(Redirected from La Quinta)
'La Quinta' is a resort city in
Riverside County,
California, specifically in the
Coachella Valley between
Indian Wells and
Indio. The population was 23,694 at the 2000 census. It is growing at a rate of approximately 110% every ten years, making it one of the fastest growing cities in California. The ''
Robb Report'' credits La Quinta as the nation's leading golf destination (a claim that is also made on behalf of
Scottsdale, Arizona), while locals include La Quinta into the sphere of being "America's cheese capital",
Palm Desert. Among those destinations is the
La Quinta Resort and Club, a resort dating to
1926 and famous as the spot in which director
Frank Capra penned the screenplay of ''
Lost Horizon''. Recently, the city's new
SilverRock Golf Resort will be one of three golf courses for the 2008
Bob Hope Chrysler Classic hosted by comedian/golfer
George Lopez.
History
Colonial history
The area of La Quinta was first established in the early
18th century by
Spanish conquistadores under the command of
Captain Juan Bautista De Anza, as the fifth resting point for travellers along the route from present-day
Mexico to the
San Gabriel Missions of
Los Angeles and present-day
Riverside and
San Bernardino 60–100 miles away. The words "la quinta" are
Spanish, translating to "the fifth". More specifically, the word "quinta" is known in Mexico as a type of
hacienda. Spanish and later Mexican settlement in the "East Valley" (Eastern Coachella Valley) was sparse, most residents were members of the indigenous
Cahuilla tribe. The earliest records of any inhabitation of La Quinta and other communities was in 1823, after Mexico declared independence from Spain but the area was annexed by the United States in 1848.
Modern development and incorporation
In the late-
19th century and early-
20th century (1880–1920), agriculture developed in present-day La Quinta and "East Valley" by pre-modern (mountain water runoff or open water springs) and modern irrigation techniques. At the time, California and federal land surveyors declared the sand dunes uninhabitable, only the hard rock ground of the "Marshall Cove" held potential farming and residential development.
In
1927, Walter Morgan established the
La Quinta Resort at the northern section of "Marshall Cove", as a type of secluded hideaway for nearby Hollywood's celebrities and socialites. The Resort was the site for the Coachella Valley's first
golf course, coinciding with the construction and pavement of
California State Highway 111 in the
1930s. Further expansion of Washington Street in the
1950s and
1960s connected La Quinta with US Highways
60 and
99 (became
Interstate 10 in the
1970s).
[1]
As nearby desert cities grew to capacity, La Quinta's growth rose dramatically by the mid-
1990s, which led to its incorporation as a city in
Riverside County in
1982.
[2] In the
1980 census, La Quinta had 4,200 residents, then increased to 11,215 by
1990 in the city's early phases of residential area growth. Once predominantly a part-time community until the early-1990s, more full-time residents live in La Quinta to make it possibly more populous than Palm Springs by
2006, according to some demographers.
Geography
La Quinta is located at (33.675373, -116.297391). According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 83.4
km² (32.2
mi²). 82.2 km² (31.8 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (1.37%) is water. The city's elevation is 56 feet (20 meters) above sea level.
Santa Rosa Mountains
The most prominent feature of the La Quinta area is its
Santa Rosa Mountains. Visitors to
Disney's California Adventure in
Anaheim, California can be treated to a brief glimpse of Navjeet in one of the park's attractions:
Soarin' Over California. The "
Palm Springs" segment of
Soarin' Over California was actually shot at the world-famous ''PGA West'' golf complex in La Quinta. The
Santa Rosa Mountains (California) are nestled against the golf course and can be seen easily in the segment.
The area is very close to the earthquake-causing
San Andreas Fault, with some companies offering jeep tours to the fault line.
Climate
According to its nearest neighboring city,
Indio, California, La Quinta has an approximate yearly average temperature of 89.0F (High) and 57.9F (Low). In the summer it reaches tempetures of 110 on a daily basis.
[3]
Surrounding cities
La Quinta is in the
Coachella Valley and is relatively close to all major cities in that valley, including:
| City | Population (2000 census) | Population (2005 estimate) |
|---|
| Cathedral City | 42,647 | 50,632 |
| Coachella | 22,724 | 30,764 |
| Desert Hot Springs | 16,582 | 19,386 |
| Indian Wells | 3,816 | 4,781 |
| Indio | 49,116 | 66,118 |
| Palm Desert | 41,155 | 49,280 |
| Palm Springs | 42,807 | 45,731 |
| Rancho Mirage | 13,249 | 16,416 |
Economy
Tourism
The city enjoys a healthy tourism industry, especially during the cooler winter months in which "
snowbird" tourists arrive. The most prominent industry is
golfing with more than twenty golf courses, including the world-famous ''
PGA West'', which has hosted prestigious tournaments such as
The Skins Game, Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, The Grand Slam of Golf, The Legends of Golf, as well as the PGA Tour Qualifying School.
[4]. La Quinta has increased the number of retail shopping centers, both discount (
Target and
Home Depot), and high-end retailers (
Kohl's and
Stein Mart) brought millions of revenue dollars to the city, and the city council hopes for La Quinta to share a reputation for shoppers like Palm Desert (El Paseo) and Palm Springs (the Village and Palm Canyon) by the end of the decade.
Service industries
In addition to standard service industries, La Quinta is the site of the first
Wal-Mart Supercenter in California. Moreover many residents work for the tourist industries in hotels, resorts, golf courses, and nearby Vegas-style casinos, such as: ''Spa Resort Casino'', ''Agua Caliente Casino'', ''Spotlight 29'', ''Fantasy Springs'' and ''Augustine''. There are thousands of jobs related to the sizzling growth in the construction, hotels, landscaping and retail store industries. La Quinta wants to bring in high-paying professional businesses to the city and benefited from neighboring cities' growth (Indio, Palm Desert and Palm Springs).
[5] Additionally, the city has a new commercial district called "Old Town La Quinta" with small shops and restaurants.
[6]
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 23,694 people, 8,445 households, and 6,553 families residing in the city. The
population density was 288.1/km² (746.2/mi²). There were 11,812 housing units at an average density of 143.6/km² (372.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.51%
White, 1.42%
African American, 0.72%
Native American, 1.88%
Asian, 0.09%
Pacific Islander, 13.85% from
other races, and 3.53% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 32.01% of the population.
In 2006, local demographers and ethnic organizations (the Desert Chapter of the
NAACP and the Coachella Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce) began to re-estimate the percentages of whites, African Americans and Hispanics in La Quinta, but not yet officially stated in the US census at this time. They concluded results that La Quinta is more diverse: 7–8% are African American, 50% Latino (could well be a majority of residents) and 3–5% Asian American.
La Quinta has developed a culturally diverse community, as large ancestry groups include
Armenians,
British,
French,
Germans,
Italians,
Poles and
Jews of multiple nationalities.
[7] The La Quinta resort had an "open door" policy not to discriminate on race and ethnicity in the 1940s and 1950s, catered to celebrities whom vacationed in the area didn't encounter ethnic
discrimination, like billionaire
Walter Annenberg was reportedly at the La Quinta resort.
Hispanics, especially
Mexican Americans are the city's largest single ethnic group, after waves of immigration from
Mexico settled the area since the
1950s. The Hispanic category includes
Central Americans,
Cuban Americans,
Puerto Ricans and
South Americans recently moved to La Quinta in high frequency. Mostly Latino neighborhoods are located in older homes of the Cove and old Town sections. La Quinta's sister city is in
Tequila, Jalisco in
Mexico brought by international ties with that country and the city holds an annual "16th de Septiembre" (
Mexican Independence Day) festive event in September.
La Quinta's permanent population growth has brought more people from other urban areas in
California, where home prices are higher come to the city's affordability. They joined newcomers from around the nation and the world, such as
Canada (a large percentage of "
snowbirds" or part-time residents are Canadian), and from the
Asian continent (see
Asian Americans, such as recent growth of
Chinese,
Japanese,
Filipinos and
Koreans) brought on a multi-cultural character in the growing city.
There were 8,445 households out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.6% were
married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.4% were non-families. 17.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.16, above national average of 2.35 according to the
2000 United States Census .
In the city the population was spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males. Families of young children came to the city in droves for a better place to raise a family, thus the percentage of young people under age 18 is high, nearly 30 percent.
The median income for a household in the city was $54,552, and the median income for a family was $56,848. Males had a median income of $40,553 versus $31,627 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $27,284. About 5.0% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 11.1% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over. La Quinta has a large minority of residents whose income is well over a million dollars (
millionaires and multi-millionaires).
La Quinta and nearby
Bermuda Dunes are home to large numbers of
senior citizens come to buy a home for the winter or year-round to enjoy the amenities provided by the city's
golf clubs, tennis courts and recreation halls. The area's
country clubs and golf course communities known for large percentages of retired part-time and full-time residents are Bermuda Dunes, Indian Springs, La Quinta (Hotel, Lago, Citrus and Dune courses), Mountain Vista, the Traditions of La Quinta, the Village at the Palms and PGA West.
Transportation
The city is part of the ''SunBus'' line, which services much of the Coachella Valley.
[8]
Education
Libraries
The city has a new public library that began operations in
2005.
The
Desert Sands Unified School District services the entire city of La Quinta, and maintains the following public schools:
Elementary
★ John Adams Elementary School
★ Harry S. Truman Elementary School
★ Benjamin Franklin Elementary School
★ Amelia Earhart Elementary School of International Studies, an IB World School
[9]
★ Gerald Ford Elementary School in nearby Indian Wells
★ James Monroe Elementary School in nearby Bermuda Dunes
Middle school
★ La Quinta Middle School, opened in 1987.
★
John Glenn Middle School of International Studies, an IB World School
★
Colonel Mitchell Paige Middle School
High school
★
La Quinta High School[10] an IB World School
Alternative schools
★ Desert Sunrise High School, a continuation high school opened in 2006, next to Mitchell Paige Middle School.
★ Horizon High School and Horizon Middle School located next to the Desert Sands Unified School District administration building.
★ Christian School of the Desert, a private grade 1–12 Christian school in nearby Bermuda Dunes.
★ Grace Academy, a private grade 1–8 Christian school in nearby Indio.
Notable residents
The city is home to a number of celebrity residents including
Merv Griffin. Griffin is the driving force behind the annual La Quinta Arts Festival, one of the country's leading
plein air art shows. There is also a restaurant owned by professional golfer
Arnold Palmer and another owned by actor
Clint Eastwood in La Quinta.
Additionally, the musician/actor
Tyler Hilton was a former resident of La Quinta, and attended
La Quinta High School.
[11] La Quinta is said to be hometown of actress
Vanessa Marcil, but her official web site states Indio is her birthplace and attended
Indio High School. Colonel
Mitchell Paige is a World war II
Congressional Medal of Honor veteran resided in nearby Palm Desert had a middle school in La Quinta named for his honor. Actress
Samantha Lockwood was born in La Quinta and went to Palm Valley High School. NFL Football player
Jeff Webb went to La Quinta High School, though he lived in Indio.
In the early-1980s, La Quinta teenager Ken McCormick committed
suicide while listening to an
Ozzy Osbourne record, right on the song ''
Suicide Solution'' through his stereo earphones when the sheriff found him already dead. His parents reportedly sued Ozzy Osbourne for their son's death, although he suffered
clinical depression, and Osbourne agreed to remove any pro-suicide references in his songs ever since.
References
1. La Quinta Resort - History
2.
3. Weatherbase - La Quinta Weather
4. Golf Photographs - PGA West
5. Desjardins, Doug. Wal-Mart opens 1st CA supercenter: milestone store both pivotal and contentious. ''DSN Retailing Today'', March 22, 2004. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
6. Old Town La Quinta
7. American Factfinder
8. SunLine Schedule
9. Amelia Earhart Elementary School of International Studies
10. La Quinta High School
11. IMDB - Tyler Hilton
External links
★
City of La Quinta website
★
The Desert Sun, Coachella Valley Newspaper
★
The Website of La Quinta Resort and Club
★
Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention & Visitors Authority
★
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