Burbank, Los Angeles County, California
Encyclopedia : B : BU : BUR : Burbank, Los Angeles County, California
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| Founded | May 1, 1887 | ||||
| Incorporated | July 8, 1911 | ||||
| General Information | |||||
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| County | Los Angeles County, California | ||||
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Latitude
Longitude |
34°10'49" N 118°19'42" W | ||||
| Area - Total - Water | 45 km² (17.4 mi²) 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) 0.12% | ||||
| Population
- Total (2004 est.)
- Density |
105,400 5,800/mi² | ||||
| Climate - Avg. Temp - Avg. Rainfall - Avg. Humidity - Prevailing Wind | 63 °F(17 °C) 12.1 inches (307 mm) 61% SW 2 to 4 mph (3 to 6 km/h) | ||||
| Time zone | Pacific: UTC-8 | ||||
| Dialing Code | +1 (Country code) 818 (Area Code) | ||||
| Postal code | 91501-91526 | ||||
| City Tree City Flower | Crape Myrtle California Lilac (Ceanothus) | ||||
| City Officials | |||||
| Mayor Vice Mayor | Jef Vander Borght Todd Campbell | ||||
| City Council | David Golonski David Gordon Marsha Ramos | ||||
| City Treasurer City Clerk City Manager City Attorney | Donna Anderson Margarita Campos Mary Alvord Dennis Barlow | ||||
| [City of Burbank Official Website] | |||||
- This article is about the city of Burbank, California. For other localities named Burbank, see "Burbank".
Billed as the "Media Capital of the World", many media and entertainment companies are headquartered or have significant production facilities in Burbank, including NBC, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
The town has come a long way from the days when it was ironically referred to as "Beautiful Downtown Burbank" on Laugh-In and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
Commonly believed to be named for famous horticulturalist Luther Burbank, the city of Burbank is actually named for New Hampshire born dentist and entrepreneur David Burbank.
The City of Burbank
The town grew steadily, weathering the drought and depression that hit Los Angeles in the 1890s and in 20 years, the community now consisted of its own bank, newspaper, high school and a thriving business district with a hardware store, livery stable, dry goods store, general store, and a bicycle repair shop.The population would petition the State Legislature to incorporate and formally become a city on July 8, 1911, naming Thomas Story, a local businessman, as their first mayor.
By 1916, 1,500 residents claimed Burbank as home. By 1930, as First National Studios, Andrew Jergens Company, The Lockheed Company, McNeill and Libby Canning Company, the Moreland Company, and Northrop Aircraft Corporation opened factories and studios there, the numbers had swelled to 16,662.
The Federal government officially recognized Burbank's status in 1923 when the United States Postal Service reclassified the city from the rural village mail delivery classification to city postal delivery service.
In the meantime, the United States Department of Commerce recommended Burbank as the most favorable airport location in the Los Angeles area. Dedicated on Memorial Day Weekend (May 30 - June 1), 1930, the United Airport was the largest commercial airport in the Los Angeles area until it was eclipsed in 1946 by the Los Angeles Municipal Airport in Inglewood when that facility (the former Mines Field) commenced commercial operations.
Burbank's airport has undergone a number of name changes since its opening day in 1930. It remained United Airport until 1934, when it was renamed Union Air Terminal (1934-1940). Lockheed bought the airport in 1940 and renamed it the Lockheed Air Terminal, which it was known as until 1967, when its name changed again, to Hollywood-Burbank Airport. It remained Hollywood-Burbank Airport for over a decade, until 1978, when it was renamed Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport (1978-2003). Most recently, in December of 2003, the facility was renamed Bob Hope Airport in honor of the famous comedian (see "Burbank Today" below).
The growth of companies such as Lockheed and the burgeoning entertainment industry drew more and more people to the area as Burbank's population doubled again between 1930 and 1940 to 34,337. But Burbank saw its greatest growth during World War II due to Lockheed's strong presence in the city, employing some 80,800 men and women to contribute to the war effort producing aircraft such as the Hudson, P-38 Lightning, PV-1 Ventura and America's first jet fighter, the P-80 Shooting Star, arriving too late to participate in the war, but would see service in the Korean War, logging the world's first jet-to-jet aerial kill in history. Lockheed would go on to produce the super secret spy planes U2, SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Nighthawk at its Burbank-based "Skunk Works."
Disney and Warner (formerly First National Studio) contributed to the war effort by producing training films and morale films for the armed services and cartoons promoting the sale of war bonds. Disney artists designed more than 1000 unit mascot designs for units from every branch of the armed forces. Walt Disney had authorized that the creation of these insignias were to be designed for free and by the end of the war was estimated to have cost Disney over thirty thousand dollars.
Burbank would also witness its first real civil strife as the culmination of a six month labor dispute between the Set Decorator's union and the studios resulted in the Battle of Burbank on October 5, 1945.
Burbank's growth did not slow as war production ceased and over 7,000 new residents created a postwar real estate boom and real estate values soared as housing tracts sprang up on formerly vacant land in the Magnolia Park area of Burbank between 1945 and 1950.
As America entered the atomic age, the city's industries thrived and as the world changed around it, Burbank continued to evolve to meet its demands ushering in the 21st century vastly different from the town's sheep-farm roots.
Burbank today
A predominantly upper-middle class community, Burbank is home to many employees of the motion picture and television studios located in and around the city.Entertainment has generally replaced the defense industry as the primary employer of its citizens, who are attracted by the relative safety and security offered by its own [police] and [fire] departments, highly rated [schools] and [hospital]. Other reasons cited are its small-town feel while located only 10 minutes away by car to the hip clubs and restaurants of Hollywood.
The convenience of a local airport and proximity to major freeways is crucial in today's world, and Burbank is no exception.
The former Burbank/Glendale/Pasadena Airport (which opened in 1930 as the United Airport) was renamed in December 2003 in honor of comedian Bob Hope, who lived in nearby Toluca Lake for many years. The airport services 4.9 million travelers per year on seven major carriers, with more than 70 flights daily.
Burbank is easily accessible by and can easily access the Southern California freeways via the Golden State Freeway, which bisects the city from northwest to southeast, and the Ventura Freeway which connects Burbank to the U.S. Route 101 on the south and the nearby Foothill Freeway to the east.
Those without cars can take advantage of the Metro which operates public transport throughout Los Angeles County, connecting her citizens to 18,500 stops on 189 bus lines including those in Burbank while commuters can easily access the Metrolink and Amtrak for service south into Downtown and Union Station, west to Ventura and north to Palmdale and all points beyond.
While at home, residents enjoy the [Los Angeles Equestrian Center], the [Starlight Bowl], fine [restaurants], the city's Downtown Burbank Mall, a burgeoning "Burbank Village" shopping district, and many theatres, parks, and libraries. Visitors to Burbank are attracted to the Warner Bros. [Studio VIP] tour and close proximity to all other entertainments and attractions that Los Angeles offers.
Recently, the murder of Burbank police officer Matthew Pavelka by a local gang known as the Vineland Boys sparked an intensive investigation in conjuction with several other cities and resulted in the arrest of a number of gangmembers and other citizens in and around Burbank. Among those arrested was Burbank city councilwoman Stacey Murphy, implicated in trading guns in exchange for drugs.
Sister cities
Burbank is also affiliated with the following sister cities :
Geography
Burbank is located at (34.180170, -118.328341)[Geographic references#1GR1].According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 45.0 km² (17.4 mi²). 44.9 km² (17.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.12%) is water.
It is bordered by Glendale to the east, Toluca Lake on the west, and Griffith Park to the South. Hollywood is easily accessible from Burbank by driving down Barham Blvd. (past Warner Bros. Studios & Universal Studios) to Cahuenga Blvd., formerly known as the Cahuenga Pass.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 100,316 people, 41,608 households, and 24,382 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,232.4/km² (5,782.4/mi²). There were 42,847 housing units at an average density of 953.5/km² (2,469.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.18% White, 2.06% Black or African American, 0.55% Native American, 9.15% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 9.88% from other races, and 6.04% from two or more races. 24.87% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.There were 41,608 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $47,467, and the median income for a family was $56,767. Males had a median income of $41,792 versus $35,273 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,713. About 8.1% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.3% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.
The number of violent crimes recorded by the [FBI] in its 2004 [Uniform Crime Reports] was 262 of which there were 4 murders and homicides. The violent crime rate was approximately 2.5 per 1,000 people, well below the [national average] as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice in the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Economy
Much of Burbank's economy is based on the entertainment industry. Hollywood is considered a symbol of the glamorous entertainment industry, but much of the actual production takes place in Burbank. Many ancillary companies are also located there. Many companies have their headquarters in Burbank, including ABC, Arri, Cartoon Network, DIC Entertainment, Dick Clark Productions, NBC, Nickelodeon, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros., and Warner Music Group.
Burbank is also conveniently located close to CBS Studio Center, DreamWorks, and Universal Studios in neighboring Studio City, Glendale, and Universal City, respectively. Capitol Records and Paramount are just south of Burbank in Hollywood proper.
Local IATSE union offices for the Stagehands Local 33, Grips Local 80, Make-up and Hairstylist Local 706 and Set Painters Local 729 also make their home in Burbank with Teamsters Local 399, IBEW Local 40 and many other IATSE locals nearby.
Education
Burbank is home to several California Distinguished Schools including the confusingly named Luther Burbank Middle School (see history above). Both its public and private K-12 schools routinely score above state and national average test scores. A number of colleges are also located in Burbank including the Woodbury University with its renowned design program and several [make up] and [beauty] trade schools servicing the entertainment industry.Famous residents
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