Lakewood, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of Lakewood | |||
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| Motto: Times Change. Values Don't. | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | California | ||
| County | Los Angeles | ||
| Incorporated (city) | 1954-04-16 [1] | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Steve Croft [2] | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 9.50 sq mi (24.60 km²) | ||
| - Land | 9.43 sq mi (24.42 km²) | ||
| - Water | 0.07 sq mi (0.18 km²) 0.74% | ||
| Elevation | 46 ft (14 m) | ||
| Population (2005)[3] | |||
| - Total | 88,253 | ||
| - Density | 8,414.8/sq mi (3,249.0/km²) | ||
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) | ||
| ZIP Code | 90711-90716, 90805 [4] | ||
| Area code(s) | 562 [5] | ||
| FIPS code | 06-39892[6] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 1660883[7] | ||
| Website: http://www.lakewoodcity.org/ | |||
Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 79,345 at the 2000 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on the east, and Hawaiian Gardens on the southeast. Major thoroughfares include Lakewood (SR 19), Bellflower, and Del Amo Boulevards and Carson and South Streets. The San Gabriel River Freeway (I-605) runs through the city's eastern regions.
Sometimes called "an instant city" because of its origins—going from lima bean fields in 1950 to a well-developed city in California by 1960—Lakewood is, along with Levittown, New York, the archetypal post-World War II American suburb. The vast majority of its housing stock is small, mass-produced single-story houses on tree-lined streets, sold initially to World War II and Korean War veterans who worked in the aerospace factories of Long Beach and the South Bay.
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[edit] Notable Features
Lakewood's primary thoroughfares are mostly boulevards with landscaped medians, with frontage roads on either side in residential districts. Unlike in most similar configurations, however, access to the main road from the frontage road is only possible from infrequently spaced collector streets. This arrangement, hailed by urban planners of the day, is a compromise between the traditional urban grid and the arrangement of winding "drives" and culs-de-sac that dominates contemporary suburban and exurban design.
Lakewood is credited as a pioneer among California cities in services provision. Although it is an incorporated city, it contracts for most municipal services, with most of these provided by Los Angeles County and, to a lesser extent, by other public agencies and private industry. Lakewood was the first city in the nation to contract for all of its municipal services when Lakewood incorporated as a municipality in 1954, making it the nation's first "contract city." Many other Los Angeles suburbs, such as Cerritos and Diamond Bar have adopted the "Lakewood Plan."
Lakewood is the home of the first Denny's Restaurant. In 1953 Harold Butler founded Danny’s Donuts, which was renamed to Denny's Restaurant in 1959.
Lakewood was named Sports Illustrated's "Sportstown USA" in 2005 for the State of California.
[edit] Notable Residents/Natives
- Lisa Fernandez, three-time Olympic softball gold medalist
- Kristen Mann, basketball player in the WNBA
- Spur Posse
- Jason Kapono, basketball player in the NBA, went to high school in Lakewood before going to UCLA on a scholarship.
- Greg LeMond, three time Tour de France champion, was born in Lakewood.
- Charles O'Bannon, former UCLA and NBA basketball player
- Ed O'Bannon, Wooden award winner at UCLA and former NBA player
- Josh Childress NBA player who went to and played for Mayfair High School in Lakewood.
- Kyle Korver, NBA basketball player for the Utah Jazz
- Bryton McClure, actor and singer. Appeared as "Richie" in the sitcom Family Matters (TV series), and is currently staring as Devon Hamilton on The Young and The Restless
- Kirsten Storms, actress. Known for appearing as "Zenon Kar" in the Zenon movie series on the Disney Channel. Storms currently stars on the ABC soap opera General Hospital as Maxie Jones.
- Keith and Joe Gruber, twin absconders.
- Steve Fisk, Music producer who was influential in the development of the alternative rock and the grunge music sounds of the North West.
- Mark Adkins, vocalist for [[Guttermouth]
- Chris Gomez, Major League Baseball player 14-years. Currently on the Pittsburgh Pirates.
[edit] Geography
Lakewood is located at (33.847365, -118.119889)[8].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.6 km² (9.5 mi²). 24.4 km² (9.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.74%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 79,345 people, 26,853 households, and 20,542 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,248.7/km² (8,414.8/mi²). There were 27,310 housing units at an average density of 1,118.2/km² (2,896.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 62.67% White, 7.34% Black or African American, 0.60% Native American, 13.51% Asian, 0.62% Pacific Islander, 10.10% from other races, and 5.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.78% of the population.
There were 26,853 households out of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.5% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.37.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $58,214, and the median income for a family was $63,342. Males had a median income of $45,447 versus $35,206 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,095. About 5.6% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Politics
In the state legislature Lakewood is located in the 27th Senate District, represented by Democrat Alan Lowenthal, and in the 55th and 56th Assembly Districts, represented by Democrats Warren Furutani and Tony Mendoza respectively. Federally, Lakewood is located in California's 39th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of D +13[9] and is represented by Democrat Linda Sánchez.
[edit] Emergency services
Fire protection in Lakewood is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department with ambulance transport by Care Ambulance Service and American Medical Response (AMR). The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department provides law enforcement. The city of Lakewood operates a police helicopter operation independent of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Aero Bureau. The name of the program is simply called "Sky Knight". The program, begun in 1966, was the first day and night helicopter patrol program in the nation (aerial units had previously been used for search and rescue).
[edit] Education
[edit] Primary and secondary schools
[edit] Public schools
The city is served by four school districts.
Several citizens created a group called "The Lakewood Unified School District Organizing Committee ," which aims to establish a "Lakewood Unified School District" [1].
[edit] Long Beach Unified School District
Elementary schools serving Lakewood:
- Cleveland Elementary School (Lakewood)
- Holmes Elementary School (Lakewood)
- MacArthur Elementary School (Lakewood)
- Madison Elementary School (Lakewood)
- Riley Elementary School (Lakewood)
- Mark Twain Elementary School (Long Beach)
Middle schools serving Lakewood:
- Bancroft Middle School (Long Beach)
- DeMille Middle School (Long Beach)
- Hoover Middle School (Lakewood)
K-8 schools serving Lakewood:
- Gompers Elementary School (Lakewood)
- Monroe School (Lakewood)
High schools serving Lakewood:
- Mayfair High School (Lakewood)
- Lakewood High School (Lakewood)
[edit] Paramount Unified School District
K-8 schools serving Lakewood:
- Collins Elementary School (Long Beach)
- Lakewood Elementary School (Lakewood)
- Mokler Elementary School (Paramount)
High schools serving Lakewood:
- Paramount High School (Paramount)
[edit] Bellflower Unified School District
Elementary schools serving Lakewood include:
- Stephen Foster Elementary School (Lakewood)
- Intensive Learning Center (Lakewood)
- Jefferson Elementary School (Bellflower)
- Esther Lindstrom Elementary School (Lakewood)
- Craig Williams Elementary School (Lakewood)
High schools serving Lakewood include:
- Mayfair High School (Lakewood)
- Somerset High School (Bellflower)
[edit] ABC Unified School District
Elementary schools serving Lakewood:
- Aloha Elementary School (Lakewood)
- Melbourne Elementary School (Lakewood)
- Pat Nixon Elementary School (Cerritos)
- Palms Elementary School (Lakewood)
- Willow Elementary School (Lakewood)
Middle schools serving Lakewood:
- Haskell Junior High School (Cerritos)
- Tetzlaff Junior High School (Cerritos)
High schools serving Lakewood:
- Artesia High School (Lakewood)
- Cerritos High School (Cerritos)
- Richard Gahr High School (Cerritos)
- Whitney High School (Cerritos)
[edit] References
- ^ Incorporation Dates of California Cities. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
- ^ Lakewood Website - Lakewood City Council. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
- ^ Lakewood city, California - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
- ^ USPS - ZIP Code Lookup - Find a ZIP+ 4 Code By City Results. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
- ^ Number Administration System - NPA and City/Town Search Results. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest?. Campaign Legal Center Blog. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
[edit] External links
- Lakewood official website
- LA County Disaster Communications Service ( DCS ) Lakewood Sheriff Station
- Lakewood, California is at coordinates Coordinates:
- Lakewood Beautiful website directed at blight and lax code enforcement in Lakewood CA
