La Puente, California

Coordinates: 34°1′57″N 117°57′19″W / 34.03250°N 117.95528°W / 34.03250; -117.95528
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

La Puente, California
La Puente's Star Theater in May 2008 (Prior to demolition in 2019)
La Puente's Star Theater in May 2008 (Prior to demolition in 2019)
FIPS code
06-40340
GNIS feature IDs1660865, 2411581
Websitewww.lapuente.org

La Puente (Spanish for "The Bridge")[7] is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city had a population of 39,816 at the 2010 census and is approximately 20 miles (32 km) east of downtown Los Angeles.

History

La Puente sits on land that was originally part of Rancho La Puente, a Mexican era rancho granted in 1840. The area had already been named La Puente by Juan Crespí during the 1769 Portolá expedition.

The original inhabitants of the area now occupied by the city of La Puente were the Tongva lived in a village called Awingna, which linguists translate as "abiding place." The Awingna chief Matheo (who also held sway over several other nearby villages) was baptized at Mission San Gabriel in 1774.[8]

La Puente Valley Women's Club is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

In 1769, the Spanish

Juan Crespi wrote in his diary that, the next day, they had to build a bridge (Spanish "puente") to cross the miry San Gabriel River.[9]

With the establishment of

Mission San Gabriel, the area encompassing Awingna and what is now the city of La Puente became part of Rancho La Puente, established as a mission outpost and ranch. The rancho was visited by the Jedediah Smith party in November 1826, the first Americans to travel overland to California.[10]

Following secularization of the missions in the 1830s, former mission ranchos passed into private ownership. In 1842,

William Workman were granted the 48,000-acre (190 km2) Rancho La Puente. In 1884, the area was named Puente (bridge in Spanish; in old Spanish the noun was often feminine,[11] as opposed to modern Spanish el puente). In Crespi's diary, it was written as "la puente",[12]
and that spelling has persisted.

The area was known for its fruit and walnut groves during the 1930s. The city was even home to the world's largest walnut packing plant.[13] A small airport called the 'Skyranch' operated in La Puente from 1944 to 1951 before it was closed and developed for housing.[14] Today, the city is heavily urbanized, but the area still has some historical landmarks from its founding days nearby, for instance, the

Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum in neighboring City of Industry
.

Redevelopment of the business districts in La Puente have been ongoing. However, the local government has been relatively unsuccessful in its attempts to attract big-box retailers and restaurant chains. La Puente retains many aging 1950s-era strip malls.

Geography

La Puente is located at 34°1′57″N 117°57′19″W / 34.03250°N 117.95528°W / 34.03250; -117.95528 (34.032410, -117.955195).[15] The city, which is mostly flat, covers about 3.5 square miles (9.1 km2) of land in the San Gabriel Valley.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
196024,723
197031,09225.8%
198030,882−0.7%
199036,95519.7%
200041,06311.1%
201039,816−3.0%
2019 (est.)39,614[4]−0.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[16]
The Donut Hole

2010

The

Latino of any race were 33,896 persons (85.1%).[18]

The Census reported that 39,773 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 43 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 9,451 households, out of which 5,186 (54.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 5,367 (56.8%) were

families
(85.9% of all households); the average family size was 4.34.

The population was spread out, with 11,423 people (28.7%) under the age of 18, 4,640 people (11.7%) aged 18 to 24, 11,468 people (28.8%) aged 25 to 44, 8,619 people (21.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,666 people (9.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males.

There were 9,761 housing units at an average density of 2,805.3 per square mile (1,083.1/km2), of which 5,693 (60.2%) were owner-occupied, and 3,758 (39.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.9%. 24,961 people (62.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 14,812 people (37.2%) lived in rental housing units.

According to the 2010 United States Census, La Puente had a median household income of $53,794, with 14.3% of the population living below the federal poverty line.[18]

2000

As of the

Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 45.14% from other races, and 5.19% from two or more races. 83.10% of the population were Hispanic or Latino
of any race.

There were 9,461 households, out of which 50.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.5% were non-families. 10.1% of all households were someone living alone and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.34 and the average family size was 4.48.

The population age distribution was 33.8% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,222, and the median income for a family was $41,079. Males had a median income of $26,381 versus $22,018 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,336. 18.9% of the population and 16.3% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 24.6% were under the age of 18 and 9.3% were 65 or older.

Government

In the

In the United States House of Representatives, La Puente is in California's 31st congressional district, represented by Democrat Grace Napolitano.[20]

Infrastructure

The

City of Industry, serving La Puente.[21]

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Pomona Health Center in Pomona, serving La Puente.[22]

The city is served by Los Angeles County Fire Department Battalion 12's Fire Stations 26 and 43.

Economy

The income per capita of the city of La puente is $16,899, which includes all children and adults. The city's median household income is $62,709.

Top employers

According to the city's Annual Budget for FY2020–21,[23] the top employers in the city are:

Rank Employer No. of employees
1 Northgate González Markets 120
2 Bodega Latina Corp (El Super) 111
3 Alert Insulation Co., Inc. 88
4 Walmart 80
5 Food 4 Less 75
6 McDonald's 68
7 Big Saver Foods 60
8 Ed Butts Ford 59
9
Ross Dress for Less
46
10 El Sushi Loco 43

Education

School districts include:

Elementary (primary) schools: Lasallette Elementary School, Temple Academy (Closed starting 2021-22), Baldwin Academy, Nelson Elementary School, Sparks Elementary School, California Elementary School, Sunkist Elementary School, Del Valle Elementary School, Northam Elementary School

Private (primary) schools: Saint Joseph School, Saint Louis of France, Saint Martha's Catholic School

High (secondary) schools:

William Workman High School
(in the City of Industry)

Private high schools: Bishop Amat Memorial High School

Notable people

References

  1. ^ "California Cities by Incorporation Date". California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions. Archived from the original (Word) on November 3, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  2. ^ "Mayor & City Council". Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  3. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  5. ^ "USPS - ZIP Code Lookup - Find a ZIP+ 4 Code By City Results". Retrieved January 18, 2007.
  6. ^ "Number Administration System - NPA and City/Town Search Results". Archived from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2007.
  7. ^ "History | la Puente, CA".
  8. ^ "The Adobes of Rancho la Puente - Historic Adobes of Los Angeles County by John R. Kielbasa ISBN 0-8059-4172-X - Things to do in Los Angeles". Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  9. ^ Bolton, Herbert E. (1927). Fray Juan Crespi: Missionary Explorer on the Pacific Coast, 1769-1774. HathiTrust Digital Library. p. 144. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  10. ^ "Diccionario de la Real Académia Española." Online edition.
  11. ^ Crespí, J., Brown, A. K., & San Diego State University. (2001). A description of distant roads: Original journals of the first expedition into California, 1769-1770, p.328. San Diego, CA: San Diego State University Press.
  12. ^ History of La Puente. https://lapuente.org/about-us/history/
  13. ^ Marty Shields and John Garside. Puente Sky Ranch Airport - A Forgotten Tale of the Rancho La Puente (2014 video). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2UQusaevls
  14. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  15. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  16. ^ "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - La Puente city". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  17. ^ a b "Census data". quickfacts.census.gov. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  18. ^ "Statewide Database". UC Regents. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  19. ^ "California's 32nd Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC.
  20. ^ "Industry Station Archived January 21, 2010, at the Wayback Machine." Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Retrieved on January 21, 2010.
  21. ^ "Pomona Health Center." Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Retrieved on March 27, 2010.
  22. ^ "City of La Puente Annual Budget for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30th, 2021" (PDF). City of La Puente. September 30, 2020. p. 16. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  23. ^ "Kelly Seyarto". www.joincalifornia.com. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  24. ^ "Kelly Seyarto". asmrc.org. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)()

External links