San Gabriel Valley

The San Gabriel Valley (Spanish: Valle de San Gabriel), sometimes called SGV, is one of the main valleys in Southern California. It sits right next to the city of Los Angeles to the west and covers most of the southeastern part of Los Angeles County.

The valley is surrounded by many interesting places, like the San Gabriel Mountains to the north and the Puente Hills to the south. It gets its name from the San Gabriel River, which flows through the middle of the valley. That river was named after the Spanish Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, built in the Whittier Narrows in 1771.

Long ago, the San Gabriel Valley was mostly used for farming. Today, it is mostly cities and towns and is a very important part of the big Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of the most mixed places in the country, with people from many different backgrounds. The valley covers about 200 square miles and includes 31 cities and five smaller areas that are not part of any city. Pasadena is the biggest city here. It became a city in 1886 and was the fourth city in Los Angeles County.

Cities and communities

The San Gabriel Valley has many cities and neighborhoods. Some of the cities include:

• Alhambra
• Altadena
• Arcadia
• Avocado Heights
• Azusa
• Baldwin Park
• Bassett
• Bradbury
• Claremont
• Charter Oak
• Citrus
• City of Industry
• Covina
• Diamond Bar
• Duarte
• East Pasadena
• East San Gabriel
• El Monte
• Glendora
• Hacienda Heights
• Irwindale
• La Cañada Flintridge
• La Puente
• La Verne
• Mayflower Village
• Monrovia
• Montebello (northern portion)
• Monterey Park
• North El Monte
• Pasadena
• Pomona
• Ramona
• Rosemead
• Rowland Heights
• Rose Hills
• San Dimas
• San Gabriel
• San Marino
• San Pasqual
• Sierra Madre
• South El Monte
• South Pasadena
• South San Gabriel
• South San Jose Hills
• Temple City
• Valinda
• Vincent
• Walnut
• West Covina
• West Puente Valley

Whittier, like Montebello, is considered part of the Gateway Cities region. An unincorporated part of Whittier, Rose Hills, is below the Puente Hills. While Montebello is part of the Gateway Cities region, its northern part is in the San Gabriel Valley.

Claremont, La Verne, and Pomona are next to the San Gabriel Valley. Though they are part of the Pomona Valley, they are often included in the San Gabriel Valley. The 57 Freeway (Orange Freeway) is usually the line between the two valleys. For counting people and planning, Los Angeles County includes these three cities in the San Gabriel Valley. The community of El Sereno, in Los Angeles, is at the western edge of the Valley. Unofficial numbers say about 2 million people live in the San Gabriel Valley—this is about one-fifth of the population of Los Angeles County.

Early history

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the land along the Rio Hondo River, a branch of the San Gabriel River, was home to the Tongva people. The Tongva lived in much of the Los Angeles basin and on the islands of Santa Catalina, San Nicolas, San Clemente and Santa Barbara. In the northern part of the valley, the Hahanog-na Indian tribe, a branch of the Tongva Nation, lived in villages along the Arroyo Seco and nearby canyons.

In 1542, explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo arrived near San Pedro and Santa Catalina. The Tongva people met him in special canoes called Ti'ats. The Spanish called their language Gabrielino. The Tongva named many places we still use today, like Pomona from "Piwongna" and Cucamonga from "Cucomog-na". Sadly, diseases brought by Europeans reduced their numbers greatly. Today, some Tongva people still live in the Los Angeles area.

The first Europeans to explore inland California were members of the 1769 Portolà expedition. On July 30, they crossed the San Gabriel River and built a rough bridge, which gave the name La Puente to a city in the valley today. Soon after, a mission was built near the river crossing.

Mission San Gabriel Arcangel was founded by Franciscan Father Junipero Serra on September 8, 1771. It was the third of twenty-one missions along California's El Camino Real. The mission helped start farming and cattle raising in the area. A big flood six years later made the mission leaders move it to its present location in the city of San Gabriel. The old site is now a California Historical Landmark.

The mission played an important role in the early days of California. Many of the first Mexican settlers, like Pio Pico, who later became governor of California, were baptized there. In 1847, the Battle of Rio San Gabriel was fought nearby during the Mexican-American War. This battle helped the United States take control of Los Angeles and California.

In the mid-1800s, people from China, Japan, the Philippines, and South Asia came to work in the fields and help build the valley. In 1917, oil was discovered in the Montebello hills, changing the area from farms to a major oil producer. Cities like Whittier, Covina, and Pasadena were once known for their citrus farms, and the valley had many dairy and cattle farms too.

Demographics and ethnic diversity

The San Gabriel Valley had 1,510,378 people living there in the year 2000. On average, each home had about 3.28 people, which is a bit more than the rest of Los Angeles County. Some places, like South San Jose Hills, had even more people per home, while Sierra Madre had fewer.

The valley has many different groups of people living together. The largest groups are Hispanic and Asian-American. Places like Glendora and Pasadena have many White people, while others have big Asian communities. There are also smaller groups of Native American, African-American, and Armenian people.

Asian-American population

Main article: Chinese enclaves in the San Gabriel Valley

The San Gabriel Valley has many East Asian American communities, especially in the southwestern part. Cities like Monterey Park and Walnut have large Chinese populations. There are also many Filipino Americans in West Covina and Walnut, Vietnamese Americans in San Gabriel and Rosemead, Korean Americans in Hacienda Heights, and Japanese Americans in Monterey Park.

In the past, many Chinese people came to work as laborers. Over time, the Asian-American population grew and became very important to the area's culture. By 2010, more than half a million Asian Americans lived in the San Gabriel Valley, making up more than a quarter of the population. The biggest groups were Chinese, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Korean, Taiwanese, and Japanese.

Arts and culture

The San Gabriel Valley is known for the yearly Tournament of Roses Parade, held on New Year's Day in Pasadena. This fun event features colorful floats made of flowers and marching bands traveling 5.5 miles to celebrate the new year. After the parade, a famous football game called the Rose Bowl is watched by many people.

Pasadena, the oldest city in the valley, is a cultural hub. It has special theaters for movies and plays, such as the Pasadena Playhouse. The area also has a local radio station, KPCC 89.3 FM, based at Pasadena City College.

Old Pasadena is a lively spot with shops, cafes, restaurants, and places for entertainment. Other towns in the valley try to copy its success by renewing their own downtown areas.

The valley is also home to important places like the California Institute of Technology, known for its work with NASA through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It is a top university around the world.

Some well-known companies started here too, like In-N-Out Burger, which began in Baldwin Park in 1948. Other famous brands such as Panda Express and Trader Joe's also have their roots in the San Gabriel Valley.

Politics and government

Cities in the San Gabriel Valley each have their own local mayors and city councils. Many of these cities rely on the Los Angeles County Fire Department and/or the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for public safety services. Areas that are not part of any city, such as Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights, are managed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department handling safety there.

In these unincorporated areas, advisory town councils help guide important decisions made by a supervisor or city manager. These groups often started from local homeowner associations. Examples include the Hacienda Heights Improvement Association, the Rowland Heights Coordinating Council, and the Altadena Town Council, which are officially recognized by the county supervisor for their community. In 2003, people living in the unincorporated area of Hacienda Heights voted against becoming a city, so it is still managed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors instead of having its own locally elected mayor and city council.

Transportation

Foothill Transit and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority provide bus services across the San Gabriel Valley. Metro handles most trips west of Interstate 605, while Foothill Transit covers areas east of Interstate 605. El Monte station is a major hub, offering connections to downtown Los Angeles via the El Monte Busway. Metro’s J Line and Foothill Transit’s Silver Streak also serve the valley.

The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension, now part of the A Line, brings light rail service to Azusa, stretching from downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach. Many cities in the valley, such as Alhambra, Arcadia, and Pasadena, run their own local shuttles.

The valley is linked by several major freeways, including the Foothill Freeway, Ventura Freeway, San Bernardino Freeway, Pomona Freeway, Pasadena Freeway, Long Beach Freeway, San Gabriel River Freeway, and Orange Freeway. Some freeways have unfinished sections, but work continues to improve connections.

General aviation uses San Gabriel Valley Airport and Brackett Field, while larger flights go through major airports like Los Angeles International Airport and Ontario International Airport.

Media

See also: Los Angeles Times suburban sections

The main English-language newspapers for the San Gabriel Valley are the Los Angeles Times, which has special sections for real estate and cars, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, and the Pasadena Star-News. The Pasadena Star-News focuses on Pasadena and Alhambra, while the Tribune covers the central and eastern parts of the valley. Business news is provided by the San Gabriel Valley Business Journal.

Other publications include weekly papers like the Mountain Views News, San Gabriel Valley NOW, and the San Gabriel Valley Examiner. These serve different areas of the valley. The Mid Valley News covers the central part, and the Beacon Media chain covers several cities. South Pasadena has the South Pasadena Review, and San Marino has the San Marino Tribune. Some cities, such as Alhambra, Glendora, Azusa, San Dimas, and La Verne, have monthly community newspapers delivered to homes.

There are also newspapers for Chinese-speaking readers in the Greater Los Angeles Area, many based in the San Gabriel Valley. The World Journal and International Daily News are printed in Monterey Park. The Sing Tao newspaper, from Hong Kong, is printed in Alhambra for Cantonese speakers. The Epoch Times has its Los Angeles office in San Gabriel. These newspapers reach Chinese American communities in the San Gabriel Valley, Chinatown, San Diego, and Las Vegas, Nevada.

In popular culture

Many famous movies and TV shows have been filmed in the San Gabriel Valley. For example, the area above Arcadia was used as an alien landing spot in the movie War of the Worlds. South Pasadena and Alhambra stood in for a town in Illinois in the scary movie Halloween. Pasadena’s big dome-shaped City Hall has often been used to look like a courthouse or important building in many films and TV ads.

The city of San Marino has been a popular spot for filming. Lots of big movies like Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Disturbia, and Men in Black II were filmed there. TV shows such as The Office and The West Wing also used San Marino as a backdrop. Nearby Temple City and Rosemead were used for the TV show The Wonder Years. Whittier, another city in the valley, appeared in the Back to the Future movies, where a local high school stood in for the fictional Hill Valley High School.

Other movies like Forrest Gump and Teen Wolf were also filmed in the valley, using places such as East Los Angeles College and Arcadia. Many TV shows have used locations throughout the San Gabriel Valley, making it a key place for making films and television programs.

Climate

The San Gabriel Valley has a warm, sunny climate all year, much like the rest of the Los Angeles area. Rain does not fall often. Because part of the valley is farther inland, summers can be hotter and winters a bit colder there. Light snow is very rare in the valley itself, but you can sometimes see snow on the nearby San Gabriel Mountains.

Institutions of higher learning

The San Gabriel Valley has many places where people can go to study after high school. Some well-known schools include the California Institute of Technology (called Caltech), the Claremont Colleges, and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (known as Cal Poly Pomona).

There are also many other schools, both big public universities and smaller private colleges, spread throughout the valley in cities such as Alhambra, Pasadena, Azusa, and more. These schools offer many different kinds of programs for students to choose from.

Local sites of interest

Here are some interesting places you can visit in the San Gabriel Valley:

• California Botanic Garden – Claremont
• Christmas Tree Lane - Altadena
• Descanso Gardens – La Cañada Flintridge
• Gamble House - Pasadena
• Frank G. Bonelli Regional County Park, man-made park – San Dimas
• Pomona Fox Theater – Pomona
• Westfield Santa Anita – Arcadia (largest mall in San Gabriel Valley)
• Homestead Museum, site of Pío Pico's burial – City of Industry
• Hsi Lai Temple – Hacienda Heights
• Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens – San Marino
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory - La Canada Flintridge
• Fairplex, annual Los Angeles County Fair – Pomona
• Auto Club Raceway at Pomona – Pomona
• Toyota Speedway at Irwindale – Irwindale
• Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden – Arcadia
• Mission San Gabriel Arcángel – San Gabriel
• Montclair Plaza (Mall that serves the Eastern San Gabriel Valley) – Montclair
• Norton Simon Museum – Pasadena
• Old Town Pasadena – Pasadena
• Pio Pico State Historic Park – Whittier
• Raging Waters – San Dimas
• Rose Bowl – Pasadena
• Rubel Castle – Glendora
• Santa Anita Park, horse racing – Arcadia
• Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area – Irwindale
• Vroman's Bookstore, oldest independent bookstore – Pasadena
• The Ice House, Pasadena comedy club
• Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier
• Pio Pico House, Whittier

Company headquarters

Many important companies have their main offices in the San Gabriel Valley. Some of these companies include:

• Avery Dennison Corporation – Pasadena
• Community Bank – Pasadena
• East West Bank – Pasadena
• Edison International – Rosemead
• Huy Fong Foods – Irwindale
• OneWest Bank – Pasadena
• Viewsonic – Walnut
• Panda Restaurant Group – Rosemead
• Trader Joe's – Monrovia
• Western Asset – Pasadena

Area codes

Most of the San Gabriel Valley uses the 626 area code. Some places like Montebello and Whittier use the 323 and 562 area codes. A small part of northwestern Pasadena uses the 818 area code. Many communities in the eastern part of the valley, east of State Route 57, use the 909 area code.