Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

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 ...

has a wide variety of districts and neighborhoods. Generally, its citizens refer to the city by regions, named after directions (for example, the northeast, the northwest, and the southwest). These regions are further broken down into individual neighborhoods and districts (for example, Stockdale and Seven Oaks are part of the Southwest). The origins of neighborhood names vary greatly. Some are named after a nearby facility, such as Stockdale which is named after the Stockdale Country Club.History
Stockdale Country Club. Accessed: 05-13-2010. Some are named after previous communities which have been incorporated into Bakersfield. For example, Old Town Kern is named after the former Kern City. However, most come from developers, either named directly (such as Riverlakes Ranch), or after a large named development (such as Seven Oaks).

Central Bakersfield (Downtown)

Central Bakersfield refers to the area in the center of Bakersfield. Starting north and traveling clockwise, it is bounded by Golden State Avenue, Union Avenue, State Route 58, and State Route 99. Central Bakersfield includes the

civic center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...

, the Arts District, the Lowell Community, and the Oleander Community. It contains the oldest portions of the city; Downtown, Bakersfield's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

is located there. It also houses Chester Market, Lowell Place Senior Center, the Kern County Museum, and the Kern County Chamber of Commerce. Downtown is considered by many as the area bounded by 24th Street, Union Ave, California Ave, and F Street.

North Bakersfield

North Bakersfield refers to the area north of Bakersfield, between

California State Route 99 State Route 99 (SR 99), commonly known as Highway 99 or, simply, as 99 (without any further designation), is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California, stretching almost the entire length of the Central Valley. Fr ...

and the

Kern River The Kern River, previously Rio de San Felipe, later La Porciuncula, is an Endangered, Wild and Scenic river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfiel ...

. Currently, it is the only region in which no part is incorporated into Bakersfield. The town of Oildale is located there. It also contains Bakersfield's commercial airport,

Meadows Field Meadows Field is a public airport in Kern County, California, United States, three miles northwest of Downtown Bakersfield. It is the main airport for the Bakersfield area, and one of two international airports in the San Joaquin Valley. Also kn ...

. Because of the region's close proximity to the freeway network ( State Route 99), railroad mainline (

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

), and air travel (

), it is rapidly becoming the center of Bakersfield's distribution industry.

Northeast

Northeast Bakersfield (commonly referred to simply as The Northeast) refers to the area northeast of Bakersfield. Because of East Bakersfield's (see below) boundaries, the Northeast wraps around the region. As a result, there is not as much of a consensus as to its boundaries, compared to other regions. However, the common boundaries, starting at the southwest and traveling clockwise are: Mt. Vernon Avenue, Alfred Harrell Highway, State Route 178, State Route 184 (Kern Canyon Road), and Edison Highway. Although development started in the 1950s, much of the region is rural.Maynard, John. ''Bakersfield, A Centennial Portrait''. Cherbo Publishing Group. Encino, California, 1997. . Page 83. This is also the only region to be located on rolling hills.

Bakersfield College Bakersfield College (BC) is a public community college in Bakersfield, California. BC serves about 22,000 students each semester or 31,000 annually, and offers Associate degrees, certificate programs, and is one of fifteen California Community C ...

, built in 1956, is located here. Some of the oldest development in this area is located along Panorama Drive and Niles Street. Panorama Drive runs along the bluffs and overlooks the

Kern River Oil Field The Kern River Oil Field is a large oil field in Kern County in the San Joaquin Valley of California, north-northeast of Bakersfield in the lower Sierra foothills. Yielding a cumulative production of close to of oil by the end of 2006, it is ...

. Alfred Harrell Highway serves the Kern River County Park, a recreation area which contains:

Hart Memorial Park Hart Memorial Park (commonly called Hart Park) is a large public park in Kern County, California. It is located just north of Bakersfield (specifically the Northeast region). The park is , and contains two lakes and three canals. It was named a ...

California Living Museum The California Living Museum (commonly referred to as CALM) is a zoo in Bakersfield, California. The primary focuses are plants and animals that are native to California, specifically Kern County. The California Living Museum is accredited by ...

(CALM),

Lake Ming Lake Ming is a man-made recreational lake located in Bakersfield, California. It is primarily a motorboat and water-skiing lake, although sailboats are allowed the second full weekend each month, and every Tuesday and Thursday after 1:30 pm. Lake ...

, and the

Kern River Golf Course KERN (1180 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General Media. The radio studios and offices are in the American General M ...

. The Northeast also contains the

Rio Bravo Country Club Rio Bravo Country Club is an 18-hole private golf course located in the foothills in northeast Bakersfield, California. The course is 7,000 yards on hilly terrain designed by Robert Muir Graves. Since the course is located in the northeast, ...

and the

Bakersfield Country Club Bakersfield Country Club is an 18-hole private golf course located in Bakersfield, California. The course is 6,819 yards on hilly terrain, designed by William P. Bell. Being located in the foothills of northeast Bakersfield makes this one of the ...

East Bakersfield

East Bakersfield refers to Kern City (originally known as the town of Sumner), which was later annexed by Bakersfield. Starting at the northwest and traveling clockwise, the region is bounded by Bernard Street, Mount Vernon Avenue, East California Avenue, and Union Avenue. Because the town was created by

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

, the streets are laid out parallel to their railroad tracks, which are about 45 degrees off from the rest of the city. This makes East Bakersfield one of the easiest regions to identify on a map. Additionally, because it was a city prior to annexation, East Bakersfield has its own central business district (known as Old Town Kern) centered around the intersection of Baker Street and Sumner Avenue.

Southeast

Southeast Bakersfield (commonly referred to simply as The Southeast) refers to the area in southeast Bakersfield, between Union Avenue, East California Avenue, and Edison Highway. The Southeast includes the ''M.L.K. Community'', ''Jastro Avenue & Mcnew Court'', and the Cottonwood Community, which consists of ''Reece & Cheatum'', ''Casa Loma Drive'', ''Madison & Adams'', ''Watt's & Lotus'', and the ''East Planz Road & Madison'' area. The Southeast also contains three parks: Casa Loma Park, Bell Terrace Park, and Rexland Park. It also includes Casa Loma Elementary, the ''Career Services Center'', and the town of Delkern (most commonly referred to as the ''Rexland Park Area, or east Greenfield''). It is one of Bakersfield's least developed regions. It is primarily industrial, but it also contains residential areas. State Route 58 travels through the region and is the main link between Bakersfield and all southeast points, including Tehachapi, Mojave, and Barstow.

South Bakersfield

South Bakersfield refers to the area south of State Route 58 that sits between South Union Avenue and Wible Road. This portion of town is primarily residential, although there are some commercial areas. It includes Planz Park, Wilson Park, the Eleanor Wilson Library, and South High School. Major attractions include the Kern County Fairgrounds and the

Valley Plaza Mall Valley Plaza Mall is a shopping mall in Bakersfield, California. It is the largest mall in the San Joaquin Valley. The mall is situated near California State Route 99, the city's main north/south freeway. Anchor stores are Forever 21, JCPenney, M ...

, although some people consider the mall part of the southwest. South Bakersfield also includes the town of Greenfield. Historically a rural community, this part of the city has grown as far south as Taft Highway.

Southwest

Southwest Bakersfield (commonly referred to simply as The Southwest) refers to the area between the Kern River/Stockdale Highway and Wible Road. The Southwest contains a mixture of residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. The Southwest is home to the Park at River Walk, as well as the Marketplace, a major retail shopping center. It is also home to

California State University, Bakersfield California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB, Cal State Bakersfield, or CSU Bakersfield) is a public university in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Bake ...

Northwest

Northwest Bakersfield (commonly referred to simply as The Northwest) refers to the area northwest of central Bakersfield, between the

/Stockdale Highway and State Route 99. Historically a rural area, it saw major development in the mid-1990s that continues to this day. The towns of Fruitvale, Rosedale, and Greenacres used to be isolated, but are now bordered by the city limits. A major retail center is the Northwest Promenade.

References

{{City of Bakersfield *