Martinez, California

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Martinez is the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 35,866 at the 2000 census. The downtown is notable for its large number of preserved old buildings. Martinez is located on the south side of the Carquinez Strait in the San Francisco Bay Area, directly facing the city of Benicia.

Originally established in 1849 as a way station for the California Gold Rush, it became the county seat in 1850, but could not incorporate at the time because it lacked the 200 registered voters required, and only became a city in 1876. Martinez is also purportedly the birthplace of the Martini.

Martinez was the home of John Muir from 1880 until his death in 1914. He was buried about one mile south of the building that is now the John Muir National Historic Site. Joe DiMaggio was born in 1914 in the town. In 1915 Shell Oil Company built an oil refinery near Martinez, which sparked a building boom in the area. Martinez's oil refineries can still be seen today from Interstate 680, and it continues to be a significant port and petroleum processing center.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 Transportation 4 Schools 5 Environmental features 6 Notable features 7 External links

[edit] Geography

Martinez is located at 38°0′2″N, 122°7′12″W (38.000588, -122.120081)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 34.8 km² (13.4 mi²). 31.7 km² (12.2 mi²) of it is land and 3.1 km² (1.2 mi²) of it (8.92%) is water.

Although the common perception of Martinez is that of a refinery town, given the view from Highway 680 across the Shell Refinery and the strong smell of petroleum that greets visitors coming from the Martinez-Benicia Bridge, the city is in fact largely surrounded by water and regional open space preserves. The Martinez-Benicia Bridge carries Highway 680 across the eastern end of the Carquinez Strait to Solano County.

The city can be defined as a more densely built downtown valley threaded by Alhambra creek and north of Highway 4. Suburban areas stretch south of Highway 4 to join the neighboring city of Pleasant Hill. Unincorporated areas include the rural Alhambra Valley and the Franklin Canyon area.

The Martinez Regional Shoreline bounds the city to the north along the Carquinez Strait. Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline includes the Franklin Hills west of downtown, stretching west to the unincorporated community of Port Costa and the town of Crockett. Briones Regional Preserve borders the Alhambra Valley to the south. Waterbird Regional Park and the McNabney Marsh border the city and Highway 680 to the east.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 35,866 people, 14,300 households, and 9,209 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,130.4/km² (2,927.6/mi²). There were 14,597 housing units at an average density of 460.1/km² (1,191.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.03% White, 3.35% Black or African American, 0.74% Native American, 6.63% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 3.29% from other races, and 4.72% from two or more races. 10.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 14,300 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $63,010, and the median income for a family was $77,411. Males had a median income of $52,135 versus $40,714 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,701. About 3.2% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Transportation

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Martinez.

The California Zephyr operates daily in each direction through Martinez between Emeryville, across the bay from San Francisco, and Chicago via Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Omaha.

The Coast Starlight operates daily in each direction through Martinez between Seattle and Los Angeles.

Amtrak operates its Capitol Corridor trains through Martinez, providing service several times daily between San Jose to the west and Reno, Nevada via Sacramento to the east.

Amtrak also operates its San Joaquin trains through Martinez, providing service several times daily between Oakland to the west and Bakersfield at the south end of the San Joaquin Valley. Bus connections can be made between Bakersfield and Los Angeles.

[edit] Schools

The Martinez Unified School District encompasses four elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, and two alternative/independent study schools. Students in K-5 attend John Swett, John Muir, Las Juntas, or Morello Park Elementary School. Martinez Junior High School serves students in grades 6 through 8. St. Catherine of Siena is a private Catholic school that serves grades K-8. Alhambra High School serves as the districts' comprehensive high school. As of 2006, the districts' K-12 enrollment was 4,194.

[edit] Environmental features

Martinez is impacted from air pollutant emissions from the Shell Oil refinery and other industrial sources, although these sources receive close scrutiny and routine monitoring by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Sound levels in Martinez are dominated by surface transportation sources including Interstate 680, California State Highway 4 and various arterial streets. Earlier Martinez was the location of the IT Corporation waste ponds.

[edit] Notable features

• Contra Costa County jail facility
• John Muir house
• Shell Oil refinery
• IT Corporation waste disposal ponds

[edit] External links

• Martinez slideshow
• City of Martinez homepage
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 38.000588° -122.120081°
  • 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