San Marino

San Marino is a small, affluent city in Los Angeles County, California. Incorporated in 1913, the City founders designed the community to be uniquely residential, with expansive properties surrounded by beautiful gardens, wide streets, and well maintained parkways. In 2010, Forbes Magazine ranked the city’s 91108 ZIP code as the 63rd most expensive area to live in the United States. Most homes were built between 1920 and 1950. The median list price of a single family home is US$1,987,500, as of July 2010.

Landmarks

San Marino is the location of the renowned Huntington Library and gardens, on the former estate of In 1919 Henry Huntington opened to the public limited access to the art collections, and to the rare books and historical documents, housed in the library and in his large Neoclassical-Palladian mansion, as well as to the surrounding botanical gardens, all collectively known as “The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens”, or “The Huntington.” In the film, The Wedding Singer, the big wedding finale, was filmed on the grassy mall at The Huntington Library & Gardens.

View of the Old Mill from rear courtyard El Molino Viejo (“The Old Mill”), completed about 1816 as a grist mill for Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, is in San Marino. The original two-story structure measured 53 by 26 feet (7.9 m). It is the oldest commercial building in Southern California. The town is located on the former lands of the historic Rancho Huerta de Cuati.

The Edwin Hubble House, From 1925 to 1953, this two story stucco home was the residence of one of America’s greatest 20th-century astronomers who, among other accomplishments, discovered extragalactic nebulae and their recession from each other. Edwin Hubble, is a National Historic Landmark.

The Michael White Adobe House, is located on the high school campus and houses the San Marino Historical Society archives.

The University of Southern California owns a house in San Marino which is used as the residence of the President of the University. The residence and grounds are often used for University Presidential events.

In the middle of San Marino lies Lacy Park, a huge 30-acre (120,000 m2) expanse of lush grass and trees rare for urban areas. Originally named Wilson Lake in 1875, the land was purchased by the city in 1925 and dedicated as a park. Families in San Marino have enjoyed the park for years, and it remains one of San Marino’s best kept secrets. A picnic area is often the site of musical concerts, civic events and pancake breakfasts. Within the park are two walking loops: an inner loop of approximately 3/4 mile in length, and an outer loop of approximately 1-mile (1.6 km) in length. Dogs are welcome with their owners, providing they are on a leash. The park includes six championship tennis courts and pro shop, administered by the San Marino Tennis Foundation. At the west entrance of the park is the Rose Arbor, which is of special significance for the people of San Marino. It is sixty years old and has long been a source of beauty and tranquility to many residents. In recent years the care and upkeep of the Rose Arbor itself has been augmented by private donations from dedicated residents who have chosen to sponsor individual posts. The park recently built a memorial to General George S. Patton (a native of San Marino) and also a large memorial to Armed Forces along with a statue of a sad soldier. The memorial includes the names of all military personnel from San Marino.

Public Schools

San Marino opened its first public school but only opened its first high school in 1955. San Marino Unified School District continuously receives the highest marks in public education. Each school has been respectively honored with the Department of Education, California Distinguished School and National Blue Ribbon School awards.

There are four public schools in San Marino Unified School District:

Valentine Elementary School (grades K-5)
Carver Elementary School (grades K-5)
Huntington Middle School (grades 6-8)
San Marino High School (grades 9-12)

Demographics

DemographicsAs of the census[19] of 2000, there were 12,945 people, 4,266 households, and 3,673 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,430.5/mi² (1,325.8/km²). There were 4,437 housing units at an average density of 1,175.8/mi² (454.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 51.98% White, 0.15% African American, 0.05% Native American, 47.7% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.04% from other races, and 2.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.25% of the population. More than one-third of the city’s population, 33.3%, is Chinese.[20]

There were 4,266 households out of which 42% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.9% were non-families. 12% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the city the population is spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 21.5% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 43 years. (this is older than average age in the U.S.).[21] For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $147,267, and the median income for a family was $155,708. Males had a median income of $98,928 versus $51,853 for females. The per capita income for the city was $59,150. About 3.7% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over. The vast majority, 69.7% of persons, had a Bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 27.2% at the national average.[20]

Credits: Wikipedia