El Segundo, California

History

The El Segundo and Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva (or Gabrieleños) and Chumash Native American tribes hundreds of years ago. The area was once a part of Rancho Sausal Redondo ("Round Willow Patch Ranch"). Rancho Sausal Redondo extended from Playa Del Rey in the North to Redondo Beach in the South. Originally a Mexican land grant owned by Antonio Ygnacio Avila, the rancho was later purchased by a Scottish baronet named Sir Robert Burnett. After his return to Scotland, the property was purchased by then current manager of the rancho, Daniel Freeman. Daniel Freeman sold portions of the rancho to multiple owners. George H. Peck owned the 840 acres (3.4 km²) of land the Chevron Refinery now sits on. Peck also developed land in neighboring El Porto where a street still bears his name. The city earned its name ("the second" in Spanish) as it was the site of the second Standard Oil refinery on the West Coast (the first was at Richmond in Northern California), when Standard Oil of California purchased the 840 acres (3.4 km²) of farm land in 1911.

The company was renamed Chevron in 1984, and the El Segundo refinery will soon enter its second century of operation. The city was incorporated in 1917.

The Douglas Aircraft Company plant in El Segundo was one of the major aircraft manufacturing facilities in California during World War II. It was one of the major producers of SBD Dauntless dive bombers, which achieved fame in the Battle of Midway. The facility, now operated by Northrop Grumman, is still an aircraft plant.

Geography

Pollution and toxic waste cleanup remain issues as El Segundo converts industrial sites to shopping malls and sports facilities. The north and south boundaries of the town are Los Angeles International Airport and Manhattan Beach, with the Pacific Ocean as the western boundary. Aircraft noise from LAX is a major issue for residents on the north side of El Segundo. Residents are currently active in tree-planting along Imperial Highway.

El Segundo is located at 33°55′17″N 118°24′22″W (33.921313, -118.406233).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.5 square miles (14 km²), over 99% of which is land.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that El Segundo had a population of 16,654. The population density was 3,047.9 people per square mile (1,176.8/km²). The racial makeup of El Segundo was 12,997 (78.0%) White (69.1% Non-Hispanic White), 337 (2.0%) African American, 68 (0.4%) Native American, 1,458 (8.8%) Asian, 38 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 799 (4.8%) from other races, and 957 (5.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2,609 persons (15.7%).

The Census reported that 16,578 people (99.5% of the population) lived in households, 66 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 10 (0.1%) were institutionalized.

There were 7,085 households, out of which 2,183 (30.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,050 (43.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 729 (10.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 326 (4.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 369 (5.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships. 2,254 households (31.8%) were made up of individuals and 570 (8.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34. There were 4,105 families (57.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.02.

The population was spread out with 3,719 people (22.3%) under the age of 18, 1,120 people (6.7%) aged 18 to 24, 5,182 people (31.1%) aged 25 to 44, 4,955 people (29.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,678 people (10.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.2 years. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males.

There were 7,410 housing units at an average density of 1,356.1 per square mile (523.6/km²), of which 3,034 (42.8%) were owner-occupied, and 4,051 (57.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.1%. 8,177 people (49.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 8,401 people (50.4%) lived in rental housing units.

According to the 2010 United States Census, El Segundo had a median household income of $84,341, with 4.8% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

2000

As of the 2000 Census, the population density was 2,894.6 inhabitants per square mile (1,117.4/km²). There were 7,261 housing units at an average density of 1,310.9 per square mile (506.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.61% White, 1.17% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 6.41% Asian, 0.29% Pacific Islander, 3.51% from other races, and 4.55% from two or more races. 11.01% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,060 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.6% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city, the population was spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 38.7% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $61,341, and the median income for a family was $74,007. Males had a median income of $52,486 versus $41,682 for females. The per capita income for the city was $33,996. About 3.1% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

El Segundo has many aviation-related and petroleum-related industries and operations. In 2006, El Segundo won an Eddy award for being the most business-friendly city in L.A. County.

The name was adopted in 1911 when Chevron built its second refinery, El Segundo, which is Spanish for "The Second". In 1928 William Mines, an immigrant from Canada, leased land for a flying field. In 1930 Los Angeles Municipal Airport, later Los Angeles International Airport, opened north of El Segundo; its presence led to the concentration of aerospace and aviation-related firms in the El Segundo area.

Many large aerospace companies have facilities in El Segundo, including Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Wyle Laboratories and The Aerospace Corporation. The last two are headquartered there. It is also home to the Los Angeles Air Force Base and the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), which is responsible for space-related acquisition for the military. In addition to the Chevron oil refinery, El Segundo is located next to the Hyperion sewage treatment plant and the El Segundo power plant. The El Segundo power plant is operated by the American energy company NRG. In an effort to combine sustainable and environmentally-friendly techniques with fossil power generation, NRG will create a new combined cycle power island, providing power for 240,000 households. The new power plant, slated to go online in 2013, will use two generators: a Siemens gas turbine and an additional steam turbine. Natural gas will drive the gas turbine, while the hot exhaust gases will generate steam for the steam turbine. The efficiency of the power plant will be increased up to 58%. A huge environmental advantage of this type of power plant is that in combustion, natural gas generates relatively little carbon dioxide compared to other fossil fuels.

The current Boeing factory, the Boeing Satellite Development Center, was originally built by Nash Motors in 1946 and opened in 1948. In 1955, Hughes Aircraft Company purchased the 500,000 sq-ft building; it was converted to build missiles and also served as a test facility.

Toy manufacturer Mattel, AT&T Entertainment Hub ( formerly DirecTV,) medical company DaVita, IT services firm Computer Sciences Corporation, power semiconductor company International Rectifier, grocery chain Fresh and Easy, direct technology marketing company PCM, Inc. is headquartered there, as well as sporting goods retailer Big 5 Sporting Goods. Database company Teradata has an R & D facility in El Segundo.

Prior to its dissolution, Unocal was headquartered in El Segundo. At one time MGM Grand Air had its headquarters in El Segundo.

Film production companies are located in El Segundo, including Rhythm and Hues Studios and Lightstorm Entertainment.

Top employers

According to the City's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Subsidiaries of companies

Nexon America, the North American branch of Korean online game publisher Nexon Co. Ltd. has its offices in El Segundo.

The North American branch of the Japanese video game publisher and developer Square Enix has its headquarters in El Segundo.

The North American branch of Konami Digital Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation and its headquarters in El Segundo.

Due to its proximity to Los Angeles International Airport, El Segundo became the host of several offices of airlines. In 1979 the United Airlines Reservation Center, a two story, $4.5 million, 55,000-square-foot (5,100 m²) facility in the International Center, was scheduled to begin construction. Austin Co., a firm in Irvine, California, was to build the facility, which was scheduled for opening in May of that year. Japan Airlines operates its United States headquarters, which was moved from New York City to El Segundo in around 2003. at Suite 620 of 300 Continental Boulevard; Cathay Pacific has an office in El Segundo. The airline moved its North America headquarters to Greater Los Angeles in 1990, and the headquarters were situated in El Segundo until 2005.

Air China operates its North American headquarters in the 13,000-square-foot (1,200 m²) 2131 East Maple Avenue building, south of Los Angeles International Airport, in El Segundo. Its current North American headquarters opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony and other festivities on Friday March 26, 2010. The call center reservations, marketing, and sales employees all moved into the building. The building includes a call center with space for 50 employees; when the building opened, half of the spaces had been filled.

Air New Zealand operates its United States headquarters in El Segundo. Other airlines with offices in El Segundo include Turkish Airlines, Thai Airways, Air Tahiti Nui, Aeroméxico, China Airlines Emirates, EVA Air, and Singapore Airlines.

Parks and recreation

El Segundo has its own beach, as well as three public pools, including two outdoor pools open only during the summer months. The El Segundo Parks and Rec staff are the basis for the hit NBC program Parks and Rec. El Segundo has two full-sized turf fields named Campus El Segundo Athletic Fields in which is open to the public.

Local government

According to the city's most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $99.0 million in Revenues, $91.0 million in expenditures, $206.5 million in total assets, $33.6 million in total liabilities, and $50.4 million in cash and investments.

Management of the city and coordination of city services are provided by:

El Segundo TV

STAR Award "Most Outstanding Small Local Station" winner 2010. You can see segments of Government-access television (GATV) El Segundo TV programming on YouTube at ElSegundoTV. El Segundo TV is part of the Community Cable Division of the Recreation & Parks Department for the City of El Segundo.

County and federal services

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Curtis Tucker Health Center in Inglewood, serving El Segundo.

The United States Postal Service operates the El Segundo Post Office at the Bay Cities Annex Post Office at 2130 East Mariposa Avenue.

State and federal representation

In the California State Legislature, El Segundo is in the 26th Senate District, represented by Democrat Ben Allen, and in the 62nd Assembly District, represented by Democrat Autumn Burke.

In the United States House of Representatives, El Segundo is in California's 33rd congressional district, represented by Democrat Ted Lieu.

Education

The El Segundo Unified School District serves the residential district of El Segundo, west of Sepulveda Blvd. The school district is listed as one of the state's 29 academic outperformers by Standards and Poor's in 2005.

Eastern El Segundo is part of the tax base for the Wiseburn School District and the Centinela Valley Union High School District (CVUHSD). There are no residential areas in the eastern part of the city. This portion of the city includes corporate operations providing significant tax revenue to the districts.

Vistamar School is a private school in El Segundo.

Originally all of the city was located in the Wiseburn School District, which opened in 1896. When the Inglewood Union High School District, now known as the CVHUSD, opened in 1905, its territory included the Wiseburn district. In 1912 the El Segundo School District opened, taking territory from the Wiseburn School District. The territory of the El Segundo district continued to be in the Inglewood Union District. On November 22, 1925 the El Segundo High School District was formed and El Segundo withdrew from the Inglewood Union district.

Newspaper

The El Segundo Herald is the community newspaper for El Segundo. The paper was established in 1911, six years before the City was incorporated. It had its 100-year anniversary of service to the community in 2011.

Transportation

State Route 1, California's Pacific Coast Highway, passes through the city as Sepulveda Boulevard, while Interstate 105 begins its journey at Sepulveda Boulevard just outside the northern city limits of El Segundo and heads east to Norwalk.

Amtrak's El Segundo Bus Stop (ESG) is located at the Los Angeles County Metro Green Line Douglas Station and is serviced by Thruway Motorcoach. The stop is on Amtrak's 1c bus route that runs four times a day between Amtrak's Torrance Bus Stop (Alpine Village) and the Bakersfield Amtrak Station where passengers transfer to and from trains on Amtrak's San Joaquin route; passengers can also connect with Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner route at the Van Nuys Amtrak Station.

Los Angeles International Airport is located immediately to the north of El Segundo. In 2014, an air quality study found harmful ultrafine particles from the takeoffs and landings at Los Angeles International Airport to be of much greater magnitude than previously thought.

In popular culture

Notable people