Brea
Sunset magazine named Brea one of the five best suburbs to live in the Western United States in early 2006. Once you learn more about it, you’ll understand why I think Sunset magazine got it right!
The population of Brea, as of the 2010 Census was 39,282.
The city began as a center of crude oil production, was later propelled by citrus production, and is now an important retail center because of the large Brea Mall and the recently redeveloped Brea Downtown. Brea is also known for its extensive public art program which began in 1975 and continues today with over 140 artworks in the collection placed and located throughout the city. Brea's public art program has been used as a model and inspiration for many Public Art programs nationwide.
History
The area was visited in 1769 by Gaspar de Portolà. A historical marker dedicated to his visit stands in Brea Canyon just north of town. He noted the local Native Americans as "dirty" without realizing that they used crude oil bubbling up in the canyon as topical medicine.
The village of Olinda was founded in present-day Carbon Canyon at the beginning of the 19th century and many entrepreneurs came to the area searching for "black gold" (petroleum). In 1894, the owner of the land, Abel Stearns, sold 1,200 acres to the west of Olinda to the newly-created Union Oil Company, and by 1898 many nearby hills began sporting wooden oil-drilling towers on the newly-discovered Brea-Olinda Oil Field. In 1908 the village of Randolph was founded just south of Brea Canyon for the oil workers and their families (and named for Epes Randolph, an engineer on the Pacific Electric Railway). Baseball legend Walter Johnson grew up in Olinda at the turn of the century where he worked in the surrounding oil fields as a youth.
The villages of Olinda and Randolph grew and merged as the economy boomed, and on January 19, 1911, the town's map was filed under the new name of Brea, from the Spanish language word for tar. With a population of 752, Brea was incorporated on February 23, 1917, as the eighth official city of Orange County.
As oil production declined, some agricultural development took place, especially lemon and orange groves. In 1950 Brea had a population of 3,208. The citrus groves gave way gradually to industrial parks and residential development. In 1956,Carl N. Karcher opened the first two Carl's Jr. restaurants in Anaheim, California and Brea, California. The opening of the Orange Freeway (57) and the Brea Mall in the 1970s spurred further residential growth, including large planned developments east of the 57 Freeway in the 1980s, 90s, and 2000s. In the late 1990s, a 50-acre swath of downtown Brea centered on Brea Boulevard and Birch Street was heavily redeveloped into a shopping and entertainment area with movie theaters, sidewalk cafes, a live comedy club from The Improv chain, numerous shops and restaurants, and a weekly farmer's market. It is locally known and signed as Downtown Brea. Read more
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.1 square miles. 12.1 square miles of it is land and 0.26% is water.
It is bordered by unincorporated Orange County and Los Angeles County to the north and east, La Habra to the west, Fullerton to the southwest, Placentia to the south, and Yorba Linda to the southeast.
Government
Local
Brea is governed by a mayor-council system. The five member City Council is elected for four year terms in elections every two years to fill alternately two and three seats. The Council is made up of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tem and three Council members. The Council elects a Mayor from the current council members to serve a one-year term as Mayor. The City Council hires a City Manager to direct the city's departments and advise the Council. The Council appoints members of the Planning Commission; Parks, Recreation and Human Services Commission; Cultural Arts Commission and Traffic Committee.
City services
Fire protection for Brea is provided by the Brea Fire Department and law enforcement is provided by the Brea Police Department. In Carbon Canyon in Olinda neighborhood of Brea is situated Olinda Landfill, a major waste management facility serving large part of Orange County.
Management of the city and coordination of city services is provided by:
State and federal
In the state legislature Brea is located in the 29th Senate District, and in the 72nd Assembly District. Federally, Brea is located in California's 42nd congressional district.
Demographics
The 2010 United States Census reported that Brea had a population of 39,282. The racial makeup of Brea was 26,363 White, 549 African American, 190 Native American, 7,144 Asian, 69 Pacific Islander, 3,236 from other races, and 1,731 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9,817 persons.
Breaking out the Hispanic and Latino population, the racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 52.7% non-Hispanic White, 1.4% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 2.0% Asian Indian, 3.5% Chinese, 2.6% Filipino, 1.1% Japanese, 6.6% Korean, 0.9% Vietnamese, 1.4% other Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 0.2% non-Hispanic reporting some other race, 4.4% two or more races and 25.0% Hispanic or Latino.
In the 2000 United States Census, there were 13,067 households out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $64,820, and the median income for a family was $68,423. Males had a median income of $50,500 versus $35,674 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,307. About 3.4% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The city is served by the Brea Olinda Unified School District which operates six elementary schools, one junior high school (Brea Junior High School), one high school (Brea Olinda High School) and one continuation high school. Also serving Brea is the Brea Olinda Friends School (Pre-6), Brea Congregational Pre-School, Brea Foursquare Church (Pre-5), Brea United Methodist Pre-School ("BUMPS"), Carbon Canyon Christian School (K-12), Christ Lutheran School (Pre-8), St. Angela Merici Catholic School (K-8), and Montessori of Brea (K-6). Brea is also home to the Southern California College of Business and Law and the Southern California extension of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. Private School: Arborland Montessori Children's Academy, 1700 W. Valencia Drive, Fullerton,CA 92833
School awards
Local schools have won several awards. Brea Olinda High School and Olinda Elementary School have been named Blue Ribbon Schools. Additionally, Arovista Elementary, Country Hills Elementary, Fanning Elementary, Mariposa Elementary, Olinda Elementary, Brea Junior High and Brea Olinda High schools have been named California Distinguished Schools. Laurel Elementary received a Title I Academic Achievement Award.
Notable Natives and Residents
- Stephanie J. Block, Broadway actress/singer
- James Cameron, film director/producer/screenwriter
- Travis Denker, Major League baseball player (San Francisco Giants)
- James Hetfield, musician (Metallica)
- Walter Johnson, Major League baseball pitcher for the Washington Senators
- Joe Maddon, Major League baseball manager (Tampa Bay Rays)
- Alli Mauzey, Broadway actress/singer
- Evan Moore, Pro Football player (Green Bay Packers)
- Cruz Reynoso, jurist
- Caroline Zhang, figure skater
- Nikki Ziering, model and actress
- Norma Zimmer, singer. The famous "Champagne Lady" of the long-running Lawrence Welk Show
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