Covina ( /koviːnə/) is a city in the

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley (), sometimes referred to by its initials as SGV, is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, with the city of Los Angeles directly bordering it to the west and occupying the vast majority of the southeastern ...

region of

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...

, United States, about east of

downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

The population was 51,268 according to the 2020 census, up from 47,796 at the 2010 census. The city's slogan, "One Mile Square and All There", was coined when the incorporated area of the city was only . Covina is bordered by

West Covina West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

, to its south and west side.

Irwindale } Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 1,472 at the 2020 census, 1,422 at the 2010 census. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 91010, which is shared with Duarte, 91702, which i ...

lies to the west, as well as the unincorporated area of

Vincent Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...

, and the city of Baldwin Park.

Azusa AZUSA refers to a ground-based radar tracking system installed at Cape Canaveral, Florida and the NASA Kennedy Space Center. AZUSA was named after the southern California town Azusa, California where the system was devised in the early 1950s. ...

and Glendora are to the north, the unincorporated community of

Charter Oak The Charter Oak was an enormous Quercus alba, white oak tree growing on Wyllys Hill in Hartford, Connecticut, from around the 12th or 13th century until it fell during a storm in 1856. Connecticut colonists hid Connecticut Constitutional Histor ...

to the northeast, San Dimas to the east, the unincorporated area of

Ramona ''Ramona'' is an 1884 American novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson. Set in Southern California after the Mexican–American War and annexation of the territory by the United States, ''Ramona'' explores the life of a mixed-race Scottish– Native ...

and city of Pomona to the southeast.

History

Present-day Covina was originally within the homelands of the indigenous

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous peoples of California, Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Channel Islands of California, Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . In the precolonial era, the peop ...

people for 5,000 to 8,000 years. In the 18th century it became part of

Rancho La Puente Rancho La Puente was a ranch in the southern San Gabriel Valley that measured just under , and remained intact from its establishment in the late 1700s as an outpost of Mission San Gabriel until about 1870. By modern landmarks, the ranch extende ...

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

, a 1770s Spanish colonial and 1842 Mexican

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

. The city of Covina was founded in 1882 by Joseph Swift Phillips, on a tract that was purchased from the holdings of

John Edward Hollenbeck John Edward Hollenbeck (June 5, 1829 – September 2, 1885) was an American businessman and investor who was involved in the 19th-century development of Nicaragua and the city of Los Angeles, California. Early life J. Edward Hollenbeck was born ...

, one of the 1842 grantees of Rancho La Puente. In 1875 Hollenbeck had purchased a failed coffee plantation from three Costa Rican brothers, Pedro Maria Badilla, Julian Badilla, and Pedro Antonio Badilla; the latter purchased it from the heirs of Hollenbeck's 1842 co-grantee John A. Rowland. Four streets of Covina were named after these people, as well as Rancho La Puente, which include Badillo Street, Puente Street, Rowland Street, and Hollenbeck Avenue. The City of Covina was named by a young engineer, Frederick Eaton, who was hired by Phillips to survey the area. Impressed by the way that the valleys of the adjacent

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains () are a mountain range located in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Transverse Ranges and lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert ...

formed a natural cove around the vineyards that had been planted by the region's earlier pioneers, Eaton merged the words "cove" and "vine", and in 1885, created the name Covina for the new township. The city was incorporated in 1901, the townsite bounded by Puente Street on the south, 1st Avenue on the east, the alley north of College Street on the north, and 4th Avenue on the west. The city's slogan, "One Mile Square and All There", was coined by Mrs F. E. Wolfarth, the winner of a 1922 slogan contest sponsored by the chamber of commerce. It was not vineyards but

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

and

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The flesh of the fruit is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark red. Grapefru ...

groves that blanketed the city. By 1909, the city was the third-largest orange producer in the world, and it still claimed to have "the best oranges in the world" as late as the 1950s. Since

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, however, the orange groves have been largely replaced by single-family (houses) and multiple-family (apartments) dwellings. The Covina Valley Historical Society maintains an archive illustrating the city's history in the 1911-built Firehouse Jail Museum, Covina's first municipal building, located immediately behind City Hall in Covina's Old Town. Opened in 1997, the Covina

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

30 located at Arrow Highway and Azusa Avenue is one of the busiest theatres in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The

movie theater A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...

was built on the site of a former

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

building and claims to have the largest movie multiplex in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

. It has been a sister city of

Xalapa Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexico, Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In 2020 census the city reported a population of 443,063 ...

, Mexico, since 1964. A replica of a giant stone

Olmec head The Olmec colossal heads are stone representations of human heads sculpted from large basalt boulders. They range in height from . The heads date from at least 900 BCE and are a distinctive feature of the Olmec civilization of ancient Mesoamerica ...

, located in a place of honor in Parque Xalapa, was given to the city in 1989 by the state of

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. According to the placard placed below the head, it was originally excavated from San Lorenzo de Tenochtitlan. The statue was later moved from its location in front of the police department to Jalapa Park in the southeast portion of the city. 2008 marked both the opening and the charter season of the

Covina Center for the Performing Arts The Covina Center for the Performing Arts is an historic theater located in Covina, California, dedicated to the advancement of theatre. History The original Covina Theater was built in 1920 in the Reed building at the corner of Citrus and Bad ...

, a newly remodeled multimillion-dollar theatrical venue in downtown Covina.

2008 massacre

On December 24, 2008, a shooting and arson occurred. Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, dressed in a Santa Claus costume, entered a Christmas party at his ex-wife's residence and opened fire. After the shootings, Pardo unwrapped a Christmas package containing a homemade flamethrower and used it to set the home ablaze. When he left, nine family members were dead and the house was engulfed in flames. After the massacre, Pardo drove his rental car to his brother's house in Sylmar, approximately away from the attack. He was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The slayings left 15 children without one or both parents.

Geography

Covina is located at (34.091609, -117.879193). The only freeway that passes through the area is a very small stretch of

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

. Covina is centered in the midst of Interstate 210 (

Foothill Freeway The Foothill Freeway is a freeway in the Greater Los Angeles in the U.S. state of California, running from the Sylmar district of Los Angeles east to Redlands. The western segment is signed as Interstate 210 (I-210) from its western end ...

) to the north,

Interstate 605 Interstate 605 (abbreviated I-605, officially known as the San Gabriel River Freeway and locally referred to as The 605) is a major north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Greater Los Angeles urban area of Southern California. I ...

( San Gabriel River Freeway) to the west, State Route 57 (

Orange Freeway Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

) to the east, and

to the south. The

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

, which reached Covina in 1884, and the Metrolink

San Bernardino Line The San Bernardino Line is a Metrolink line running between Downtown Los Angeles east through the San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire to San Bernardino, with limited express service to Redlands. It is one of the three initial lines on th ...

pass through the city just north of the downtown area. The city is served by

Covina station Covina station is a Metrolink train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, ...

.The town is located at the foot of the

in the

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of —99.78% of it is land and 0.22% of it is water.

Climate

This region experiences hot, dry summers and mild, occasionally rainy winters. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Covina has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 census

2010

The 2010 United States census reported that Covina had a population of 47,796. The population density was . The racial makeup of Covina was *27,937 (58.5%) White (29.9% Non-Hispanic White), *2,013 (4.2%) African American, *532 (1.1%) Native American, *5,684 (11.9%) Asian, *104 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, *9,230 (19.3%) from other races, and *2,296 (4.8%) from two or more races. *25,030 (52.4%) Hispanic or Latino of any race were. The Census reported that 47,361 people (99.1% of the population) lived in households, 68 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 367 (0.8%) were institutionalized. There were 15,855 households, out of which 6,396 (40.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,931 (50.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,815 (17.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,072 (6.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 978 (6.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 94 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,153 households (19.9%) were made up of individuals, and 1,179 (7.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99. There were 11,818

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(74.5% of all households); the average family size was 3.43. The population was spread out, with 11,896 people (24.9%) under the age of 18, 5,043 people (10.6%) aged 18 to 24, 13,113 people (27.4%) aged 25 to 44, 12,174 people (25.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,570 people (11.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males. There were 16,576 housing units at an average density of , of which 9,256 (58.4%) were owner-occupied, and 6,599 (41.6%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.4%. 28,707 people (60.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 18,654 people (39.0%) lived in rental housing units. According to the 2010 United States census, Covina had a median household income of $66,726, with 11.3% of the population living below the federal poverty line. An additional 31,072 residents live in zip codes associated with Covina but outside the city limits, making the total Covina-area population 78,868 at the time of the 2010 census.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 46,837 people, 15,971 households, and 11,754 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 16,364 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 62.10% White, 5.03% Black or African American, 0.90% Native American, 9.82% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 17.18% from other races, and 4.78% from two or more races. 40.29% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 15,971 households, out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.36. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $48,474, and the median income for a family was $55,111. Males had a median income of $40,687 versus $32,329 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $20,231. About 8.9% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over. An additional 30,000 residents live in unincorporated areas of the three zip codes associated with Covina but outside the city limits, making the total Covina-area population 76,417.

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

were the most common ancestries.

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

were the most common foreign places of birth. German, English, Irish, Italian and French are the top ancestries. Spanish and Chinese are the most common non-English languages.

Latino population

Hispanics made up 13% of Covina's residents in 1980, 26% in 1990, 40% in 2000, and 52% in 2010. The latest official census numbers showed Covina is 58.8% Latino

Economy

Top employers

According to the city's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Government and infrastructure

Local government in Covina is run by an elected

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

through their hired

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...

. Covina residents are represented at-large, currently by the following elected officials: Mayor Walter Allen III, Mayor Pro Tem John C. King, Councilmember Patricia Cortez, Councilmember Hector Delgado, and Councilmember Victor Linares. In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

, Covina is in , and in . In the United States House of Representatives, Covina is in . Covinans who access county health services may use the Pomona Health Center in Pomona or the Monrovia Health Center in Monrovia, California, Monrovia, both operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

Education

Covina is served by three unified school districts. The Covina-Valley Unified School District, which serves most of the city, the Charter Oak Unified School District, which serves the eastern portion and the Azusa Unified School District, which serves a small portion in the northwest. Covina-Valley USD schools located in Covina include: *Barranca Elementary School *Ben Lomond Elementary School *Cypress Valley Elementary School *Manzanita Elementary School *Merwin Elementary School *Las Palmas Middle School *Sierra Vista Middle School *Covina High School *Northview High School Charter Oak USD schools located in Covina include: *Badillo Elementary School *Cedargrove Elementary School *Glen Oak Elementary School *Royal Oak Middle School *Charter Oak High School Azusa USD schools located in Covina include: *Gladstone Middle School

In popular culture

Covina is the fictional setting for the ''Harold Teen'' comic strip and 1934 movie that depicted several teenagers from Covina High School. A downtown Covina malt shop was named the Sugar Bowl (with the permission of the artist Carl Eds), imitating the after-school gathering place in the comic strip. Scenes from several movies and television shows have been filmed in Covina, including: * The television series ''Roswell (TV series), Roswell'' was filmed in various location in Covina including the downtown area on North Citrus Avenue. City Hall, Charter Oak High School and several other businesses and residences served as locations for the fictional version of the town of Roswell, New Mexico. * Multiple episodes of the hit television series ''Knight Rider (1982 TV series), Knight Rider'' were filmed in Downtown "Old" Covina, including an episode coincidentally shot at Knight's Photo Studio on Citrus, where David Hasselhoff greeted fans and passed out signed photographs. * One of the ending shots of the movie ''Frailty (2001 film), Frailty'' was filmed on Center St. off of Hollenbeck. * During the opening diner scene in Reservoir Dogs, a poster featured in the background shot is of a carnival located on Covina Blvd. and Bonnie Cove Ave. * The "Bohemian Rhapsody" scene from the film ''Wayne's World (film), Wayne's World'' was filmed on Citrus Avenue in downtown Covina, although some external shots were filmed in other locations. * The "Grey Poupon" scene from ''Wayne's World (film), Wayne's World'' was shot on Citrus Avenue. Covina Hobby was visible in the background. Having two cars side-by-side reflects (incorrectly) that the main drag had four lanes. * The "cruising" portion of ''Hometown USA'' was filmed on Citrus Avenue. * The interior of Covina Public Library served as the Baltimore County Public Library for the 2004 television movie ''Back When We Were Grownups''. *An episode of ''Tabatha's Salon Takeover'' was filmed in Downtown "Old" Covina at Tantrum on Citrus Avenue. * The theater in downtown Covina (refurbished in 2008), the library and neighborhood streets around downtown were used in the filming of ''High School U.S.A.—''a 1983 movie starring Michael J. Fox and Nancy McKeon. *The small independent film ''Small Time'', starring Christopher Meloni and Bridget Moynahan, was filmed at Clippinger Chevrolet, which used to be at San Bernardino Road and Citrus Avenue in Downtown Covina. *A satirical short film called ''Make America Great?'' by filmmaker Candice Vernon was filmed at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church located at Badillo and Third Avenue.

Notable people

*Leo Baker (skateboarder), Leo Baker – professional skateboarder, attended Northview High School (Covina, California), Northview High School *Rick Baker (makeup artist), Rick Baker – seven-time Academy Award-winning makeup artist; films include ''An American Werewolf in London, American Werewolf In London'', ''Ed Wood (film), Ed Wood'', ''Men in Black (1997 film), Men In Black'' and ''The Wolfman (2010 film), The Wolfman'' *Pamela Baird, child actress, ''My Friend Flicka (TV series), My Friend Flicka'', ''Leave It to Beaver'', graduated from Covina High School, class of 1963 *Irma Blanco – L.A. radio personality, resided in Covina *Tom Brunansky – Major League Baseball player and coach, played from 1985 to 2000 for New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs; 1985 All-Star, member of 1987 World Series champion Twins; born in Covina *Clyde Christensen – offensive coordinator of NFL's Miami Dolphins; born in Covina, attended Royal Oak High School (California), Royal Oak High School *Gil Cisneros, California's 31st congressional district, U.S. representative; former Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness *Jack Clark (baseball), Jack Clark – Major League Baseball player for San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox from 1975 to 1992; hit .267 with 340 home runs, played in 1985 World Series, four-time MLB All-Star; graduated from Gladstone High School in 1973 *Mark Clear – baseball player *Art Clokey – creator of Gumby; with wife Ruth invented Gumby in the early 1950s at their Covina home after Art finished film school at USC *Casey Dailey – football player for Northwestern Wildcats football, Northwestern and NFL's New York Jets *Herschel Daugherty – former film, television and theatre director. *Wonderland Gang#Where are they now?, William "Billie" Raymond DeVrell (1937–1981) – Wonderland Gang member killed in 1981 Wonderland murders is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks and Mortuaries (Covina Hills) *Donald W. Evans Jr., Sp4., (1943–1967) – U.S. Army, Army medic awarded Medal of Honor for bravery in Vietnam War, plus Purple Heart; born in Covina *Donna Fargo – country singer, taught English at Northview High School in the 1960s and 1970s *Hussein Mohamed Farrah – son of Mohamed Farrah Aidid and former President of Somalia, graduated from Covina High School *Frank Farris – mathematician *Jason David Frank (1973–2022) – played Tommy Oliver in the ''Power Rangers'' franchise *Rod Gilfry – opera baritone *Roy Harris – composer, grew up on strawberry farm in Covina and attended Covina High School *Lillian Kinkella Keil – decorated World War II flight nurse; born in Covina *Ward Kimball – one of Disney's Nine Old Men, original Disney animators, leader of Dixieland band Firehouse Five Plus Two; Covina High School class of 1929 *Robert Knapp (actor), Robert Knapp – actor, lived in Covina in his teenage years and worked in orange groves *Bob Lorenz – anchor and studio host, New York Yankees TV network (YES Network); previously with CNN, CNNSI and Turner Sports *Mike Lynn (basketball), Mike Lynn – former NBA player for Los Angeles Lakers *Jeremy Miller – actor in TV comedy series ''Growing Pains''; born and raised in Covina *John Molina Jr. – boxer, born in Covina *Mike Morrell – politician *Corey Nakatani – jockey, winner of nearly 4,000 races; born and raised in Covina *Vince Neil and Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe – met while attending Royal Oak High School *Kelly Nichols – former pornographic film actress *Aaron Perez – Soccer player *PattiSue Plumer – Athlete in 1980 and 1988 Olympics *Polly Plumer – American track and field runner *Alice Huyler Ramsey – died in Covina; first woman to drive across America from coast to coast. On June 9, 1909, the 22-year-old housewife and mother from Hackensack, New Jersey, completed from Manhattan, New York, to San Francisco, California, in a Maxwell automobile, Maxwell automobile; she was accompanied on the 59-day trek by three female companions, none of whom could drive a car. * Mitrice Richardson – dancer *Jeron Roberts (born 1976) - American-Israeli basketball player *Gary Roenicke – Major League Baseball outfielder for Montreal Expos (1976), Baltimore Orioles (1978–85), New York Yankees (1986) and Atlanta Braves (1987–88), hit .247 with 121 home runs; born in Covina *Ron Roenicke – Major League Baseball player and manager, coach of 2002 World Series champion Anaheim Angels; born in Covina *Bobby Rose (baseball), Bobby Rose – Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball player; born in Covina *Rio Ruiz – baseball third baseman *Gaius Shaver – football player *Willie Shoemaker (1931–2003) – Hall of Fame jockey with 8,833 wins including four Kentucky Derbys; attended Covina High School *Jean Stafford – Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and short-story writer *Tatiana Suarez – mixed martial artist *Rob Wilfong – Major League Baseball player for Minnesota Twins, California Angels and San Francisco Giants from 1977 to 1987, batted .248 with 39 home runs; graduated from Northview HS in 1971 *Chris Woodward – Major League Baseball player (1999–2010) for Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, and Seattle Mariners; born in Covina and attended Northview HS *Ellen Beach Yaw (known as Lark Ellen) – a coloratura soprano active during the 19th and 20th centuries, who toured the world singing opera for over 40 years and chose to retire in Covina; a street in city is named for her *Jennifer York – award-winning Los Angeles traffic reporter and bassist; born in Covina *Michael Young (baseball), Michael Young – Major League Baseball infielder, 7-time All-Star selection with Texas Rangers (2004–2009, 2011), 2005 American League batting champion, 2006 MLB All-Star Game MVP, 2008 Gold Glove Award winner; born in Covina

Sister city

Covina has one sister city: *

, Mexico

References

External links

*
Covina Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Covina, California, Cities in Los Angeles County, California Communities in the San Gabriel Valley Incorporated cities and towns in California 1882 establishments in California Populated places established in 1882 Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods in California