Redwood City, California
Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a port for lumber and other goods. The county seat of San Mateo County in the heart of Silicon Valley, Redwood City is home to several global technology companies including Oracle, Electronic Arts, Evernote, Box, and Informatica. The city had an estimated population of 85,925 in 2019. The Port of Redwood City is the only deepwater port on San Francisco Bay south of San Francisco. Redwood City is the location of the San Mateo County Jail, for both women and men. The Hetch Hetchy water pipeline runs through Redwood City and supplies a vast majority of the surrounding area with low grain rated water.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of, of which is land and is water. A major watercourse draining much of Redwood City is Redwood Creek, to which several significant river deltas connect, the largest of which is Westpoint Slough.
Geography
Redwood City stretches from the San Francisco Bay towards the Santa Cruz Mountains between San Carlos to the northwest and Atherton to the southeast with Woodside to the southwest. It is divided by Highway 101 and further inland El Camino Real on the northwest/southeast axis and Woodside Road on the north-northeast/south-southwest axis. Locally, the former two are regarded as north/south and the latter east/west, as 101 and El Camino connects Redwood City to San Francisco and San Jose and Woodside Road runs from San Francisco Bay to the Santa Cruz Mountains.Neighborhoods include Bair Island to the northeast of Highway 101. The northern neighborhood of Redwood Shores also to the northeast of Highway 101 is part of Redwood City, although it is not possible to travel by road from one to the other without passing through the neighboring city of San Carlos, or through Belmont via unincorporated San Mateo County. Stretching along Highway 101 to the southeast of Woodside Road is Friendly Acres, further inland and still to the southeast of Woodside Road are Redwood Village and then Redwood Oaks. Most neighborhoods are to the northwest of Woodside Ride and southwest of Highway 101. Centennial, Downtown, and Stambaugh Heller are adjacent to 101. Next inland are Edgewood, Mt. Carmel, Central and Palm then Canyon, Eagle Hill, Roosevelt, and Woodside Plaza. Furthest inland is Farm Hills.
Neighborhoods associated with Redwood City but not part of the incorporated city include Emerald Lake Hills and Kensington Square inland and to the north and
North Fair Oaks to the southeast. Palomar Park, just north of Emerald Hills and east of San Carlos' Crestview area, is another Redwood City neighborhood that is formally part of unincorporated San Mateo County. Although Redwood City has a large middle class, the southeastern section of Redwood City strongly resembles working-class North Fair Oaks in both demographic makeup and income level.
Downtown
In an attempt to revitalize Redwood City's downtown, city officials decided to look into development. In February 1999, the San Mateo County History Museum opened inside the old San Mateo County Courthouse in downtown Redwood City. The courthouse had been built in 1910 and in the late '30s an addition was built in front of the original structure, obscuring the view. As part of the revitalization, this addition was torn down and replaced with a large courtyard flanked by water fountains on either side, leading to the main steps of the courthouse. The courthouse's glass dome is lit at night and changes colors every 11 seconds.In August 2006, a 20-screen theater and various shops opened in a prime downtown location. The theater complex boasts restaurant and retail space at street level and a two-level underground parking structure.
Climate
Redwood City, along with most of the Bay Area, enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate, with warm, dry summers and cool, relatively wet winters. The National Weather Service, which maintains both a forecast center and a cooperative office in Redwood City, reports that December is the coolest month and July is the warmest month. The record highest temperature of 110 °F was recorded on both July 14 and 15, 1972. The record lowest temperature of 16 °F was recorded on January 11, 1949. Annually, there are an average of 21.6 days with highs of 90 °F or higher and 2.8 days with highs of 100 °F or higher; there are an average of 1.8 days with lows of 32 °F or lower.The normal annual precipitation is 20.56 inches. The most rainfall in one month was 12.42 inches in February 1998. The record 24-hour rainfall of 4.88 inches was on October 13, 1962. There are an average of 62.1 days with measurable precipitation. Snow flurries have been observed on rare occasions; there was some minor snow accumulation in May 1935, January 1962, and February 1976.
History
Redwood City incorporated in 1867, being the first city in San Mateo County to do so; it has remained the county seat since the county's formation in 1856. The land had been part of the Rancho de las Pulgas granted to the Arguello family in 1835 by the Mexican government. Their control was challenged after the Mexican–American War when California became part of the United States. The family lawyer, Simon M. Mezes, in 1854 defended the claim somewhat successfully and was allowed to buy the part of the estate that is now Redwood City. Mezes sold some of the land to people already squatting on it along the banks of Redwood Creek and named the settlement "Mezesville." Though the city did not keep that name, Mezes Park still exists on land that Mezes had given for open space.In 1907, Eikichi and Sadakusi Enomoto, Japanese immigrant brothers, grew what may perhaps have been the first commercially grown chrysanthemums in the United States in Redwood City. In 1926, the chamber of commerce proclaimed the city the "Chrysanthemum Center of the World" though the internment of Japanese Americans in 1941 and other factors would contribute to the end of flower growing as a major industry in the city.
Demographics
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Redwood City had a population of 76,815. The population density was 3,955.5 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Redwood City was 46,255 White, 1,881 African American, 511 Native American, 8,216 Asian, 795 Pacific Islander, 14,967 from other races, and 4,190 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 29,810 persons. Non-Hispanic Whites number 31,982.The Census reported that 75,268 people lived in households, 408 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1,139 were institutionalized.
There were 27,957 households, out of which 10,045 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 13,642 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 3,139 had a female householder with no husband present, 1,461 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,818 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 288 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 7,411 households were made up of individuals, and 2,401 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69. There were 18,242 families ; the average family size was 3.26.
The population was spread out, with 18,193 people under the age of 18, 5,981 people aged 18 to 24, 24,819 people aged 25 to 44, 19,710 people aged 45 to 64, and 8,112 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males.
There were 29,167 housing units at an average density of 1,501.9 per square mile, of which 14,160 were owner-occupied, and 13,797 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.9%. 37,757 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 37,511 people lived in rental housing units.
2000In 2000, there were 75,402 people, 27,423 households and 17,898 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,882.7 people per square mile. There were 29,568 housing units at an average density of 1,522.6 per square mile. 47.1% spoke English, 39.6% Spanish, 2.4% Chinese or Mandarin, other Indo-European 1.7%, and other language 0.5%, as their first language from estimate census 2009.There were 27,680 households, out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.62 and the average family size was 4.80. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.6% under the age of 18, 14.7% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 7.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.4 males. According to a 2009 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $69,679, and the median income for a family was $77,964. Disposable income is relatively constant when Redwood City is compared with the rest of the country. Males had a median income of $47,345 versus $44,125 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,042. About 8.4% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.1% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over. GovernmentRedwood City's charter provides for a councilor-manager form of government. The City Council appoints the City Manager and adopts policies, which the City Manager is expected to implement. The City Manager appoints and manages most of Redwood City's department heads.The City Council seats are currently held by Diane Howard, Shelly Masur, Alicia C. Aguirre, Ian Bain, Janet Borgens, Giselle Hale, and Diana Reddy. The current City Manager is Melissa Stevenson Diaz. In the California State Legislature, Redwood City is in, and in. In the United States House of Representatives, Redwood City is split between California's 14th and 18th congressional districts, represented by and, respectively. According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Redwood City has 41,866 registered voters. Of those, 21,213 are registered Democrats, 6,249 are registered Republicans, and 12,777 have declined to state a political party. Landmarks
ParksPreserves include Bair Island Ecological Preserve and the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge on the shoreline. Edgewood County Park known for its wildflowers is towards the Santa Cruz Mountains.City parks include
It has elementary and middle schools operated by the Redwood City School District. At the high school level it is part of the Sequoia Union High School District and high schools in Redwood City that are part of this district are the comprehensive Sequoia High School, the charter schools Summit Preparatory Charter High School and Everest Public High School, and the continuation school Redwood High School. Many students from Redwood City attend another Sequoia Union school, Woodside High School, in the neighboring town of Woodside. The community of Redwood Shores is served by the Belmont - Redwood Shores School District and the Carlmont High School. The Redwood City Libraries system, a member of the Peninsula Library System, has four branches in the city: Downtown, Fair Oaks, Redwood Shores, and Schaberg. The city's first library opened in 1865 and in 1900 the city passed a special tax to support a free public library. In 1904 Andrew Carnegie gave $10,000 for a new library; he gave another $6,000 in 1906 to rebuild it after it was destroyed in the earthquake. In 1959 Schaberg library opened and was named for Hannah Schaberg who left money for its building in her will. Transportationpasses through Redwood City as it goes along the Peninsula. Other major thoroughfares include El Camino Real, Route 82; Woodside Rd, Route 84, and I-280, which passes west of the city. Redwood City has a stop on Caltrain, and local bus service is provided by SamTrans.SloganRedwood City's slogan, emblazoned on arches across Broadway at the east and west entrances to downtown, is "Climate Best By Government Test." This is based on a climatological survey conducted by the United States and German governments prior to World War I. The area centered on Redwood City tied for the world's best climate with the Canary Islands and North Africa's Mediterranean Coast. The local paper had a contest for a city slogan to attract new residents and Wilbur Doxsee entered “By Government Test, Our Climate is Best” which won the $10 prize money in 1925.Independence Day paradeRedwood City's Independence Day parade sponsored by the Peninsula Celebration Association, held continuously since 1939, has been billed variously as 'The largest Independence Day Parade in California,' 'West of the Mississippi,' 'in North America,' claims which may or may not be accurate. The first verifiable written records of celebrations date to 1861, and to 1887 for a parade.Notable peoplePoliticians
Films
Additionally, All Nippon Airways operates an office in Suite 350 at 555 Twin Dolphin Drive in Redwood City. Until 1999 Sega operated its United States headquarters in Redwood City; during that year the headquarters moved to San Francisco. The 3DO Company, when it existed, had its headquarters in Redwood City. In addition to large tech companies, there is also a vibrant small business community in the town. Cargill salt pondshas operated salt ponds in Redwood City, and has proposed development of the ponds, resulting in demands for restoration of some of the land. The plans are currently stalled.Largest employers as of 2018
Sister cities
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