Concord, California

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Concord, California
Seal
Location of Concord in California.
Coordinates: 37°98′08″N, 122°05′52″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Contra Costa
Government
- Mayor	Susan Bonilla
Area
- City	31.13 sq mi (80.6267 km²)
- Land	31.13 sq mi (80.6267 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	85.3 ft (26 m)
Population (2000)[1]
- City	121,780 (city proper)
- Density	10,174.5/sq mi (3,928.39/km²)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
Website: http://www.cityofconcord.org/

Concord is a city in Contra Costa County, California, USA. It is considered one of the major suburbs of Oakland and San Francisco.

As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 121,780. Until 1995 the city was the eastern terminus of the Concord line of Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) commuter train system; the line has since been extended eastward to Pittsburg/Bay Point. Concord has been primarily a bedroom community for San Francisco and Oakland over the last forty years, but during the last decade, some corporations with strong Bay Area regional ties, such as Chevron and Bank of America, have established extensive back-office operations there, diversifying the local economy.

Concord is also the home of the annual Concord Jazz Festival and was the home of the Concord Records jazz record label until it was bought in 1999.

Concord's Mount Diablo High School is home to several acclaimed California academies, specifically the Digital Safari, a three-year program involving the integration of multimedia with the core curriculum through integrated, project-based learning. The headquarters of the Kabul Soccer Club is located in Concord.

Concord's De La Salle High School is home for the record winning streak of 151 games set by the football team between 1992 and 2004. During that span, De La Salle won 12 California North Coast sectional championships, and was named national champion five different times (once by ESPN, four times by USA Today).

Jazz musician Dave Brubeck was born in Concord^[2], as was actor Tom Hanks, Olympic gold-medalist Natalie Coughlin and mixed martial artist Gil Castillo. Actor/Comedian Carlos Alazraqui attended Concord High School. Concord is the original home of the counter-cultural icons Negativland.

Concord is also home to the 11 time World Champion Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps. The corps is made up of talented musicians from around the world. The Concord Blue Devils are the most decorated drum and bugle corps in the history of Drum Corps International.

Public Access Television is operated through TelVue Virtual Television Networks.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 Naval Weapons Station 4 History 4.1 Port Chicago disaster 4.2 Sunvalley Mall plane crash 4.3 Sister City 5 Points of interest 6 Notes 7 External links

[edit] Geography

Concord is located at 37°58′4″N, 122°0′54″W (37.967825, -122.015135)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 78.1 km² (30.1 mi²), all land.

The focal point of downtown Concord is Todos Santos Plaza, which encompasses an entire city block and is known for its farmers market, free summer concerts, and large number of surrounding restaurants. The area immediately around downtown has recently been redeveloped, with new high-density apartment and condominium projects to take advantage of the close proximity to public transportation and the vibrant area surrounding the park.

To the north and east of downtown is the older residential area of Concord, with many homes dating back to before World War II. In the far northern edge of town is a primarily industrial area, dominated by the Tesoro Golden Eagle refinery (which is actually not located within city limits). In the Southwest area of the city is the ethnically diverse area known as Four Corners, centered around the intersection of Monument Boulevard and Oak Grove Road.

Main thoroughfares include Willow Pass Road, Concord Avenue, Concord Boulevard, Clayton Road, Ygnacio Valley Road and Treat Boulevard. The city is also served by Interstate 680, and highways 4 and 242.

Concord is bordered on the Northwest by Martinez, on the West by Pleasant Hill on the Southwest by Walnut Creek and on the South by Clayton. To the North and East are unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 121,780 people, 44,020 households, and 30,329 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,560.0/km² (4,041.0/mi²). There were 45,083 housing units at an average density of 577.5/km² (1,496.0/mi²).

There were 44,020 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $55,597, and the median income for a family was $62,093. Males had a median income of $45,734 versus $34,860 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,727. About 5.2% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2005, the racial makeup of the city was 63.9% White, 2.6% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 12.0% Asian, 0.8% Pacific Islander, 15.4% from other races, and 5.2% from two or more races. 26.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.^[3]

[edit] Naval Weapons Station

The City of Concord is bordered by an all-but-mothballed Naval Weapons site. The site consists of two areas, the Inland (5,170 acres) and Tidal (7,630 acres) Areas. The Federal Government has announced that the Naval Base is to be closed and returned to the City of Concord. Concord will most likely sell the land out to developers while keeping a large portion for open-space and parks projects.

The Tidal area of the base is not scheduled for closure. The Inland portion contains mainly empty ammunition storage bunkers, and the empty warehouses and support structures for an active cargo port. At no time during the length of the station's operation did the site contain missile silos. A Tule Elk herd once resided on the inland portion of the base, but all animals were removed to other locations by wildlife officials in early 2006.

Concord Naval Weapons Station was the site of well-publicized anti-war protest in 1987. On September 1 of that year, U.S. Air Force veteran and non-violent peace activist Brian Willson was run over by a Navy munitions train while sitting on the railroad tracks outside the compound gates. He suffered a fractured skull and the amputation of both his legs below the knee, among other injuries. Several days later, towards the end of a hastily-organized rally outside the base protesting the attack on Willson (featuring speaker Jesse Jackson and singer Joan Baez), demonstrators dismantled several hundred feet of Navy train tracks while police looked on. Billy Nessen, a prominent Berkeley-based activist, was subsequently charged with organizing the track removal, and his trial resulted in a plea bargain that involved no jail time.

[edit] History

The valleys north of Mount Diablo were inhabited by the Miwok people, who hunted elk and fished in the numerous streams flowing from the mountain into the San Francisco Bay. In 1772 Spanish explorers began to cross the area, but did not settle here. In 1834 the land surrounding Mount Diablo was granted to Don Salvio Pacheco (for whom the nearby town of Pacheco is named).

Concord was founded under the name of Todos Santos (a name still borne by the central city plaza and park between Willow Pass Road and Salvio Street), on the initiative of Pacheco in 1869. It achieved prominence in the 19th century as a result of most residents of Pacheco relocating to Concord to avoid the devastation of fire and flood which crippled Pacheco's formerly booming economy. Concord was incorporated on February 5, 1905.

The area around Concord in the surrounding Ygnacio and Clayton Valleys was a large agricultural area. Crops that were grown included grapes, walnuts, wheat, hay, and even tomatoes. The area to the east (site of the Concord Naval Weapons Station) was the site of a few enormous wheat ranches (5000+ acres), and was almost a sea of wheat all the way to the marshes bordering Suisun Bay. During Prohibition, many vineyards were removed and replaced with walnut orchards. The town of Cowell, now incorporated into Concord, produced cement.

[edit] Port Chicago disaster

Main article: Port Chicago disaster

Concord Naval Weapons Station, which was once a town called Port Chicago, was involved in an ammunitions explosion that is controversial to this day. On the evening of July 17, 1944, a ship packed with munitions and explosives was docked at the port when a huge explosion rocked the night sky. Buildings were damaged as far away as San Francisco, a distance of 48 miles. All 320 soldiers on duty were killed instantly. The Navy immediately sprang into action, sending soldiers to put out the fire and restore order in the area.

Of the 320 men killed, nearly two-thirds were African American because of the racial segregation in the military at that time. Their deaths caused a huge uproar among the remaining African Americans in the area. Of the 328 remaining men in the Ordnance Battalion, 258 African Americans refused to continue loading ammunition, an event called the Port Chicago Mutiny. All soldiers who participated in the mutiny were court martialed, and all were given bad conduct discharges and ordered to forfeit 3 months pay for disobeying orders.

The explosion and later mutiny proceedings would help illustrate the costs of racial discrimination and fuel public criticism. By 1945, as the Navy worked toward desegregation, some mixed units appeared. When President Harry Truman called for the Armed Forces to be desegregated in 1948, the Navy could honestly say that Port Chicago had been a critical step in that process. The Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial was dedicated near the site in 1994.

[edit] Sunvalley Mall plane crash

On the evening of December 23rd, 1985, two days before Christmas, a twin-engine Beechcraft Baron, executing a missed instrument approach procedure from an approach to runway 19R of Buchanan Airport, lost control and crashed into the roof of nearby Sunvalley Mall, killing the pilot and two passengers and seriously injuring 84 Christmas shoppers in the crowded mall below, mainly by spraying them with burning fuel. Four of the victims on the ground later died from their injuries. The accident brought increased local opposition to the airport, and caused Pacific Southwest Airlines to cancel scheduled passenger service that had been planned for the new year.

[edit] Sister City

In 1974 Concord became a sister city with Kitakami, Iwate, in Japan. The city established a small Japanese style park in the city, and placed half of a sculpture, The Communion Bridge, in it. The matching half of the bridge is in Kitakami.

[edit] Points of interest

• California State University, East Bay campus in Concord.
• Sleep Train Pavilion
• Markham Regional Arboretum
• 1 Concord Center
• Six Flags Waterworld Concord
• Sunvalley Mall
• The Willows Theater
• Concord Skatepark
• Farmer's Market at Todos Santos Plaza
• Buchanan Field Airport
• Camp Concord, at South Lake Tahoe, although not located in Concord, is operated by the city.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ City of Concord Demographics, cityofconcord.org, retrieved on 2007-01-15
2. ^ Reception honors Concord native son, jazz great Dave Brubeck, cityofconcord.org, retrieved on 2007-01-15
3. ^ 2005 American Community Survey Data Profile Highlights: Concord city, California. US Census Bureau. Retrieved on March 24, 2007.

[edit] External links

• Official Site
• Concord (California) travel guide from Wikitravel
• Concord Naval Weapons Station: Current Status
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 37.967825° -122.015135°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA