City in California, United States
Covina is a small city in Los Angeles County, California about 22 miles (35 km) east of downtown Los Angeles, in the The Greater Los Angeles - San Gabriel Valley area. The population was 46,837 at the 2000 census. The city's slogan, "One Mile Square and All There" was coined when the incorporated area of the city was only (some say slightly less than) one square mile, making it the smallest city in area in the country.
Covina is often confused with West Covina which is actually larger in both area and population, located to its south and westside. Irwindale lies to the west, as well as the unincorporated area of Vincent, and the city of Baldwin Park. Azusa and Glendora are to the north, the unincorporated community of Charter Oak to the northeast, San Dimas to the east, the unincorporated areas of Ramona and Via Verde, and the city of Pomona to the southeast.
History
The city was founded in 1882 by Joseph Swift Phillips, on a 2,000 acre tract that was purchased from the John Edward Hollenbeck holdings. The City of Covina was named by a young engineer, Frederick Eaton, who was hired by Phillips to survey the area. Impressed by the way in which the valleys of the adjacent San Gabriel Mountains formed a natural cove around the vineyards that had been planted by the region's earlier pioneers, Eaton merged the words "cove" and "vine", and in 1885, created the name Covina for the new township.[6]
The city's slogan, "One Mile Square and All There" [6] was coined by Mrs F. E. Wolfarth, the winner of a 1922 slogan contest sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, when the incorporated area of the city was only (some say slightly less than) one square mile, making it the smallest city in area in the country.
The city was incorporated in 1901. It would be orange and grapefruit trees, not vineyards, that would soon blanket the area and make it famous. By 1909, the city was the third largest orange producer in the world,[6] and it still claimed to have "the best oranges in the world" as late as the 1950s. Since World War II, however, the orange groves have been largely replaced by single family and multiple family dwellings.[7]
The Covina Valley Historical Society maintains an extensive archive illustrating the city's history in the 1911-built Firehouse Jail Museum, Covina's first municipal building, located immediately behind City Hall in Covina's Old Town.[6]
Currently
Today, Covina claims to have the largest movie multiplex in Los Angeles County. Opened in 1997, the Covina AMC 30 located at Arrow Hwy. and Azusa Ave. is one of the busiest theatres in America.[8] The movie theater was built on the site of a former Sears building.
It has been a sister city of Jalapa, Mexico since 1964. A replica of a giant stone Olmec head, located in front of the city police station, was given to the city in 1989 by the state of Veracruz, Mexico.[9]
During the election held March 6, 2007, nine candidates ran for two of the five positions on the city council. The voters then rejected the 10-year renewal of a 6% Utility Users Tax the city has had since 1999. Only 3,797 ballots were cast out of 21,633 registered voters. The Utility Users Tax was subsequently renewed at the June 3, 2008 election which attracted 5,032 voters.
2008 marked both the opening as well as charter season of the Covina Center for the Performing Arts, a newly remodeled multimillion dollar theatrical venue in downtown Covina.
Geography
Covina is located at 34°5′30″N 117°52′45″W / 34.09167°N 117.87917°W / 34.09167; -117.87917 (34.091609, -117.879193).Template:GR
No freeways pass through the city limits, although it is centered in the midst of Interstate 210 (Foothill Freeway) to the north, Interstate 10 (San Bernardino Freeway) to the south, Interstate 605 (San Gabriel River Freeway) to the west, and the State Route 57 (Orange Freeway) to the east.[9]
The Southern Pacific Railroad, which reached Covina in 1884, and the Metrolink San Bernardino Line pass through the city just north of the downtown area. The town is located at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley.
[9]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.1 km² (7.0 mi²). 18.1 km² (7.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.14% of it is water.[9]
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 46,837 people, 15,971 households, and 11,754 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,594.5/km² (6,723.7/mi²). There were 16,364 housing units at an average density of 906.5/km² (2,349.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 62.10% White, 5.03% Black or African American, 0.90% Native American, 9.82% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 17.18% from other races, and 4.78% from two or more races. 40.29% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[9]
There were 15,971 households out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.36.[9]
In the city the population was spread out with 28.1% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.[9]
The median income for a household in the city was $48,474, and the median income for a family was $55,111. Males had a median income of $40,687 versus $32,329 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,231. About 8.9% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.[9]
An additional 30,000 residents live in unincorporated areas of the three zip codes associated with Covina but outside the city limits, making the total Covina area population 76,417.
Government and infrastructure
Local government in Covina is run by an elected city council through their hired city manager. Covina residents are represented at-large, currently by the following elected officials: Mayor Peggy Delach, Mayor Pro Tem John King, Councilmember Walt Allen, III, Councilmember Bob Low, Councilmember Kevin Stapleton, City Clerk Toni J. Taber, City Treasurer John (Jack) B. Fielding.
In the state legislature, Covina is located in the 24th Senate District, represented by Democrat Gloria Romero, and in the 57th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Edward P. Hernandez. In the United States Congress, Covina is located in California's 32nd congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of D +17[10] and is represented by Democrat Judy Chu.
Covinians who access county health services may use the Pomona Health Center in Pomona or the Monrovia Health Center in Monrovia, both operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services [11][12]
Economy
Top employers
According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[13] the top employers in the city are:
Christmas Massacre
On December 24, 2008, a shooting and arson occurred in Covina, in which a man, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, dressed in a Santa Claus costume entered a Christmas party at his ex-wife's residence and proceeded to open fire. After the shootings, Pardo unwrapped a Christmas package containing a homemade flamethrower, and used it to spray racing fuel gasoline to set the home ablaze. At least 9 people were believed to have been killed as a result of the massacre. Nine bodies were found in ruins of 'Santa massacre' home. After the attack, Pardo put on his street clothes and drove his rental car to his brother's house in Sylmar, approximately 30 miles away from the crime scene, where he was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.[14]
Appearances in fiction
Covina is the fictional setting for the Harold Teen comic strip and 1934 movie that depicted several teenagers from Covina High School. A downtown Covina malt shop was named the Sugar Bowl (with the permission of the artist Carl Eds), imitating the after-school gathering place in the comic strip.
Movie locations
Scenes from several movies were filmed in Covina, including:
- The television series Roswell was filmed in various location in Covina[15] including the downtown area on North Citrus Avenue. City Hall, Charter Oak High School and several other businesses and residences served as locations for the fictional version of the town of Roswell, NM.
- Multiple episodes of the hit television series Knight Rider were filmed in Downtown "Old" Covina, including an episode coincidentally shot at Knight's Photo Studio on Citrus, where David Hasselhoff greeted fans and passed out signed photographs.
- One of the ending shots of the movie Frailty was filmed on Center St. off of Hollenbeck.
- The Bohemian Rhapsody scene from the film Wayne's World was filmed on Citrus Ave. in downtown Covina, although some external shots were filmed in other locations.
- The interior of Covina Public Library served as the Baltimore County Public Library for the 2004 television movie Back When We Were Grownups.
- An episode of Tabatha's Salon Takeover was filmed in Downtown "Old" Covina at Tantrum on Citrus Avenue.
- The theater in downtown Covina (refurbished in 2008), the library and neighborhood streets around downtown were used in the filming of "High School USA" - a movie starring Michael J. Fox and Nancy McKeon in 1983.
