Brookdale, California

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 3.8 square miles (10.0 km²), all of it land.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Brookdale has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

The Brookdale Lodge

The Brookdale Inn & Spa, formerly known as the Brookdale Lodge, is known for the stream running through its primary restaurant, the Brook Room. The original lodge was built in 1890 at the site of the Grover Lumber Mill by James Harvey Logan a botanist and Judge (also responsible for the cultivation of the Logan berry). Before Judge Logan's development, the area was known as Clear Creek and Brookville. The inn was built around the river after 1922 while it was owned by Dr. Camp. The lodge was purchased by a new owner in 2007 and the name was changed to Brookdale Inn and Spa. The lodge underwent many structural changes followed by neglect and eventual abandonment. The property has once again been sold and is undergoing intensive renovations.

2009 Fire

On August 18, 2009, a fire engulfed a two-story section of the lodge near the rear of the main building that contains apartments mostly occupied by lodge employees. There were no reports of injuries to anybody staying at the inn, though some firefighters suffered minor injuries while fighting the blaze.

There have been two other large fires at the Lodge, the first fire occurred on October 24, 1956. In that fire the dining room and an adjoining 12-room house were destroyed. A group of stores adjacent to the dining room were also badly damaged. Damage from the 1956 fire was estimated at $200,000. The second fire occurred in 2005 in the same area of the main hotel as the 2009 fire.

The origin of the fire is still under investigation and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is helping to determine the cause of the three-alarm fire. According to the Boulder Creek Fire Chief the fire started under suspicious circumstances.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reported that Brookdale had a population of 1,991. The population density was 517.5 people per square mile (199.8/km²). The racial makeup of Brookdale was 1,790 (89.9%) White, 9 (0.5%) African American, 12 (0.6%) Native American, 19 (1.0%) Asian, 8 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 66 (3.3%) from other races, and 87 (4.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 202 persons (10.1%).

The census reported that 100% of the population lived in households.

There were 806 households, out of which 235 (29.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 352 (43.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 75 (9.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 43 (5.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 75 (9.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 8 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 242 households (30.0%) were made up of individuals and 44 (5.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47. There were 470 families (58.3% of all households); the average family size was 3.09.

The population was spread out with 425 people (21.3%) under the age of 18, 155 people (7.8%) aged 18 to 24, 494 people (24.8%) aged 25 to 44, 751 people (37.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 166 people (8.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.3 years. For every 100 females there were 104.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.9 males.

There were 912 housing units at an average density of 237.1 per square mile (91.5/km²), of which 61.0% were owner-occupied and 39.0% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.8%. 65.4% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 34.6% lived in rental housing units.