WikiPortallus: Escondido, California.html

Escondido (pronounced /ˌɛskənˈdiːdoʊ/ "eskun-DEE-doe") is a city located in northern San Diego County, California just north of the city of San Diego. The name means "hidden" in Spanish—it occupies a shallow valley ringed by rocky hills. Founded in 1888, it is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. The city has a mild climate, a diverse economy and an estimated population of 128,819¹. The city is known as 'Eskondiid in Diegueño².

History

Escondido was originally settled by Native American tribes. Spain controlled the land from the late 1700s to the early 1800s, and established many missions in California to convert the indigenous people. When Mexico gained its independence from Spain, the local land was divided into large "ranchos". The land that would become Escondido was Rancho Rincon del Diablo, a land grant that was given to Juan Bautista Alvarado in 1843 by the Mexican governor.

The city was home to a large Spanish-speaking population in the first census back in 1850, but after the US won the war, non-Hispanic settlers came to Southern California in increasing numbers. The decade of the 1880s is known as the "Southern California Land Boom" because so many people were moving to the state. In 1886 a group of investors called the Escondido Land & Town Company purchased the 12,814-acre (52 km²) area. Two years later in 1888 Escondido was incorporated as a city - the vote was 64 in favor of cityhood with 12 votes against. Railroads like the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific were laid in the 1880s, and the opening of U.S. Route 395 in 1930 boosted economic growth in Escondido.

Escondido was primarily an agricultural community, growing muscat grapes initially. After a dam was built in 1894-5 to form what is known today as Lake Wohlford, oranges and lemons were planted in large quantity, as well as a number of olives and walnuts. By the 1960s avocados became the largest local crop. Since the 1970s, Escondido has lost most of its agricultural landscape to new housing developments.

From 1963–1968, the San Diego Chargers, then of the now-defunct AFL, held training camp in Escondido.³

Through the 20th century the community grew and the economy diversified. Today the community has approximately 140,000 residents, and an economy based on agriculture, tourism, retail, services, light industry, and high tech. Escondido no longer has a large lower-middle-class population as it once had: most of this socioeconomic group had to move elsewhere when housing prices soared and older neighborhoods were bulldozed or renovated.^{citation needed} Escondido has a high real estate appraisal rating, a phenomenon in North San Diego County since the population began to rise steadily in the 1970s.

Education

Escondido is served by the Escondido Union School District,⁴ the Escondido Union High School District,⁵ and the San Pasqual Unified School District. The city has 19 elementary, five middle, and seven high schools.

There is a lot of variation in API scores of individual Escondido schools, reflecting the demographic diversity of the city. As of 2007⁷, six elementary schools in the district scored above the 80th percentile of all schools in the state, and eight elementary schools scored below the 20th percentile.

The Escondido Public Library system consists of the Main Branch, the East Valley Branch, Pioneer Room, Computer Center, and a bookmobile.

Little League

In 1981 Escondido National Little League became the 19th ⁸team to make it to the Little League World Series from the state of California. The team was first District 31 champions, then District 8 champions ⁹. They then won the Southern California Divisional Tournament at Youth Athletic Park by beating San Bernardino Civitan 3-2 in the quarterfinals, then beating Granada Hills American 5-1 in the semifinals and then beating Ladera National 7-5 in the finals to earn a trip to the Western Regional. At the Western Regional in San Bernardino, the Escondido team won four straight games to earn the trip to Williamsport. ¹⁰

Points of interest

Grand Avenue & Downtown

Downtown Escondido (centered on Grand Avenue) has experienced a renaissance. Numerous restaurants, cafes, and galleries have opened over the past few years. Every Friday night from April through September, the Downtown Business Association hosts the popular "Cruisin' Grand," where the public can show and view hot rods and historic cars. A different car club and/or featured attraction (i.e. antique fire trucks, nitro night, midget and sprint cars) is highlighted each week. Cruisin' Grand also features a DJ, hula hoop contests for the kids, and 7 trophies each night.

In addition to the many art galleries on Grand, a branch of the Mingei Museum has recently opened there. This museum displays handcrafts from around the world. Just one block off Grand Ave. is Grape Day Park with the civic center and the California Center for the Arts, Escondido that features two theaters, a visual arts museum, an educational complex, and a conference center. The Escondido Children's Museum and the Escondido History Center, two independent non-profit museums, are located in Grape Day Park. The Children's Museum features hands-on exhibits and programs for children up to 10 years of age, with an authentically regional perspective on natural and social science. The History Center features the city's original Santa Fe Depot, first library, Victorian house, barn, and blacksmith shop. The Pioneer Room of Escondido Public Library (located in the Mathes Center building next to the Main Library) has photographs, maps, oral histories, genealogical collections, directories and yearbooks documenting Escondido's history.¹¹ The San Diego North Convention & Visitors Bureau[1] is located in the California Center for the Arts, and sells half price arts performances and is the only ARTS TIX outlet in San Diego North. The Visitors Bureau also provides literature, maps, and their Travel & Planning Guide free of charge to visitors. Palomar Medical Center, located just east of downtown, is the only designated trauma center in northern San Diego County.

Wild Animal Park

Many tourists come to Escondido to visit the San Diego Wild Animal Park, which shares some of its fame with its sister park, the San Diego Zoo. The Wild Animal Park shows world animals in open habitat, where they can roam, graze, and even fly.

Valley Center

With a history in agriculture, there are many farms and wineries around Escondido. Many of the wineries offer tours. Just to the north of Escondido in the community of Valley Center there is a lavender farm offering seasonal tours.

Valley Center and nearby Daley Ranch maintains a rural pre-colonial setting to remind tourists of a time when California was a frontier of New Spain and Mexico, especially the high number of residents of Spanish/Hispanic descent and from local Native American tribes.

Also in Valley Center is the burgeoning Native American casino industry. What once was a small collection of small casinos is now a rapidly maturing business. Even big time Vegas acts are coming to the new large hotel-casinos, and many offer golf and spa services.

Today, Valley Center is portrayed with an image of exo-suburban prosperity, when multi-million dollar homes and properties appeared in the 1990s and now residential and commercial development covers the landscape in the formerly farm-based community.

Lakes

Escondido is also known for having three large lakes. Dixon Lake is located in the north and is well known for fishing and has a number of boating opportunities. Lake Wohlford is located on the north eastern fringe of the city limits, and also offers boating and fishing. Lake Hodges is located in the south western portion of the city, and also offers boating and fishing. A part of Lake Hodges is crossed by Interstate 15, Escondido's most heavily traveled freeway, via the Lake Hodges Bridge.

Stone Brewing Company

Queen Califia's Magical Circle

Queen Califia's Magical Circle, the last major international work by French artist Niki de Saint Phalle, is located in Kit Carson Park. De Saint Phalle, a colleague of Salvador Dalí and Jasper Johns, is best known for her Stravinsky Fountain, located in Paris, France.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 94.5 km² (36.5 mi²). 94.0 km² (36.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.52% water.

The city proper is surrounded by several sparsely populated unincorporated communities. These include Jesmond Dene and Hidden Meadows to the north; Felicita Park to the southwest; and Rincon Del Diablo to the southeast. Residents of these communities have Escondido mailing addresses and zip codes, and they are sometimes assigned to Escondido schools, but they can't participate in city-wide elections, such as elections of city council.

Climate

Escondido tends to have warmer summers and wetter winters than its neighbor San Diego. Yearly precipitation averages around 15 inches and varies from year to year. More than 80% of all precipitation takes place from November through March. Snow is very uncommon. Climate is mild enough to allow widespread cultivation of avocados and oranges. Escondido is located in a plant hardiness zone 9.

Government

Local

Escondido is governed by a mayor-council system. The city council consists of a mayor and four City Council Members. Along with the City Treasurer, they are elected at large to four-year terms. The current mayor is Lori Holt Pfeiler. Current City Council Members are Sam Abed, Olga Diaz, Dick Daniels, and Marie Waldron. The current City Manager is Clay Phillips. The current City Treasurer is Ken Hugins. The most recent election was held on November 7, 2006.¹⁴ Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler won 59% of the vote, defeating challenger Tim Dagosta. Councilmember Marie Waldron led the seven-way race for city council, after basing her re-election platform on a controversial housing ordinance that seeks to ban the city's illegal immigrant population from renting apartments. The ordinance is being challenged by the ACLU in court and might be ruled unconstitutional under California law. Retiring councilmember Ron Newman was replaced by newcomer Dick Daniels. Issues in the municipal election included managing growth and improving opportunities for business and recreation.

Due to the public outcry and legal challenges to the aforementioned housing ordinance, City Council has since ceased any overt attempts to battle the problem of illegal immigrant population in the city (which, by councilmember Sam Abed's estimates, possibly constituted as much as 35,000, or 25% of the city population in 2006¹⁵), and focused on "quality of life" issues instead. Periodic police checkpoints are instituted to catch unlicensed drivers. An active area of debate is an overnight parking ordinance that would limit the number of cars each household can legally park on city streets.¹⁶ Nevertheless, the perception of City Council and the city as hostile to illegal immigrants remains. Possibly due to this perception, the city is estimated to have lost as much as a quarter of its non-citizen population between 2006 and 2007¹⁷.

State and Federal

In the United States presidential election of 2008, 53.3% of residents of incorporated Escondido voted for John McCain, 44.9% voted for Barack Obama, and 1.8% voted for one of the third-party candidates. Unincorporated areas were considerably more conservative: among voters in neighborhoods of Rincon Del Diablo, Hidden Meadows, and Valley Center, 62.3%, 65.5%, 66.9% of voters respectively cast their votes for John McCain.

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there are 133,559 people, 43,817 households, and 31,153 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,421.4/km² (3,680.9/mi²). There are 45,050 housing units at an average density of 479.4/km² (1,241.6/mi²). According to the 2000 census, the racial makeup of the city is 51.9% White, 2.25% African American, 1.23% Native American, 4.46% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 19.19% from other races, and 4.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 38.7% of the population. [2]

There are 43,817 households of which 39.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% are married couples living together, 28.9% are non-families, and 11.7% with a female householder with no husband present. 22.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.01 and the average family size is 3.50.

In the city the population is spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $42,567, and the median income for a family is $48,456. Males have a median income of $32,627 versus $27,526 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,241. 13.4% of the population and 9.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 17.9% of those under the age of 18 and 5.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

The city can be divided into two demographically distinct areas. Peripheral hilly areas to the north, southeast, and southwest are relatively wealthy and populated by non-Hispanic whites, and flat areas adjacent to the downtown are predominantly Hispanic. As of 2006-07 school year, non-Hispanic white children comprise 71.7% of all students in Bernardo Elementary School (southwest), 60.8% of all students in L.R. Green Elementary School (southeast), and 54.7% of all students in Reidy Creek Elementary School (north); on the other hand, Farr Avenue, Pioneer and Lincoln Elementary schools (three large schools just north of the downtown) all have more than 85% of Hispanic and less than 6% non-Hispanic white students.

Crime

In 2007, there were 657 violent crimes and 4,329 property crimes in Escondido. ²⁰ There were 4 murders, 28 rapes, 280 robberies, 345 aggravated assaults, 808 burglaries, 2,428 larceny thefts, 1,093 vehicle thefts, and 23 arsons.

The city ranked #65 by violent crimes per capita and #58 by property crimes per capita among 165 cities in California with populations greater than 50,000. Compared with 12 largest cities in San Diego County, it ranked 6th in both categories. Its crime rate was lower in both categories than in San Diego, El Cajon, and National City; higher in both categories than in San Marcos, Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Santee. Escondido had higher violent crime rates but lower property crime rate than La Mesa and Chula Vista, lower violent crime rates but higher property crime rates than Vista and Oceanside.

Transportation

Famous residents

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