Bloomington, Indiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of Bloomington, Indiana | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | Indiana | ||
| County | Monroe | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Mark Kruzan (D) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 19.9 sq mi (51.6 km²) | ||
| - Land | 19.7 sq mi (51.1 km²) | ||
| - Water | 0.2 sq mi (0.5 km²) | ||
| Elevation | 771 ft (235 m) | ||
| Population (2000) | |||
| - Total | 69,291 | ||
| - Density | 3,512/sq mi (1,356.0/km²) | ||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP codes | 47400-47499 | ||
| Area code(s) | 812 | ||
| Twin Cities | |||
| - Santa Clara | Cuba | ||
| - Posoltega | Nicaragua | ||
| FIPS code | 18-05860[1] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0431207[2] | ||
| Website: www.bloomington.in.gov | |||
Bloomington is a city in south central Indiana. Located about 50 miles southwest of Indianapolis, it is the seat of Monroe County. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Bloomington had a total population of 69,291, making it the 7th largest city in Indiana.
Bloomington is the home of Indiana University's flagship campus (established in 1820), attended by approximately 40,000 students, the original and largest campus of the Indiana University system. It is also the home of the Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington, the world renowned Jacobs School of Music and Kelley School of Business, the Kinsey Institute, and The Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute.
Bloomington's Indiana University campus is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the nation. In 1991, Thomas Gaines, a landscape artist, published a book, The Campus As a Work of Art, in which he named the Bloomington campus one of the five most beautiful campuses in America. Most of the campus buildings are built of Indiana limestone. Due to the presence of the university, Bloomington is more diverse demographically than is typical for the state.
Bloomington has been named a Tree City for more than 20 years. The city was the site of the Academy Award-winning movie Breaking Away, featuring Indiana University's annual bicycle race Little 500. Bloomington is also famous for its rock quarries, also featured in Breaking Away, which residents have been known to use as swimming holes (although nowadays would-be swimmers may have to deal with security officers issuing citations and towing cars at the quarries).
Bloomington has sister-city relationships with Posoltega, Nicaragua, Santa Clara, Cuba, and Luchou Township, Taiwan.
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[edit] Geography
Bloomington is located at (39.162147, -86.529045)[3].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.9 square miles (51.6 km²), of which, 19.7 square miles (51.1 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (1.00%) is water.
Bloomington is an area of irregular limestone terrain characterized by sinks, ravines, fissures, underground streams, and caverns. It is situated in the rolling hills of southern Indiana. The relatively varied topography of the city provides a sharp contrast to the flatter terrain more typical of other portions of Indiana.
[edit] Climate
Bloomington receives ample rainfall; annual precipitation averages 44.2 inches, with 19 inches of snow. January temperatures average 36 degrees, with July temperatures averaging 86 degrees. Relative humidity is generally high throughout the year.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 69,291 people, 26,468 households, and 10,454 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,511.1 people per square mile (1,356.0/km²). There were 28,400 housing units at an average density of 1,439.1/sq mi (555.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.03% White, 4.24% African American, 0.29% Native American, 5.26% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.10% from other races, 2.01% from two or more races, and Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.49% of the population. 22.9% were of German, 10.2% Irish, 9.1% English and 8.4% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 89.3% spoke English, 2.9% Spanish, 1.3% Korean, 1.1% German and 1.0% Chinese or Mandarin as their first language.
Of the households 17.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.2% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.5% were non-families. 39.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.76.
In the city the population was spread out with 12.7% under the age of 18, 42.3% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 12.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,377, and the median income for a family was $50,054. Males had a median income of $32,470 compared to $26,100 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,481. About 10.3% of families and 29.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.3% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over. However, traditional measures of poverty can be highly misleading when applied to communities with a large proportion of students, such as Bloomington.
[edit] Politics
The Democratic Party recently has dominated city politics and has retained the mayor's office since 1972.
Bloomington was the first city in the state to ban smoking in all public and private businesses, including private clubs. It was also the first city in the state to pass an anti-discrimination ordinance protecting employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, it lagged behind Indianapolis in protecting gender identity.[citation needed]
[edit] Notable residents
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Note: This list does not include students attending Indiana University. Please see List of Indiana University (Bloomington) people for famous alumni.
- Jonathan Finch, President of the IU Magicians' Fraternity and award-winning American poet
- Gene Hackman, actor
- Jim Jones, cult leader who successfully persuaded over 900 to commit suicide
- Kenny Aronoff, famous drummer, member of John Mellencamp's band
- David Baker, symphonic jazz composer and professor Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University
- Arija Bareikis, actress
- Joshua Bell, violinist
- Kent Benson, basketball player, 1976 all-America team and all-Big Ten team
- Hobie Billingsley, diving champion and coach
- Diane Bish, Famed organist and international television personality of the PBS show "Joy of Music." American concert and recording artist, composer and conductor
- Myles Brand, president of the NCAA and former president of Indiana University
- Craig Brenner, musician, jazz/blues/boogie-woogie piano player, composer
- Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries
- Hoagy Carmichael, American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader
- Dana Carpender, American author and columnist
- Jenn Cristy, Singer, Songwriter, Pianist
- William Cook (entrepreneur), billionaire, founder of Cook Inc.
- Terri Colombino, Actress from As The World Turns-born in Bloomington, Indiana
- James Counsilman, US Olympic Swimming Coach
- John Merle Coulter, former president of Indiana University
- Malcolm Dalglish, hammered dulcimer player, composer, and choral director
- John Darnielle, singer-songwriter
- Kueth Duany, college basketball player at Syracuse University
- John Eaton (composer), Renowned opera composer and founder of The Pocket Opera Players
- Mick Foley, a professional wrestler and author — born in Bloomington, but moved to Long Island as an infant
- Karen Joy Fowler, a Nebula award-winning author
- Rex Grossman, football player, Chicago Bears
- Scot Halpin, fan who filled in for drums with the Who when Keith Moon collapsed during a performance at the Cow Palace in San Francisco in 1973.
- Bobby Helms, writer and singer of Jingle Bell Rock
- Douglas R. Hofstadter, cognitive scientist
- Bobby Knight, hall of fame basketball coach
- Kathryn Janeway, a fictional character within the Star Trek universe
- Chet Jastremski, Olympic swimmer
- Jared Jeffries, basketball player, New York Knicks
- David Starr Jordan, former president of Indiana University and Stanford University
- Kraig Kinser, an ARCA driver
- Steve Kinser, race car driver
- Alfred Kinsey, founder of Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction
- David Lander, actor
- Brandon Ward, Gymnast
- Brad Leftwich, old-time musician
- Paul Mahern, singer of the 1980s punk rock group Zero Boys
- Bill Mallory, football coach
- Scott May, basketball player, 1976 NCAA National Basketball Player of the Year
- Sean May, basketball player, Charlotte Bobcats
- Branch McCracken, basketball coach
- John Mellencamp, singer, songwriter
- Denny Miller, actor
- Carrie Newcomer, singer-songwriter
- Thubten Jigme Norbu, founder of the Tibetan Cultural Center and eldest brother of Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
- Angelo Pizzo, producer and writer for Rudy and Hoosiers.
- Kevin Pope, cartoonist, MAD Magazine, Melvin and Jenkins
- David Lee Roth, lead singer of band Van Halen
- Alfred Ryors, former president of Indiana University
- Jeff Sagarin, statistician for sports, contributor to USA Today
- Frithjof Schuon, philosopher, metaphysician
- Jan Shipps, leading historian of Mormonism
- Michael Sherman, Famously convinced he was CJ from Grand Theft Auto, lobbied for legalized prostitution
- János Starker, cellist
- John Strohm, indie rock singer, guitarist, and lawyer
- Sarkes Tarzian, Armenian-born U.S. engineer, inventor and broadcaster (1900-October 1987)
- Jeri Taylor, producer for the Star Trek television series
- Steve Long, adult film star
- Herman B Wells, president of Indiana University
- Sam Wyche, football coach
- Jerry Yeagley, hall of fame soccer coach
- Stefan Surzycki, creator jooce.com
[edit] Schools (Elementary through High Schools)
- Arlington Elementary School
- Childs Elementary School
- Clear Creek Elementary School
- Fairview Elementary School
- Grandview Elementary School
- Highland Park Elementary School
- Lakeview Elementary School
- Marlin Elementary School
- Rogers-Binford Elementary School
- Summit Elementary Schools
- Templeton Elementary School
- Unionville Elementary School
- University Elementary School
- Batchelor Middle School
- Jackson Creek Middle School
- Tri-North Middle School
- Aurora Alternative High School
- Bloomington High School South
- Bloomington High School North
- Bloomington New Tech High School
- Hoosier Hills Career Center
- Harmony School
[edit] Nearby points of interest
- Indiana University (Bloomington)
- Assembly Hall (Bloomington) - Five NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship banners on display.
- Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction (Bloomington)
- Exotic Feline Rescue Center (Center Point)
- Brown County, Indiana
- Brown County State Park
- Hoosier National Forest
- Lake Lemon
- Lake Monroe
- McCormick's Creek State Park
- Morgan-Monroe State Forest
- Yellowwood State Forest
- Monroe County Airport
- Upland Brewing Company - Currently the largest microbrewery in the state of Indiana.
- The Bloomington Playwrights Project - produces only new plays by American playwrights
- Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division - Naval Base
- Hickory Ridge Fire Tower
- People's Park (Bloomington)
- Bill Monroe Memorial Music Park & Campground (Bean Blossom, Indiana)
- Ransburg Scout Reservation, Boy Scout Camp
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
- Bloomington City Government
- Bloomington and the Environment
- Bloomingpedia - Bloomington's own City Wiki (released July 2005)
- Breakaway Bloomington Indiana History Section
- Bloomington Indiana Convention and Visitors Bureau (Tourism Information)
- Herald Times (Local paper)
- MCCSC - Monroe County Community School Corporation
- Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corporation
- BloomingtonOnline.NET
- ThisLittleTown (since 2003)
- Bloomington, Indiana is at coordinates Coordinates:
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