City of Gardena | ||
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City | ||
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Nickname(s): Freeway City | ||
Motto: "The City of Opportunity" | ||
Location of Gardena in Los Angeles County, California | ||
Coordinates: 33°53?37?N 118°18?28?W / 33.89361°N 118.30778°W / 33.89361; -118.30778Coordinates: 33°53?37?N 118°18?28?W / 33.89361°N 118.30778°W / 33.89361; -118.30778 | ||
Country | United States of America | |
State | California | |
County | Los Angeles | |
Incorporated (city) | 1930-09-11 | |
Government | ||
o Mayor | Paul K. Tanaka | |
Area | ||
o Total | 5.865 sq mi (15.191 km2) | |
o Land | 5.829 sq mi (15.097 km2) | |
o Water | 0.036 sq mi (0.094 km2) 0.62% | |
Elevation | 49 ft (15 m) | |
Population (2010) | ||
o Total | 58,829 | |
o Density | 10,000/sq mi (3,900/km2) | |
Time zone | PST (UTC-8) | |
o Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) | |
ZIP code | 90247-90249 | |
Area code(s) | 310/424 | |
FIPS code | 06-28168 | |
GNIS feature ID | 1660664 | |
Website | ci.gardena.ca.us |
Gardena is located at 33°53?37?N 118°18?28?W / 33.89361°N 118.30778°W / 33.89361; -118.30778 (33.893615, -118.307841).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15 km2), over 99% of which is land. A 9.4-acre wetland preserve, named the Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve is located at the south-east corner of Gardena. This is a naturally-occurring marshland where water seeps above-ground all year round hosting several species of trees and other vegetation. It is located near the present day intersection of Vermont Avenue and Artesia Boulevard.
Gardena is bordered by Athens on the north, the Los Angeles neighborhood of Harbor Gateway on the east and south, Torrance on the southwest, Alondra Park on the west, and Hawthorne on the northwest.
Gardena is a city located in the South Bay (southwestern) region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 58,829 at the 2010 census, up from 57,746 at the 2000 census. The city of Gardena has the highest percentage of Japanese in North America.
Based on archaeological findings, Tongva Indians hunted and fished in the area of today's Gardena. The Tongva Indians -- also known as Gabrielino Indians -- are probably descendants of those who crossed from Asia to North America around 10,000 years ago.
In 1784, three years after the foundation of Los Angeles, Juan Jose Dominguez (1736-1809), a Spanish soldier who arrived in San Diego, California in 1769 with Fernando Rivera y Moncada, in recognition of his military service, received the roughly 43,000-acre (170 km2) Spanish land grant, the Rancho San Pedro. Part of this land contained what became known as Gardena Valley. After the American Civil War veterans bought parts of the land, soon ranchers and farmers followed suit. Union Army Major General William Starke Rosecrans in 1869 bought 16,000 acres (65 km2). The "Rosecrans Rancho," was bordered by what later was Florence Avenue on the north, Redondo Beach Boulevard on the south, Central Avenue on the east, and Arlington Avenue on the west. The Rosecrans property was sub divided and sold in the early 1870s. One of those became the 650-acre (2.6 km2) Amestoy Ranch. Gardena proper began in 1887 when the Pomeroy & Harrison real estate developers subdivided the ranch, and-anticipating that the coming of the Los Angeles and Redondo Railway. Civil War veteran Spencer Roane Thorpe is credited with starting the first settlement in Gardena in 1887. Railroads put Gardena on the map following a real estate boom in the Los Angeles area in the 1880s. Some believe the city was named for its reputation for being the only "green spot" in the dry season between Los Angeles and the sea. Because of its acres of berries, the city was dubbed "Berryland". The Strawberry Day Festival and Parade was held each May annually. The berry industry suffered at the time of World War I as other crops were supported by the war economy. Japanese Americans settled in Gardena throughout its history. Their community was the subject of a 60 Minutes report in 1970.
The only way Gardena could protect itself from a heavy county tax imposed on a planned project at a park site was to incorporate. The City of Gardena became incorporated on September 11, 1930.
The 2010 United States Census reported that Gardena had a population of 58,829. The population density was 10,030.0 people per square mile (3,872.6/km²). The racial makeup of Gardena was 14,498 (24.6%) White (9.3% Non-Hispanic White), 14,352 (24.4%) African American, 348 (0.6%) Native American, 15,400 (26.2%) Asian, 426 (0.7%) Pacific Islander, 11,136 (18.9%) from other races, and 2,669 (4.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22,151 persons (37.7%).
The Census reported that 58,035 people (98.7% of the population) lived in households, 122 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 672 (1.1%) were institutionalized.
There were 20,558 households, out of which 7,199 (35.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8,782 (42.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 3,931 (19.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,486 (7.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,085 (5.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 104 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 5,142 households (25.0%) were made up of individuals and 1,921 (9.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82. There were 14,199 families (69.1% of all households); the average family size was 3.39.