Lake Elsinore, California
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| Lake Elsinore, California | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | California | ||
| County | Riverside | ||
| Incorporated | April 9, 1888 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Daryl Hickman | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 38.8 sq mi (100.4 km²) | ||
| - Land | 33.8 sq mi (87.6 km²) | ||
| - Water | 5.0 sq mi (12.9 km²) | ||
| Elevation | 1,306 ft (395 m) | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| - Total | 49,807 | ||
| - Density | 855.7/sq mi (330.4/km²) | ||
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) | ||
| ZIP codes | 92530-92532 | ||
| Area code(s) | 951 | ||
| FIPS code | 06-39486 | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 1652704 | ||
| Website: City of Lake Elsinore | |||
Lake Elsinore is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. As of 2008, the population was estimated to be 49,807[1] according to the California Department of Finance. It is the home of the Lake Elsinore Storm baseball club of the California League who play at the Lake Elsinore Diamond.
The city is rapidly growing, having added 6,000 new residents per year since 2001. Its relatively inexpensive land prices, proximity to Orange County, and abundance of recreational opportunities has attracted many families to the area's many new subdivisions.
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[edit] Geography
Lake Elsinore is located at (33.681381, -117.345328).[2] This places it extremely close to the Orange County line, although it is not customarily associated with "OC culture" in the same way that other neighboring cities are, namely Corona, Diamond Bar, and Long Beach. For instance, new home builders will often depict construction sites in searches for Orange County properties that are technically outside of the Orange County lines, but Lake Elsinore is consistently an Inland Empire or Riverside community even though SR-74 can get you within the boundaries of Orange County just as easily and quickly as can SR-142 for Chino Hills residents [in San Bernardino County] or other surface streets, even freeways, from gateway cities in Los Angeles County.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 38.8 square miles (100.4 km²) of which 33.8 square miles (87.5 km²) of it is land and 5.0 square miles (12.9 km²), or 12.82%, is water.
Like many other large geographical cities, Lake Elsinore is divided into several smaller communities, such as: Downtown, Canyon Hills, North Lake Elsinore (Northshore), Tuscany Hills, Rosetta Canyon (Ramsgate), NorthPeak, Countryclub Heights, Alberhill (Ranch), Eastlake (Summerly), and La Laguna Estates. Its general area also includes portions of Wildomar (voted for cityhood in 2008)[3], Cleveland Ridge, Lakeland Village, Sedco Hills, the City of Canyon Lake, Horsethief Canyon and the Temescal Valley. It can take as much as 20 minutes to drive from one side of the city limits to another.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 28,928 people, 8,817 households, and 6,877 families residing in the city. More recent, 2008 estimates place the population at 49,807[5]. The population density was 855.7 people per square mile (330.4/km²). There were 9,505 housing units at an average density of 281.2/sq mi (108.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.61% White, 5.19% African American, 1.29% Native American, 2.05% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 20.33% from other races, and 5.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 38.05% of the population.
There were 8,817 households out of which 49.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.27 and the average family size was 3.66.
In the city the population was spread out with 36.0% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 16.0% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,884, and the median income for a family was $47,563. Males had a median income of $41,692 versus $26,555 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,413. About 14.7% of families and 17.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.2% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Politics
In the state legislature Lake Elsinore is located in the 37th Senate District, represented by Republican Jim Battin, and in the 64th Assembly District, represented by Republican John J. Benoit. Federally, Lake Elsinore is located in California's 49th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +10[6] and is represented by Republican Darrell Issa.
[edit] History
Native Americans have long lived in the area. Lake Elsinore was incorporated as a city in 1888 (even before Riverside County's creation in 1893) but was inhabited well before then. In the 18th century when the lake was natural it provided a spot for Spanish ranchers and American trappers to replenish their supplies. It was named Elsinore after the Danish city in Shakespeare's "Hamlet", which is now its sister city.
The lake went dry in the 1930s and was refilled in the early 1960s. More than a week of heavy rains in 1980 flooded the lake, destorying surrounding homes and businesses. Since then there has been a multi-million dollar project put into place to maintain the water supply at a consistent level allowing for homes to be built close to the lake. Unfortunately there are no provisions to allow the water to spill out via a river, so the overflow must be diverted into the Temescal Canyon Wash. In 2007 there was an airation system added to help with the lake's ecosystem.
Lake Elsinore was a popular destination in the first half of the 1900s for celebrities to escape the urban Hollywood scene. Many of their homes still stand on the hills surrounding the lake, including Aimee's Castle (Aimee Semple McPherson), a uniquely shaped house perched on a hill above the water.
Despite its relatively small African-American population, it has the distinction of electing the first black mayor in the state of California. Tom Yarborough was elected in 1966, three years before Douglas Dollarhide became the mayor of Compton.
Rapid population growth altered the appearance and image of Lake Elsinore from a small lakeside town of 3,800 people in 1976 to a bedroom community of upper middle-class professionals. The city and its sphere of influence now has over 38,000 residents as of 2006 and formerly open hillsides have been converted into housing tracts.
[edit] Public Safety
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department serves the entire Lake Elsinore Valley (including the nearby suburbs of Wildomar, Lakeland Village and Sedco Hills) from its regional station in downtown Lake Elsinore (the city once had its own police department, but it was disbanded in 1979 for budgetary reasons).
The City of Lake Elsinore contracts for fire protection and emergency medical services(EMS) with the Riverside County Fire Department through a cooperative agreement with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection(Cal Fire). The City of Lake Elsinore currently has 3 paramedic engines operating out of it's 3 stations and a 4th station currently under construction in Rosetta Canyon. The fire department also maintains a volunteer company which covers a squad out of Station 10. The volunteers also cover reserve engines when available.
Fire station 10 is located downtown next to the post office which also has 2 Cal Fire engines for supplemental protection. Fire station 85 is located at McVicker Park and fire station 94 is located on the east side of the city off of Railroad Canyon Road. Rosetta Canyon station 97 is scheduled to open in 2008 with a paramedic engine and a ladder truck company sometime in 2009.
[edit] Education
Public education within the city of Lake Elsinore and the surrounding areas is provided by the Lake Elsinore Unified School District, which serves a student population of about 21,500[7] . The school district has 15 elementary schools, five middle schools, three high schools, and three alternative schools [8].
[edit] Lake Elsinore Diamond
Lake Elsinore Diamond served as a site for the Single A baseball team of The Lake Elsinore Storms, which is a farm team for the San Diego Padres and was formerly a farm team for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Also, semi-pro football team, the Riverside-Elsinore Dolphins of the Western States Football League in 1996-98. The stadium now hosts the Banning-Elsinore Eagles of the California Football Association, a minor American football league. It may host the Murrieta Bandits, a professional soccer team in 2007, despite the team's office is based in Murrieta. At this time, neither football or soccer is played at the "Storms Stadium". However, special events such as concerts with stars such as Willie Nelson have appeared there.
[edit] (Lake) Elsinore Grand Prix
The Elsinore Grand Prix is a dirt bike race that takes place in and around the Lake Elsinore area, starting and finishing in downtown Lake Elsinore. The annual race is usually held in mid-November. The popularity of the event hit its apex in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s drawing the likes of Dirtbike greats such as Malcolm Smith and Steve McQueen to name a few. The race has always been set as an “open” format, meaning that anyone can ride, usually only about 200 or so take this event seriously, whereas the rest use it as an opportunity to have fun. In 1971 the documentary movie On Any Sunday by Bruce Brown was filmed. In the mid-1970’s the Elsinore Grand Prix hit a snag, none of the big riders were participating and the event was drawing the wrong crowd, mostly violent motorcycle gangs. The Grand Prix was canceled indefinitely soon afterwards. In 1996 several dirt bike riders, with a hint of nostalgia, decided to lobby the City of Lake Elsinore to revive the Grand Prix. Promising that the violent motorcycle gang crowd drawn to the Grand Prix in the 1970’s had gone and that dirt bike motorcycle riding was more of a family event, the city allowed the event to resume on a provisional basis.
[edit] Miscellaneous
On a 1992 Sightings segment, a local citizen group of ten members from Lake Elsinore claimed to share or knew each other in past lives in 1863 Clarksburg, West Virginia. The paranormal television series claimed the small group experienced a rare phenomena called mass reincarnation. The story was covered on a hard-cover novel From Clarksburg to Lake Elsinore: A Profile on Reincarnation published in 1988, but since was out-of-print.[citation needed]
One of the first outlet shopping malls in California was established in northwestern Lake Elsinore in the late 1990s on Collier Road at Nichols Road, just off Interstate 15; the mall now has its own automobile dealership (actually a satellite location for Murrieta Valley Kia).
The City's Visitors Bureau has also been making efforts to expand tourism in the area, however a lack of lodging prevents the city from doing so on a wide scale. Prior to 2006 there were no brand-name hotels, although The Quality Inn and Best Western have since been built within the city limits, while Holiday Inn has announced they are building a new hotel in the city.[citation needed]
[edit] External links
- Lake Elsinore Official Site
- Lake Elsinore Valley Chamber of Commerce
- Canyon Hills Site
- Lake Elsinore Unified School District Site
- Lake Elsinore, California is at coordinates Coordinates:
[edit] References
- ^ STATE POPULATION TOPS 38 MILLION, ADDING 490,000 IN 2007. California Department of Finance. Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/07/news/californian/4_01_122_6_08.txt
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ STATE POPULATION TOPS 38 MILLION, ADDING 490,000 IN 2007. California Department of Finance. Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
- ^ Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest?. Campaign Legal Center Blog. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ^ Lake Elsinore Unified School District schools - district elementary, middle, and high school information
- ^ Lake Elsinore Unified School District
