo Alto lies almost entirely north, and not east, of Palo Alto
. It is bordered on the west by Menlo Park
and Palo Alto, and to the east by the San Francisco Bay
. The San Francisquito Creek defines its western edge. To the north are Ravenswood Point and the western end of the Dumbarton Bridge
in Menlo Park.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²), of which 2.5 square miles (6.5 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (4.11%) is water.
was 10,777.1 people per square mile (4,161.1/km²). The racial makeup of East Palo Alto was 8,104 (28.8%) White, 4,704 (16.7%) African American, 120 (0.4%) Native American, 1,057 (3.8%) Asian, 2,118 (7.5%) Pacific Islander, 10,694 (38.0%) from other races
, and 1,358 (4.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18,147 persons (64.5%). Among the Hispanic population, 15,319 (54.4%) are Mexican
, 69 (0.2%) are Puerto Rican
, 23 (0.1%) are Cuban
, and 2,736 (9.7%) are other Hispanic or Latino.
The Census reported that 28,001 people (99.5% of the population) lived in households, 150 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 4 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 6,940 households, out of which 3,767 (54.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,144 (45.3%) were opposite-sex married couples
living together, 1,510 (21.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 625 (9.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 529 (7.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
, and 59 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,196 households (17.2%) were made up of individuals and 316 (4.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.03. There were 5,279 families
(76.1% of all households); the average family size was 4.38.
The population was spread out with 8,976 people (31.9%) under the age of 18, 3,487 people (12.4%) aged 18 to 24, 8,897 people (31.6%) aged 25 to 44, 5,120 people (18.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,675 people (5.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28.1 years. For every 100 females there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.5 males.
There were 7,819 housing units at an average density of 2,992.9 per square mile (1,155.6/km²), of which 2,971 (42.8%) were owner-occupied, and 3,969 (57.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 13.3%. 12,628 people (44.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 15,373 people (54.6%) lived in rental housing units.
of 2009, there were 35,791 people, 7,104 households, and 5,793 families residing in the city. The population density
was 14327.6 PD/sqmi. There were 8,046 housing units at an average density of 4,444.4 per square mile (2,864.0/km²). 21.3% spoke English
, 64.8% Spanish
, 9.5% Pacific Island languages
, 0.4% Chinese
or Mandarin
, other Indo-European
1.4%, and other language 1.3%, as their first language from estimate census 2009.
There were 7,104 households of which 41.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 19.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 6.24 and the average family size was 7.65.
In the city the population was spread out with 47.1% under the age of 18, 19.5% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 11.1% from 45 to 64, and 3.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 109.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.9 males.
The median income for a household
in the city was $44,006, and the median income for a family was $42,342. Males had a median income of $25,631 versus $28,044 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $13,774. About 22.2% of families and 21.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.1% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.
connects East Palo Alto to Alameda County, which lies to the east across San Francisco Bay
, and carries State Route 84
into East Palo Alto toward U.S. 101.
Public transportation is provided by the free East Palo Alto Community Shuttle http://www.caltrain.com/Assets/shuttles/Schedules/East+Palo+Alto+Community+Shuttle.pdf, which connects East Palo Alto to the Palo Alto Caltrain station
during peak hours; as well as by SamTrans
buses.
has its headquarters in East Palo Alto.
District K-8 schools include Costaño Elementary School, Belle Haven Community School, and James Flood Magnet School. 5-8 schools include Cesar Chávez Academy and Ronald McNair Academy. San Francisco 49ers Academy, a 6-8 district school, is in Palo Alto. K-4 schools in East Palo Alto include Edison Brentwood Academy (a district charter) and Green Oaks Academy. Ravenswood Child Development Center is in East Palo Alto.
Sequoia Union High School District
operates the zoned high schools in the area. Some residents are zoned to Carlmont High School
in Belmont
, some residents are zoned to Menlo-Atherton High School
in Atherton
, and some residents are zoned to Woodside High School
in Woodside
.
operates the East Palo Alto Library, located at 2415 University Avenue.
California clapper rail
is known to be present in the western bridge terminus area.
The bridge is not a significant source of noise affecting East Palo Alto; however, the city is affected by noise from events at the nearby Shoreline Amphitheatre
in Mountain View
.
East Palo Alto teens were also depicted in the movie Dangerous Minds with Michelle Pfieffer. The movie showed the struggle of East Palo Alto kids who were bussed to Carlmont High School in Belmont, California. The movie was filmed at Burlingame High School in Burlingame, California
San Mateo County, California
San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula just south of San Francisco, and north of Santa Clara County. San Francisco International Airport is located at the northern end of the county, and...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Overview
As of the 2010 census, the population of East Palo Alto was 28,155. It is situated on the San Francisco PeninsulaSan Francisco Peninsula
The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is in Santa Clara County, including the cities of Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Mountain...
, roughly halfway between the cities of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
and San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. To the north and east is the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
, to the west is the city of Menlo Park
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City...
, and to the south the prosperous city of Palo Alto
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
. Despite being called "East" Palo Alto, this is a misnomer, as the city is precisely due north of Palo Alto. While widely assumed to be part of the city of Palo Alto, East Palo Alto has always been a separate entity, being located in a different county since its founding as an unincorporated community (Palo Alto is in Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
) and until recently having an entirely different demographic makeup. The two cities are separated only by San Francisquito Creek
San Francisquito Creek
San Francisquito Creek is a creek that flows into southwest San Francisco Bay in California, United States of America. Historically it was called the Arroyo de San Francisco by Juan Bautista de Anza in 1776...
and, largely, the Bayshore Freeway
Bayshore Freeway
The Bayshore Freeway is a part of U.S. Route 101 in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It runs along the west shore of the San Francisco Bay, connecting San Jose with San Francisco. Within the city of San Francisco, the freeway is also known as James Lick Freeway...
(the vast majority of East Palo Alto is northeast of the freeway, while all of the residential part of Palo Alto is southwest of the freeway). The revitalization projects in 2000, and the surge of high income high-tech professionals moving into the new developments (including employees from Google and Facebook), have begun to eliminate the cultural and economic differences between the two cities. East Palo Alto and Palo Alto share both telephone area codes and postal ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
s.
About half of East Palo Alto's residents were African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s in 1990, largely due to redlining
Redlining
Redlining is the practice of denying, or increasing the cost of services such as banking, insurance, access to jobs, access to health care, or even supermarkets to residents in certain, often racially determined, areas. The term "redlining" was coined in the late 1960s by John McKnight, a...
practices in Palo Alto . Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
s now constitute about 65% of the total population, while the proportion of African Americans has decreased to about 15%. A small minority of Pacific Islander population also resides in East Palo Alto, mostly Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
ns with some Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
ns and Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
ans . East Palo Alto has the largest concentration of Pacific Islanders of any U.S. city or town outside of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
In the past, East Palo Alto experienced crime and poverty, especially during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1992, it had the highest homicide rate in the country with 24,322 people, and 42 murders, equaling a rate of 172.7 homicides per 100,000 residents. Since then the city's crime problems have subsided, and the murder rate in particular has declined to a typical urban level. In 2006, East Palo Alto experienced a comparatively low 6 murders. There were 7 murders in 2007, and only 5 in 2008. According to a 2008 report provided by Chief of Police Ron Davis, violence is on the decline. Davis reports an overall 42% reduction in homicides and a 20% reduction in overall crime between 2006–2008, compared to the previous three years.
The prosperity that benefited the Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
during the dot-com boom
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
of the late 1990s largely bypassed East Palo Alto. The Ravenswood City School District
Ravenswood City School District
The Ravenswood City School District is a public school district headquartered in East Palo Alto, California, USA. The district, in the San Francisco Bay Area, serves the communities of East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park. Students from this school district who continue on with public schooling...
, which serves East Palo Alto and part of adjoining Menlo Park, has struggled with low academic performance. Eventually, however, the Peninsula's shortage of land and soaring property prices meant that even East Palo Alto became an option for urban regeneration. Until recently, gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
has been rare in East Palo Alto. East Palo Alto was depicted in the 1995 film Dangerous Minds
Dangerous Minds
Dangerous Minds is an American drama film based on the autobiography My Posse Don't Do Homework by former U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, who took up a teaching position at Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, where most of her students were African-American and Hispanic teenagers from East...
, which was based on the experiences of a Carlmont High School
Carlmont High School
Carlmont High School is an American public high school located in Belmont, California, United States serving grades 9–12 as part of the Sequoia Union High School District. Carlmont is a California Distinguished School.-History:...
teacher and her experiences with bused-in students from East Palo Alto.
East Palo Alto also includes a small piece of land across the Bayshore Freeway
Bayshore Freeway
The Bayshore Freeway is a part of U.S. Route 101 in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It runs along the west shore of the San Francisco Bay, connecting San Jose with San Francisco. Within the city of San Francisco, the freeway is also known as James Lick Freeway...
(US 101) from the shopping center, a roughly triangular area between US 101 and San Francisquito Creek, which includes a former two-block-long retail business district known as Whiskey Gulch (the name dates back to the time that Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, in Palo Alto to the west, was dry and prohibited alcohol sales within a radius of one mile (1.6 km) from the campus: Whiskey Gulch was just outside the limits, and was home to a number of liquor stores and bars). The city has torn down Whiskey Gulch and replaced it with the University Circle office complex. A 200-room Four Seasons hotel opened in University Circle in 2006.
Over 25% of East Palo Alto (400+ acres) has been bulldozed and replaced with brand new housing and brand-name retail establishments over the last 10–15 years, including IKEA
IKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
, Sports Authority
Sports Authority
The Sports Authority, Inc. is one of the largest sporting goods retailers in the United States. It is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, and operates more than 460 stores in 45 U.S...
, Home Depot, 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...
, Togo's
Togo's
Togo's Eateries, Inc., is a chain of fast casual sandwich restaurants owned by Mainsail Partners. Its headquarters are in San Jose, California....
, Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
, Office Depot
Office Depot
Office Depot is a supplier of office products and provides many services. The company's selection of brand name office supplies includes business machines, computers, computer software and office furniture, while its business services encompass copying, printing, document reproduction, shipping,...
, Mi Pueblo Grocery, and Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
, 6 to 9 Dental, Jamba Juice, and Firehouse Grill attracting an entirely new demographic. University Square community has become particularly appealing to young high-tech professionals and high-income couples, including many employees from Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
, and various other software and startup companies.
History
The OhloneOhlone
The Ohlone people, also known as the Costanoan, are a Native American people of the central California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the area along the coast from San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the lower Salinas Valley...
tribe of Native Americans
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...
inhabited this area at least by 1500 to 1000 BCE. One tumulus
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
was discovered in 1951 during development of the University Village subdivision near today's Costaño School. After a year-long excavation of 60 graves and 3,000 artifacts, researchers concluded Native Americans had utilized the area as a cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
and camp, rather than as a permanent settlement. In later years another mound was found near Willow Road and the railroad right-of-way
Right-of-way (railroad)
A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way...
.
From the 1850s through the 1940s, East Palo Alto went through many changes. In 1849, Isaiah Woods attempted to make East Palo Alto a major shipping town and named the city Ravenswood. In 1868, after Woods' investments failed he sold the wharf to Lester Cooley, who built a brick factory. When the brick factory closed down, it reverted to a farming community.
With the outbreak of WW I, the north side of East Palo Alto became a military training ground with only the V.A. hospital in Menlo Park still extant. In the 1940s, East Palo Alto was a farming community with many Japanese residents. During the war, the Japanese were forced into internment camps and they lost their land, belongings, and livelihoods. After the war, many African-American families were diverted to EPA, and during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, there was a cultural re-awakening. The city was almost renamed Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
in 1968 to reflect its population's African roots.
Significant gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
occurred in East Palo Alto from around 2000, with the construction of a large shopping center named Ravenswood 101 (including a Home Depot, a Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
, and an IKEA
IKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
store) and several upscale housing communities (intended for high-earning Silicon Valley workers). This gentrification has faced opposition from some local residents, who charge that it serves to price locals out of one of the region's only affordable communities while providing only low-paying jobs in the retail developments and consuming a disproportionate quantity of the tiny city's land area (2.2 square miles).
In 2008, after 20 years without a supermarket, East Palo Alto individuals and organizations joined together to establish the East Palo Alto Community Farmers' Market. In November 2009, the Mi Pueblo Food Center grocery store was added to the Ravenswood 101 shopping center in place of the former Circuit City store. The opening of Mi Pueblo store in East Palo Alto was the city's first full-service supermarket in 23 years. Mi Pueblo operates more than a dozen markets in California, including one located in Mountain View. Although there are several local, small grocery stores in East Palo Alto, the establishment of Mi Pueblo Food Center in East Palo Alto marked a milestone in history for the city, as residents no longer have to drive to other cities to buy their groceries from a full-service supermarket.
Starting in 2006, a large real estate investor, Page Mill Properties, purchased almost the entire west side of East Palo Alto and contested most of the city's rent control laws in what many claimed was a predatory equity scheme. Page Mill left East Palo Alto in the fall of 2009 after defaulting on a $240-million bank loan.
Incorporation
East Palo Alto has always had a rich history. While there is plentiful shopping and business outside East Palo Alto, there was relatively little in the city. Most of EPA was unincorporated county land, so it was not eligible for many of the revenue benefits of city status. Until 1983, East Palo Alto existed as an unincorporated "island" in San Mateo County, dependent on county government for services and on the San Mateo County Sheriff for police protection. After several years of pro-incorporation campaigning by local community groups, a 1982 ballot measure that was stopped by a lawsuit, and a subsequent election the next year, East Palo Alto became a city in June 1983, with Barbara A Mouton as it's first Mayor. (Because of subsequent legal challenges to the last ballot measure, it wasn't until 1987 that the city was officially recognized as such. The legal challenges were led by former U.S. Congress member Pete McCloskeyPete McCloskey
Paul Norton "Pete" McCloskey Jr. is a former Republican politician from the U.S. state of California who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983. He ran on an anti-war platform for the Republican nomination for President in 1972 but was defeated by incumbent President...
, who represented one of the real-estate brokers whose original blockbusting
Blockbusting
Blockbusting is a business practice of U.S. real estate agents and building developers meant to encourage white property owners to sell their houses at a loss, by implying that racial, ethnic, or religious minorities — Blacks, Hispanics, Jews et al. — were moving into their previously racially...
campaign had turned EPA into a mostly-black
The final tally was 1,777 for and 1,764 against, a margin of 13 votes; a majority of 50.2%.
Geography
East Palo Alto is located in San Mateo County, its geographical coordinatesGeographic coordinate system
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on the Earth to be specified by a set of numbers. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represent vertical position, and two or three of the numbers represent horizontal position...
are 37°28′1"N 122°8′23"W (37.467038, -122.139699). Despite its name, East Palo Alto lies almost entirely north, and not east, of Palo Alto
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
. It is bordered on the west by Menlo Park
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City...
and Palo Alto, and to the east by the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
. The San Francisquito Creek defines its western edge. To the north are Ravenswood Point and the western end of the Dumbarton Bridge
Dumbarton Bridge (California)
The Dumbarton Bridge is the southernmost of the highway bridges that span the San Francisco Bay in California. Carrying over 81,000 vehicles daily, it is also the shortest bridge across San Francisco Bay at 1.63 miles...
in Menlo Park.
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 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²), of which 2.5 square miles (6.5 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (4.11%) is water.
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that East Palo Alto had a population of 28,155. 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 10,777.1 people per square mile (4,161.1/km²). The racial makeup of East Palo Alto was 8,104 (28.8%) White, 4,704 (16.7%) African American, 120 (0.4%) Native American, 1,057 (3.8%) Asian, 2,118 (7.5%) Pacific Islander, 10,694 (38.0%) 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 1,358 (4.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18,147 persons (64.5%). Among the Hispanic population, 15,319 (54.4%) are Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, 69 (0.2%) are Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
, 23 (0.1%) are Cuban
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent. For more information about the Cuban people, see Demographics of Cuba and Culture of Cuba...
, and 2,736 (9.7%) are other Hispanic or Latino.
The Census reported that 28,001 people (99.5% of the population) lived in households, 150 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 4 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 6,940 households, out of which 3,767 (54.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,144 (45.3%) 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, 1,510 (21.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 625 (9.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 529 (7.6%) 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 59 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,196 households (17.2%) were made up of individuals and 316 (4.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.03. There were 5,279 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...
(76.1% of all households); the average family size was 4.38.
The population was spread out with 8,976 people (31.9%) under the age of 18, 3,487 people (12.4%) aged 18 to 24, 8,897 people (31.6%) aged 25 to 44, 5,120 people (18.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,675 people (5.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28.1 years. For every 100 females there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.5 males.
There were 7,819 housing units at an average density of 2,992.9 per square mile (1,155.6/km²), of which 2,971 (42.8%) were owner-occupied, and 3,969 (57.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 13.3%. 12,628 people (44.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 15,373 people (54.6%) lived in rental housing units.
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 2009, there were 35,791 people, 7,104 households, and 5,793 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 14327.6 PD/sqmi. There were 8,046 housing units at an average density of 4,444.4 per square mile (2,864.0/km²). 21.3% spoke English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, 64.8% Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, 9.5% Pacific Island languages
Polynesian languages
The Polynesian languages are a language family spoken in the region known as Polynesia. They are classified as part of the Austronesian family, belonging to the Oceanic branch of that family. They fall into two branches: Tongic and Nuclear Polynesian. Polynesians share many cultural traits...
, 0.4% Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
or Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
, other Indo-European
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
1.4%, and other language 1.3%, as their first language from estimate census 2009.
There were 7,104 households of which 41.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 19.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 6.24 and the average family size was 7.65.
In the city the population was spread out with 47.1% under the age of 18, 19.5% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 11.1% from 45 to 64, and 3.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 109.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.9 males.
The median income for a household
Household income in the United States
Household income is a measure commonly used by the United States government and private institutions, that counts the income of all residents over the age of 18 in each household, including not only all wages and salaries, but such items as unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support...
in the city was $44,006, and the median income for a family was $42,342. Males had a median income of $25,631 versus $28,044 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 $13,774. About 22.2% of families and 21.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.1% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
East Palo Alto is bisected by U.S. Route 101, a freeway with exits serving the city and frontage roads on either side. The Dumbarton BridgeDumbarton Bridge (California)
The Dumbarton Bridge is the southernmost of the highway bridges that span the San Francisco Bay in California. Carrying over 81,000 vehicles daily, it is also the shortest bridge across San Francisco Bay at 1.63 miles...
connects East Palo Alto to Alameda County, which lies to the east across San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
, and carries State Route 84
California State Route 84
State Route 84 is a split-section California State Highway consisting of two sections. The first section is an east–west arterial road running from San Gregorio to Menlo Park, across the Dumbarton Bridge through Fremont and Newark and ending at I-580 in Livermore. The route overlaps the...
into East Palo Alto toward U.S. 101.
Public transportation is provided by the free East Palo Alto Community Shuttle http://www.caltrain.com/Assets/shuttles/Schedules/East+Palo+Alto+Community+Shuttle.pdf, which connects East Palo Alto to the Palo Alto Caltrain station
Palo Alto (Caltrain station)
Palo Alto Station is the main train station in Palo Alto, California. It is a regional transit center serving Santa Clara County and San Mateo County Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority transit bus passengers as well as Caltrain commuters. Palo Alto is also one of the busiest stations in...
during peak hours; as well as by SamTrans
SamTrans
SamTrans is a public transport agency in and around San Mateo, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It provides bus service throughout San Mateo County and into portions of San Francisco and Palo Alto...
buses.
Primary and secondary schools
The Ravenswood City School DistrictRavenswood City School District
The Ravenswood City School District is a public school district headquartered in East Palo Alto, California, USA. The district, in the San Francisco Bay Area, serves the communities of East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park. Students from this school district who continue on with public schooling...
has its headquarters in East Palo Alto.
District K-8 schools include Costaño Elementary School, Belle Haven Community School, and James Flood Magnet School. 5-8 schools include Cesar Chávez Academy and Ronald McNair Academy. San Francisco 49ers Academy, a 6-8 district school, is in Palo Alto. K-4 schools in East Palo Alto include Edison Brentwood Academy (a district charter) and Green Oaks Academy. Ravenswood Child Development Center is in East Palo Alto.
Sequoia Union High School District
Sequoia Union High School District
The Sequoia Union High School District is a public school district in the San Francisco Bay Area, primarily serving the communities of Atherton, Belmont, East Palo Alto, Ladera, San Carlos, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Redwood City, and Woodside....
operates the zoned high schools in the area. Some residents are zoned to Carlmont High School
Carlmont High School
Carlmont High School is an American public high school located in Belmont, California, United States serving grades 9–12 as part of the Sequoia Union High School District. Carlmont is a California Distinguished School.-History:...
in Belmont
Belmont, California
Belmont is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. It is in the San Francisco Bay Area, located half-way down the San Francisco Peninsula between San Mateo and San Carlos. It was originally part of the Rancho de las Pulgas, for which one of its main roads, the Alameda de las Pulgas,...
, some residents are zoned to Menlo-Atherton High School
Menlo-Atherton High School
Menlo-Atherton High School is a four-year comprehensive secondary school located in Atherton, California which was established in 1951. Menlo-Atherton is part of the Sequoia Union High School District....
in Atherton
Atherton, California
Atherton is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. Its population was 6,914 at the 2010 census. In September 2010, Forbes magazine placed Atherton's zip code of 94027 at #2 on its annual list of America's most expensive zip codes, with a median home price of $4,010,200...
, and some residents are zoned to Woodside High School
Woodside High School (Woodside, California)
Woodside High School is an American public high school located in Woodside on the border with Redwood City, California. It is part of the Sequoia Union High School District. It has scored a perfect ten in California's similar-school rankings in 2009 and 2010....
in Woodside
Woodside, California
Woodside is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It uses a council-manager system of government. The U.S. Census estimated the population of the town to be 5,287 in 2010....
.
Public libraries
Peninsula Library SystemPeninsula Library System
The Peninsula Library System is the public library organization serving San Mateo County, California, United States, which forms the bulk of the region within the San Francisco Bay Area known as "The Peninsula"...
operates the East Palo Alto Library, located at 2415 University Avenue.
Environment
The local area around the Dumbarton Bridge is an important ecological area, hosting many species of birds, fish and mammals. The endangered speciesEndangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
California clapper rail
California Clapper Rail
The California Clapper Rail is an endangered subspecies of the Clapper Rail . It is found principally in California's San Francisco Bay, and also in Monterey Bay and Morro Bay...
is known to be present in the western bridge terminus area.
The bridge is not a significant source of noise affecting East Palo Alto; however, the city is affected by noise from events at the nearby Shoreline Amphitheatre
Shoreline Amphitheatre
Shoreline Amphitheatre is an outdoor amphitheater, in Mountain View, California, USA, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Inside the venue it has a capacity of 22,500, with 6,500 reserved seats and 16,000 general admission on the lawn...
in Mountain View
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
.
Culture
East Palo Alto is home to several rappers, including Sean T, S.I.C, Mac & AK, The Youngen, Chunk, Bigg Rigg, Band-Aide, Scoot Dogg, Ad Kapone, and Mac-10. Rapper Band-Aide of the Hoodstarz was arrested as of March 7, 2009 in a large-scale attempt to dismantle an East Palo Alto-based gang known as the Taliban. The raid to dismantle the Taliban consisted of more than 500 FBI agents and Bay Area Police.East Palo Alto teens were also depicted in the movie Dangerous Minds with Michelle Pfieffer. The movie showed the struggle of East Palo Alto kids who were bussed to Carlmont High School in Belmont, California. The movie was filmed at Burlingame High School in Burlingame, California
External links
- East Palo Alto Public Library - a branch of the San Mateo County Library
- A History of East Palo Alto
- EPA.net East Palo Alto web portal
- East Palo Alto News Paper
- East Palo Alto City Council website
- East Palo Alto Tenant's Rights Info (concerning rent control)
- Collective Roots - East Palo Alto organization promoting food system awareness and change
- East Palo Alto Community Farmers' Market - Community-based Certified Farmers' Market