La Puente, California

In 1769, the Gaspar de Portolà expedition (the first European exploration party in the Los Angeles area), along with Father Junípero Serra, built a bridge over the San Jose Creek. In 1884, the area was named Puente (bridge in Spanish; in old Spanish the noun was often feminine, as opposed to modern Spanish el puente). The community began in 1841 when European settlers arrived from New Mexico and obtained the 48,000 acre (194 km²) Rancho La Puente.

The area was known for its fruit and walnut groves during the 1930s. The city was even home to the world's largest walnut packing plant. Today, the city is heavily-urbanized, but the area still has some historical landmarks from its founding days nearby, for instance, the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum in neighboring City of Industry, California.

Redevelopment of the business districts in La Puente have been ongoing. However, the local government has been relatively unsuccessful in its attempts to attract big-box retailers and restaurant chains. La Puente retains many aging 1950s-era strip malls, which used to be occupied by Anglo shopkeepers but are now occupied by mostly Hispanics with some Asians.

[edit] Geography

La Puente is located at 34°1′57″N, 117°57′19″W (34.032410, -117.955195)^GR1. It is located approximately 20 miles east of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.0 km² (3.5 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 41,063 people, 9,461 households, and 8,183 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,542.8/km² (11,757.3/mi²). There were 9,660 housing units at an average density of 1,068.7/km² (2,765.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 39.11% White, 1.96% African American, 1.28% Native American, 7.16% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 45.14% from other races, and 5.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 83.10% of the population.

There were 9,461 households out of which 50.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.5% were non-families. 10.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.34 and the average family size was 4.48.

In the city the population was spread out with 33.8% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,222, and the median income for a family was $41,079. Males had a median income of $26,381 versus $22,018 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,336. About 16.3% of families and 18.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.6% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.