Livermore (formerly Livermorès, Livermore Ranch, and Nottingham)
is a city in
Alameda County, California
Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. ...
. With a 2020 population of 87,955,
Livermore is the most populous city in the
Tri-Valley. It is located on the eastern edge of California's
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 G ...
. The current mayor is Bob Woerner.
Livermore was platted and registered on November 4, 1869, as a
railroad town
A railway town, or railroad town, is a settlement that originated or was greatly developed because of a railway station or junction at its site.
North America
During the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, tempor ...
by and named for
Robert Livermore
Robert Thomas Livermore, also known as Don Roberto Livermore, (c. 3 November 1799 – 14 February 1858) was an English-born Californian ranchero. He emigrated to Alta California in 1822, eventually becoming a Mexican citizen and a prominent lando ...
, his friend and a local rancher who settled in the area in the 1840s.
It is the home of the
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in Livermore, California, United States. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response ...
, for which the chemical element
livermorium
Livermorium is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Lv and has an atomic number of 116. It is an extremely radioactive element that has only been created in a laboratory setting and has not been observed in nature. The element is named afte ...
is named (and thus, placing the city's name in the
periodic table
The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the (chemical) elements, is a rows and columns arrangement of the chemical elements. It is widely used in chemistry, physics, and other sciences, and is generally seen as an icon of ch ...
). It is also the California site of
Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Bas ...
, which is headquartered in
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...
. Its south side is home to local
vineyard
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...
s. The city has redeveloped its downtown district and is considered part of the Tri-Valley area, comprising
Amador,
Livermore and
San Ramon valleys.
History
Pre-Contact
The valley and upland areas, where contemporary Livermore is located, was home to
Chochenyo
The Chochenyo (also called Chocheño, Chocenyo) are one of the divisions of the indigenous Ohlone (Costanoan) people of Northern California. The Chochenyo reside on the east side of the San Francisco Bay (the East Bay), primarily in what is ...
speaking peoples. As a group, these people are considered
Ohlone
The Ohlone, formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the ...
Costonoan with distinct cultural affiliation in contrast to and closely bordering the
Bay Miwok
The Bay Miwok are a cultural and linguistic group of Miwok, a Native American people in Northern California who live in Contra Costa County. They joined the Franciscan mission system during the early nineteenth century, suffered a devastating ...
to the north and the Valley
Yokuts
The Yokuts (previously known as MariposasPowell, 1891:90–91.) are an ethnic group of Native Americans native to central California. Before European contact, the Yokuts consisted of up to 60 tribes speaking several related languages. ''Yokuts ...
to the east. Four tribelets, the Yulien, Ssaoam, Ssouyn, and the Pelnen, occupied the valley floor with territory extending into the hills. Semi-permanent villages were located near water drainages at the valley floor within the current urban limits of Livermore with seasonal camps in the surrounding uplands.
1700s
A Spanish expedition led by
Pedro Fages
Pedro Fages (1734–1794) was a Spanish soldier, explorer, first Lieutenant Governor of the Californias under Gaspar de Portolá. Fages claimed the governorship after Portolá's death, acting as governor in opposition to the official governor ...
skirted the western edge of Livermore Valley in 1772. Shortly afterwards, the
Spanish Mission of San Jose was founded in 1797 on the slopes of what is modern day Fremont. Mission San Jose viewed the people and land stretching to the east as under their control.
Livermore Valley was called the Valley of San Jose by the Friars and actively recruited native peoples of the valley into the mission system. In contrast, the valley was also used as a staging area for raids on Mission San Jose by neighboring tribes in this early period and beyond.
1800s
During the first seven years of the 1800s, five hundred and two individuals were baptized at Mission San Jose from the four tribelets in the Livermore Valley.
In this time, Spanish military conducted raids throughout the East Bay using the valley as a natural corridor for movement.
Deaths from measles outbreaks were recorded in Mission San Jose in 1806 which forced recruiting beyond the Livermore Valley and into the Altamont range. The Livermore-Amador Valley from 1800 to about 1837 was primarily used as grazing land for the Mission San Jose's growing herds of cattle, sheep and horses. The valley helped San Jose Mission emerge as one of the more wealthy Spanish enclaves. As a result of the secularization of the mission system, in 1839, two large
ranchos were created that encompassed the Livermore Valley;
Rancho Las Positas
Rancho Las Positas was a Mexican land grant in present-day Alameda County, California given in 1839 by governor Juan Alvarado to Robert Livermore and José Noriega. Las Positas means "little watering holes" in Spanish. The rancho included t ...
and
Rancho Valle de San Jose. Many Native groups left the San Jose Mission during this period and reestablished themselves in communities in the East Bay, including the Livermore Valley.
The
Rancho Las Positas
Rancho Las Positas was a Mexican land grant in present-day Alameda County, California given in 1839 by governor Juan Alvarado to Robert Livermore and José Noriega. Las Positas means "little watering holes" in Spanish. The rancho included t ...
grant, which includes most of Livermore, was made to ranchers
Robert Livermore
Robert Thomas Livermore, also known as Don Roberto Livermore, (c. 3 November 1799 – 14 February 1858) was an English-born Californian ranchero. He emigrated to Alta California in 1822, eventually becoming a Mexican citizen and a prominent lando ...
and
Jose Noriega
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
* Jose ben Abin
* Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galil ...
in 1839. Most land grants were given with little or no cost to the recipients. Robert Livermore (1799-1858) was a British citizen who had jumped from a British merchant
sailing ship
A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships ...
stopping in
Monterey, California
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under b ...
, in 1822. He became a naturalized Mexican citizen who had converted to Catholicism in 1823 as was required for citizenship and legal residence. After working for a number of years as a majordomo (ranch foreman), Livermore married on 5 May 1838 the widow Maria Josefa de Jesus Higuera (1815–1879), daughter of Jose Loreto Higuera, grantee of
Rancho Los Tularcitos
Rancho Los Tularcitos was a Spanish land concession in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1821 to José Loreto Higuera by the last Spanish governor of Alta California, Pablo Vicente de Solá. The land grant was confirmed by Mex ...
, at the Mission San José. Livermore, after he got his rancho in 1839, was as interested in
viticulture
Viticulture (from the Latin word for '' vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of '' Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...
and
horticulture
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
as he was in cattle and horses, despite the fact that about the only source of income was the sale of cow hides and tallow. In the early 1840s he moved his family to the Livermore valley to his new rancho as the second non-Indian family to settle in the Livermore valley area, and after building a home he was the first in the area in 1846 to direct the planting of vineyards and orchards of pears and olives. Typical of most early rancho dwellings, the first building on his ranch was an
adobe on Las Positas Creek near the western end of today's Las Positas Road. After the Americans took control of California in 1847 and gold was discovered in 1848, he started making money by selling California
longhorn cattle to the thousands of hungry
California Gold Rush miners who soon arrived. The non-Indian population skyrocketed, and cattle were suddenly worth much more than the $1.00-$3.00 their hides could bring. With his new wealth and with goods flooding into newly rich California, in 1849 Livermore bought a two-story "Around the Horn" disassembled house that had been shipped about on a sailing ship around
Cape Horn
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...
from the
East Coast. It is believed to be the first wooden building in the Livermore Tri-Valley.
During the Gold Rush, Livermore's ranch became a popular "first day" stopping point for prospectors and businessmen leaving San Francisco or San Jose and headed for
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
and the
Mother Lode gold country. Most horse traffic went by way of
Altamont Pass
Altamont Pass, formerly Livermore Pass, is a low mountain pass in the Diablo Range of Northern California between Livermore in the Livermore Valley and Tracy in the San Joaquin Valley. The name is actually applied to two distinct but nearby ...
just east of Livermore. Robert Livermore was a very accommodating host and welcomed nearly all that stopped by with lodging and meals.
Robert Livermore died in 1858 and was buried at
Mission San Jose before the establishment of the town that bears his name. His ranch included much of the present-day city. The town of Livermore, named in honor of Robert Livermore, was platted and registered on November 4, 1869, as a
railroad town
A railway town, or railroad town, is a settlement that originated or was greatly developed because of a railway station or junction at its site.
North America
During the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, tempor ...
by William Martin Mendenhall, who had first met Livermore while marching through the valley with
John C. Fremont's
California Battalion in 1846 as they were recruited to occupy the surrendering
Californio towns captured by the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
's
Pacific Squadron
The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval s ...
.
The Livermore Ranch post office, in Robert Livermore's home, operated from 1851 to 1853.
The first significant settlement in the valley was Laddsville, a small settlement of about 75 that had grown up around the hotel established by Alphonso Ladd in 1864 on what is now Junction Avenue. The official U.S. post office in Livermore opened on Jan. 15, 1869.
It was called Nottingham in the mistaken belief that Robert Livermore had been born in Nottingham, England. (He was actually born in
Springfield, Essex
Springfield has been a civil parish of the Borough of Chelmsford in Essex, England, since 1907. The parish takes in the portion of the town north of river Chelmer and west of the A12 bypass and originally comprised the manors of Springfield Hall, ...
England.
) The post office's name was changed to Livermore on July 7, 1870.
The original
Western Pacific Railroad
The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...
Company in September 1869 completed its railroad connection from
Alameda Terminal
Alameda Terminal (a.k.a. Alameda Wharf) was a railroad station and ferry wharf at the foot and west of present-day Pacific Avenue and Main Street in Alameda, California, on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay with ferry service to San Fran ...
to Sacramento over the nearby Altamont Pass in the east and
Niles Canyon
Niles Canyon is a canyon in the San Francisco Bay Area formed by Alameda Creek, known for its heritage railroad and silent movie history. The canyon is largely in an unincorporated area of Alameda County, while the western portion of the cany ...
on the west with a stop and station on the land donated by Mendenhall and adjacent to the town he'd laid out.
The railroad greatly accelerated Livermore's growth.
By 1870 the Western Pacific had been absorbed by the
Central Pacific Railroad as part of the
First transcontinental railroad. Central Pacific was later acquired by the
Southern Pacific Railroad and then the
Union Pacific Railroad
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 ...
, which owns the tracks through town today, although these are primarily the tracks of the "second"
Western Pacific Railroad
The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...
that was founded in 1903 and absorbed into the UP in 1983.
Private grade schools were operating in Livermore from the 1860s on. The
Livermore Collegiate Institute was founded in 1870, and the Union High School (later called Livermore High) graduated its first class of students in 1896.
Petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
was discovered near Livermore and become a valuable asset. Extensive
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
deposits were mined near Corral Hollow by the Livermore Coal Company. In September 1871 Laddsville mostly burned down, and the people rebuilt their homes and businesses nearer the railroad in what is now downtown Livermore. Until 1875 the townspeople enjoyed bull fights in a small
bullring
A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with the Iberian Peninsula, but they can also be found through Iberian America and in a few Spanish and Portuguese ex-colonies in Africa. Bullrings are ...
on many Sundays, and on other occasions a captured grizzly bear might be pitted against a longhorn bull. Apparently, roping a grizzly was thought then to be a great sport. By 1876 the town had grown and a fire company, churches, a bank, and a library were built. Livermore was officially
incorporated by the state as a city on April 1, 1876, its original city limits being the line a block north of 1st Street on the north and Livermore Avenue (then Lizzie Street) on the east. The part of the west side north of 5th Street was bounded by Q Street, and the part of it south of 5th Street by I Street. The part of the south side east of I Street was bounded by 6th Street, and the part of it west of I Street by 5th Street.
During Livermore's early years, it was well known for large hotels that graced the downtown street corners, before new buildings replaced them. Livermore after the 1880s is also notable for the
Wente Vineyards,
Concannon Vineyard
Concannon Vineyard is the second-largest winery in the Livermore Valley of California, producing around 30,000 cases annually. It is well known for its Petite Sirah and Concannon was the first winery to bottle this grape as a varietal wine in 196 ...
,
Cresta Blanca Winery
Cresta Blanca Winery was one of the original Livermore Valley wineries. It was founded by Charles Wetmore in 1882 with cuttings of Sauvignon blanc from Chateau d'Yquem and other top Bordeaux properties. Its first vintage, a dry white wine in 188 ...
and many other wineries. Since it has a Mediterranean climate, gravelly soil, warm days and cool nights, it was a good location to grow wine grapes. By 1880 the extensive winter wheat and hay crop lands were being replaced by vineyards. Extensive
chromite deposits were found and exploited for a time. In 1885, the
Remillard Brick Company was producing an extensive line of bricks and employing over 100 men. A telephone line connected Livermore to Arroyo Valley by 1886, and electric lights were introduced by 1889. By 1890 Livermore had over of streets. Livermore originally had a
Boot Hill
Boot Hill, or Boothill, is the given name of many cemeteries, chiefly in the Western United States. During the 19th and early 20th century it was a common name for the burial grounds of gunfighters, or those who " died with their boots on" (i.e ...
called the Old Knoll Cemetery.
1900s
During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the
Livermore Valley
The Livermore Valley, historically known as the Valle de San José (Valley of San José), is a valley in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region. The city of Livermore is located in the valley.
Geography
The valley is bound ...
attracted the creation of sanitariums due to the warm climate.
From 1894 to 1960, the
Livermore Sanitarium was in operation for the treatment of alcoholism and mental disorders; and from 1918 to ca.1960, the
Arroyo del Valle Sanitarium was in operation in the town for the treatment of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
.
In 1909, the
Livermore Carnegie Library and Park opened after taking advantage of a
Carnegie library grant. As the city grew and larger libraries were needed, other libraries were built, and the original site was converted into a historic center and park.
In 1942, the U.S. government bought of ranch land, bounded by Vasco and Greenville roads and East Avenue, and built the
Livermore Naval Air Station. The primary mission of the base was to train Navy pilots. This facility operated until it was decommissioned in 1946 after the end of
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 opposing ...
. On 5 January 1951, the Bureau of Yards and Docks,
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
, formally transferred the former NAS Livermore in its entirety to the
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) for use by the University of California's Radiation Laboratory. In 1952, the government established
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in Livermore, California, United States. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response ...
(LLNL), named after physicist
Ernest O. Lawrence, as the site of a second laboratory for the study of
nuclear energy like the research being done at the
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...
. The laboratory was run by the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...
.
Edward Teller
Edward Teller ( hu, Teller Ede; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" (see the Teller–Ulam design), although he did not care for ...
was a co-founder of LLNL and was both its director and associate director for many years. In 1956, the California campus of
Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Bas ...
opened across East Avenue from LLNL. Both LLNL and Sandia are technically on U.S. government property just outside the city's jurisdiction limits, but with employment at LLNL at about 6,800 and Sandia/California at about 1,150 they are Livermore's largest employers.
Geography
The Livermore Valley is located east of the first coastal range of foothills that surround 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 G ...
. The Livermore Valley has an east–west orientation with mountain passes on the west and east connecting the Bay Area and the
Central Valley. The passes are used by railroads and highways to connect the two regions. Livermore Valley is about long (east to west), wide (north to south), and surrounded by California coastal range mountains and foothills.
Watercourses draining the city of Livermore include
Arroyo Mocho,
Arroyo Valle
Arroyo Valle or Arroyo Del Valle is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 westward-flowing stream that begins in northeastern Santa Clara County, California ...
,
Arroyo Seco and
Arroyo Las Positas. The principal
aquifer
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials ( gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characteris ...
underlying the city is the
Mocho Subbasin. 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 t ...
, the city has a total area of , over 99% of it land. Several local
seismic
Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...
areas of activity lie near the city, including the
Greenville Fault,
Tesla Fault and the
Livermore Fault.
The soil is primarily gravel with excellent drainage. The gravel is used in several gravel extraction sites outside the city. The gravelly soil and Mediterranean climate increases the flavor concentration in the grapes planted in the soil.
Climate
Livermore has a
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 ...
, although it is close to a
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...
because of its relatively low annual precipitation being in a
rain shadow of the
East Bay
The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties ...
hills. Livermore features hot, dry summers and mild to cool winters with occasional rainfall (
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
Csa). Summer (June–September) daytime temperatures average in the range, but sometimes reach and can occasionally approach . Summer nights, however, are normally much cooler, with lows in the range. The valley's passes direct the normal west to east flow of air through the valley. Usually there is a strong evening wind in the summer that brings cool air off the Pacific Ocean into the Livermore valley as it heads towards the much hotter
Central Valley. This wind is strong enough with an average summer wind speed of about and predictable enough to encourage the use of the wind turbines in the
Altamont Pass
Altamont Pass, formerly Livermore Pass, is a low mountain pass in the Diablo Range of Northern California between Livermore in the Livermore Valley and Tracy in the San Joaquin Valley. The name is actually applied to two distinct but nearby ...
between the cities of Livermore and Tracy. The period from June to September is extremely dry and is characterized by clear skies. On rare occasion, subtropical moisture occasionally surges into the Livermore Valley in the late summer. This can bring high humidity, monsoon clouds, and, much less commonly, thunderstorms.
Nearly all of the of annual Livermore rainfall comes in the September to May time period, but about 50% of the days are sunny during this period with no appreciable cloud cover. The peak rainy months are December to March. Most rainstorms are classified as 50% light rain, 32% moderate rain, 11% heavy rain and less than 6% thunder showers. The coldest months are December and January, with a mean high of about and a low of about with some occasional frost possible on clear mornings. The temperature can drop to as low as the range on an exceptionally cold night. Snow is very rare, but light dustings do occur on the surrounding hills and occasionally in the valley.
The record high temperature is , recorded on September 5, 2022, and the record low temperature is , recorded on January 5, 1961, and December 9, 1972.WRCC
Demographics
U.S. 2010 Census
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 servi ...
reported that Livermore had a population of 80,968. The population density was . The census reported that 80,482 (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 389 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 121 (0.1%) were institutionalized.
According to the latest census information, Livermore is the third wealthiest midsize (between 65,000 and 249,999 people) city in the nation. In 2005, the median household income in Livermore was $96,632, which ranked it the third highest-income midsize city, behind only the California cities of
Newport Beach
Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws ...
($97,428) and Livermore's western neighbor,
Pleasanton ($101,022).
There were 29,134 households, out of which 11,238 (38.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 17,058 (58.6%) were
opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,834 (9.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,407 (4.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,584 (5.4%)
unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 206 (0.7%)
same-sex married couples or partnerships. The population age profile was spread out, with 20,636 people (25.5%) under the age of 18, 6,176 people (7.6%) aged 18 to 24, 22,530 people (27.8%) aged 25 to 44, 23,284 people (28.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 8,342 people (10.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males. Of 5,997 households (20.6%) were made up of individuals, and 2,099 (7.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76. There were 21,299
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. Ideal ...
(73.1% of all households); the average family size was 3.19. There were 30,342 housing units at an average density of , of which 29,134 were occupied, of which 20,399 (70.0%) were owner-occupied, and 8,735 (30.0%) were occupied by renters.
The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.8%. 56,967 people (70.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 23,491 people (29.0%) lived in rental housing units.
Economy
Laboratories
The Livermore area is the home of two
DOE National Laboratories. The laboratories are known worldwide, and attract significant attention both for their scientific research and for their major roles in developing the United States nuclear arsenal.
The largest employer in Livermore is the
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in Livermore, California, United States. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response ...
(LLNL), a
federally funded research and development center
Federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) are public-private partnerships that conduct research and development for the United States Government. Under Federal Acquisition Regulationbr>§ 35.017 FFRDCs are operated by univ ...
funded by the
Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...
which is operated by a limited liability consortium named Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS), a joint venture company of
Bechtel National, the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...
,
BWX Technologies
BWX Technologies, Inc. (), headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia is a supplier of nuclear components and fuel to the U.S. On July 1, 2015, BWX Technologies Inc. began trading separately from its former subsidiary Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc ...
,
URS
Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or ''Urus'' (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc ...
, and
Battelle. The lab is the location of the
IBM Sequoia
IBM Sequoia was a petascale Blue Gene/Q supercomputer constructed by IBM for the National Nuclear Security Administration as part of the Advanced Simulation and Computing Program (ASC). It was delivered to the Lawrence Livermore National Labora ...
supercomputer. The lab was the co-discoverer of new
superheavy elements 113,
114,
115 115 may refer to:
* 115 (number), the number
* AD 115, a year in the 2nd century AD
* 115 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC
* 115 (Hampshire Fortress) Corps Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, a unit in the UK Territorial Army
* 115 (Leicestershire) ...
,
116,
117 117 may refer to:
*117 (number)
*AD 117
*117 BC
*117 (emergency telephone number)
*117 (MBTA bus)
* 117 (TFL bus)
*117 (New Jersey bus)
*''117°'', a 1998 album by Izzy Stradlin
*No. 117 (SPARTAN-II soldier ID), personal name John, the Master Chief ...
, and
118 118 may refer to:
*118 (number)
*AD 118
*118 BC
*118 (TV series)
*118 (film)
*118 (Tees) Corps Engineer Regiment
*118 (Tees) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers
See also
*11/8 (disambiguation)
*Oganesson
Oganesson is a synthetic chemical element wi ...
. The chemical element with
atomic number
The atomic number or nuclear charge number (symbol ''Z'') of a chemical element is the charge number of an atomic nucleus. For ordinary nuclei, this is equal to the proton number (''n''p) or the number of protons found in the nucleus of every ...
116 was given the name
livermorium
Livermorium is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Lv and has an atomic number of 116. It is an extremely radioactive element that has only been created in a laboratory setting and has not been observed in nature. The element is named afte ...
, after the laboratory, in 2012.
LLNL is the location of the world's highest-energy
laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fi ...
, the
National Ignition Facility
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a laser-based inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research device, located at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, United States. NIF's mission is to achieve fusion ignition w ...
(NIF), a project designed to create the first sustained, controlled
nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei are combined to form one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles ( neutrons or protons). The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manife ...
reaction, which would generate
fusion power
Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices de ...
, a potential energy source.
Livermore is also the California site of
Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Bas ...
, which is managed and operated by a
subsidiary of
Honeywell International
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance m ...
.
i-GATE
The two National Laboratories, along with other stakeholders, including the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
,
UC Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
, and regional cities, partnered to create the i-GATE (Innovation for Green Advanced Transportation Excellence) National Energy Systems Technology (NEST) Incubator. The i-GATE NEST campus was created to stimulate large-scale, high-tech business development drawn by the two labs. Initial focus of the campus will be solar energy,
fuel cells,
biofuels,
LED lighting, and other related technologies. i-GATE shares its facilities with the
hackerspace
A hackerspace (also referred to as a hacklab, hackspace, or makerspace) is a community-operated, often "not for profit" ( 501(c)(3) in the United States), workspace where people with common interests, such as computers, machining, technology, ...
Robot Garden, which provides public access on weekends.
Wine
One of California's oldest wine regions, the Livermore Valley
American Viticultural Area (AVA) played a pivotal role in shaping California's wine industry. In the 1840s, California pioneers looking for outstanding vineyard sites began planting grapes in the region. Robert Livermore planted the first commercial vines in the 1840s. After California joined the union as the 31st state in 1850, pioneer winemakers C. H. Wente, a first-generation immigrant from Germany (founder of
Wente Vineyards), James Concannon, a first generation Irishman (founder of
Concannon Vineyard
Concannon Vineyard is the second-largest winery in the Livermore Valley of California, producing around 30,000 cases annually. It is well known for its Petite Sirah and Concannon was the first winery to bottle this grape as a varietal wine in 196 ...
), and Charles Wetmore, a Portland, Maine-born pioneer of California (founder of
Cresta Blanca Winery
Cresta Blanca Winery was one of the original Livermore Valley wineries. It was founded by Charles Wetmore in 1882 with cuttings of Sauvignon blanc from Chateau d'Yquem and other top Bordeaux properties. Its first vintage, a dry white wine in 188 ...
), recognized the area's winegrowing potential and bought land, planted grapes and founded their wineries in the 1880s. Charles Wetmore went to France in 1878 when he was appointed a delegate for the California Viticultural Association to the Paris Exposition. Wetmore was able in 1882 to obtain Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscat de Bordelais cuttings from one of the most prestigious vineyards in France, Chateau Yquem. These superior clones helped revitalize the California wine industry. In 1889 Wetmore won the grand prize for his first pressing (1884) in the 1889 Paris Exposition. Wetmore shared these cuttings with other growers, including C. H. Wente, who used the Chateau Yquem grape cuttings to eventually produce their Chateau Wente wine.
Top employers
According to the City's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in Livermore are:
Gillig Corporation, a large manufacturer of buses, moved its factory to Livermore in May 2017 and, at the time of the move, the company estimated its employment at the new facility to be 800 initially and 850 after the filling of then-open positions.
Livermore's largest employers, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory, are U.S. government-owned facilities, located inside the city limits since 2011, and are included in the above table.
Architectural Glass and Aluminum
Architectural Glass and Aluminum (AGA) is a specialty glazing (window), glazing contractor located in the United States. Architectural Glass & Aluminum provides engineering, design, fabrication, installation, and assembly services for custom glaz ...
moved its headquarters to Livermore in 2013, with 80 employees. They expanded and changed to 100% employee ownership in 2015.
Arts and culture
Livermore's culture retains some vestiges of the farming, winegrowing and ranching traditions that have existed in the valley since the time of Robert Livermore, but now largely reflects a suburban population. Since 1918, Livermore has each June hosted the
Livermore Rodeo
The Livermore Rodeo is a rodeo held annually in Livermore, California on the second full weekend of June at the rodeo grounds at Robertson Park. It is the oldest event in Livermore and part of the famous California 6-Pack Rodeo Circuit. Famous rode ...
, called the "World's Fastest Rodeo", that claims it has more riders per hour than any other event of its type. There are several wine-tasting tours of the many Livermore area wineries that occur periodically throughout the summer. This culture was documented in the photoessay ''
Suburbia
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include Commercial area, commercial and mixed-use development, mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a ...
'' in 1973 by then-native photographer
Bill Owens, with the photos shown in numerous exhibits.
Livermore was the only city in California to be awarded an All-America City Award during the annual National Civic League ceremony for 2021. The theme of the 2021 awards was "Building Equitable and Resilient Communities."
Livermore has a strong
blue-collar
A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...
element, as well as many professionals who work at the
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in Livermore, California, United States. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response ...
and other work sites in the high tech industries within the Bay Area. Recent housing development has included the addition of hundreds of million-dollar homes set among the southside's vineyards, as well as a multimillion-dollar renovation of the downtown area. Renovations included office buildings, the Livermore Cinemas, the Bankhead Theatre, and a multistory parking structure. The Livermore Civic Center includes a state-of-the-art library that opened in 2004, with a front mosaic by
Maria Alquilar.
Livermore has several golf courses located near the city: Las Positas municipal golf course, and the 18 hole Poppy Ridge and Wente Vineyards courses. Springtown Golf Course closed on October 15, 2015.
Livermore Municipal Airport (LVK) is accessible to business jets, serving the entire
Tri-Valley area.
The city is home to
Bay Area Rosal, a professional
indoor soccer team.
Each summer Livermore has a farmer's market which bring farm-fresh produce directly to the consumer.
In 2004,
Cornerstone Fellowship
Cornerstone Fellowship is a non-denominational, multi-site Christian church serving the East Bay area of San Francisco, US.
In 2020 the church had five physical locations in Livermore, Brentwood, Hayward, in Walnut Creek, and Danville, Ca ...
remodeled and moved into former indoor soccer facility, making it the largest indoor auditorium venue in the Tri-Valley, with weekly attendance in the thousands.
In 2010, proposed projects included extension of the
BART
Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc.
Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...
high-speed rail system to Livermore, with an underground downtown station, and a regional performing arts center between Livermore Avenue and L Street.
Arts organizations supported by the city include the
Livermore-Amador Symphony, Del Valle Fine Arts, producer of classical music events, and in the valley at large, the
Valley Concert Chorale, Livermore Valley Opera, the Valley Dance Theatre, a classical ballet company and the Livermore Art Association.
In 2019, a local LGBT organization, Livermore Pride, was founded.
There are over 50 places of worship in Livermore.
Camp Wonder opened its first summer camp for children with special medical needs in Livermore in 2001.
One of the largest districts in Livermore is Springtown, the northeast area of the city north of
Interstate 580. Originally conceived as a retirement community in the early 1960s, Springtown has slowly transformed into a community of young families and commuters from the greater Bay Area. Along with the new population, comes a transformation and updating of the cookie-cutter homes, with many formerly 2/1 or 2/2 homes being converted into larger residences. As of late 2017, the city is in the process of planning the future of the former Springtown Golf Course in conjunction with the LARPD.
The downtown area or central district has two movie theaters, a community theater, and space for open-air concerts. The North Livermore district is north of the
Union Pacific Railroad
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 ...
that cuts through downtown. The South Livermore district, including areas of unincorporated land, has over 40 wineries.
World's longest-lasting light bulb
The city is noted for one world record. A 120+ year old 4-watt light bulb, called the Centennial Light, housed in the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department main station, is still burning. Originally installed by Augustus Donner Wilson, the bulb has been maintained through successive generations until his great-great granddaughter Alissa Wilson. It glows dimly, but still functions as a light bulb. The ''
Guinness Book of World Records'', ''
Ripley's Believe It or Not!'', and
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...
have concluded that the bulb has been burning continuously since 1901 with the exception of power failures and the three times it was disconnected for moves to new stations. The light bulb was manufactured by the
Shelby Electric Company and was hand blown with a carbon filament.
Parks and recreation
The Livermore Area Recreation and Park District (LARPD) is a special independent park district that was created by the vote of the public in 1947 and runs the parks and other facilities in the city of Livermore and most of the unincorporated areas of eastern Alameda County. LARPD operates 42 facilities, including neighborhood, special use, community and regional parks and sport fields, a family campground at South Lake Tahoe, the Ravenswood Historic Site, The Barn, the Veterans Building, the Carnegie Building, the Bothwell Recreation Center and the new Robert Livermore Community Center. LARPD runs the May Nissen Community Park and Swim Center at 685 Rincon Ave and is open to swimmers with a $0.50 admission price from mid-June through end of August—closed Sundays. May Nissen Park includes a tot lot, group picnic area, barbecue pits, picnic tables, preschool, basketball court, restrooms, horseshoe pits, softball areas, tennis courts, two swimming pools, and a dog park. Max Baer Park has been the home of the Intermediate Little League World Series since 2013.
Brushy Peak Regional Preserve, located near Livermore, is jointly operated by the Livermore Area Recreation and Park District and the
East Bay Regional Park District
The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is a special district operating in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area. It maintains and operates a system of regional parks which ...
.
The extensive gravel deposits around Livermore have led to extensive gravel extraction that is still ongoing. Shadow Cliffs Park along Stanley Boulevard west of Livermore is a popular park that includes an lake in an old Kaiser Industries gravel pit and is used extensively today for swimming, boating, and fishing.
Del Valle Regional Park, south of Livermore, includes a lake with a variety of water-oriented recreation. The parking/entrance fee is $6 per vehicle and $4 more per trailered boat. The park opens at 6 AM in the summer and 7 AM in the winter. It has approximately of oak-covered hills that can be used for hiking, horseback riding, and nature study. The lake is used by sailboats, sailboards and fishing boats as well as recreational swimmers.
Del Valle Park has the eastern gateway to the Ohlone Wilderness Trail, a scenic back country hiking trail. The Del Valle Family Campground has 150 sites, 21 of them with water and sewage, and electrical hook-ups. Picnicking sites are available.
LARPD operates parks and facilities of , with open space. It runs an extensive selection of classes on a wide variety of subjects. LARPD has its own, five-person board of directors that is elected by the citizens to staggered four-year terms and meets at 7 p.m. on the second and last Wednesday of each month inside the Cresta Blanca Ballroom at the Robert Livermore Community Center, 4444 East Avenue. They are paid $100/meeting with a maximum of $500/month. The General Manager of LARPD is Timothy Barry—selected by the board and paid $137,160/yr plus unspecified benefits including Alameda County retirement plan (ACERA) with 29.13% of LARPD salary contribution rate to a well paid retirement plan. In addition, there are 13 paid holidays, vacation, sick leave, medical, dental, life insurance, etc. adding about $55,000/yr in benefits to the General Manager's salary. The organization and facilities are extensive and LARPD hires many part-time workers (up to about 430 at peak times) from Park Rangers to referees in its extensive programs and classes with a permanent staff of about 63. The 2012-2013 operating budget of LARPD is $16,393,564 plus a capital budget of $3,870,971. Their source of operating income is property taxes, user fees, charges and grants. Unfortunately, the state has cut down on their share of property taxes as the state re-allocate more to itself and their never ending fiscal crisis's. LARPD serves an area that encompasses about 115,000 people.
Government
Livermore is run by a
Council–manager government
The council–manager government is a form of local government used for municipalities, counties, or other equivalent regions. It is one of the two most common forms of local government in the United States along with the mayor–council gover ...
with a four-member City Council elected for four years plus a two-year elected mayor and a "professional" City Manager. The council meets at 7 p.m. the second and fourth Mondays of each month at Council Chambers, 3575 Pacific Ave., Livermore. Twice a month they hear citizen input and presumably relay this information to the City manager who actually runs the city day to day. Bob Woerner (Mayor), Trish Munro (Vice Mayor), Gina Bonnano (At Large), Bob Carling (District 4), and Brittni Kiick (Disctict 3) are the present city council members. District 1 and 2 Council Members will be elected in 2022. The Mayor is paid $1,400 per month and the other council members are paid $980 per month. In addition they are eligible for a $90 per month cell phone allotment and health care benefits up to a maximum of $2,119/month plus other city paid insurance and retirement contributions to CaLPERS or PARS ARS of which the city pays 18% or 1.3% of their salary, respectively.
The City Manager, Marc Roberts, was nominally hired by the city council for a five-year term and can, in principle, be fired by them if needed. Marc Roberts is paid a salary of $196,320/year with about $64,500/year medical, insurance and retirement benefits paid by the city. The City Manager has a staff of five to assist him.
The City Attorney, Jason Alcala, is hired by the City Council and generally handles all legal matters for the city, from traffic tickets to civil lawsuits to acting as a general counsel, giving legal advice to city departments.
Unions and bargaining units representing the 451 Livermore City Employees:
* Livermore Management Group
* Association of Livermore Employees (ALE)
* Police Management
* Police Officers Association
* Livermore-Pleasanton Firefighters (IAFF)
Nearly all have their own union agreements and retirement systems which in general cost at least city paid: $7,500 per year for health benefits, life and AD&D insurance, short and long term disability Insurance, 1.45% medicare, 18.1% of salary contribution for retirement benefits which can be used at age 55 at a rate of 2.7% times years of service time salary or 3.0% times years of service times salary at age 50 for police officers, 100% of health insurance paid after retirement with 25 or more years of service, tuition and 75% text book reimbursement, uniform allowance, 80–192 hours of vacation per year, 12 paid holidays per year, etc.
As of October 2019, there were 53,792 registered voters in Livermore; of these, 21,158 (39.93%) are
Democrats, 15,061 (28.00%) are
Republicans, and 14,499 (26.95%) are
independents/decline to state.
In the
California State Legislature, Livermore is in ,
[ and in .]
In the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, Livermore is in .[
Bob Woerner is the incumbent Mayor of Livermore.
]
General Plan Update: Imagine Livermore 2045
In September 2021, the City of Livermore began its General Plan update process. Also known as Imagine Livermore 2045, this is a multi-year update to the General Plan that includes public outreach and a General Plan Advisory Committee appointed by City Council.
Education
Public schools
The public schools in Livermore are part of the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD), with headquarters at 685 East Jack London Blvd.
The district has 11 elementary (K-5 and K-8) schools, three middle schools (grades 6-8), two comprehensive high schools, and three alternative high schools. As of the 2012–2013 school year, the public school superintendent was Kelly Bowers, who was hired by the elected school board in 2010.
The five members of the Board of Education are elected to alternating four year terms by the voters of the community. Each December, the board reorganizes itself by selecting a board president and clerk of the board. The president of the board (2015) is Craig Bueno. Chuck Rogge is the clerk of the board, while Anne White, Bill Dunlop and Thomas McLaughlin are board members. They hold regular public meetings on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. in the School Board Room at 685 East Jack London Blvd.
High schools
* Livermore High School
Founded in 1891, Livermore Union High School is a public high school located in the city of Livermore, California, United States. It is part of the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District. In 2007, it was chosen as one in four schools i ...
, established in 1891 as California's first union high school
* Granada High School, Livermore's second high school
Alternative schools
* Del Valle and Phoenix Continuation High Schools, two schools sharing one building since 2004
* Vineyard High School an alternative independent study school
Adult education
* Livermore Adult School, 1401 Almond Ave., Livermore
Other schools
Pre-schools and day care
Livermore has about 30 pre-schools and day care centers.
Charter schools
There were two charter school
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
s in Livermore, one K-8 and one high school, both operated by the Tri-Valley Learning Corporation, a local 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization formed by the parents and teachers who founded the two charter schools.
* Livermore Valley Charter School (LVCS): a K-8 public school
* Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory (LVCP): Livermore's newest high school, opened in fall of 2010
Both schools were effectively shut down by the beginning of the 2018 school year amidst accusations of embezzlement, exchange student fraud, and the loss of their UC accreditation. The displaced students were absorbed by the new Lawernce Elementary school and Las Positas Community College Middle College.
Private schools
* Our Savior Lutheran School (OSLS)
* St. Michael's Elementary and Middle Catholic School
Valley Montessori
* Livermore Valley Academy
* King's Classical Academy
Colleges and universities
*Las Positas College
Las Positas College (LPC) is a public community college in Livermore, California.
History
Las Positas College began as an extension program of Chabot College in 1963, offering 24 classes and enrolling 810 students at three sites, including Li ...
The Hertz Foundation
The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation is an American non-profit organization that awards fellowships to Ph.D. students in the applied physical, biological and engineering sciences. The fellowship provides $250,000 of support over five years. The ...
for scholarships is based in Livermore.
Media
Radio station KKIQ
KKIQ (101.7 FM) is a commercial adult contemporary radio station located in Pleasanton, California, broadcasting to the East Bay area with a main focus on Southern Alameda County. Their slogan is "Your Hometown Station!"
KKIQ is owned by Alpha ...
is licensed in Livermore and broadcasts in the Tri-Valley area.
''The Independent'' is a local newspaper founded in September 1963. It is located in the Bank of Italy Building.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Interstate 580 is Livermore's primary east–west six-lane freeway. I-580 passes the outskirts of Livermore before it heads east through the Altamont Pass
Altamont Pass, formerly Livermore Pass, is a low mountain pass in the Diablo Range of Northern California between Livermore in the Livermore Valley and Tracy in the San Joaquin Valley. The name is actually applied to two distinct but nearby ...
to the Central Valley and Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...
. I-580 and I-5 are the main route of 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 G ...
to Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
truck shipping traffic. Interstate 680 lies about west of Livermore. Highway 84 heads southwest from I-580 to Fremont. Vasco Road
Vasco Road is a roadway over the Diablo Range that connects Livermore and Brentwood, California. Although it is not part of the California State Highway system, it is the principal north–south commuter route serving eastern Alameda and Contr ...
, an unnumbered highway that is maintained by Alameda and Contra Costa counties, connects Livermore to Brentwood and the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta
The Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, or California Delta, is an expansive inland river delta and estuary in Northern California. The Delta is formed at the western edge of the Central Valley by the confluence of the Sacramento and San ...
area.
Livermore Municipal Airport (LVK) is located northwest of Livermore and is a division of the Public Works Department; it is owned and operated by the City of Livermore. It is the main airport in the Tri-Valley area. Approximately 600 aircraft are based on Livermore Airport, which has over 150,000 annual aircraft landings and take-offs each year. The airport serves private, business, and corporate tenants and customers and covers about . The main lighted runway is long. The main terminal building covers . The airfield is accessible 24 hours a day and is attended by city employees during the hours listed under "Airport Services". The staffed air traffic control tower is operated by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees daily from 7:00 A.M. until 9:00 P.M. There is an open airshow which is held annually on the first Saturday of October from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM showing vintage World War II aircraft and other displays.
The WHEELS
A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to b ...
bus system operates in Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, and the surrounding unincorporated areas of Alameda County. It has connections to Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) stations in Dublin and Pleasanton.
Livermore has two stations for the Altamont Corridor Express
The Altamont Corridor Express (also known as ACE, formerly Altamont Commuter Express) is a commuter rail service in California, connecting Stockton and San Jose during peak hours only. ACE is named for the Altamont Pass, through which it runs ...
(ACE), a commuter train which runs from Stockton to the San Jose area. One station is at Vasco Road
Vasco Road is a roadway over the Diablo Range that connects Livermore and Brentwood, California. Although it is not part of the California State Highway system, it is the principal north–south commuter route serving eastern Alameda and Contr ...
, and the other is in downtown Livermore at its Transit Center. The Transit Center has a free multistory parking garage and connections to the WHEELS bus system.
There was a petition drive to bring the Bay Area Rapid Transit system to Livermore led by a group founded by Linda Jeffery Sailors, the former mayor of Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
who was successful in extending BART to Dublin/Pleasanton (the closest station to Livermore at that time). In May 2018, the BART board of directors voted against extending BART to Livermore. As a result, the Tri-Valley-San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority was formed to establish a rail connection between the existing BART system and the Altamont Corridor Express. The service, known as Valley Link, intends to build new rail stations at Isabel Avenue and Greenville Road for service.
Police
The Livermore Police Department (LPD) was established in 1876, at that time the only law enforcement agency in the San Francisco Bay Area besides the San Francisco Police Department. The LPD has 135 members including 90 sworn officers and 45 non-sworn full-time personnel who operate on a $25 million budget each year.
Fire department
The Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department provides fire and advanced life support services to the cities of Livermore and Pleasanton. It serves an estimated population of 150,000 (78,000 in Livermore, and 71,000 in Pleasanton) over ( in Livermore, and in Pleasanton) with an operating budget of $28 million. In 2008 the LPFD responded to approximately 11,000 calls for service. The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 1974 represents its 112 members.
Notable people
* Mikkel Aaland, digital photographer
* Louie Aguiar, football player
* Kristin Allen, gymnast
* Max Baer, heavyweight champion boxer
*Conrad Bain
Conrad Stafford Bain (February 4, 1923 – January 14, 2013) was a Canadian-American comedian and actor. His television credits include a leading role as Phillip Drummond in the sitcom ''Diff'rent Strokes'', as Dr. Arthur Harmon on '' Maude'', ...
(1923-2013), actor
* Sonny Barger, outlaw biker and actor
* Bob Beers, Nevada state senator
* Jason Lyle Black, classical pianist
* Ben Bodé, actor
* Harold Brown, director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and United States Secretary of Defense
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The ...
* Bryn Davies, musician
* Mark Davis, Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
pitcher, Granada High School (1978)
*Troy Dayak
Troy Michael Dayak (born January 29, 1971) is an American former soccer player who played as central defender. He spent his entire Major League Soccer career with the San Jose Clash/Earthquakes and nearly all of his professional career playing ...
, soccer player, San Jose Earthquakes Hall of Fame inductee
* James DePaiva, actor
*Matt Finders
Matt Finders (born February 12, 1960) is an American trombonist based in Southern California. A former member of The Tonight Show Band, he has played with various big bands and in major musical productions on Broadway. Though Finders has worked i ...
, trombonist
* Duane Glinton, Turks & Caicos Islands football midfielder
* J. R. Graham, Major League Baseball pitcher
* Martin Harrison, football defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...
for San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
, Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
and Seattle Seahawks, active 1990-1999
*Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson (born 5 October 1947) is an English singer and songwriter. In 1980, after the death of Bon Scott, he became the third lead singer of the Australian rock band AC/DC. He and the rest of the band were inducted into the Rock and Rol ...
, soccer player
*Randy Johnson
Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...
( Livermore High 1982), Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
pitcher for Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...
, Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...
, New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
, and San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
, 1988–2009, Baseball Hall of Fame inductee
* Tara Kemp, singer
*Robert Livermore
Robert Thomas Livermore, also known as Don Roberto Livermore, (c. 3 November 1799 – 14 February 1858) was an English-born Californian ranchero. He emigrated to Alta California in 1822, eventually becoming a Mexican citizen and a prominent lando ...
, town namesake (died before the city was named and incorporated)
*Hans Mark
Hans Michael Mark (June 17, 1929 – December 18, 2021) was a German-born American government official who served as Secretary of the Air Force and as a Deputy Administrator of NASA. He was an expert and consultant in aerospace design and natio ...
, physicist and United States Secretary of the Air Force
The secretary of the Air Force, sometimes referred to as the secretary of the Department of the Air Force, (SecAF, or SAF/OS) is the head of the Department of the Air Force and the service secretary for the United States Air Force and United ...
* Ralph Merkle, pioneer in modern cryptography
Cryptography, or cryptology (from grc, , translit=kryptós "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adver ...
* George H. Miller, director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
*Bill Mooneyham
William Craig Mooneyham (August 16, 1960) was an American professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of the Major League Baseball (MLB).
Mooneyham attended Merced College. He was originally drafted in 1980 Major League Baseball dra ...
, Major League Baseball pitcher for Oakland A's
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
* Erwin Mueller (1944-2018), basketball player with Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...
, Los Angeles Lakers, and Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...
in 1960s and Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...
in the 1970s
* Bill Owens, photographer of Livermore's suburbs, in the book ''Suburbia
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include Commercial area, commercial and mixed-use development, mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a ...
''
* Ronald "Ron" Oliveira, businessman and current CEO of Revolut
Revolut is a British financial technology company that offers banking services, but did not have a UK banking licence. Headquartered in London, it was founded in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko. It offers accounts featuring currency ...
USA
* Danny Payne, soccer player
* Connie Post, first poet laureate
A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...
of Livermore
*Jean Quan
Lai Jean Quan (born October 21, 1949) is an American politician that served as the 49th mayor of Oakland, California from 2011 to 2015. She previously served as City Council member for Oakland's 4th District. Upon inauguration on January 3, 201 ...
, mayor of Oakland
*James Wesley Rawles
James Wesley, Rawles (born 1960) is an American author, former United States Army, U.S. Army Intelligence officer, and retreat (survivalism), survival retreat consultant. Rawles describes himself as a Christian libertarianism, Constitutionalist ...
, best-selling novelist
* Judith Merkle Riley, author
*Shelby Robertson
Shelby Robertson is an American comic book illustrator, known for his distinctive style pinup renditions of attractive fictional female characters. His detailed rendering of heavily muscled figures has been compared to that of Frank Frazetta and ...
, artist
*Michael Rodrigues Michael Rodrigues may refer to:
* Michael Rodrigues (politician)
Michael J. Rodrigues (born May 30, 1959) is a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Massachusetts Senate representing the Massachusetts Senate's 1st Bristol an ...
, gymnast
* Brandon Rogers, YouTuber, comedian
* Syamyon Sharetski, the last acting chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus, President of Belarus
The president of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Прэзідэнт Рэспублікі Беларусь; russian: Президент Республики Беларусь) is the head of state and head of government of Belarus. The office was cre ...
(acting since 1999)
* Bryan Shaw ( Livermore High 2005), Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
pitcher for Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...
2011–2012, and Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
2013-present
* Jon Stebbins, author
* Brad Stisser, soccer player
*Edward Teller
Edward Teller ( hu, Teller Ede; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" (see the Teller–Ulam design), although he did not care for ...
, physicist, director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
* Steven L. Thompson, author, journalist, historian, former motorcycle racer
* Jack Trudeau, football player
* Brock Van Wey, electronic musician
*Tim Weaver
Tim Weaver is a retired American soccer defender who played two seasons in Major League Soccer with the San Jose Clash.
Soccer
Weaver attended the University of San Francisco where he played on the men's soccer team from 1993 to 1996. In 1 ...
, soccer player
*Jill Whelan
Jill Whelan (born September 29, 1966) is an American actress. She played Vicki Stubing, the daughter of Captain Stubing, in the first nine seasons of the American television series ''The Love Boat'' (later rebooted as '' Love Boat: The Next W ...
, actress
*Herb York
Herbert Frank York (24 November 1921 – 19 May 2009) was an American nuclear physicist of Mohawk nation, Mohawk origin.http://www.edge.org/conversation/nsa-the-decision-problem. The Decision Problem He held numerous research and administrat ...
, first director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Sister cities
Livermore has three sister cities
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inter ...
, as designated by Sister Cities International
Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit organization, nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between communities in the United States and those in other countries, particularly through the establish ...
:
* Quetzaltenango
Quetzaltenango (, also known by its Maya name Xelajú or Xela ) is both the seat of the namesake Department and municipality, in Guatemala.
The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of above sea level at its lowest part. It m ...
, Guatemala
* Snezhinsk, Russia. Citizens of Snezhinsk came to Livermore to teach children about the effects of drugs, join the Livermore Rodeo
The Livermore Rodeo is a rodeo held annually in Livermore, California on the second full weekend of June at the rodeo grounds at Robertson Park. It is the oldest event in Livermore and part of the famous California 6-Pack Rodeo Circuit. Famous rode ...
, and form a Rotary Club.
* Yotsukaidō, Japan. Both Livermore and Yotsukaido have a student exchange program. In April 2008, a concert was held in celebration of the relationship of the cities.
See also
References
*
Print, photo and film resources on Livermore
* '' Livermore'' (2002), a film by Rachel Raney and David Murray
* ''Suburbia'', photoessay by Owens, Bill (1972),
External links
*
{{Authority control
Cities in Alameda County, California
Livermore Valley
Boot Hill cemeteries
California wine
El Camino Viejo
Populated places established in 1876
1876 establishments in California
Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area
Incorporated cities and towns in California