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Concord ( ) is the largest city in
Contra Costa County ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 129,295 in 2019 making it the eighth largest city in the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
. Founded in 1869 as Todos Santos by Don Salvio Pacheco II, a noted
Californio Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...
ranchero, the name was later changed to Concord. The city is a major regional suburban East Bay center within the San Francisco Bay Area, and is east of
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.


History

The valleys north of
Mount Diablo Mount Diablo is a mountain of the Diablo Range, in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. It is south of Clayton, California, Clayton and northeast of Danville, Califo ...
were inhabited by the
Miwok The Miwok (also spelled Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk) are members of four linguistically related Native American groups indigenous to what is now Northern California, who traditionally spoke one of the Miwok languages in the Utian family. The word ' ...
people, who hunted
elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
and fished in the numerous streams flowing from the mountain into the
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
. It is important to note Miwok and other indigenous people still live within city limits. In 1772, Spanish explorers began to cross the area but did not settle there. In 1834, the Mexican land grant
Rancho Monte del Diablo Rancho Monte del Diablo (Devil's Mount Ranch in Spanish) was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day Contra Costa County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Salvio Pacheco. The name "Monte del Diablo" means ...
at the base of Mount Diablo was granted to Salvio Pacheco (for whom the nearby town of Pacheco is named). Concord was founded under the name of Todos Santos ("all saints"; a name still borne by the central city plaza and park between Willow Pass Road and Salvio Street), on the initiative of Pacheco in 1869. It achieved prominence in the 19th century, when most residents of Pacheco relocated to Concord to avoid the devastation of fire and flood which crippled Pacheco's formerly booming economy. Concord was incorporated on February 5, 1905. The area around Concord in the surrounding Ygnacio and Clayton Valleys was a large agricultural area. Crops that were grown included grapes, walnuts, almonds, wheat, hay, and even tomatoes. The area to the east (now the site of the Concord Naval Weapons Station) was the site of a few enormous wheat ranches over , and was almost a sea of wheat all the way to the marshes bordering
Suisun Bay Suisun Bay ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a shallow tidal estuary (a northeastern extension of the San Francisco Bay) in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the ent ...
. During
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
, many vineyards were removed and replaced with walnut orchards. The town of Cowell, now incorporated into Concord, produced cement. The first Concord post office opened in 1872.


Port Chicago disaster

The
munition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weapo ...
s on board a
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
cargo ship exploded while being loaded during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, resulting in the largest number of casualties among
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
s in any one incident during that war. On the evening of July 17, 1944, a massive explosion instantly killed 320 sailors, merchant seamen, and civilians working at the pier. The blast was felt away. A subsequent refusal by 258 black sailors to load any more ammunition was the beginning of the Navy's largest-ever mutiny trial, in which 50 men were found guilty. Future Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...
sat in on most of the proceedings and declared that he saw a prejudiced court.


Geography

Concord is located at . It is northeast of
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, northeast from
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
, southwest of
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
, and north of San Jose. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , all of it land. The focal point of downtown Concord is Todos Santos Plaza, which encompasses an entire city block and is known for its
farmers market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...
, free summer concerts, and large number of surrounding restaurants. Much of the area immediately around downtown has recently been redeveloped, with new high-density apartment and condominium projects to take advantage of the proximity to public transportation and to the area surrounding the park. Despite this, some crime and homelessness remain issues in the downtown area. To the north and east of downtown is the older residential area of Concord, with many homes dating back to before
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In the far northern edge of town is a primarily industrial area, dominated by the Tesoro
Golden Eagle Refinery The Martinez Refinery, also known as the Golden Eagle refinery, is located in the San Francisco Bay Area in an unincorporated area known as Avon, east of Martinez, California. It refines oil into gasoline and other petroleum based products. Previ ...
(which is actually not located within city limits). The southeastern area of the city, centered along Clayton Road, is primarily residential and was mostly developed in the 1960s and 1970s. In the southwest area of the city is the primarily
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
neighborhood known as
Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...
, centered around the intersection of Monument Boulevard and Oak Grove Road. Concord is bordered on the west by Pleasant Hill and the unincorporated community of Pacheco, on the south by Walnut Creek, on the southeast by Clayton, on the northeast by Pittsburg and the unincorporated community of
Bay Point Bay Point may refer to: * Bay Point (Antarctica) * Bay Point, California * Bay Point (former settlement), California * Bay Point, Florida (disambiguation) * Bay Point (South Carolina), in Charleston, South Carolina's harbor; see Mitchelville * ...
, and on the north by the unincorporated community of Clyde. Although it shares no border with Concord, Martinez (the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
) is located almost immediately adjacent to Concord on the northwest. The North Concord BART station is also known as Martinez BART.


Climate

Concord has a warm-summer
Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
( Köppen ''Csb''), with warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Official data from the
National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
cooperative station in Concord shows average January temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . Average July temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . There are an average of 45.0 days with highs of or higher and 3.8 days with lows of or lower. The highest recorded temperature was on September 1, 2017. The lowest record temperature was on December 23, 1998. Average annual precipitation is , falling on an average of 57 days annually. The wettest year was 1995, with and the driest year was 2007, with . The most rainfall in one month was in December 2005, which included the 24-hour maximum rainfall of on December 31.


Demographics

The
2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
reported that Concord had a population of 122,067. The population density was . The ethnic makeup of Concord was 78,767 (64.5%)
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 4,371 (3.6%)
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 852 (0.7%) Native American, 13,538 (11.1%)
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
(4.4% Filipino, 2.4% Chinese, 1.3% Indian, 0.7% Vietnamese, 0.6% Japanese, 0.6% Korean), 816 (0.7%)
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 15,969 (13.1%) from other ethnicities, and 7,754 (6.4%) from two or more ethnicities. Hispanic or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any ethnicity were 37,311 persons (30.6%). The Census reported that 121,020 people (99.1% of the population) lived in households, 512 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 535 (0.4%) were institutionalized. There were 44,278 households, out of which 15,421 (34.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 21,725 (49.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 5,642 (12.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,707 (6.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,952 (6.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 512 (1.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 10,406 households (23.5%) were made up of individuals, and 3,625 (8.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73. There were 30,074
families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...
(67.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.22. The population was spread out, with 28,000 people (22.9%) under the age of 18, 10,946 people (9.0%) aged 18 to 24, 35,834 people (29.4%) aged 25 to 44, 32,903 people (27.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 14,384 people (11.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.0 males. There were 47,125 housing units at an average density of , of which 44,278 were occupied, of which 27,069 (61.1%) were owner-occupied, and 17,209 (38.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.0%. 71,004 people (58.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 50,016 people (41.0%) lived in rental housing units.


Government

In the
California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...
, Concord is in , and in . Federally, Concord is in .


Politics

In 2017, Concord had 65,061 registered voters with 31,759 (48.8%) registered as Democrats, 14,447 (22.2%) registered as Republicans, and 15,623 (24%) no party preference voters.


Economy

Concord has been primarily a bedroom community for San Francisco and Oakland over the last forty years, but during the last decades, jobs within the city have increased.
Round Table Pizza Round Table Pizza is a chain and franchise of pizza parlours in the Western United States. The first Round Table Pizza restaurant was opened in 1959, and the company has over 400 restaurants. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Over ...
is headquartered in Concord. Concord also has a strong retail sector including the
Sunvalley Shopping Center Sunvalley Shopping Center, or more popularly Sunvalley Mall, is a regional shopping center located in Concord, California (one of the suburbs in the San Francisco Bay Area, in east central Contra Costa County). Located off Interstate 680, Sun ...
, which used to be one of the 50 largest malls in the United States,
auto dealership A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive mainten ...
s, and
Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...
. Prior to its dissolution, Atrivo was headquartered in Concord. Krebs, Brian.
Report Slams U.S. Host as Major Source of Badware
" ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''. August 28, 2008. Retrieved on August 31, 2009.


Top employers

According to the city's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:


Naval Weapons Station

To the north of the city of Concord is the Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS), which was established in 1942. The station functioned as a
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
armament storage
depot Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...
, supplying ships at Port Chicago. The CNWS supported war efforts during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and through the end of the
Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
, processing and shipping out thousands of tons of material to
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
and the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. The station consists of two areas: the inland area () which is within the Concord city limits, and tidal area ().About the City of Concord Community Reuse Project
, official city web site'. Retrieved August 13, 2007
Because of changes in military operations, parts of the inland area began to be mothballed and by 1999, the CNWS had only a minimal contingent of military personnel. In 2007, the U.S. Federal Government announced that the inland portion of the CNWS will be closed. The tidal area of the base is not scheduled for closure. The tidal area was transferred to the U.S. Army Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) and is now known as Military Ocean Terminal Concord (MOTCO). The city is working on a reuse plan that may include developing the land while keeping a large portion for open-space and parks projects. The city has had many meetings on this subject and any plan for reuse is subject to approval by the Navy.


Transportation

Until 1995, the city was the eastern terminus of the Concord line of
Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes on of rapid transit lines, including a spur line in eastern Contra Costa County which uses ...
(BART) commuter train system; the line has since been extended eastward to Pittsburg/Bay Point in 1996 and
Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
in 2018. The
County Connection The County Connection (officially, the Central Contra Costa Transit Authority, CCCTA) is a Concord-based public transit agency operating fixed-route bus and ADA paratransit (County Connection LINK) service in and around central Contra Costa County ...
provides limited public transportation in the city and to other points in the county. Buses run from the North Concord BART station to Martinez, the county seat. Main thoroughfares include Willow Pass Road, Concord Avenue, Concord Boulevard, Clayton Road, Monument Boulevard, Ygnacio Valley Road, Oak Grove Road and Treat Boulevard. The city is also served by Interstate 680, and state highways 4 and
242 Year 242 ( CCXLII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gratus and Lepidus (or, less frequently, year 995 ''Ab urbe cond ...
.
Buchanan Field Airport Buchanan Field Airport is a public airport in Contra Costa County, California, United States, a mile west of the center of Concord and east of Pacheco. The airport's street address is 550 Sally Ride Drive, Concord. The National Plan of Integra ...
is a public county-owned airfield in the City of Concord. It is served by
JetSuiteX JSX is an independent air carrier in the United States and Mexico that describes itself as a "hop-on jet service" which operates point-to-point flights between and within Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, an ...
, and previously served by American Eagle, WestAir Commuter Airlines, Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) and later by PSA successor
USAir US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon b ...
with the latter two airlines operating nonstop jet service between the airfield and
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
(LAX).


Media


News

The city of Concord is served by the daily
newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
the '' East Bay Times'' (formerly the ''Contra Costa Times'') published by Bay Area News Group-East Bay (part of the Media News Group, Denver, Colorado), with offices in Walnut Creek. The paper was originally run and owned by the Lesher family. Since the death of
Dean Lesher Dean Stanley Lesher (August 4, 1903 – May 13, 1993) was an American newspaper publisher, founder of the ''Contra Costa Times'' and the Contra Costa Newspapers chain. He was also a well-known philanthropist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Life ...
in 1993, the paper has had several owners. The publisher also issues a weekly paper, the ''Concord Transcript'' for Concord and nearby Clayton. The city is also served by Concord Patch, a local news website covering community news and events, and by a news and talk blog called Claycord.com. Patch Media is owned by
AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017 ...
Inc.


Radio

Concord falls within the catchment area of many high-power San Francisco Bay Area radio stations although some stations from Sacramento are also available.
KVHS KVHS (90.5 FM, "90.5 The Edge") is a non-profit high school radio station playing an active rock music format. It is licensed to Clayton Valley High School under the jurisdiction of the Mount Diablo Unified School District and broadcasts from t ...
FM 90.5 also known as ''"The Edge"'' is a Concord-based student run radio station. It is run from the campus of
Clayton Valley Charter High School Clayton Valley Charter High School (CVCHS) is a comprehensive charter high school located in Concord, California, United States, just under two miles from Clayton. Most of the school's students live in Clayton and the nearby Concord neighborhood ...
. Concord and the neighboring cities of Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek are also served by
KKDV KKDV (92.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Walnut Creek, California, and serving central Contra Costa County. It is owned by Alpha Media and it simulcasts the country music radio format of sister station 94.5 KBAY. KKDV targe ...
FM 92.1. The commercial station brands itself "Diablo Valley's hometown station" and plays a mix of current hits and those from the last few decades. From 1963 to 1993, Concord had a local radio station, KWUN AM 1480, also known as ''Contra Costa's K-15''.


Television

Concord is served by major television stations broadcasting primarily out of San Francisco, Sacramento, and San Jose. The region's
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
affiliate,
KTVU KTVU (channel 2) is a television station licensed to Oakland, California, United States, serving as the San Francisco Bay Area's Fox network outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside San Jose ...
, is based in (and licensed to) Oakland at Jack London Square along with co-owned independent station KICU-TV (licensed to San Jose). Over-the-air reception is difficult in many parts of the city due to hills on either side of the valley. The sole Concord-licensed TV station, KTNC, gave up its broadcast frequency as part of the FCC reverse spectrum auction in 2017. It had broadcast on channel 42 from the top of Mount Diablo, but is now available on virtual channel 42 via a subchannel of KCNS channel 39.


Education

Concord is served by the Mount Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD). Among the MDUSD schools is Mt. Diablo High School, opened in 1901 and currently home to four academies, including the Digital Safari Academy, a three-year program involving the integration of multimedia with the core curriculum through integrated, project-based learning. Beyond MDUSD schools,
Clayton Valley Charter High School Clayton Valley Charter High School (CVCHS) is a comprehensive charter high school located in Concord, California, United States, just under two miles from Clayton. Most of the school's students live in Clayton and the nearby Concord neighborhood ...
is also home to several acclaimed academies. Catholic schools De La Salle High School for boys and
Carondelet High School Carondelet High School is an all-girls private Catholic high school in Concord, California, United States. Carondelet High School was founded in 1965 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph. The school enrolls about 800 students. It shares some resources w ...
for girls are also located here. De La Salle's football team holds the U.S. record winning streak of 151 games, set between 1992 and 2004. During that span, De La Salle won 12 California North Coast sectional championships and was named national champion five different times (once by
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, four times by
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
). In August 2014, a Hollywood film titled
When the Game Stands Tall ''When the Game Stands Tall'' is a 2014 American sports drama film directed by Thomas Carter (director), Thomas Carter. The plot concerns a record 151-game 1992–2003 high school football winning streak by De La Salle High School (Concord, Ca ...
was released with the plot line based on their 151-game winning streak. California State University, East Bay has a campus in Concord. Concord High School won the 2010 Northern California Boys Division II Football Championship, coached by Brian Hamilton.
Ygnacio Valley High School Ygnacio Valley High School (YVHS) is a public secondary school located in Concord, California, United States. It draws students from Concord as well as from the neighboring communities of Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill. The school opened in 1962, a ...
won the 1987 Northern California Boys Division I Basketball Championship, coached by Jim Grace.


Public libraries

The Concord Library of the
Contra Costa County Library The Contra Costa County Library is the public library system in Contra Costa County, California, United States. There are 26 community libraries including the NRHP-listed Martinez Library, access to electronic information via a website, over 455, ...
is located in Concord. The library is adjacent to the Concord Civic Center.


Arts and culture

Concord is the home of the annual Concord Jazz Festival and was the home of the Concord Records jazz record label until it was bought in 1999. Jazz musician
Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...
was born in Concord and in 2006 a park adjacent to Concord High School on Concord Boulevard was renamed in his honor. Concord is also home to the 20-time World Champion Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps. The corps is made up of talented musicians from around the world. The Concord Blue Devils are the most decorated drum and bugle corps in the history of
Drum Corps International Drum Corps International (DCI) is a governing body for junior drum and bugle corps responsible for developing and enforcing rules of competition, and for providing standardized adjudication at sanctioned drum and bugle corps competitions througho ...
. The Public-access television channel is operated through TelVue Virtual Television Networks. The headquarters of the Kabul Soccer Club is located in Concord.


Points of interest

* Baldwin Community Park and the Concord Senior Center * Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps *
Buchanan Field Airport Buchanan Field Airport is a public airport in Contra Costa County, California, United States, a mile west of the center of Concord and east of Pacheco. The airport's street address is 550 Sally Ride Drive, Concord. The National Plan of Integra ...
* Camp Concord at South
Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...
, a family-oriented summer camp, although not located in Concord, is operated by the city. * Concord Pavilion – amphitheater, a major regional concert venue formerly known as the Sleep Train Pavilion and as the Chronicle Pavilion at Concord. * Concord Skatepark * Dave Brubeck Park *
Don Francisco Galindo House The Don Francisco Galindo House, known locally as the Galindo House and Gardens, is a 19th-century house in Concord, California built in 1856 by Francisco Galindo and his wife, Maria Dolores Manuela (Pacheco) Galindo, daughter of Salvio Pacheco w ...
*
Don Salvio Pacheco Adobe The Salvio Pacheco Adobe is a historic adobe house in Concord, California. It was built in 1835 by Salvio Pacheco, a Californio ranchero with vast lands in Contra Costa. History In 1834, Salvio Pacheco was awarded the Rancho Monte del Diablo ...
* Hillcrest Park – home to
Matteo's Dream Matteo's Dream is an all-abilities playground in an urban park in Concord, California. It opened on May 16, 2007. Matteo Henderson was a boy with serious disabilities including blindness, cerebral palsy, and cognitive development. He used a wh ...
, a playground for children of all abilities * Lime Ridge Open Space *
Markham Regional Arboretum The Markham Regional Arboretum () is a natural arboretum located at 1202 La Vista Avenue, Concord, California, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a ...
* Newhall Community Park *
Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial The Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial is a memorial dedicated in 1994 recognizing the dead of the Port Chicago disaster, and the critical role played by Port Chicago, California during World War II, in serving as the main facility ...
* Rick Sears Memorial Park * Shiva Murugan Temple *
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord is a water park located in Concord, California. It was initially developed, owned, and operated by Premier Parks. It is currently owned by EPR Properties and operated by Six Flags. History Waterworld Californi ...
* Starting point of the
Iron Horse Regional Trail The Iron Horse Regional Trail is a rail trail for pedestrians, horse riders and bicycles in the East Bay Area in California. This trail is located in inland central Alameda and Contra Costa counties, mostly following a Southern Pacific Rail ...
*
Sunvalley Mall Sunvalley Shopping Center, or more popularly Sunvalley Mall, is a regional shopping center located in Concord, California (one of the suburbs in the San Francisco Bay Area, in east central Contra Costa County). Located off Interstate 680, Sun ...
* Todos Santos Plaza – site of farmer's market, concerts, and movies * West Wind Solano Drive-In Theater * Willow Pass Community Park * Ygnacio Valley Park


Sister city

In 1974, Concord became a sister city with Kitakami, Iwate, in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. The city established a small Japanese-style park in the city, and placed half of a sculpture, ''The Communion Bridge'', in it. The matching half of the bridge is in Kitakami. Every five years, a delegation from Concord visits Kitakami and operates a
student exchange program A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school (high school) or university study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. A student exchange program may involve international travel, but doe ...
.


Notable people

* Carlos Alazraqui, comedian, television actor, voice-over artist, voice of the Taco Bell chihuahua * Blake Anderson, comedian, writer, producer, and actor was born in Concord *
Autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
, death metal band * George Barnes, jazz musician, long-time resident *
Edi Birsan Edi Ersalesi Birsan (also known as Ed Birsan) is a Concord City councilmember (vice mayor in 2017 and mayor in 2018), a game designer, an independent business owner in the maritime container inspection industry, and one of the best-known American ...
, game designer and member of the City Council *
Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...
, festival promoter, jazz musician, orchestra leader; born in Concord *
Gil Castillo Gil Philip Castillo (born October 21, 1965) is an Americans, American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. A professional from 1998 until 2006, he fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, World Extreme Cagefighting, W ...
, mixed martial artist has been a resident * Natalie Coughlin, Olympic gold-medalist, has been a resident *
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
, Oscar-winning actor, producer, and director was born in Concord *
Eva Marie Natalie Eva Marie Nelson (born September 19, 1984) is an American actress, fashion designer, model, and professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenures in WWE, from 2013–2017 and 2020–2021, where she performed under the ring name ...
, female professional wrestler formerly signed to the WWE *
Cass McCombs Cass McCombs (born November 13, 1977 in California) is an American musician and songwriter. Since 2002 he has released ten albums, an EP and a B-sides compilation under his own name. McCombs’ music blends elements of many styles including Ameri ...
, singer and songwriter was born in Concord * Brent Mydland, keyboardist for the
Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
from 1979 to 1990 * Negativland, experimental music group * Reed Nesbit, urologist, pioneer of transurethral resection of the prostate *
Kyle Newacheck Kyle Newacheck (born January 23, 1984) is an American television writer, director, producer and actor. He is one of the creators of the Comedy Central show ''Workaholics'', in which he also co-starred. He is a producer and director on the FX come ...
, TV writer, was born in Concord *
Salvio Pacheco Don Juan Salvio Pacheco II (1793-1876) was a Californio ranchero and soldier. He founded the city of Concord, California, Concord, then known as Todos Santos. Pacheco also served three terms as Alcalde of San José (mayor of San Jose, California, ...
, historically important
Californio Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...
ranchero *
Meredith Patterson Meredith Ann Patterson (born November 24, 1975) is an American musical theatre and television actress. She is best known for her Broadway performances such as Peggy Sawyer in 2001 Revival of "42nd Street", '' The Boy Friend'' and '' White Christ ...
, Broadway actress was born in Concord *
Bernt Wahl Bernt Rainer Wahl is a mathematician, mentor, entrepreneur, and author. He served as CEO of Factle Corporation, Datahunt, and Dynamic Software, and is a former member of the UC Berkeley faculty. He teaches engineering and serves as an Industry Fe ...
, mathematician, scientist, entrepreneur, and author was a long-time resident


See also

* List of cities and towns in California *
List of cities and towns in the San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a metropolitan region surrounding the San Francisco Bay estuaries in Northern California. According to the 2010 United States Census, the region has over 7.1 million inhabitants and a ...


References


External links

* *
One Concord Center
onference and event facility {{authority control Cities in Contra Costa County, California Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1869 1869 establishments in California