Newport Beach, California

Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, 10 miles south of downtown Santa Ana. The current OMB metropolitan designation for Newport Beach and the Orange County Area is Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 70,032. The area code for Newport Beach is 949. The city is home to several well known communities and recent annexations including Balboa Island, Corona del Mar, San Joaquin Hills, and Newport Coast.

1 Attractions
2 History
- 2.1 Recent annexations
3 Geography
4 Demographics
5 Sister Cities
6 Popular culture
7 Notable residents
8 External links

[edit] Attractions

Attractions include beaches on the Balboa Peninsula (featuring body-surfing hot-spot The Wedge) and in Corona del Mar. Crystal Cove State Park is located at the southern end of the coast.

The Catalina Flyer, a giant 500 passenger catamaran, provides daily transportation from the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach to Avalon, California located on Santa Catalina Island. The historic Balboa Pavilion, established in 1906, is Newport Beach's most famous landmark.

The Balboa Fun Zone, located on the Balboa Peninsula, features a ferris wheel, an old-time Merry-Go-Round, and bumper cars as well as quaint shops and restaurants.

The Orange County Museum of Art is an art museum that exhibits art from a variety of modern artists.

Balboa Island is an artificial island in Newport Harbor that was dredged and filled right before World War I. The Balboa Island Ferry transports cars, bicycles and pedestrians across the harbor channel between Balboa Island and the Balboa Peninsula.

The Back Bay is a wildlife sanctuary, while nearby Fashion Island provides shopping experiences with department stores like Bloomingdale's. The Newport Beach public library's spectacular architecture has been featured in the movie Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.

The Newport Aquatic Center offers kayaking, rowing, and canoeing. It has been a training ground for many Olympians throughout the years, and runs several programs for the youth of Orange County, including programs for at-risk youth.

The Pelican Hill area has two golf courses, both of which are closed for the construction of a resort hotel, golf clubhouse and residences by the Irvine Company. [1] It is located on a small 1.2 square mile sliver of land, and contours the Pacific Coast.

[edit] History

See History of Newport Beach.

[edit] Recent annexations

San Joaquin Hills, California (January 1, 2002)
Newport Coast, California (2001)

[edit] Geography

Newport Beach is 25 feet (8 meters) above sea level and located at 33°37′0″N, 117°53′51″W (33.616671, -117.897604)^GR1.

The city is bordered to the west by Huntington Beach at the Santa Ana River, on the north side by Costa Mesa, John Wayne Airport, and Irvine (including UC Irvine), and on the east side by Crystal Cove State Park.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 103.2 km² (39.8 mi²). 38.3 km² (14.8 mi²) of it is land and 64.9 km² (25.1 mi²) of it (62.91%) is water.

Areas of Newport Beach include Corona del Mar, Balboa Island, Newport Coast, San Joaquin Hills, and Balboa Peninsula (also known as Balboa).

The Upper Newport Bay was carved out by the prehistoric flow of the Santa Ana River. It feeds the delta that is the Back Bay, and eventually joins the Newport Harbor.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 70,032 people, 33,071 households, and 16,965 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,829.5/km² (4,738.8/mi²). There were 37,288 housing units at an average density of 974.1/km² (2,523.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.22% White, 0.53% African American, 0.26% Native American, 4.00% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.13% from other races, and 1.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.71% of the population.

There were 33,071 households out of which 18.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.7% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.71.

In the city the population was spread out with 15.7% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $83,455, and the median income for a family was $111,166. Males had a median income of $73,425 versus $45,409 for females. The per capita income for the city was $63,015. About 2.1% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.

As of September 2005, there were 36,876 registered Republicans and 12,268 registered Democrats. (Source:"Newport Beach Turns 100", OC Register, Sept. 2005)

[edit] Sister Cities

Newport Beach has five sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

[edit] Popular culture

The city has figured into several television shows and movies.

The characters in Arrested Development are purported to have lived and worked in Newport Beach, and operated a frozen banana stand on Balboa Island. Many of the stories took place there and in the surrounding Orange County area. However, the television show is filmed entirely in Los Angeles.
The OC is set in Newport Beach, but the TV drama is filmed entirely in Los Angeles, and is at best a very loose interpretation of the city and its residents.
In the Lost Season Two Finale, "Live Together, Die Alone," the boat "Elizabeth" had a Newport Beach hailing port, which was painted on her transom.
The West Wing has used Newport Beach and the Orange County area a number of times, basing Sam Seaborn's bid for congress in the district and filming on location during five different Series 4 episodes.
The Thirteenth Year, a Disney Channel Original Movie, is set in Balboa Island and Newport Beach. The movie features the fun zone on the Balboa Peninsula and the Balboa Ferry.
MTV show "Laguna Beach" was filmed near the city of Newport.

The city is nicely manicured, perhaps too obsessively, because it is very hard to recycle there for visitors who want to save some trees! All the recycling containers are kept off the street except for pickup days, and the city drops the ball on public paper recycling.

[edit] Notable residents

John Lackey, Starting Pitcher of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Jeremy Jackson, entertainer
Drake Bell, entertainer
Joey Bishop, entertainer
Francois Botha, boxer
Chris Cox, Chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission
George Argyros, Former Ambassador to Spain, Entrepreneur, billionaire
Chuck Finley, Former baseball player
Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Former baseball starting pitcher
Jürgen Klinsmann, coach of Germany's national football (soccer) team from 2004 to 2006
Dean Koontz, writer
Leigh Steinberg, sports agent
Mamie Van Doren, entertainer
David Perry, game designer
Kobe Bryant, NBA player, Los Angeles Lakers
Aaron Peirsol, swimmer
Taylor Dent, professional tennis player
Donald Bren, real estate mogul, billionaire
Henry Samueli, Chairman/Co-founder of technology firm Broadcom, billionaire
Bill Leach, Olympic kayaker
Sasha Cohen, figure skater
Mark McGrath, singer (Sugar Ray)
McG, film director and producer
Lisa Tucker, American Idol contestant raised in Anaheim
Saosin, a band currently signed to Capitol Records who released their debut album on September 26, 2006.
The ska punk/post-grunge band Sugar Ray
Bill Medley, singer (The Righteous Brothers)
Nicolas Cage - Actor is a full-time resident.
Gwen Stefani, singer
Troy Glaus - Third Baseman of the Toronto Blue Jays
Adam Kennedy Second Baseman of the St. Louis Cardinals
Reggie Jackson- Hall of Fame Baseball Player
Liz Conwell- Fashion Designer

Additionally, over the decades, entertainment figures since the Golden Era of Hollywood have made Newport Beach their home at least part of the year, including:

Dick Dale - Rock and roller "King of the Surf Guitar"
Lauren Bacall
Humphrey Bogart
George Burns
James Cagney
Jeffrey Lang JR, Talk Radio show host
Buddy Ebsen
Errol Flynn
Roy Rogers & Dale Evans
Shirley Temple
John Wayne
Andy Devine (deceased actor)
Dennis Rodman, retired NBA player
Karl Malone, retired NBA player
Vanna White, entertainment
Johnny Mercer, songwriter
Jane Wyman, actress
Dan Gurney, race car driver
Paris Salgado, Prominent Sports Agent, multi-billionaire, currently under investigation for Tax Evasion, currently involved with prominent lawyer/activist Stephanie Delgado
Antheny Nguyen, an up and coming porn star, best known for his beautifully sculpted physique and his ability to pull of the legendary "Alabama Hot Pocket". His girlfriend is Thuy-Vy Nguyen, who is his agent and books him jobs.