Livermore, California
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Livermore is a city in
Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and List ...
. With a 2020 population of 87,955, Livermore is the most populous city in the Tri-Valley, giving its name to the Livermore Valley. It is located on the eastern edge of California's
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
, making it the easternmost city in the area. Livermore was a railroad town named for Robert Livermore, 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 Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Livermore, California, United States. Originally established in 1952, the laboratory now i ...
, for which the chemical element
livermorium Livermorium is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Lv and atomic number 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 after the La ...
is named (and thus, placing the city's name in the
periodic table The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the elements, is an ordered arrangement of the chemical elements into rows (" periods") and columns (" groups"). It is an icon of chemistry and is widely used in physics and other s ...
). 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 B ...
, which is headquartered in
Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
. Its south side is home to local
vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
s, and its downtown district is being redeveloped . 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 ...
defines an
urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...
of Tri-Valley-area cities, with Livermore as the principal city: the Livermore– Pleasanton
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, CA urban area had a 2020 population of 240,381, making it the 167th largest in the United States.


History


Pre-contact

The valley and upland areas, where contemporary Livermore is located, was home to Chochenyo speaking peoples. As a group, these people are considered
Ohlone The Ohlone ( ), formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the l ...
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 Americans in the United States, Native American people in Northern California who live in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County. They joined the Franciscan missi ...
to the north and the Valley 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 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 Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...
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 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. Because indigenous food resources there were depleted, they tried to support themselves by working as laborers. But as the population grew thanks to the
Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...
which started in 1848 and the workers on the railroad, it became more and more difficult to find work; by 1906, there were only 28 individuals left, and by 1914 most of the remaining population was gone.


Rancho Las Positas

Robert Livermore (1799–1858), the namesake of the town, was a British citizen who had jumped from a British merchant sailing ship stopping in
Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...
. In 1839, the Rancho Las Positas grant, which includes most of Livermore, was made to ranchers Robert Livermore and Jose Noriega. In the early 1840s Livermore moved his family from the Sunol Valley to the Rancho Las Positas grant, as the second non-native family to settle in the Livermore valley area.*
Livermore Heritage GuildLivermore-Amador Genealogical Society
In 1847, after the Americans took control of California and gold was discovered in 1848, Livermore started making money by selling California longhorn cattle to the thousands of hungry
California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...
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. Livermore's ranch became a popular "first day" stopping point for prospectors and businessmen leaving San Francisco or San Jose and headed for
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
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 nea ...
just east of Livermore. Because Livermore would offer food and shelter to those passing by, the valley eventually became known as "Livermore's Valley", and is still known as the Livermore Valley today.


Founding

Robert Livermore died in 1858. The first significant settlement in the valley was Laddsville, a small settlement of about 75 which had grown up around the hotel established by Alponso Ladd around 1864 on 160 acres of land he bought. After the hotel and a house were initially built, another home, a
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
, a saloon, and a
general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...
followed in the same year. The first schoolhouse was built in 1866. Livermore's founder, William Mendenhall, was another landowner in the Livermore Valley, having bought 650 acres of the Santa Rita grant and 608 acres of the Rancho Valle de San José. In 1869, he set aside of his land for a townsite, creating a new town which he named Livermore, after his friend Robert Livermore. Livermore was platted and registered on November 4, 1869, as a railroad town. By that time, the valley had already become known as Livermore's Valley. He had first met Livermore while marching through the valley with
John C. Fremont John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
's
California Battalion The California Battalion (also called the first California Volunteer Militia and U.S. Mounted Rifles) was formed during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) in present-day California, United States. It was led by U.S. Army Brevet (military) ...
in 1846 as they were recruited to occupy the surrendering
Californio Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...
towns captured by the U.S. Navy's Pacific Squadron. He also donated of this land to the
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 ...
, which in September 1869 placed a station on the land William Mendenhall had donated. The land for the tracks had already been signed over by Robert Livermore from his ranch in 1855, as surveyors had determined it was the best place to build. The original railroad tracks went from Alameda Terminal to
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
over the nearby
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 nea ...
in the east and Niles Canyon on the west. After it was destroyed by a fire in 1871, Laddsville gradually merged into Livermore. The railroad significantly accelerated Livermore's growth, and the incorporation of Laddsville into the city added impetus; the city was officially incorporated by the state on April 1, 1876. At the time the town had a population of about 830 people in 234 buildings. It had 13 saloons.


Early Livermore

In the early days, the income of the town of Livermore mainly came from wheat. The city also developed as a place for the shipping and processing of products of the valley, including cattle, roses, and white wines, the last especially prominent after the 1880s. Some other contributors to the town's prosperity were coal and oil deposits in the surrounding hills. Coal was first found in Harrisville, and in 1875 the Livermore Coal Company was formed. Extensive deposits of coal were also mined in the nearby Corral Hollow, which was briefly the largest coal producer in California between 1895 and 1905. The ghost towns of Tesla and Carnegie were satellite towns of Livermore at the time. Livermore's wine industry grew after the 1880s, and it became notable for wineries like Wente Vineyards, Concannon Vineyards, and Cresta Blanca Winery. 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 wheat and barley fields were being replaced by vineyards. As well as the main products of the town, extensive
chromite Chromite is a crystalline mineral composed primarily of iron(II) oxide and chromium(III) oxide compounds. It can be represented by the chemical formula of Iron, FeChromium, Cr2Oxygen, O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. The ...
deposits were found nearby and exploited for a time.
Magnesite Magnesite is a mineral with the chemical formula ( magnesium carbonate). Iron, manganese, cobalt, and nickel may occur as admixtures, but only in small amounts. Occurrence Magnesite occurs as veins in and an alteration product of ultramafic r ...
deposits were exploited on Red Mountain, near the end of Mines Road. The Remillard Brick Company was also in Livermore in 1885, and was producing an extensive line of bricks and employing over 100 men. Private grade schools were operating in Livermore from the 1860s on. The Livermore Collegiate Institute was founded in 1870, and Union High School (later called Livermore High School) graduated its first class of students in 1896. There was an old bullfight ring that survived until at least 1870. 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 in April 1876. During Livermore's early years, before and after it was incorporated, it was well known for large hotels that graced the downtown street corners, before new buildings replaced them. A telephone line connected Livermore to Arroyo Valley by 1886, and electric lights were introduced by 1888. By 1890 Livermore had over of streets.Baker, Joseph Eugene;
Past and Present of Alameda County, California
Volume 1'';p.442;
Livermore originally had a Boot Hill called the Oak Knoll Cemetery, Livermore's first public cemetery, but it was formally abandoned after becoming less popular and being devastated by natural disasters in the 1900s, and is now used for athletics at Granada High School.


1900s

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the Livermore Valley attracted the creation of sanitariums due to the warm climate and clean air. From 1894 to 1960, the Livermore Sanitarium was in operation for the treatment of alcoholism and mental disorders; and from 1918 to around 1960, the Arroyo del Valle Sanitarium was in operation in the town for the treatment of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. The city once had a slogan "Live Longer with Livermore". In 1909, the Livermore Carnegie Library and Park opened, 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. The community was primarily agricultural until 1945, and transitioned to a suburb as a result of construction of the
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Livermore, California, United States. Originally established in 1952, the laboratory now i ...
in 1952 and the
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 B ...
in 1956, and population overflow from the rest of the bay area. In 1942, the U.S. government bought of ranch land, and built the Livermore Naval Air Station. The primary mission of the base was to train Navy pilots for
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 ...
. This facility operated until it was decommissioned in 1946 after the end of the war. On January 5, 1951, the Bureau of Yards and Docks, U.S. Navy, 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 Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Livermore, California, United States. Originally established in 1952, the laboratory now i ...
(LLNL), named after physicist Ernest O. Lawrence, as the site of a second laboratory for the study of
nuclear energy Nuclear energy may refer to: *Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity *Nuclear binding energy, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom *Nuclear potential energy, the pot ...
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 Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...
. The laboratory was run by the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...
.
Edward Teller Edward Teller (; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian and American Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist and chemical engineer who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" and one of the creators of ...
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 B ...
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. A number of historic buildings from the 1800s were razed in the 1960s to build fast food and other modern structures in their place. The town grew rapidly in population in the 1990s when many people in
Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...
moved farther away from the urban core.


Geography

The Livermore Valley is located within the Diablo Range, one of several parts of the
California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte County, California, Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Trans ...
that surround the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
. 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) and wide (north to south). Watercourses draining the city of Livermore include Arroyo Mocho, Arroyo Valle, Arroyo Seco and Arroyo Las Positas. The principal
aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...
underlying the city is the Mocho Subbasin. 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 , 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 (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic ...
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 hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Csa), 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 se ...
because of its relatively low annual precipitation, due to being in the
rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...
of the western portions of the Diablo Range. Livermore features hot, dry summers and cool winters with occasional rainfall.Average Livermore weathe

accessed April 20, 2013
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 nea ...
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. Snow is very rare, but light dustings do occur on the surrounding hills and occasionally in the valley, such as in 2023, 2021, and 2009.


Demographics


2020 Census


2010 Census

The 2010 United States Census reported that Livermore had a population of 80,968. The population density was . 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. According to the 2010 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 ($97,428) and Livermore's western neighbor, Pleasanton ($101,022). 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.


Economy


Laboratories

The Livermore area is the home of two US Department of Energy 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
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Livermore, California, United States. Originally established in 1952, the laboratory now i ...
(LLNL) is the largest employer in Livermore, as of 2022, employing about 15% of the population. LLNL's defining responsibility is to "ensure the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear deterrent," but it also does a wide variety of other research, including co-discovering
livermorium Livermorium is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Lv and atomic number 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 after the La ...
. 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 B ...
, the second largest employer in Livermore (employing about 3%). It also describes itself as being focused on "national security". It is managed and operated by a subsidiary of Honeywell International.


i-GATE

In 2010, 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
,
UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
, and regional cities, partnered to create the i-GATE (Innovation for Green Advanced Transportation Excellence) National Energy Systems Technology (NEST) Incubator, part of the Central Valley. 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 was solar energy,
fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...
s,
biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...
s,
LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...
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, sci ...
Robot Garden, which provides public access on weekends.


Wine

One of California's oldest wine regions, the Livermore Valley
American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...
(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), and Charles Wetmore, a Portland, Maine-born pioneer of California (founder of Cresta Blanca Winery), 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 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in Livermore are:
Gillig Corporation Gillig (formerly Gillig Brothers) is an American designer and manufacturer of buses. The company headquarters, along with its manufacturing operations, is located in Livermore, California (in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area). ...
, 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 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Livermore, California, United States. Originally established in 1952, the laboratory now i ...
and Sandia National Laboratory are United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, 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 gla ...
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, 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. Livermore has a strong
blue-collar A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labor or skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, warehousing, mining, carpentry, electrical work, custodia ...
element, as well as many professionals who work at the
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Livermore, California, United States. Originally established in 1952, the laboratory now i ...
and other work sites in the high tech industries within the Bay Area. 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. The North Livermore district is north of the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
that cuts through downtown. The South Livermore district, including areas of unincorporated land, has over 40 wineries. Livermore has a seasonal local farmers market on Thursdays. The first Camp Wonder, a summer camp for children with special medical needs, was opened in Livermore in 2001. In 2019, a local LGBT organization, Livermore Pride, was founded. On its leadership team is Brittni Kiick, the city's vice mayor and first openly LGBTQ+ councilmember. Livermore was one of 10 cities 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." The Livermore Public Library has a front mosaic by Maria Alquilar. The official city flower is the Livermore tarplant, an endangered plant that only grows near Livermore.


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 Firehouse Six, 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 ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
'', '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'', and
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
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.


Media

Radio station KKIQ is licensed in Livermore and broadcasts in the Tri-Valley area. ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' is a local newspaper founded in September 1963. It is located in the Bank of Italy building.


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 has its own, five-person board of directors that is elected by the citizens to staggered four-year terms. As of 2013, LARPD operates 42 facilities over , with open space. It runs an extensive selection of classes on a wide variety of subjects. The 2012-2013 operating budget of LARPD was $16,393,564 plus a capital budget of $3,870,971. LARPD serves an area that encompasses about 115,000 people. 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.


Government

Livermore is run by a
council–manager government The council–manager government is a form of local government commonly used for municipalities and counties in the United States and Ireland, in New Zealand regional councils, and in Canadian municipalities. In the council-manager government, ...
with a four-member City Council, a Mayor, and a City Manager chosen by the city council. The City Manager is “hired” by the City Council, and can, in principle, be fired by them. Twice a month, the City Council hears citizen input and relays this information to the City Manager, who actually runs the city from day to day. The city council members are elected every 4 years, with one council member being elected to represent one of the 4 districts. The mayor is elected at large every 2 years, and the city manager is chosen by the city council every 5 years. The mayor of Livermore is John Marchand, who was elected in 2022 and previously served as mayor from 2011 to 2020. The four councilmembers are Evan Branning, (District 1), Ben Barrientos (District 2), Brittni Kiick (the district 3), and Bob Carling (District 4). The vice mayor is a member of the council, Brittni Klick. The City Manager is Marianna Marysheva, and the City Attorney is Jason Alcala. 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). ...
, Livermore is in , and in . In the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
, Livermore is in California's 14th congressional district, represented by Democrat Eric Swalwell. As of 2013, unions and bargaining units which had made agreements with Livermore included the Livermore Management Group, the Association of Livermore Employees (ALE), the Police Management, the Police Officers Association, and the Livermore-Pleasanton Firefighters (IAFF).


General Plan

The city of Livermore has a long-term General Plan which guides its decisions about topics, including transportation, jobs, housing, parks, shopping, and services. This plan is updated about every 10 to 20 years, and the city began the process of updating it in 2021, planning to finish by early 2024, under the name of "Imagine Livermore 2045". The city council appointed a General Plan Advisory Committee.


Education

The public schools in Livermore are part of the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD). 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. LVJUSD's Board of Education has five members, who 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 Hertz Foundation for scholarships is based in Livermore.


Charter schools shutdown

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): a 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 Lawrence Elementary school and Las Positas Community College Middle College. About 400 parents pulled their children out of the schools in 2016, during a time in which the schools were being investigated for problems including not paying rent, not paying teachers, and involuntarily transferring foreign exchange students to Stockton.


Infrastructure


Transportation

Interstate 580 is Livermore's primary east–west 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 nea ...
to the Central Valley and
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, 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 thro ...
. I-580 and I-5 are the main route of
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
truck shipping traffic. Interstate 680 lies about west of Livermore. Highway 84 heads southwest from I-580 to Fremont. Vasco Road, 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 Central California and Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that ...
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 rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn 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 axl ...
bus system operates in Livermore, Pleasanton,
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, and the surrounding unincorporated areas of Alameda County. It has connections to
Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running to Antioch, and Oakland Airport Connecto ...
(BART) stations in Dublin and Pleasanton. Livermore has two stations for the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE), a commuter train which runs from Stockton to the San Jose area. One station is at Vasco Road, 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 Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running to Antioch, and Oakland Airport Connecto ...
system to Livermore led by a group founded by Linda Jeffery Sailors, the former mayor of
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
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 Southfront 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


General

* Tara Kemp, pop/soul singer * Sonny Barger, outlaw biker and actor * Bob Beers, Nevada state senator * Robert Livermore, town namesake (died before the city was named and incorporated) * Jean Quan, mayor of
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
* Hans Mark, 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 United States Department of the Air Force, Department of the Air Force and the service secretary for ...
*
Ralph Merkle Ralph C. Merkle (born February 2, 1952) is an American computer scientist and mathematician. He is one of the inventors of public-key cryptography, the inventor of cryptographic hashing, and more recently a researcher and speaker on cryonics. M ...
, pioneer in modern
cryptography Cryptography, or cryptology (from "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logy, -logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of Adversary (cryptography), ...
* Brandon Rogers, comedian, actor and YouTuber * George H. Miller, director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory *
Edward Teller Edward Teller (; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian and American Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist and chemical engineer who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" and one of the creators of ...
, physicist, director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory * Herb York, first director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory * Harold Brown, director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and
United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the United States federal executive departments, executive department of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, a ...
* Conrad Bain (1923–2013), actor in
Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which originally aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and ...
* Eric Swalwell, U.S. representative, former
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
city councilor * Jill Whelan, actress and national spokesman for
Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress who was the first lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, as the second wife of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in ...
's
Just Say No "Just Say No" was an advertising campaign prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s as a part of the U.S.-led war on drugs, aiming to discourage children from engaging in illegal recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying ''no''. ...
anti-drug campaign * James Wesley Rawles, far-right survivalist author and Christian nationalist * Connie Post, first poet laureate of Livermore * Bill Owens, photographer of Livermore's suburbs, in the book ''
Suburbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
'' * Vanessa Ray, actress noted for her role as Edit ( Eddie ) Janko , later Janko Reagan in the CBS television series Blue Bloods from 2014 to 2024 .


Sports

* Kristin Allen, World Games gold medalist gymnast * Michael Rodrigues, World Games gold medalist gymnast * Max Baer, heavyweight champion boxer * Mark Davis ( Granada High School 1978), Major League Baseball pitcher *
Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed, "the Big Unit," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle Mariners and Arizo ...
( Livermore High 1982),
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher, Baseball Hall of Fame inductee * Bryan Shaw ( Livermore High 2005),
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher * J. R. Graham, Major League Baseball pitcher * Bill Mooneyham, Major League Baseball pitcher * Brian Johnson, Major League Soccer player * Troy Dayak, Major League soccer player, San Jose Earthquakes Hall of Fame inductee * Duane Glinton, Turks and Caicos Islands national football team midfielder


Sister cities

Livermore has three
sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, 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 ar ...
, as designated by
Sister Cities International Sister Cities International (SCI) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the goal of facilitating partnerships between communities within the United States and other countries by establishing sister cities. Sister cities are agreements of ...
: * Quetzaltenango, Guatemala * Snezhinsk, Russia. Citizens of Snezhinsk came to Livermore to teach children about the effects of drugs, join the Livermore Rodeo, and form a
Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...
. * 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

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Alameda County, California * Arroyo del Valle Sanitarium


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 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