Columbia, Missouri

Encyclopedia : C : CO : COL : Columbia, Missouri

Columbia is a city in Boone County, Missouri, USA. The city has an estimated population of 90,947, as of 2006.

The city was founded in 1819. The surrounding Metropolitan Statistical Area has a population of 151,129, as of 2006. Columbia is located roughly equidistant from St. Louis and Kansas City on Interstate 70.

It has the reputation of combining the quality and culture of larger metropolitan areas with the warm hospitality of the Midwest. Columbia is consistently ranked as one of the top places in the United States to live by publications such as Money Magazine because of its excellent quality of life. The city is also home to the University of Missouri–Columbia, the flagship campus of the University of Missouri System. The city is also home to Stephens College, a traditionally-female college, and Columbia College, which led in the past to Columbia being known by the nickname "College Town USA".

As a whole the city has a very young and active population. The downtown area is self-proclaimed as "Mid-Missouri's cultural and entertainment center, featuring a diversity of restaurants, bars, live music, and independent films." Downtown is also host to many events including the [True/False Film Festival,] Art in the Park, The Blind Boone Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival, and the [Twilight Festivals] in June and September. Recently an association of downtown business[Discover the DIstrict: About Us] has initiated a campaign to rename the downtown area to ["The District"] though this naming has yet to catch on among locals. The population generally supports progressive causes such as the extensive city recycling programs and the decriminalization of marijuana at the municipal level. Politically the city leans to the left, whereas the surrounding rural areas are largely conservative. It is the county seat of Boone County, Missouri.^{[Geographic references#6GR6]} The mayor of Columbia is Darwin Hindman.

Contents

1 Schools
2 In The District (Downtown Columbia)
3 Festivals
4 Famous People
5 Sister Cities
6 Geography
7 Demographics
8 External links
9 Notes

Schools

In The District (Downtown Columbia)

Booches
[Flat Branch Brewery]
[The Blue Note]
[Cherry Street Artisan]
[Shakespeare's Pizza]
[Lakota Coffee Co.]
[Main Squeeze]
Columbia spur of the trans-state bicycle and pedestrian Katy Trail.

Festivals

True/False Film Festival
Twilight Festival
Hot Summer Nights
Concert Series with the Missouri Symphony Orchestra
Art in the Park
Ninth Street Summerfest
The Blind Boone Ragetime and Early Jazz Festival
First Night Columbia
Living Windows Festival
Columbia Festival of the Arts
Boone County Heritage Festival.

Famous People

Sam Walton (Hickman High School) founder of Walmart
Jim Lehrer (University of Missouri) PBS news anchor
Ken Lay (Hickman High School & Mizzou) Enron CEO
'Blind' Boone Ragtime musician and composer
Norm Stewart, former Mizzou basketball coach
Quin Snyder, now former Mizzou basketball coach and former Duke University standout
Bill Laurie, St. Louis Blues owner and Walmart heir
Stan Kroenke, Denver Nuggets owner and Walmart heir
Gary Pinkel, current Mizzou football coach
Carl Edwards, NASCAR driver
William Least Heat-Moon, Author of Blue Highways and other novels.
Brad Pitt, Actor, Attended Mizzou '82-'86, member of Sigma Chi fraternity
Darwin Hindman, Mayor
Norbert Weiner, famous mathematician (born in Columbia)
Sheryl Crow, Pop musician, Mizzou Alumni (Education)
Chuck Roberts, (University of Missouri) CNN Headline News anchor

Sister Cities

[[Image:0713china.gif|thumb|265px|right|Columbia has five sister cities, as designated by [Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI)]]

Geography

Columbia is located at [38°56′54″N, 92°20′2″W] (38.948351, -92.333779)^{[Geographic references#1GR1]}.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 138.1 km² (53.3 mi²). 137.5 km² (53.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (0.51%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^{[Geographic references#2GR2]} of 2000, there were 84,531 people, 33,689 households, and 17,282 families residing in the city. The population density was 615.0/km² (1,592.8/mi²). There were 35,916 housing units at an average density of 261.3/km² (676.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.54% White, 10.85% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 4.30% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.81% from other races, and 2.07% from two or more races. 2.05% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 33,689 households out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.7% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.7% under the age of 18, 26.7% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,729, and the median income for a family was $52,288. Males had a median income of $34,710 versus $26,694 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,507. About 9.4% of families and 19.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

External links

[Official city government website]
[Columbia Community Voice]
[Columbia Convention & Visitors Bureau]
[Columbia Chamber of Commerce]
[Columbia Missourian]
[Columbia Daily Tribune]
[MUTV (University of Missouri TV Station)]
[The Maneater]
[MyMissourian]
[Misery Weekly]
An [interesting historical look] can be found in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
[Maps and aerial photos] Coordinates: [38.948351° -92.333779°]
* Street map from [Google Maps] or [Yahoo! Maps]
* Topographic map from [TopoZone]
* Aerial image or topographic map from [TerraServer-USA]
* Satellite image from [Google Maps] or [Windows Live Local]
[Map of The District]
[Comomusic]
[The District] - Over 70 bars & restaurants, 110 unique shops and 40 live performances a week.
[Digital Guide to Columbia MO]

	State of Missouri
Capital	Jefferson City
Regions	Bootheel \| Little Dixie \| St. Francois Mountains \| Ozark Plateau \| Northern Plains \| Missouri Rhineland \| Lincoln Hills \| Lead Belt \| Platte Purchase \| Dissected Till Plains \| Osage Plains \| Mississippi Alluvial Plain
Metropolitan Areas	St. Louis \| Kansas City \| Springfield \| Joplin \| Columbia \| Jefferson City \| St. Joseph
Micropolitan Areas	Branson \| Cape Girardeau, Jackson, MO-IL \| Farmington \| Fort Leonard Wood \| Hannibal \| Kennett \| Kirksville \| Lebanon \| Marshall \| Maryville \| Mexico \| Moberly \| Poplar Bluff \| Rolla \| Sedalia \| Sikeston \| Warrensburg \| West Plains
Largest Cities	Kansas City \| St. Louis \| Springfield \| Independence \| Columbia \| Lee's Summit \| St. Joseph \| O'Fallon \| St. Charles \| St. Peters \| Florissant \| Blue Springs \| Chesterfield \| Joplin \| University City \| Jefferson City \| Cape Girardeau \| Wildwood \| Ballwin \| Raytown \| Liberty \| Kirkwood \| Gladstone \| Hazelwood \| Maryland Heights
Counties	Adair \| Andrew \| Atchison \| Audrain \| Barry \| Barton \| Bates \| Benton \| Bollinger \| Boone \| Buchanan \| Butler \| Caldwell \| Callaway \| Camden \| Cape Girardeau \| Carroll \| Carter \| Cass \| Cedar \| Chariton \| Christian \| Clark \| Clay \| Clinton \| Cole \| Cooper \| Crawford \| Dade \| Dallas \| Daviess \| DeKalb \| Dent \| Douglas \| Dunklin \| Franklin \| Gasconade \| Gentry \| Greene \| Grundy \| Harrison \| Henry \| Hickory \| Holt \| Howard \| Howell \| Iron \| Jackson \| Jasper \| Jefferson \| Johnson \| Knox \| Laclede \| Lafayette \| Lawrence \| Lewis \| Lincoln \| Linn \| Livingston \| Macon \| Madison \| Maries \| Marion \| McDonald \| Mercer \| Miller \| Mississippi \| Moniteau \| Monroe \| Montgomery \| Morgan \| New Madrid \| Newton \| Nodaway \| Oregon \| Osage \| Ozark \| Pemiscot \| Perry \| Pettis \| Phelps \| Pike \| Platte \| Polk \| Pulaski \| Putnam \| Ralls \| Randolph \| Ray \| Reynolds \| Ripley \| St. Charles \| St. Clair \| St. Francois \| St. Louis (City) \| St. Louis County \| Ste. Genevieve \| Saline \| Schuyler \| Scotland \| Scott \| Shannon \| Shelby \| Stoddard \| Stone \| Sullivan \| Taney \| Texas \| Vernon \| Warren \| Washington \| Wayne \| Webster \| Worth \| Wright

Notes

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