Glendale, California
Encyclopedia : G : GL : GLE : Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It lies at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley, is bisected by the Verdugo Mountains, and is an important suburb in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The city is bordered to the southwest by the Atwater Village district of Los Angeles; to the west by Burbank; to the northwest by the Tujunga district of Los Angeles; to the northeast by the city of La Cañada Flintridge and the unincorporated La Crescenta area; and to the east by Pasadena. The Golden State, Ventura, Glendale, and Foothill freeways run through the city.
As of the 2000 census, the city population was 194,973. Since then, there have been estimates of 201,326 by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2004 and 207,007 by the California State government in 2005, making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the seventeenth largest city in the state of California.
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, located in Glendale, contains the remains of many celebrities and local residents. It is famous as the pioneer of a new style of cemetery.
Several large companies have offices in Glendale. The U.S. headquarters of the Swiss foods multinational Nestlé are located in Glendale. So is the "southern campus" of DreamWorks SKG, the diversified entertainment company founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. The Los Angeles regional office of California's State Compensation Insurance Fund is in Glendale.
History
The area was long inhabited by the Tongva people.José María Verdugo, a corporal in the Spanish army from Baja California, received a grant of the Rancho San Rafael in 1798, an area he had been farming since 1784. In 1860 His grandson Teodoro Verdugo built the Verdugo Adobe, which is the oldest building in Glendale. The property is the location of the Oak of Peace where early Californio leaders including Jesus Pico met in 1847 and decided to surrender to American General John C. Frémont.
Verdugo's descendants sold the ranch in various parcels, some of which are included in present-day Atwater Village, Eagle Rock, and Highland Park neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
In 1884 residents gathered to form a town and chose the name "Glendale". Residents to the southwest formed "Tropico" in 1887. The Pacific Electric Railroad brought streetcar service in 1904.
The City of Glendale was incorporated in 1906 and Tropico was annexed 12 years later. The most important civic booster of the era was Leslie C. Brand, who built in 1909 a grand estate El Miradero in a stunning blend of architectural styles. Brand built a private airstrip in 1919 and hosted "fly-in" parties. The grounds of El Miradero are now city-owned Brand Park and the mansion is the Brand Library. One of the city's main thoroughfares is Brand Boulevard.
The city grew quickly. Its population rose from 13,756 in 1920 to 62,736 in 1930 before slowing down. The Forest Lawn Memorial Park opened in 1917. Pioneering endocrinologist and entrepreneur Dr. Henry R. Harrower opened his clinic in Glendale in 1920, which for many years was the largest business in the city. The American Green Cross, an early conservation and tree preservation society, was formed in 1926 (it disbanded three years later and the current organization of that name is unrelated).
The "Grand Central Airport" was an important facility to the city and to the history of aviation. It provided the first paved runway west of the Rocky Mountains in 1923. In 1928 it opened its terminal, making it the first official airport in Greater Los Angeles. For the next two decades it was the main airport in the county and references to "Los Angeles Airport" from that era generally refer to the Grand Central Airport, not to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which was known as Mines Field at the time (commercial airline operations at LAX did not begin until 1946).
Jack Northrop built his first aircraft factory here in 1927, though it was soon moved to Burbank's "United Airport" (now Bob Hope Airport). The first regularly-scheduled airline service between Southern California and New York City was initiated on July 28, 1929 by Transcontinental Air Transport, with owner Charles A. Lindbergh piloting the first flight. Among the passengers on the 48-hour trip were Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Pioneering female aviator Laura Ingalls became the first woman to fly solo across in the country when she landed at Glendale in 1930. The first transcontinental flight by African American pilots, Albert Forsythe and Charles Anderson, was completed at Glendale in 1933. Howard Hughes built his innovative and record-setting "H-1 Racer" in a plant next to the airport in 1935. During World War II it became a P-38 base where the 319th Fighter Wing trained.
After the war the airport eventually returned to private use but its runways were too short for jet planes and the airport was closed in 1959. The Grand Central Air Terminal building, with its control tower, was designed by Henry L. Gogerty. The building is currently owned by The Walt Disney Company, though the terminal and tower were made uninhabitable by the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The airport was the setting of several films, including Hughes' 1930 Hell's Angels, Shirley Temple's 1934 Bright Eyes, and the musical Hollywood Hotel with Dick Powell. The city of Glendale is also part owner of the Bob Hope Airport (formerly "Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport").
The Bob's Big Boy chain of hamburger restaurants started in Glendale in 1936, and the Baskin-Robbins, "31 Flavors" chain of ice cream parlors started there in 1945.
In 1964, Glendale was selected by George Lincoln Rockwell to be the West Coast headquarters of the American Nazi Party. Its offices, on Colorado Boulevard in the downtown section of the city, remained open until the early 1980s.
The Glendale Public Library contains one of the largest collections of books on cats in the world, over 20,000 volumes."The 20,000 books ... on cats is the largest such collection in the world." It was donated to the library in the 1950s by the Jewel City Cat Fanciers Club, with the understanding that it would be made into a special collection and kept permanently for club members to use and enjoy. Personal communication by [WikipediansWikipedia editor] "JesseW" with Glendale head reference librarian, 20 June 2005 (UTC).
The city saw significant development in the 1970s. Completion of the Glendale Freeway (HWY 2) and the Ventura Freeway (HWY 134), redevelopment of Brand Boulevard, renovation of the 1925 Alex Theatre, and construction of the Glendale Galleria shopping mall, all contributed to the resurgence of the city.
In 1994, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen formed DreamWorks SKG, a diversified entertainment company. The company's "southern campus" is located in the city's Grand Central Business Park on a tract of land formerly occupied by a Sparkletts Water bottling facility.
On January 26, 2005, 11 people were killed in a Metrolink train crash just south of downtown Glendale.
Geography
Glendale is located at (34.170939, -118.250081)[Geographic references#1GR1] at the juncture of two large valleys, the San Fernando and the San Gabriel. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 79.4 km² (30.7 mi²). 79.4 km² (30.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.07%) is water. It is bordered to the north by the foothill communities of La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, and Tujunga; to the south by the Atwater Village community incorporated by the city of Los Angeles; to the east by Pasadena and Eagle Rock (also incorporated within Los Angeles); and to the west by the city of Burbank.Demographics
Foreign-born residents accounted for 54% of the population in 2000. Glendale has a distinctively ethnic flavor, with large Armenian, Iranian, Filipino and Arab populations, and many businesses catering to them. While it has descendants from many countries, it is most famous for its Armenian population. Census figures indicate that the ethnic heritage of city population is 40% Armenian, 20% Latino, 16% Asian, and roughly one-third Anglo. Glendale's Armenian population is abundant and the majority of Glendale's city council members (3 of 5) are of Armenian descent.As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 194,973 people, 71,805 households, and 49,617 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,456.1/km² (6,362.2/mi²). There were 73,713 housing units at an average density of 928.6/km² (2,405.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 63.58% White, 1.27% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 16.12% Asian American, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 8.57% from other races, and 10.06% from two or more races. 19.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 71,805 households out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,805, and the median income for a family was $47,633. Males had a median income of $39,709 versus $33,815 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,227. About 13.6% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.7% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The Glendale Unified School District operates schools in Glendale.Glendale High School is one of the GUSD schools.
Glendale is also home to Glendale Community College.
Community organizations
The City of Glendale includes a variety of nonprofit organizations that enhance the quality of life in Glendale. Strong links between local residents, business owners, and government have created a network of organizations that provide support in the areas of education, employment, homeless services, after-school activities, and social services. Local organizations include:- [The Salvation Army Glendale]
- [Glendale Community Free Health Clinic]
- [PATH Achieve Glendale (Homeless Access Center & Shelter)]
Sister cities
Currently, Glendale has 5 sister cities.http://www.sister-cities.org/icrc/directory/USA/CA- Kapan, Armenia
- Higashiosaka, Japan
- Hiroshima, Japan
- Tlaquepaque, Mexico
- Rosarito Beach, Baja California, Mexico
Notable natives
- Captain Beefheart, musician
- Elvin Bishop, musician
- Clara Bryant, actress
- Jamie Denton, actor
- Nicole Eggert, actress
- Erika Eleniak, actress
- Robert Englund, actor
- Edward Furlong, actor
- Daryl Gates, former LAPD police chief
- Scott Gorham, musician
- Joe Hahn, musician
- Maren Jensen, actress
- Daron Malakian, musician
- Eva Mendes, actress
- Dennis Muren, special effects artist
- Paul Petersen, actor
- Ron Underwood, director
- Paul Walker, actor
- John Wayne, actor
- The Game, rapper
- John Cho, actor
- Joel Madden, musician
See also
Notes
External links
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