Chico, California: Difference between revisions

City of Chico, California Rancho del Arroyo Chico
Kendall Hall at California State University, Chico Kendall Hall at California State University, Chico
Official seal of City of Chico, California Seal
Nickname(s):  City of Roses, City of Trees
Location of Chico in California
Country State County	United States California Butte
Settled	1843
Founded	1860
Incorporated	1872
Founded by	John Bidwell
Government
• Mayor	Scott Greundl
• City Council	Maureen Kirk Andrew Holcombe Ann Schwab Larry Wahl Steve Bertagna Dan Herbert
• City Manager	Greg Jones
Elevation	75 m (245 ft)
Population  (most recent annexations)
• City	79,091
• Urban	100,675
• Metro	212,968
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP Code	95926, 95928, 95973
Area code	530
Website	http://www.chico.ca.us

Chico is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. The city is the cultural, economic, and educational center of the northern Sacramento Valley. Chico is home to California State University, Chico and Bidwell Park, one of the largest municipal parks in the country. Other major cities in the Chico Metropolitan Area include Paradise and Oroville.

The original inhabitants of Chico were the Mechoopda Maidu.

Chico was founded by General John Bidwell, a member of one of the first wagontrains to reach California in 1843. Bidwell first came to the area in that same year as an employee of John Sutter.

In 1844, Arroyo Chico was granted by California Governor Manuel Michetorena under Mexican law, to William Dickey in 1844.

In two separate purchases in 1849 and 1851, Bidwell acquired the 28,000 acre Rancho del Arroyo Chico. He filed a claim for the land with the US Lands Commission in 1852, and the claim was confirmed the next year. After a subsequent legal challenge, the claim was confirmed by the US District Court for the Northern District in 1855, and eventually by the US Supreme Court. The title patent was signed by President James Buchanan in 1860.

A treaty of "peace and friendship" was signed on September 18, 1853 between the Mechoopda, and other tribes of the area near Bidwell's Ranch; Indians at Reading's Ranch at Colusa; and tribes along the Consumnes and Yuba rivers. United States Indian Agent O. M. Wozencraft represented the U.S. Government at Bidwell's Ranch.

Chico was the northern terminus of the Sacramento Northern Railroad, an electrified railway which extended south to Sacramento and Oakland in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Butte Flume and Lumber Co. built a flume from Butte Meadows down Big Chico Creek in 1872, completing it in 1874. This flume would supply the Diamond Match Company with lumber for its operations.

The City of Chico was founded in 1860 by General John Bidwell, and became incorporated in 1872.

Chico was the starting point of the Koncow Trail of Tears also called the Nome Cult Trail. On August 28, 1863 all Konkow Maidu were to be at the Bidwell Ranch to be taken to the Round Valley Reservation at Covelo in Mendocino County. Any Indians remaining in the area were to be shot. 435 Maidu were rounded up and marched under guard west out of the Sacramento Valley and through to the Coastal Range. 461 Indians started the trek, 277 finished. They reached Round Valley on September 18, 1863.

In 1887, the California legislature established the Northern Branch of the State Normal School of California. Chico was chosen as its site, and Bidwell donated land from his cherry orchard for this purpose. This school would come to be called the Chico Normal School, Chico State College, and finally California State University, Chico.

On July 10, 1905. Annie Bidwell signed a grant deed donating 1,902.88 acres to the people of Chico for a public park. These initial acres were expanded upon several times over the years, resulting in the creation of Bidwell Park one of the largest municipal parks in the nation.

In 1917 the first parade that would later come to be called the Pioneer Day Parade was held on the downtown streets as a celebration of Senior Day. This tradition would continue as a celebration of local heritage under various names on the first Saturday in May each year until 1990. The tradition was revived in 1996 and has continued to this day. ^[1]

During WWII the Chico Army Air Field was used to train fighter and bomber pilots. It was also home of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion.

In the late fifties and ealy sixties, the city wrestled with the controversial issue of creating an bypass for Highway 99 through Bidwell Park. The viaduct was built 1963-65. ^[2]

In 1987, Playboy Magazine named Chico State the "Number One Party School in the nation. University President Robin Wilson met with city officials including City Manager Fred Davis, and Police Chief, John Bullerjahn with the goal of ending the reputation by ending the parties directly with police force. On April 25, 1987 riots broke out during the Pioneer Days celebration. President Wilson announced an end to the 90 year old tradition saying, he took Pioneer Days "out back and shot it in the head."

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 71.9 km² (27.8 mi²). 71.8 km² (27.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.04% is water.

The city is bisected by Bidwell Park, which runs five miles from the city center to the eastern foothills.

The city is also bisected by two creeks and a flood channel which feeds the Sacramento River. They are named Big Chico Creek, Little Chico Creek, and Lindo Channel.

Location

Chico is located at 39°44′24″N 121°50′8″W / 39.74000°N 121.83556°W / 39.74000; -121.83556Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (39.739983, -121.835460)Template:GR.

Chico is located at the north-east edge of the Sacramento Valley, one of the richest agricultural areas in the world. The Sierra Nevada Mountains lie to the East, with Chico's city limits venturing several miles into the foothills.

To the west, the Sacramento River sits 5 miles from the city limits.

Street system

The downtown area of Chico is located generally in between the Big Chico Creek and the Little Chico Creek. The downtown has a street grid oriented approximately 45° from the four cardinal directions. There are numbered streets and avenues which generally run ENE-WSW. Blocks are usually addressed in hundreds corresponding to the numbered streets and avenues. The main thouroughfare running NW-SE through the city is The Esplanade (locally pronounced ES-plan-ayde). The Esplanade is the divider where all street names change from "West" to "East." While the ENE-WSW streets and avenues are numbered, Streets running NNW-SSE are generally named after trees. The part of the 'tree' streets that intersect the CSUC campus spell the word "CHICO" at Chestnut, Hazel, Ivy. Cherry, and Orange streets.

Downtown, South Campus, Barber, Chapmantown, Vecino, Doe Mill, Nob Hill, California Park, The Avenues, South Park

Chico and the Sacramento Valley have a typically Mediterranean climate. Temperatures often rise past the 100-degree mark in the summer. Winters are fairly mild, with the most rainfall coming in January. The average annual rainfall is 26.04 inches. ^[3]

See also, Tule fog

As of the most recent annexations, the city has a total population of 79,091. Chico is the 19th largest Metropolitan Statistical area in California and the 194th largest in the United States with a metro population of 212,968.

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 59,954 people, 23,476 households, and 11,644 families residing in the city. The population density was 834.5/km² (2,161.0/mi²). There were 24,386 housing units at an average density of 339.4/km² (879.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.36% White, 2.03% Black or African American, 1.30% Native American, 4.21% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 5.65% from other races, and 4.25% from two or more races. 12.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 23,476 households out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.4% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.4% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.1% under the age of 18, 27.0% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 15.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males.

Special Population Note: Although the Census Bureau states the 2000 population as 59,954, a large portion of the city population is unaccounted for due to local and county zoning irregularities. Additionally, the local growth rate in Chico (and the surrounding area) in recent years has been close to 2.5%, increasing the population steadily. As of January 2006, the city government estimates the population of the city to be 73,558 and the population of the adjacent urbanized unincorporated area to be 28,562.

Religious affiliation breaks down as follows: Protestant (56%), Roman Catholic (28%), Jewish (2%), Muslim (1%) ^[5]

Owing to the influence of California State University, Chico and Butte College the population of Chico is highly transient.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,359, and the median income for a family was $43,077. Males had a median income of $35,548 versus $26,173 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,970. About 12.7% of families and 26.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.2% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Much of the local economy is driven by the presence of California State University, Chico. Industries providing employment: Educational,health and social services (30.3%), Retail trade (14.9%), Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services (12.6%). ^[6]

The City of Chico is a charter city. The City of Chico's administration offices are located at 411 Main Street immediately adjacent to the City Council Chambers. Chico's city council consists of seven councilmembers each elected at-large. Each member serves 4 years. The mayor is chosen by and from among the councilmembers and serves for two years. City council meetings are on the first and third Tuesday of each month.

The citizens of Chico are represented in the Butte County Board of Supervisors by the District Two Supervisor Jane Dolan and the District Three Supervisor Mary Anne Houx.

The citizens of Chico are represented by Rick Keene in the California State Assembly and by Sam Aanestad in the California State Senate.

The citizens of Chico, as members of California's 2nd congressional district, are represented by Wally Herger in the United States House of Representatives.

• Chico Unified School District

Public

• Chico High School -- 901 Esplanade
• Pleasent Valley High School -- 1475 East Avenue

Private

• Champion Christian School -- 1184 East Avenue
• Pleasant Valley Baptist School -- 355 Panama Avenue

• California State University, Chico
• Butte College
• Cal Northern School of Law
• University of Phoenix
• Chico Beauty College

• Chico Museum
• Museum of Anthropology (California State University, Chico)
• The Northern California Natural History Museum [1]
• The Chico Air Museum [2]

• Meriam Library
• Butte County Library

• Swimming at Sycamore Pool on New Years Day
• Lighting of the City Christmas Tree
• Pioneer Day --First Saturday in May
• Rancho Chico Day
• Slice of Chico
• Taste of Chico
• Farmers Market -- Every Thursday in the summer months
• Halloween
• St. Patrick's Day
• Tubing down the Sacramento River on Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day.
• Scour and Devour
• Concerts in the Park
• The Almond Bowl, annual footbal game between Chico High School and cross-town rival Pleaseant Valley High School

In 2004, Chico was ranked as the #10 art town in America by author John Villani.

City of Chico Public Art Portfolio

Sculpture

• "Soaring Star" -- Chico Municipal Airport
• "Our Hands" -- Fourth and Wall streets
• "The Silver Plow" -- Median at Park Avenue & Meyers Street
• "Dancing Trout" Fountain -- City of Chico Council Chamber on Main Street
• "Skaters Gate" -- Humboldt Avenue
• "The Century of Flight" -- Chico Municipal Airport
• "Let's Rock" -- Chico Municipal Center
• "Performance Machine, O's No. 2" -- Chico Municipal Center
• "Ancestor Gates" -- Community Park (Martin Luther King Park)

Murals

• "Downtown Kaleidoscope" - Ringel Park
• "Compound History-Compound Images" -- Municipal Center Building, 411 Main Street
• "Salem Street Art Walls" -- Salem Street, between 3rd & 4th Streets
• "Town Hall 1872" -- Visible from Chico City Council Chambers steps.
• "Chico Foothills" -- Stained glass mural on Chico Municipal Center
• "Annie and John Bidwell" -- 100 Block of West Second Street
• "Beatles" -- 100 Block of Main Street
• "Racing Bicyclist 1" Ninth and Main Streets
• "Racing Bicyclist 2" Fourth and Main Streets
• "Greek Columns" -- First and Salem Streets
• "Gianella Bridge" -- Fifth and Mangrove
• "Painter" -- East First Street parking lot
• "Victorian Language Houses" -- Sixth and Main Street
• "Tubing" -- Fifth and Ivy Streets
• "Trees" -- 200 Block of West Second Street
• "Man and Dog" -- Fourth and Main Streets
• "Mountain Climber" -- 100 Block of Main Street
• "Pony Express" -- Fifth and Broadway (Post Office wall)

• 24hr Drive By Gallery -- 117 West 7th Street [3]
• University Art Gallery -- Taylor Hall, CSUC
• Janet Turner Print Museum -- Laxson Auditorium, CSUC
• Humanities Center Gallery -- Trinity 100, CSUC
• Bell Memorial Union Art Gallery -- 3rd Floor BMU, CSUC
• BFA Gallery -- Ayres Hall, CSUC
• Chico Art Center -- 450 Orange Street
• Moxie's -- 128 Broadway
• Upper Crust Bakery and Gallery -- 130 Main Street
• 1078 Gallery -- 820 Broadway

• North State Symphony
• Senator Theatre
• Sierra Nevada Big Room
• The Chico World Music Festival
• Friday Night Concert

• Blue Room Theatre
• Laxson Hall
• Chico Cabaret
• Shakespeare in the Park

Chico is the site of Bidwell Park, the seventh-largest municipal park in the United States, Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park, the Chico University Arboretum.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, the second-largest craft brewer in the country, is based in Chico. Butte Creek Brewing Company, maker of hand-crafted organic ales, is also located in Chico.

Chico is home to several large new urbanist neighborhoods, either planned or under construction, including Doe Mill Neighborhood, Barber Yard, Meriam Park, and Westside Place.

Chico has the tallest building north of Sacramento in California: Whitney Hall, a nine-story dormitory on the Chico State college campus.

The Meriam Library on the CSUC campus is named after Ted Meriam. The building has more floor area than any other building in California north of Sacramento.

The State of California, Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development defines Enloe Medical Center as a General Acute Care Hospital in Chico with a Level II Trauma Center and Basic emergency care as of 08/22/2006. The facility is located on The Esplanade at (NAD83) latitude/longitude 39°44′33″N 121°51′00″W / 39.74250°N 121.85000°W / 39.74250; -121.85000.

The Hooker Oak formerly the largest Valley Oak in the world was located at Hooker Oak Park in Chico.

Located in urban Chico, the Mechoopda Maidu Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria is at latitude and longitude 39°43′55″N 121°51′10″W / 39.73194°N 121.85278°W / 39.73194; -121.85278.

Bidwell Municipal Golf Course, United States Department of Agriculture Plant Introduction Garden, Canyon Oaks Golf Course, Diamond Match Factory, Chico Museum, Chico Municipal Center, Chapman Neighborhood Center, Veterans Memorial Building, Craig Hall, Stansbury House, Madison Bear Garden.

• Chico Outlaws (Baseball - Golden Baseball League)
• Chico Heat (old baseball team - Western Baseball League)
• Chico Rooks (Soccer)
• Chico Force (International Basketball League)
• Chico Vandals possible expansion team of the Minor League Football Association
• Chico is also home to the National Yo-Yo Contest.

• Lubna al Qasimi, Minister for Economy and Planning of the United Arab Emirates
• William Berry, political consultant
• John Bidwell, pioneer and founder of Chico.
• Annie Bidwell, leader in women's suffrage, and the temperance movement
• Tanya Ballinger, model and actress
• Rob Blair
• Matthew Carrington, student
• Raymond Carver, writer ^[9]
• Tracy Chapman ^{[citation needed]}
• Leslie Deniz, Olympian, Chief of University Police
• Amanda Detmer, actress
• Big Poppa E, slam poet
• Pat Gillick
• Russell Hayden
• Jennifer Jones, radio news anchor
• Mat Kearney
• Rick Keene, California politician
• Harold Lang
• Ted W. Lawson, Major U.S Army Air Forces, pilot in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.
• Kyle Lohse, Major League Baseball player
• Pat Mastelotto
• Michael Messner
• Aubree Miller
• William Morris, glass artist
• Matt Olmstead
• Munk One
• Kathleen Patterson
• Jackson Pollock, abstract expressionist painter ^[10]
• Rick Rigsby
• Aaron Rodgers, NFL player (Green Bay Packers)
• Ed Rollins, political consultant
• Carolyn S. Shoemaker, astronomer ^[11]
• Jeff Stover, NFL player (San Francisco 49ers)
• Moriss Taylor
• Mike Thompson, California politician
• Muddy Waters, football coach
• Bill Wattenburg, scientist, radio talk show host
• Don Young, U.S Representative

The city of Chico, being in the Sacramento Valley, sits amid some of the most fertile soil on earth. The region is an agricultural leader. Almonds are the number one crop in the area, only recently edging out rice. Other crops in the area include: kiwis, olives, peaches, and plums.

The city is surrounded on the west by orchards with thousands of almond trees, and there are still a few pockets of orchards left within the contiguous city limits. The trees bloom with a pink/white flower in late February or early March. Millions of bees are brought in for the pollination. The nuts are harvested in late August.

Walnuts are also a major agricultural production in the area north and west of town. Unlike the almond crops of the area, walnuts do not have the same appeal as they do not bloom but they grow much larger and live much longer than almonds, but similar to the almond crops, walnuts are harvested in early September.

There is a Farmers' Market held on closed downtown streets each Thurday night during warm months, as well as one on Saturday mornings at the Wall Street public parking lot.

Airports

Chico Municipal Airport is the major airport facility serving this area and is north of the city limits. CMA is served by United Airlines' United Express operated by SkyWest (San Francisco) The airport is also home to Aero Union, a company that refits surplus military aircraft as firefighting aircraft.

Ranchaero Airport, a general aviation field with an FAA identifier of O23, is surrounded by orchards on the west edge of town at 39°43′14″N 121°43′14″W / 39.72056°N 121.72056°W / 39.72056; -121.72056.

Surface Transportation

Amtrak operates a passenger terminal at Fifth and Orange Streets for the Coast Starlight service. The terminal is partially wheelchair accessible, has an enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, free short-term and long-term parking. Trains run between Portland and Oakland with a northbound, and a southbound train departing from the station daily. The Greyhound bus station is also located at Fifth and Orange Streets.

The B-Line (Butte Regional Transit) serves the Chico Urban area with eight routes operating Monday through Satuday and two shuttle routes for CSU, Chico students during the academic year. The Chico Clipper serves the Chico urban area with nine modified vans providing transportation for the elderly and the mobility impaired seven days a week. The transit center in Chico is located at Second and Salem Streets.

There are at least nine Taxi companies in Chico: American Taxi, Yellow Cab of Chico, Liberty Cab, AAA Taxi, Chico Independent Taxi, Checkers Cab, AbraCabdabra, Cabs for Kids, and Taxi Dave.

Chico is a bronze level Bicycle-friendly community as designated by the League of American Bicyclists. Chico was also named "America's Best Bike Town" by Bicycle magazine in 1997.

Pedicabs are commonly available downtown during the evenings.

Major Highways

California State Route 99 and California State Route 32 intersect in Chico.

• Chico Enterprise-Record
• Chico News and Review
• The Chico Beat
• Orion (newspaper)
• Synthesis (magazine)
• Videomaker

- Pascagoula, Mississippi (USA) ^[12]

• An altitude record for unmanned gas balloons was set in Chico in October 1972 (51.8km). The record was broken in Japan on May 23, 2002.
• Home of the world's largest working yo-yo.
• Former home to a Titan I Missle Base.
• Chico was ranked #1 in Forbes Magazine's "Best Places in America" (May 2000).
• Chico was ranked 13th in Money.Com's "Best Places to Live" survey in 1999.
• Rated No. 16 on Healthy Cities list, by Organic Style magazine, September/October 2003.
• Lenny Bruce was confined at a State Rehabilitation Center in Chico for treatment of his drug addiction by court order.
• Chico was ranked #17 in Farmers Insurance list of Most Secure Cities (2006) for cities under 150,000.

• Bidwell Park
• California State University, Chico
• Chico in Popular Culture
• Chico Cabaret
• Chico Community Observatory
• College town

• Official City Website
• Downtown Chico Business Association
• Chico Chamber of Commerce
• City-data.com info on Chico
• Chico Wiki – The Community Wiki for Chico

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