Orange, California
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The City of Orange (often referred to as "Plaza City") is a located in Orange County, California. It is approximately 3 miles (6 km) north of the County seat in Santa Ana, California, and approximately 32 miles (52 km) southeast of Los Angeles.
The Current OMB metropolitan designation for Orange and the Orange County Area is "Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA."
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History
The original inhabitants of the region that now comprises the City of Orange, California were Native American peoples, known as Gabrielinos to the local Spanish settlers. In 1801, Don Juan Pablo Grijalva, a retired Spanish soldier and the area's first landowner, he was granted permission by the Spanish colonial government to establish a rancho in "the place of the Arroyo de Santiago." California was ceded to the United States by México with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, and though many settlers lost titles to their lands in the atermath, Grijalva's descendents retained ownership of his vast holdings.
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In 1869, Los Angeles attorneys Alfred Chapman and Andrew Glassell received as payment for legal services 1,385 acres (6 km²) of land from Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, which they quickly subdivided into a one-square-mile town with numerous ten acre (40,000 m²) farm lots surrounding it. Originally the community was named Richland, but when the town’s application for a post office was denied in 1873 due to the fact that there was already a Richland in Sacramento County, the residents chose the name Orange, perhaps in deference to the Virginia county birthplace of one of the founders.
The small town was developed around a central Plaza in the form of a traffic circle (or "roundabout") which remains to this day, and was incorporated on April 6, 1888 under the general laws of the State of California. According to company records, Orange was the first developed town site to be served by the Southern California Railway when its transcontinental rail line (the nation's second) reached Orange County.
The town experienced its first growth spurt during the last decade of the 19th century (as did many of the surrounding communities), thanks to ever-increasing demands for California-grown citrus fruits, a period some refer to as the "Orange Era." Southern California's real estate "boom" of 1886-1888, fueled by railroad rate wars, also contributed to a marked increase in population. Like most cities in Orange County, California, growth thereafter was slow and steady until the 1950s, when a second real estate boom spurred development. Motivated by the development of a region-wide freeway system which connected Los Angeles' urban center with outerlying areas like Orange, large tracts of housing were developed from the 1950s to the early 1970s, and continues today, albeit at a much slower pace, at the eastern edge of the City.
According to State Historic Resource Surveys, Orange is unique among the region and the state in that it has the second largest concentration of historic buildings. A list of all of the buildings and sites in Orange that appear in the National Register of Historic Places can be found at [1] (http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/CA/Orange/state.html), [2] (http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/CA/Orange/state2.html), and [3] (http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/CA/Orange/state3.html).
Points of interest
The one square-mile around the original Plaza (which is at the intersection of the appropriately-named Chapman Avenue and Glassell Street) called the "Old Towne, Orange Historic District" contains many of the original structures built in the period after the City's incorporation. It is a vibrant commercial district, containing Orange County's oldest operating bank and the oldest operating soda fountain. The Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, and is the largest National Register District in California.
Because of its classic "small town" look, many television shows and motion pictures have selected the Historic District (and other parts of Orange) as a backdrop, including Lethal Weapon 4 and Tom Hanks' 1996 film That Thing You Do!. An up-to-date list of television and movie productions that have utilized at least one area of the City as a filming location can be found at the Internet Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com/List?endings=on&&locations=Orange,%20California,%20USA&&heading=18;with+locations+including;Orange,%20California,%20USA) website.
The "Villa Park Orchards Association" packinghouse, located along the former Santa Fe Railway (now BNSF) mainline, is the sole remaining fruit packing operation in Orange County.
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Architectural styles in Old Towne Orange
- Bungalow (http://www.cityoforange.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=2082) (see also Bungalow)
- Craftsman Bungalow (http://www.cityoforange.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=2083)
- Craftsman (http://www.cityoforange.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=2084) (see also Arts and Crafts movement)
- Hip Roof Cottage (http://www.cityoforange.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=2085) (see also Hipped roof)
- Mediterranean (http://www.cityoforange.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=2086) (see also Mediterranean Revival Style Architecture)
- Prarie (http://www.cityoforange.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=2087) (see also Prarie Style Architecture)
- Spanish Colonial (http://www.cityoforange.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=2088) (see also Spanish Colonial Style Architecture)
- Victorian (http://www.cityoforange.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=2089) (see also Victorian Architecture)
Local attractions
Orange is home to parks, lakes, a small zoo, and a wildlife sanctuary. The Block at Orange, a major shopping and entertainment center for the region, is located on the westen edge of the City. Orange borders the cities of Santa Ana, Tustin, Villa Park, and Anaheim, the home of Disneyland. Angel Stadium (or "The Big A" as it is referred to locally, the current home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball club) and the Arrowhead Pond (home of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim hockey team) are located just inside Anaheim's eastern border with Orange.
Geography
Orange is located at 33°47'16" North, 117°51'00" West (33.802945, -117.832506)Template:GR.
The City has a total area of 23.6 mi² (61.2 km²), 23.1 mi² (59.9 km²) of which is land and 0.5 mi² (1.3 km²) of which is water. The total area is 2.12% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 128,821 people, 40,930 households, and 30,165 families residing in the City. The population density is 2,126.5/km² (5,506.4/mi²). There were 41,904 housing units at an average density of 691.7/km² (1,791.2/mi²).
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The racial makeup of the City is 56.6% White, Non-Hispanic, 1.60% African American, 0.78% Native American, 9.32% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 13.82% from other races, and 3.75% from two or more races. 32.16% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 40,930 households out of which 37.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% are married couples living together, 11.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% are non-families. 19.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.02 and the average family size is 3.43.
The population is spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 100.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 98.7 males.
The median income for a household in the City is $58,994, and the median income for a family is $64,573. Males have a median income of $42,144 versus $34,159 for females. The per capita income for the City is $24,294. 10.0% of the population and 6.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 12.5% of those under the age of 18 and 7.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Transportation
Automobile
Like most cities in Southern California, the primary means of transportation is the automobile. Orange is situated near many state freeways as well as Interstate 5, also known as the Santa Ana Freeway. The junction of "the 5" with two state highways (SR-57 "Orange Freeway" and SR-22 "Garden Grove Freeway"), commonly called the "Orange Crush," is one of the busiest interchanges in Orange County and is located on the southwestern edge of the City. The eastern areas of Orange are served by the Eastern and Foothill Toll Roads, two of California's first toll highways, which connect the city with the cities of Irvine and Rancho Santa Margarita.
Rail
The town's first rail service, the Santa Ana, Orange & Tustin Street Railway', was a 4.04 mile (6.5 km) long horse car line that ran between Santa Ana and Orange, beginning in 1886. One year later the Santa Ana & Orange Motor Road Company purchased the line, using a steam "dummy" car and a single gasoline motorcar as its means of conveyance. In 1906 Henry E. Huntington acquired the company under the auspices of the Los Angeles Inter-Urban Railway and electrified the line.
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Passenger service over the new line operated by Huntington's Pacific Electric Railway began on June 8, 1914, originating at the PE's depot on Lemon Street. The route provided freight service to the local citrus growers in direct competition with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Pacific Electric sold out to the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1961, who ultimately abandoned the line in 1964.
The Santa Fe, under its affiliate the Southern California Railway, laid its first tracks through Orange in 1886 and established its first depot the following year. The route would become part of the railroad's famous "Surf Line" and by 1925 sixteen daily passenger trains (the Santa Fe's San Diegan) made stops in Orange. During peak growing seasons, as many as 48 carloads of citrus fruits, olives, and walnuts were shipped daily from the Orange depot as well.
Rail connections to Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, and Northern San Diego County by the Metrolink regional commuter rail network. The Metrolink platform is situated adjacent to the former Santa Fe depot in the downtown Historic District, which is also home to an Orange County Transit District (OCTD) bus station. The former Santa Fe mainline links the cities of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Diego via a junction north of the station.
Air
John Wayne Airport (SNA) in nearby Santa Ana, California provides daily scheduled airline service for the area.
Colleges and universities
- Chapman University
- Santiago Canyon College (http://www.sccollege.edu/homex.asp)
- University of California, Irvine - medical school and teaching hospital
Orange "sister cities"
- Novo Kosino, Moskva (Moscow), Russia
- Orange, New South Wales, Australia
- Orange, France
- Querétaro, Mexico
- Timaru, New Zealand
External links
- City of Orange (http://www.cityoforange.org) official website
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Template:Cities of Orange County, California
