Petaluma, California
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Petaluma is a city with a well preserved historic core Template:Ref located in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 54,548. Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park contains the Petaluma Adobe, a National Historic Landmark. It was built beginning in 1836 by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, then Commandant of the San Francisco Presidio. It was the center of a vast 66,000 acre (270 km²) ranch stretching from Petaluma Creek to Sonoma Creek. The adobe is considered one of the best preserved buildings of its era in Northern California. Petaluma is a transliteration of the Coastal Miwok phrase péta lúuma which means hill backside Template:Ref and probably refers to Petaluma's proximity to Sonoma Mountain.
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Geography and environmental factors
Petaluma is located at 38°14'45" North, 122°37'53" West (38.245849, -122.631276)Template:GR. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.0 km² (13.9 mi²). 35.7 km² (13.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of which the total water area is 0.72%.
Petaluma, which enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate, is situated at the north-most navigable end of the Petaluma River, a tidal estuary that snakes southward to San Pablo Bay. The Petaluma River has significant levels of water contamination. A considerable amount of the city is in the flood plain of the Petaluma River, which overflows its banks every few years, particularly in the Payran neighborhood Template:Ref. Principal environmental noise sources are U.S. Route 101, Petaluma Boulevard, Washington Street and other major arteries. The number of residents that live in a zone of noise exposure greater than 60 CNEL is approximately 4000Template:Ref.
History
The city's position on the Petaluma River in the heart of productive farmland was critical to its growth during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Sailing scows, such as the scow schooner Alma (1891), and steamers plied the river between Petaluma and San Francisco, carrying agricultural produce and raw materials to the burgeoning city of San Francisco. Petaluma was known for its grain milling and chicken processing industries, which continue to the present as a smaller fraction of its commerce. In fact one of the largest historic chicken processing plants still stands in the central area of town; this 1920s brick building is no longer used for the chicken industry, but is being evaluated for preservation and change of use. According to the Army Museum at the Presidio, San Francisco, Petaluma was relatively unharmed during the 1906 earthquake, primarily due to significant investment of stable bedrock underlying the region. As one of the few communities left standing after the April 18 1906 disaster, Petaluma was the staging point for most Sonoma County rescue and relief efforts.
On October 1, 1993, Polly Klaas was kidnapped from her Petaluma home and later murdered. The story attracted national attention.
Filming location
Beginning in 1973 Petaluma has served as a location for several major films, including:
- American Graffiti (1973) Sonoma shooting was at Old Adobe Road, Petaluma Blvd., (also San Rafael and Tamalpais High School in Marin).
- Cujo (1983) Locations include Petaluma, Santa Rosa (and Mendocino).
- Explorers (1985) Locations include Petaluma.
- Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) Locations at Santa Rosa High School and Petaluma.
- Basic Instinct (1992) 3 day shoot in Petaluma and Rohnert Park, with other scenes in Carmel and San Francisco.
- Max,13 (1997) 4 Day shoot in Petaluma and 10 day shoot in Tomales
- Howard the Duck
- Flubber (1997) church scene filmed partially at Open Door Christian church in Petaluma
- Mumford (1999)
Image:CAMap-doton-Petaluma.png
 Wooden Bridge over Petaluma River |
 Painting at E Washington St. |
 St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church |
 Petaluma Blvd |
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 54,548 people, 19,932 households, and 14,012 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,526.2/km² (3,953.1/mi²). There were 20,304 housing units at an average density of 568.1/km² (1,471.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.16% White, 1.16% African American, 0.54% Native American, 3.91% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 6.08% from other races, and 3.98% from two or more races. 14.64% of the population were Hispanic.
There were 19,932 households out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1% 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 3.16. The age distribution is: 26.2% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $61,679, and the median income for a family was $71,158. Males had a median income of $50,232 versus $36,413 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,087. 6.0% of the population and 3.3% of families were below the poverty line. 6.2% of those under the age of 18 and 7.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Government and notable residents
The mayor of Petaluma is David Glass who is a former San Francisco Giants broadcaster. The vice mayor is businessman Mike Harris. The other five council members are Karen Nau, Keith Canevero, Mike Healy, Mike O'Brien, and Pamela Torliatt. Councilman Canevero served in Iraq, thus former mayor Clark Thompson served part of his term while Canevero was overseas. Some notable residents are Lynn Woolsey, U.S. Congressional Representative (b. 1937) and Leo Laporte, former host of Tech TV's The Screen Savers, Call for Help and many other shows. Leo is also host of this WEEK in TECH.
References
- Template:Note Kay Ransom, C. Michael Hogan, Ballard George et al., Environmental Impact Report for the Petaluma General Plan, prepared by Earth Metrics Inc. for the city of Petaluma (1986),
- Template:Note Template:Cite book
External links
Template:Geolinks-US-cityscale
Template:Cities of Sonoma County, California
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