Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland. With a total estimated population of 70,166, Walnut Creek serves as a hub for its neighboring cities because of its location at the junction of the highways from Sacramento and San Jose and San Francisco/Oakland and its accessibility by BART. Its active downtown neighborhood features hundred-year-old buildings and extensive high-end retail establishments, restaurants and entertainment venues.
History
There are three bands of Bay Miwok Indians associated with early Walnut Creek: the Saclan, whose territory extended through the hills east of present-day Oakland, Rossmoor, Lafayette, Moraga and Walnut Creek; the Volvon near Mt. Diablo; and the Tactan located on the San Ramon Creek in Danville and Walnut Creek.Today's Walnut Creek is located within the earlier site of four Mexican land grants. One of these land grantsmeasuring belonged to Juana Sanchez de Pacheco, who eventually passed the land down to her two grandsons. Ygnacio Sibrian, one of the grandsons, created the first roofed home in the valley in about 1850. The grant was called Rancho Arroyo de Las Nueces y Bolbones, named after the principal waterway, Arroyo de las Nueces, as well as for the local group of indigenous Americans. The Arroyo de las Nueces was named for the evidence of the native species of walnut tree, the California Walnut.
With the coming of American settlers following the Mexican–American War, a small settlement called "The Corners" emerged, named because it was the place where roads from Pacheco and Lafayette met. The site of this first American settlement is found today at the intersection of Mt. Diablo Boulevard and North Main Street. The first town settler was William Slusher, who built a dwelling on the bank of Walnut Creek, which was called "Nuts Creek" by the Americans in 1849. In the year 1855, Milo Hough of Lafayette built the hotel named "Walnut Creek House" in the corners. A blacksmith shop and a store soon joined the hotel, and a year later, Hiram Penniman laid out the town site and realigned the Main Street of today. Two decades later, the community changed its name from The Corners to Walnut Creek.
In December 1862 a United States Post Office was established, and the community was named "Walnut Creek". The downtown street patterns laid out in 1871–1872 by pioneer Homer Shuey on a portion of one of his family's large cattle ranches are still present today.
Walnut Creek began to grow with the arrival of Southern Pacific Railroad service in 1891. On October 21, 1914, the town and the surrounding area of ), were incorporated as the 8th city in Contra Costa County. A branch line of the Southern Pacific railroad ran through Walnut Creek until the late 1970s. The East Bay Regional Park District's Iron Horse Trail, used by walkers, runners and bikers, runs over what were portions of that branch line. The mainline of the Sacramento Northern Railway passed through Walnut Creek. Both railroads had stations here. Today, the Antioch–SFO/Millbrae line of the Bay Area Rapid Transit serves Walnut Creek with a station adjacent to Highway 680.
With the 1951 opening of the downtown Broadway Shopping Center, Contra Costa County's first major retail center, the city took off in a new direction, and its population more than quadrupledfrom 2,460 in 1950 to 9,903 in 1960.
Geography and climate
Walnut Creek is located at. Portions lie in both the San Ramon Valley and the Ygnacio Valley below the western slopes of Mount Diablo. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, 0.06 percent of which is water. Walnut Creekthe actual waterway that runs through townhas been routed underneath downtown through a series of tunnels starting at the southwest end of Macy's and ending just southwest of Maria Maria Restaurant.Open space
Walnut Creek owns more open space per capita than any other community in the state of California. In 1974, Walnut Creek voters approved a $6.7million bond measure that allowed the city to purchase of undeveloped hillsides, ridge lines, and park sites. Walnut Creek owns parts of Lime Ridge Open Space, Shell Ridge Open Space, Acalanes Ridge Open Space, and Sugarloaf Open Space.The East Bay Regional Park District operates Diablo Foothills Regional Park and Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area, both in Walnut Creek.
Climate
Walnut Creek's warm summer Mediterranean climate is typical of California's interior valleys. In summer, high pressure is in control of the region, leading to almost unbroken sunshine and virtually no precipitation. Days start out cool but quickly warm up, with high temperatures normally in the 80s Fahrenheit. Temperatures of or hotter occur numerous times during heatwaves, however. In the winter, the jet stream moves far enough south so that Pacific storms can reach Walnut Creek, bringing much-needed rainaverage annual rainfall approximates, with slight variations occurring in microclimates based on elevation and topography. During particularly cold storms, snow falls on the peak of nearby Mount Diablo, but snow in the valley floor is very rare. There are also plenty of clear, mild days in winter, often with morning frost. The climate allows for the successful cultivation of many plants and crops, being warm enough for citrus yet cold enough for apples. The Ruth Bancroft Garden is a renowned botanical garden that showcases the diversity of plants that can be successfully grown.Public transit and bike trails
The city hosts two BART stations, Walnut Creek station and Pleasant Hill station. BART provides direct service from Walnut Creek to San Francisco, heading west, and Antioch, heading east. Other cities such as Berkeley and Fremont can be accessed via transfers.Central Contra Costa Transit Authority provides bus service throughout Walnut Creek and Contra Costa County at a modest cost. County Connection also operates three free weekday shuttles within city limits: the Downtown Trolley/Route 4 loops from Walnut Creek BART to Broadway Plaza; Route 5 runs from Walnut Creek BART to Creekside; and Route 7, which runs from Pleasant Hill BART to Shadelands Business Park.
Walnut Creek is transected by the Iron Horse Trail through its downtown, as well as the Contra Costa Canal Trail at the north end of the city. Both these trails, in addition to city bike lanes, make bicycle transportation feasible for both recreation and an alternative commute.
Demographics
The 2010 United States Census reported that Walnut Creek had a population of 64,173. The population density was 3,246.2 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Walnut Creek was 50,487 White, 1,035 African American, 155 Native American, 8,027 Asian, 125 Pacific Islander, 1,624 from other races, and 2,720 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5,540 persons.The Census reported that 63,171 people lived in households, 176 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 826 were institutionalized.
There were 30,443 households, out of which 6,363 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 13,305 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,071 had a female householder with no husband present, 844 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,286 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 298 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 11,884 households were made up of individuals, and 6,424 had someone living alone who was 65years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08. There were 16,220 families ; the average family size was 2.79.
The population was spread out, with 10,719 people under the age of 18, 3,599 people aged 18 to 24, 15,137 people aged 25 to 44, 17,653 people aged 45 to 64, and 17,065 people who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 47.9years. For every 100 females, there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males.
There were 32,681 housing units at an average density of 1,653.2 per square mile, of which 20,262 were owner-occupied, and 10,181 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4 percent; the rental vacancy rate was 6.7 percent. 43,079 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 20,092 people lived in rental housing units.
GovernmentCity Council members are elected at-large to staggered, 4-year terms, in elections held each even-numbered year.As of 2019, the current elected representatives are Cindy Silva, Loella Haskew, Matt Francois, Justin Wedel and Kevin Wilk. County, state, and federal representationOn the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, Walnut Creek is split between Supervisorial District 2 and Supervisorial District 4, represented by Candace Andersen and Karen Mitchoff, respectively.In the California State Legislature, Walnut Creek is split between and and in. In the United States House of Representatives, Walnut Creek is located in California's 11th congressional district, represented by. EducationPublic K-12Walnut Creek residents attend schools in five public-school districts. The Walnut Creek School District has 5 elementary schools, one magnet school, and one middle school in the city. Some residents are served by schools from the Mount Diablo Unified School District, the Acalanes Union High School District, the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, and the Lafayette School District. The following public schools are within the city limits of Walnut Creek:;Walnut Creek School District
On February 26, 2008, the city demolished the Walnut Creek Library, that was built in 1961 at the southern end of Civic Park. Mayor Gwen Regalia hosted a groundbreaking on the same site for the new library on May 19, 2008. The new library, designed by Group4 Architecture, Research + Planning, Inc., has and an underground parking garage. Construction was completed in 2010 and the library was officially opened on July 17, 2010. EconomyCompanies based in Walnut Creek include Central Garden & Pet, American Reprographics Company, CSE Insurance Group, Maximum Games, and the PMI Group.Top employersAccording to Walnut Creek's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
In 2012, the city was listed among the 10 best places to retire in the U.S. by CBS Money Watch and U.S. News. Points of interest
Walnut Creek TV is the city's government-access television channel, covering local government and community events. WCTV is available in Walnut Creek on Comcast channel 28, Astound channel 29, AT&T U-verse channel 99 under the menu option "Walnut Creek Television," and on YouTube. Claycord.com is the widely read independent news and talk blog serving the greater Walnut Creek metropolitan area. Notable people
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