La Mirada, California

La Mirada, California
City
FIPS code		06-40032
GNIS feature IDs	1652736, 2411577
Website	www.cityoflamirada.org

La Mirada is a city in southeast

institution of higher education.

History

La Mirada (Spanish for the look)^[12] was the creation of two men, Andrew McNally, a printer and mapmaker from Chicago (see Rand McNally) and his son-in-law Edwin Neff. In 1888, McNally purchased over 2,200 acres (8.9 km²) of Rancho Los Coyotes,^[13] south of Whittier, for $200,000. He developed 700 acres (2.8 km²) into his own home called Windermere Ranch and surrounded it with olive, orange and lemon groves. McNally built a plant to process the olive oil, which was of the best quality, as well as a railroad station on Stage Road. From here his olive oil and fruit were shipped all over the U.S.

In 1896, McNally turned his property over to his daughter and his son-in-law. McNally and Neff formed the La Mirada Land Company, which published a booklet entitled "The Country Gentleman in California", advertising parcels of land for sale including pictures, a map and descriptions of the scenic olive, alfalfa, lemon and grapefruit groves.

In 1946, "Along Your Way", a "Station by Station Description of the Santa Fe Route Through the Southwest," describes La Mirada with a population of 213, surrounded by orange, lemon, walnut and olive groves; oil wells; olive oil factory; and fruit packing houses.

The city received a lot of attention for the fact that it was going to be completely structured and planned out. Referred to as "the Nation's completely planned city" during the early 1950s,^[14] the city of La Mirada received a lot of attention from the State Fair.^[15] The Fair praised the city for planning for the future while still maintaining practicality for today.

In 1953, the land was sold to subdivisions for 5.2 million dollars, one of the largest real estate transactions in California. In 1954, Louis M. Halper, a prominent Southland residential and commercial builder, purchased 2,100 acres of La Mirada land for $8,000,000. Halper launched construction on what was to be a $150,000,000 community with schools, shopping centers, and 10,000 homes that he completed by the end of two years. His firm had taken over the acreage from a group of corporations and Harold L. Shaw, who launched the original La Mirada development. He said at the time the entire community would be redesigned for maximum advantages of a modern planned city. Halper had developed a new pattern for community development by wholesaling land to other builders and establishing the La Mirada Civic Council to control quality. Three and four-bedroom homes were sold in the $13,000 price range. By 1960, the year the city was incorporated, La Mirada had grown from a mere 100 homes to over 8,000.^[13] The city was incorporated as "Mirada Hills" on March 23, 1960. On November 8, 1960, voters approved a change of name to the current La Mirada, which was officially certified on December 15, 1960.

Today, the current population is just over 50,000 with the addition of a new subdivision on the eastern portion of the town.

Geography

According to the

to the south.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1960	22,444		—
1970	30,808		37.3%
1980	40,986		33.0%
1990	40,452		−1.3%
2000	46,783		15.7%
2010	48,527		3.7%
2020	48,008		−1.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[16]

2010

The

Latino

of any race were 19,272 persons (39.7%).

The Census reported that 45,670 people (94.1% of the population) lived in households, 2,586 (5.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 271 (0.6%) were institutionalized.

There were 14,681 households, out of which 5,368 (36.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8,971 (61.1%) were

families

(78.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.48.

The population was spread out, with 10,246 people (21.1%) under the age of 18, 7,092 people (14.6%) aged 18 to 24, 11,609 people (23.9%) aged 25 to 44, 12,203 people (25.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 7,377 people (15.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.

There were 15,092 housing units at an average density of 1,920.7 per square mile (741.6/km²), of which 11,608 (79.1%) were owner-occupied, and 3,073 (20.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.0%. 36,660 people (75.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 9,010 people (18.6%) lived in rental housing units.

During 2009–2013, La Mirada had a median household income of $81,961, with 7.0% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

2000

As of the

Latino

of any race.

There were 14,580 households, out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.1% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.0% were non-families. 17.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.10 and the average family size was 3.49.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $61,632, and the median income for a family was $66,598 (these figures had risen to $77,952 and $87,037 respectively as of a 2007 estimate

, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

The city is governed by a five-member

. Voters began electing council members by district in March 2017 in order to avoid litigation for alleged violation of the California Voting Rights Act. Each year the five members vote one of themselves to be the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem.

In the

In the United States House of Representatives, La Mirada is in California's 38th congressional district, represented by Democrat Linda Sánchez.^[21]

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Whittier Health Center in Whittier, serving La Mirada.^[22]

Emergency services

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) operates the Norwalk Station in Norwalk, serving La Mirada.^[23] In addition the department operates the La Mirada Substation.^[24]

The Norwalk Station is also responsible for providing contracted police services to the city of Norwalk as well as unincorporated South Whittier. The department has a substation in La Mirada located adjacent to City Hall.

Crime in La Mirada is consistently lower than in neighboring communities and fell 8.9% in 2018 after spiking close to 30% over the three previous years, mirroring the experiences of most communities across the state.^[25]

Fire protection and paramedic services are provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD). The department maintains Station #49 in La Mirada adjacent to City Hall, provides coverage to the central parts of the city. Station 49 also serves as the headquarters for Battalion 21.

In May 2010, a ribbon cutting was held to celebrate the opening of a second fire station operating in the city. Station 194 moved from its temporary home at 1401 South Beach Boulevard into the new quarters at 13540 Beach Boulevard. The site was chosen as it provides first-in coverage to the city of

, which funded half of the cost of the construction project.

In return for investment towards the construction of Station 194,

belongs.

The construction of the new fire station, which was a key component of this agreement, was completed in just over four years after a series of design and construction delays. Neighborhoods in eastern La Mirada that once experienced six-minute response (travel) times can now be reached in three minutes or less.

Crews from two nearby stations also include parts of

.

Station 15 located in

15 now staff the only truck company in the area. In addition to ladder truck duties a Quint also has the ability to pump water at a fire. Prior to the 2005 reduction of staff at the La Mirada Boulevard station, there was a truck staffed as well as the engine and paramedic squad currently staffed.

La Mirada both receives and provides assistance to neighboring fire agencies called for in agreements called automatic aid.

In the southern part of the city, resources based in Buena Park and South Santa Fe Springs respond to fires instead of County Fire resources further away and the favor is returned in designated areas outside of La Mirada.

The La Mirada-based Paramedic-Unit, Squad 49 also responds to medical emergencies in Satna Fe Springs when that city's medics are unavailable.

An expanded agreement went into effect in 2018 with the City of Fullerton that has seen a sharp increase in the response by La Mirada fire resources to both medical and fire calls there by both Squad 49, and Engine 194 Beach and Hillsborough Station.

Education

.

The Creek Park and Granada Heights neighborhoods in northern La Mirada are within the boundaries of the East Whittier City School District K - 8th grade, the Whittier Union High School District, and Rio Hondo College District all with campuses in nearby Whittier.

Several private schools are located in La Mirada:

• St. Paul of the Cross School in the Foster Park neighborhood
• Beatitudes of Our Lord School

The city is home to one private higher education institution, Biola University.

According city's 2017 Demographic Overview

.

Transportation

The main arterial streets running west-to-east are

passes briefly through the east end of the city.

Freight

Union Pacific Railroad operates a rail line along Interstate 5 and serves the southern industrial areas south of I-5.

Economy

Top employers

According to the city's 2017 Demographic Overview,[29] the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	Biola University	1,365
2	Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District	843
3	US Food Service	650
4	Kindred Hospital La Mirada	266
5	City of La Mirada	306

Notable people

• Gary Allan, country singer, born in La Mirada^[30]
• soccer player^[31]
• Tony Corrente, NFL referee^[32]
• Chase De Leo, professional ice hockey player for the New Jersey Devils
• Jennie Finch, Olympic softball player^[33]
• Steven L. Kwast, Air Force lieutenant general
• Janine Lindemulder, porn actress
• Cole McDonald, football player for the Toronto Argonauts
• Keith McGill, football player for the Oakland Raiders^[34]
• Shotaro Omori, American figure skater^[35]
• Daniel Poncedeleon, Major League Baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals
• Rampart Scandal
• Amber Riley, actor and singer best known for her role in Glee^[36]
• Ryan Vargas, NASCAR driver^[37]
• Derrick Williams, basketball player for the Sacramento Kings^[38]
• Eric Winter, actor best known for his role in Days of Our Lives^[39]
• YTCracker, former hacker, nerdcore rapper

See also

References

External links

• La Mirada travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official website
• City-Data.com Profile