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San Leandro, California

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San Leandro, California
Location of San Leandro, California
CitySan Leandro
Government
 • MayorAnthony "Tony" Santos (D)
Population
 • Total
79,452
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific Standard Time Zone)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (Pacific Daylight Time)

San Leandro is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 79,453 at the 2000 census. Weather is mild throughout the year.

Geography and water resources

Location of San Leandro, California
Location of San Leandro, California

San Leandro is located at 37°42′39″N 122°9′12″W / 37.71083°N 122.15333°W / 37.71083; -122.15333Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (37.710697, -122.153357)Template:GR. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 40.3 km² (15.6 mi²). 34.0 km² (13.1 mi²) of it is land and 6.3 km² (2.4 mi²) of it (15.62%) is water. San Leandro's average elevation is 56 feet above sea level.

In the lower elevations of the city, an upper regionally contained aquifer is located 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 m) below the surface. At least one deeper aquifer exists approximately 250 feet (75 m) below the surface. Some salt water intrusion has taken place in the San Leandro Cone. Shallow groundwater generally flows to the west, from the foothills toward the San Francisco Bay. Shallow groundwater is contaminated in many of the locales of the lower elevation of the city. Contamination by gasoline, volatile organic compounds and some heavy metals has been recorded in a number of these lower elevation areas.[1] [2]

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 79,452 people, 30,642 households, and 19,825 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,336.4/km² (6,053.0/mi²). There were 31,334 housing units at an average density of 921.4/km² (2,387.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 51.29% White, 9.88% Black or African American, 0.77% Native American, 22.96% Asian, 0.86% Pacific Islander, 8.48% from other races, and 5.76% from two or more races. 20.06% of the population were Hispanic.

There were 30,642 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $51,081, and the median income for a family was $60,266. Males had a median income of $41,157 versus $33,486 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,895. About 4.5% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.3% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

History of San Leandro

The first inhabitants of San Leandro were the ancestors of the Ohlone Nation, who arrived sometime between 3500 and 2500 BCE. The Spanish settlers called these natives Costanos or "coast people" and the English-speaking settlers called them Costanoans. San Leandro was first visited by Europeans on March 26 1772 by Spanish soldier Captain Pedro Fages and the Spanish Catholic priest Father Crespi. Forty-eight years later, to increase settlement and strengthen their claim to the Bay Area, the Spanish gave to retired Spanish soldier Don Luís María Peralta a 43,000 acre (174 km²) land grant which he named Rancho San Antonio. In 1842, Don José Joaquín Estudillo, also a retired Spanish soldier (for whom Estudillo Ave. is named), was granted 7,000 acres (28 km²) of land in the San Leandro area, which he named Rancho San Leandro.

In 1849 the Gold Rush struck California, and thousands journeyed to the state in search of wealth and prosperity. However, many who were not successful in the gold fields soon moved on to the San Francisco Bay Area, and settled in the San Leandro area. As a result of this increased settlement, in 1855 John Ward, the son-in-law of Joaquin Estudillo, filed a map of a townsite to be called San Leandro with the County government. From 1856 to 1868, San Leandro was the County Seat for Alameda County until the County Courthouse located at Clarke and Davis Streets was destroyed by the 1868 earthquake. Afterwards, Oakland became the county seat, largely because it was to be the terminal of the proposed Central Pacific Railroad. San Leandro was incorporated as a town on March 21 1872, one hundred years and a day after the area was discovered by Europeans.

San Leandro industry continued to develop during the late 1800s, thanks to the San Francisco, Alameda and Stockton Railroad Company, which offered inexpensive transportation. Built in 1865, the line ran from Alameda to Davis Street, and many factories were located on or adjacent to the rail line. In San Leandro, agriculture continued to be an important industry up until the early 1900s. Cherries were one of the City's most well-known crops and, to honor their importance to San Leandro's development, the first Cherry Festival, a tradition which continues today, was held in 1909.

During and after World War II, San Leandro underwent explosive population growth. For example, from 1940 to 1950, and again from 1950 to 1960, the population doubled and thousands of homes sprang up in the community. In addition to population growth, from April 1942 to October 1965, 87 industrial parcels were annexed to the City, in addition to 27 other non-industrial tracts. Following the war, San Leandro's manufacturing and commercial sectors continued to expand. New shopping centers, such as the Pelton Center on East 14th Street, were opened to meet the expanding residential demand for commercial services. Even the city government underwent change, as the San Leandro charter was revised in 1947 and a new zoning law was passed.

By the late 1960s, the city was largely built out, with almost no land available for development or annexation. Because many of the residents who moved to San Leandro in the 1950s and 1960s have stayed here, San Leandro as of 2007 has a large elderly population, although increasing numbers of families with children have begun moving into the city. In the 1980s, the community's diversity grew as African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics also began moving into the city. In addition, the industrial makeup of the city has been changing, moving away from its traditional manufacturing base toward more of an emphasis on services and warehousing industries.

San Leandro was a 99.99% white community according to the 1960 and the 1970 census. African-Americans were excluded by the use of "covenants"[3] as well as the collusion of real estate agents, some of whom refused to sell houses to African-Americans. The police sometimes harassed African-Americans who crossed the border into San Leandro from Hayward and Oakland.

Jack Maltester became the first directly-elected mayor in 1962 and was re-elected three times until term limits were enacted in 1974.

San Leandro became a more diverse city with the massive development of apartment buildings. This diversity has continued to increase, and currently San Leandro is one of the most racially diverse cities in California.

The 1980s brought further land development and some major redevelopment activity. For example the Caterpillar Tractor site was redeveloped to become a large commercial shopping center, the Monarch Center.

High School History

In the latter part of the 20th century, San Leandro was home to three high schools: San Leandro High School and Pacific High School (in the San Leandro Unified School District) and Marina High School (located within the San Leandro city limits but coming under the authority of the neighboring San Lorenzo Unified School District). San Leandro High School was established in the early part of the 20th century. As the city's population grew, so did the need for a second high school. Pacific High School was built across town nearer the industrial area adjacent to California State Highway 17 (now Interstate 880) and opened in 1960. It featured a round main building and more traditional outbuildings, as well as a lighted football field. (The football field at San Leandro High School did not have, and still does not have, lights. All night games for both high schools were played at the Pacific football field, named C. Burrell Field after a former San Leandro Unified School District superintendent. San Leandro High School's night football games are still played there.)

As student enrollments declined in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the city council and school board elected to close one of the two high schools. Amid much controversy, Pacific High School graduated its last class in 1983. Those who wished to keep Pacific High School open cited the fact that it was a much newer facility and had the better football field. Those who were in favor of retaining San Leandro High School maintained that it was a larger campus and therefore had more room to house both school populations. Some Pacific High School supporters to this day hold the opinion that San Leandro High School was retained because it was located on the "rich" side of town.

Instead of leasing out the Pacific High School property for a few years until birth rates recovered and school enrollments were back on the rise, in 1989 the city sold the property outright. The developers who purchased the site have since constructed an auto mall and an outlet mall(Marina Square Center)at that location.

In recent years, as school enrollments have increased, San Leandro High School has been the recipient of newly built wings to increase classroom space and relieve overcrowding.

San Leandro High School is home to some of the best academic programs in northern California, such as the Business Academy and SLAM. One of the award winning national programs located in San Leandro is DECA, an association for Marketing Students. Recently six students from San Leandro High School won in their competitive events and won a slot to compete in Orlando, Florida on April 27 2007. The overall quality of San Leandro High School is in question, however, as indicated by its low API index and ranking of 4 compared to all other schools in California and 2 when compared to other similar schools (Scale of 1-10). The campus is also characterized by frequent violence between differing ethnic groups. In 2005 there were 419 suspensions and 21 outright expulsions (see pg 2)(15.9% of the entire school). There have been numerous accusations toward the school board about ignoring pupils using false addresses from nearby troubled communities, inflating the schools population causing overcrowding.

Current leadership

Today San Leandro is run by mayor Tony Santos, whose first term started in December 2006 and a six-member City Council. City Council members include Michael Gregory (District 1), Surlene Grant (District 2), Diana Souza (District 3), Joyce Starosciak (District 4), Bill Stephens (District 5), and appointed Council member Jim Prola (District 6).

San Leandro is home to two school districts: The San Lorenzo Unified School District includes parts of Washington Manor and the San Leandro Unified School District includes most of San Leandro plus a small part of Oakland. The 7- member School Board for San Leandro Unified School District is composed of "Rick" Richards (Area 1), Pauline Cutter (Area 2), Linda Perry (Area 3), Mike Katz-Lacabe (Area 4), Ray Davis (Area 5), Lisa Hague (Area 6) and Stephen Cassidy (at large).

Notable residents and natives

In Film

In The Princess Diaries (film), the cable car conductor, Bruce Macintosh, proclaims that he is from San Leandro.

References

  1. ^ CH2M Hill, California Department of Health Services, Toxic Substances Control Division, Phase I Remedial Investigation Rpt, 1465 Factor Avenue, San Leandro, California (1987).
  2. ^ C. Michael Hogan, Andy Kratter, Mark Weisman and Jill Buxton, Environmental Initial Study, Aladdin Avenue/Fairway Drive Overcrossing of I-880, Earth Metrics, CalTrans and city of San Leandro Rpt 9551, 1990
  3. ^ Suburban Wall, documentary, 1971; Invisible Wall, documentary, 1981; "Not a Genuine Black Man: Or How I Claimed My Piece of Ground in the Lily-White Suburbs" Brian Copeland, 2006
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