The City of Anaheim, Orange County, California, USA
Community
amenities
Anaheim is a city in Orange County. As of 2007, the city population was 345,556, making it the tenth-largest
city in California and 54th-largest in the United States. The city anticipates that the population will surpass 400,000 by
2014 due to rapid development in its "Platinum Triangle" area as well as in the affluent Anaheim Hills area. Anaheim
is the second most populous city in Orange County (behind Santa Ana) and second largest in terms of land area, and it is known
for its theme parks, sports teams, and convention center.
Founded by fifty German families in 1857 and incorporated
on February 10, 1870, Anaheim developed into an industrial center, producing electronics, aircraft parts, and canned fruit.
It is the site of the Disneyland Resort, a world-famous grouping of theme parks and hotels which opened in 1955, Angel Stadium,
Honda Center, and Anaheim Convention Center, the largest convention center on the American West Coast and the Anaheim Visitor
Center is adjacent to the Convention Center. Its name is a blend of "Ana", after the nearby Santa Ana River, and
"heim", a common Upper German place name compound originally meaning "home".
Anaheim's city
limits stretch from Los Alamitos in the West to the San Bernardino County and Riverside County lines in the East, and encompass
a diverse collection of neighborhoods and communities. Anaheim Hills is a highly wealthy master-planned community that is
home to many sports stars and executives located in the citites eastern stretches. West Anaheim is notable for its more mature
neighborhoods dating from the 1950s, which comprise part of the continuous suburban sprawl extending from Los Angeles. The
Anaheim Resort, a commercial district, includes Disneyland and the neighboring hotel and retail complexes. The Platinum Triangle,
a neo-urban redevelopment district surrounding Angel Stadium, will soon be populated with mixed-use streets and high-rises.
Finally, the Canyon is an industrial district north of the Riverside Freeway and east of the Orange Freeway.
History
Anaheim was founded in 1857 by grape farmers and wine makers from Franconia in Bavaria. The colony was situated on 1,165
acres.
Anaheim in 1879
Settlers voted to call the community Annaheim, meaning "home by the Santa Ana
river" in German. The name later was changed slightly, to Anaheim. To the Spanish-speaking neighbors, the settlement
was known as Campo Alemán (Spanish for German Camp). The grape industry was destroyed in the 1880s by an insect pest.
Other crops - walnuts, lemons, and of course oranges soon filled the void. The famous Polish actress Helena Modjeska settled
in Anaheim with her husband and various friends, among them Henryk Sienkiewicz, Julian Sypniewski and Łucjan Paprocki.
Anaheim in 1922
In the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan, at the height of its influence and popularity, decided to make Anaheim
a model Klan city. In 1924, the Klan secretly managed to get four of its members elected to the five-member Board of Trustees.
Nine of the ten members of the police force were also Klansmen. The four Klan trustees served for nearly a year, until they
were publicly exposed, and voted out in a recall election in which 95% of the population participated.
The Disneyland
theme park was constructed in Anaheim from July 16, 1954 to July 17, 1955 and has since become Anaheim's largest tourist
attraction. The location was formerly 160 acres of orange and walnut trees, some of which remain inside Disneyland. In 2001,
Disney's California Adventure, the most expansive project in the theme park's history, opened to the public.
In the late 20th century, Anaheim grew rapidly in population. Today, Anaheim has a diverse racial and ethnic composition.
During the large expansion of the Disneyland resort in the 1990's, The city of Anaheim then recognized their city as a
resort epicenter. Thus, creating the Anaheim Resort. The Anaheim Resort includes the Disneyland Resort, The Anaheim Convention
Center, The Honda Center--Home of the NHL Anaheim Ducks, and Angel Stadium, home to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The
whole city has undergone a rigorous transformation in creating metropolitan beautification to attract mass tourism. In 2007,
the city celebrated their sesquicentennial anniversary by opening up the Anaheim Walk of Fame by the Harbor Boulevard entrance
to the Disneyland Resort. The first star to be placed on the Anaheim Walk of Fame was Gene Autry, Who greatly contributed
to the arrival of the California Angels to Anaheim, and bringing professional baseball to the west coast of the United States.
Anaheim in 1890
Anaheim City Hall. Under its city charter, Anaheim operates under a council-manager government. Legislative
authority is vested in a city council of five nonpartisan members, who hire a professional city manager to oversee day-to-day
operations. The mayor serves as the presiding officer of the city council in a first among equals role. All council seats
are elected at large. Voters elect the mayor and four other members of the city council to serve four-year staggered terms.
Elections for two council seats are held in years divisible by four while elections for the mayor and the two other council
seats are held during the intervening even-numbered years. Under the city's term limits, an individual may serve a maximum
of two terms as a city council member and two terms as the mayor.
Anaheim Police Department's MD500E helicopter
Fire protection is provided by the Anaheim Fire Department. Law enforcement is provided by the Anaheim Police Department.
Ambulance service is provided by Care Ambulance Service.
Geography
Anaheim is located at
33°50′10″N, 117°53′23″W (33.836165, -117.889769)GR1.
According to the United States
Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 130.7 km² (50.5 mi²). 126.8 km² (48.9 mi²) of it is land and
3.9 km² (1.5 mi²) of it (2.99%) is water.
In the western portion of the city (not including Anaheim Hills),
the major surface streets run east to west, starting with the northernmost, are La Palma Avenue, Lincoln Avenue, Ball Road,
and Katella Avenue. The major surface streets running north-south, starting with the westernmost, are Beach Boulevard (CA-39),
Magnolia Avenue, Brookhurst Street, Euclid Street, Harbor Boulevard, Anaheim Boulevard, and State College Boulevard.
The
Santa Ana Freeway (I-5), the Orange Freeway (CA-57), the Riverside Freeway (CA-91) all pass through Anaheim. The Costa Mesa
Freeway (CA-55), and the Eastern Transportation Corridor (CA-241) also have short stretches within the city limits.
Anaheim
is served by rail by two major railroads, the Union Pacific Railroad and the BNSF Railway. In addition, Anaheim sees Amtrak
California and Metrolink services and hosts a major regional train station in the Angel Stadium parking lot.
The current
federal Office of Management and Budget metropolitan designation for Anaheim and the Orange County Area is "Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine,
CA."
The city recognizes several districts, including the Anaheim Resort (the area surrounding Disneyland), The
Canyon (an industrial area north of the Riverside Freeway and east of the Orange Freeway), and the Platinum Triangle (the
area surrounding Angel Stadium). Anaheim Hills also maintains a distinct identity.
Economy
Disneyland is at the center of Anaheim's largest and most important industry which is tourism. The Anaheim Convention
Center is home to many national conferences, and the Walt Disney Company is by far the city's largest employer. Many hotels,
especially in the city's Resort district, serve theme park tourists and convention goers.
Banco Popular North America's
regional headquarters for California are located in Anaheim.
Crime
Anaheim ranks as one
of the safest cities of its size in the nation. In 2003, Anaheim reported nine murders, 35% of the national average. Rape
within the city is relatively low as well, but has been increasing, along with the national average. Robbery (410 reported
incidents) and aggravated assault (824 incidents) rank among the highest violent crimes in the city, but even at that, robbery
rates are still only half of the national average, and aggravated assaults are at 68% of the average. 1,971 burglaries were
reported, as well as 6,708 thefts, 1,767 car thefts, and 654 car accidents. All three types of crime were below average. There
were 43 cases of arson reported in 2003, 43% of the national average.
Demographics
As of
the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 345,556 people, 96,969 households, and 73,502 families residing in the city. The population
density was 2,587.8/km² (6,842.7/mi²). There were 99,719 housing units at an average density of 786.7/km² (2,037.5/mi²).
The racial makeup of the city was 54.76% White, 2.66% Black or African American, 0.93% Native American, 11.98% Asian, 0.42%
Pacific Islander, 24.21% from other races, and 5.02% from two or more races. 46.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino
of any race.
There were 96,969 households out of which 43.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3%
were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.2% were non-families.
18.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The
average household size was 3.34 and the average family size was 3.75.
In the city the population was spread out with
30.2% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age
or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over,
there were 98.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $47,122, and the median income for a family
was $49,969. Males had a median income of $33,870 versus $28,837 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,266.
About 10.4% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.9% of those under age 18 and
7.5% of those age 65 or over.
These demographics do not represent the differences within the city of Anaheim. Anaheim
Hills has the highest median income of any incorporated place or large unincorporated community in Orange County, with an
income of well over $138,000.
Education
As of May 2006, Anaheim is served by eight public
school districts:
Anaheim City School District
Anaheim Union High School District
Centralia School District
Magnolia School District
North Orange County Community College District
Orange Unified School District
Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District
Savanna School District
Transportation
Anaheim is served by two public bus transit systems (Metro & OCTA) and 2 rail systems (Amtrak & Metrolink). Anaheim
is serviced by John Wayne Airport located 15 miles, Long Beach Airport located 20 miles away, and Los Angeles International
(LAX) and Ontario Airport, located 35 miles away.
In addition, a not-for-profit organization called the "Anaheim
Transportation Network" provides local shuttle service in the Disneyland Resort area serving local hotels and both the
California Adventure and Disneyland theme parks.