Temple City, California
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Temple City is a city 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 ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
located northeast of downtown Los Angeles and at the base of the
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 ...
. Temple City is part of a cluster of cities, along with
Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...
, Arcadia,
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,
San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...
, and San Gabriel, in the west
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 ...
.


History

The town of Temple originated on May 30, 1923, when Walter P. Temple (June 7, 1870 – November 13, 1938) purchased of land east of San Gabriel which had been part of Lucky Baldwin's Rancho Santa Anita. The original townsite (Tract 6561, recorded with the LA County Tax Assessor in June 1923) corresponds to the present-day area bounded by Garibaldi Avenue on the north, Baldwin Avenue on the east, Live Oak Avenue on the south, and Encinita Avenue on the west. Temple, the son and tenth child of Pliny Fisk Temple and William Workman's daughter Antonia Margarita Workman, was born on Rancho La Merced, which is today part of the city of Montebello. This was the site of the original San Gabriel Mission, founded by the Franciscan Fathers next to the rich bottom lands of the San Gabriel River. Historically called "Rio de los Temblores", which means the River of the Earthquakes, it is today known as the Rio Hondo. Temple envisioned building a community where average people could afford to live and own their homes. He then divided the area into lots and laid out the park facing Las Tunas Drive. He named other streets after friends and family: Workman, Kauffman, Rowland, Temple and Agnes. Bond issues initiated by Temple were responsible for street paving and electricity. Temple also petitioned the Pacific Electric Railway Company to extend its Los Angeles to
Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...
line to a depot adjacent to Temple City Park. The extension of the railway contributed to the steady growth of Temple City, and is commemorated by statues of railcar passengers along Rosemead Boulevard. In 1925, the Women's Club of Temple City was founded.


City name

The town was originally named "City of Temple" after its founder, Walter Temple, but the
United States Postmaster General The United States postmaster general (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...
Harry Stewart New demanded a name change in 1926 because the mail was accidentally being directed to the Phoenix suburb of Tempe. It was officially designated "Temple City" but remained a city in name only until after the post–
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 ...
population explosion followed by incorporation on May 25, 1960, which resulted in the redundant name: "City of Temple City". (This redundancy is shared with other cities in California, such as the City of California City.) Merrill Fitzjohn, the founder and original owner of Fitzjohn Jewelers on Las Tunas Drive, was appointed as the city's first mayor.


2009 Temple City Affair

In January 2009, the
Los Angeles County District Attorney The District Attorney of Los Angeles County is in charge of the office that prosecutor, prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within Los Angeles County, California, United States. The current district attorney (DA) is Nathan Hochma ...
began investigating allegations that Temple City's mayor, Judy Wong, along with city council members David Capra, and former mayor Cathe Wilson solicited
bribes Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...
in exchange for support of the proposed $75 million Temple City Piazza mall project and both women were charged with lying on fair political practice commission disclosure forms. Randy Wang, developer of the Piazza project, made allegations that Wong, Wilson and Councilman David Capra demanded and received cash bribes for their support of the development. Wang raised the allegations as part of his counter-suit against the city, which sued him in April 2008, claiming he failed to meet contractual deadlines of construction on the Piazza project. Temple City's lawsuit asks that the property, at Las Tunas Drive and Rosemead Boulevard, be returned to the city because of the delays after two groundbreaking ceremonies. Wong, 55, the city's first Asian council member, was elected in 2003, was re-elected in 2007, and served as the city's first Asian mayor in 2007. Capra pleaded guilty to one
misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...
count of failure to report a campaign contribution and agreed to resign as a condition for no prison time. Nine months after being indicted on charges of bribery and
perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...
, Wong resigned from office in March 2010; Wilson was voted out of office in spring 2009. In May 2010, Wong accepted a
plea agreement A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include ...
of no contest for 10 counts of bribery and perjury. Wong served a 16-month sentence at Chowchilla after pleading no contest to 10 felony counts of bribery, solicitation of bribery and perjury, and she is required to pay $16,700 in restitution to developer Randy Wang. She will have to pay about $16,300 in fines and fees. The judge denied a request from Wong's attorney seeking probation for the one-time politician. Cathe Wilson was charged with three counts each of perjury and bribery. The perjury charges included one count of lying to the
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 ...
Grand Jury in 2008 and two counts of submitting false material in Fair Political Practices reports. Although she maintains her innocence, she chose not to plea, and her case was continued. On March 30, 2011, Wilson pleaded innocent to all charges. "Oh, yes, I've got to prove my innocence," Wilson, 78, said at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center when asked if she was going forward with the trial. "I wouldn't put my life savings … if I didn't believe in my innocence. It's all a crock." In May 2011 she was convicted on six felony counts. She was sentenced on June 23, 2011, to four years in state prison and to pay more than $10,000 in restitution to the developer. She was released under an Alternative Custody Program in 2013. Former candidate Scott Carwile, Wilson's protege, pleaded guilty to felony perjury and was granted probation in exchange for testifying against Wilson. As of August 2014, all persons sentenced to imprisonment in the Temple City Affair have been released.


Attempts to block housing

In the aftermath of the passage of SB9, a California State housing law that permitted owners of single-family housing to subdivide their houses into duplexes, local officials in Temple City enacted new regulations that sought to disincentivize homeowners from creating duplexes. For example, the city required a 1,000-square-foot courtyard separating housing units, as well as other regulations. According to data reported to the state, there have been no applications for SB9 in Temple City. California state housing officials have warned Temple City they are potentially in violation of state housing law. According to Temple City city manager Bryan Cook, the city is working in "good faith" with California state housing officials.


Demographics

Temple City first appeared as a city in the 1960 U.S. Census as part of the Southwest San Gabriel Valley census county division.


2020

According to the 2020 United States census, Temple City had a population of 36,494.


2010

The 2010 United States census reported that Temple City had a population of 35,558. The population density was . The racial makeup of Temple City was 11,941 (33.6%)
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
(22.8% Non-Hispanic White), 283 (0.8%)
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 150 (0.4%) Native American, 19,803 (55.7%) Asian, 31 (0.1%)
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 2,316 (6.5%) from other races, and 1,034 (2.9%) from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 6,853 persons (19.3%). The census reported that 35,136 people (98.8% of the population) lived in households, 29 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 393 (1.1%) were institutionalized. There were 11,606 households, out of which 4,402 (37.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,605 (56.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,714 (14.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 686 (5.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 404 (3.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 65 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,973 households (17.0%) were made up of individuals, and 844 (7.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03. There were 9,005
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 ...
(77.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.39. The population was spread out, with 7,549 people (21.2%) under the age of 18, 2,887 people (8.1%) aged 18 to 24, 8,983 people (25.3%) aged 25 to 44, 10,778 people (30.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,361 people (15.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males. There were 12,117 housing units at an average density of , of which 7,453 (64.2%) were owner-occupied, and 4,153 (35.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.2%. 23,213 people (65.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 11,923 people (33.5%) lived in rental housing units. According to the 2010 United States census, Temple City had a
median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...
of $97,082, with 5.9% of the population living below the federal poverty line.


Geography

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 .


Government


Local Government

The City Council of Temple City has five members. They are each elected by citizens for four-year term and at-large instead of geographical district. The City Council elections are held during the California Primary election starting with the 2020 election. As a legislative body, it is the duty of the council to make the laws and establish policy. In March, the city council appoints one of its members to act as Mayor and one as Mayor Pro Tempore for a 1-year term. The Mayor presides over the council meetings and represents the city at civic functions. The Mayor Pro Tempore serves in the mayor's absence. The current city council members are: * Mayor: Tom Chavez * Mayor Pro Tem: Vincent Yu * Council members: Cynthia Sternquist, William Man, and Fernando Vizcarra.


List of mayors

This is a list of Temple City mayors by year. * 1960 Merrill Fitzjohn * 2007 Judy Wong. * 2009 * 2011 Tom Chavez * 2013 Cynthia Sternquist * 2014 Carl Blum * 2015 Tom Chavez * 2017-2018 Cynthia Sternquist * 2018-2019 William Man * 2019-2020 Nanette Fish


State and federal

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). ...
, Temple City 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 ...
, Temple City is in . The
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Health Services Los Angeles County, officially the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, operates the public hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and is the United States' second largest municip ...
operates the Monrovia Health Center in
Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...
, serving Temple City.


Infrastructure

Fire protection in Temple City is provided by the
Los Angeles County Fire Department The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting and emergency medical services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, California, as well as 59 cities through Contract city, contracting, including the city of ...
. The
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...
(LASD) operates the Temple Station in Temple City.


Of interest

Of notable interest is that even though the chain no longer has a store within city limits, Winchell's Donuts originated in Temple City, opening on October 8, 1948. In addition, in the 1970s, Temple City was home to Pete & Jake's Hot Rod Repair, noted for
custom car A custom car is a passenger automobile, vehicle that has been altered to engine tuning, improve its performance, change its aesthetics, or combine both. Some automotive enthusiasts in the United States want to push "styling and performance a st ...
s, such as '' The California Kid''. A Beijing-based restaurant group established its first North American branch Bistro Na's at a
strip mall A strip mall, strip center, strip plaza or simply plaza is a type of shopping mall, shopping center common in North America and Australia where the stores are arranged in a row, with a footpath in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a ...
in late 2016. The restaurant earned its first
Michelin star The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic ...
in June 2019.


Temple City Library

A mural was mounted on the west exterior wall of the remodeled Temple City Library in the summer of 2011. The mural, which was painted by more than 20 Temple City students under the tutelage of West Los Angeles-based muralist Art Mortimer, is the first project of the city's public art advisory group formed in February. The creation of the 8-foot high, 28-foot wide mural was a partnership between the city, the advisory group, Los Angeles County and the Temple City Unified School District and designed by Temple City High school students. It shows famous authors, and is an "interesting and unique way of showing what's inside the library," Mortimer said. Further stating that "The way they depict famous writers throughout history, the things they put in the background, such as books with wings, and their ways of showing the importance of the library in the community was very charming the way they did it."


Events


Camellia Festival

History: In 1944 a contest held by the Woman's Club of Temple City brought forth a slogan "Temple City, Home of
Camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in East Asia, eastern and South Asia, southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are ...
s", from which stemmed the annual Camellia Festival. It was in recognition of the significance of family life that the Camellia Festival was founded. The festival, which has attracted national recognition in ensuing years, is sponsored by the City of Temple City. Its purpose is to encourage every youngster in the community to belong to one of recognized youth organizations and to participate in the affairs of their community. Only members of recognized organizations are eligible to enter the Camellia Festival Parade. The Royalty Coronation of two first graders is held the first Friday of February. The annual Temple City Camellia Festival takes place the last weekend in February. A parade begins the celebration on Saturday morning. The parade commences at the corner of Las Tunas Drive and Rosemead Blvd. Commercial floats are not allowed in the parade, all work is done by the youth and carry the theme of the year. A carnival is part of the three-day festivities, where the public may enjoy the hometown atmosphere in Temple City Park, while they participate in games booths and food booths, run by local service and youth organizations. Varied Cultural entertainment events are open to the community and welcomed guests. What began in 1944 started by the Women's Club of Temple City as a small parade of youngsters who tossed camellia blossoms to parade watchers, has now become a signature event in Temple City attracting an estimated 5000 children and more than 20,000 visitors to Temple City each year. The Camellia Festival is held on the last weekend in February which is only a part of the three-day festival. A carnival in Temple City Park as well as an Art show.


Parish Fiesta

The annual Saint Luke's Parish Fiestal takes place at the St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church in April. Located at Broadway and Cloverly Avenue, for three days, game booths, rides and food stalls are open to the community. Today, approximately 900 volunteers, young and old, work in the food and game booths throughout the weekend. Many of the volunteers worked when the first bazaars began more than 50 years ago. Every year, approximately 10,000 people enjoy the good food, rides, and entertainment throughout the weekend.


Farmers Market

The Temple City's Farmer's Market is open every Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the parking lot between City Hall and Temple City Park.


Education

Most of Temple City is served by the Temple City Unified School District (TCUSD), although a significant portion of the resident students attend schools in Arcadia Unified School District and some attend school within the El Monte City School District. The Temple City Unified School District consists of seven schools, including La Rosa, Cloverly, Emperor, and Longden Elementary Schools; Oak Avenue Intermediate School; Temple City High School; and the Doug Sears Learning Center. Cleminson Elementary School is physically located within the city limits of Temple City but is actually part of the El Monte City School District. Additionally, Emperor Elementary School, while part of the Temple City Unified School District, is physically located within an unincorporated region of Los Angeles County and carries a San Gabriel postal address. The Temple City Board of Education proclaims their district as "A District of Distinguished Schools" because every school in the Temple City district has been designated a "distinguished school" by the
state of California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, at some time. This honor indicates that Temple City Schools are in a higher
percentile In statistics, a ''k''-th percentile, also known as percentile score or centile, is a score (e.g., a data point) a given percentage ''k'' of all scores in its frequency distribution exists ("exclusive" definition) or a score a given percentage ...
in categories such as academics, deportment and other scholastic activities. Saint Luke's Parish School, grades K–8, is located on the grounds of Saint Luke the Evangelist Church, at Broadway and Cloverly. It was founded in 1947. Temporary structures, which were formerly army barracks donated from a parish in North Hollywood housed the new school. A permanent school was opened in 1956 and by 1958 sixteen classrooms were completed.


Notable people

* Clyde Beck, (1900–1988) - was an infielder in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds from 1926 to 1931. * Richard Drew, (b 1946) is an Associated Press photo-journalist. who photographed The Falling Man. * Frank Finch (1911–1992) - sportswriter for the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''. * Hal Finney and Dorian Nakamoto, suspected identities of
Satoshi Nakamoto Satoshi Nakamoto ( – 26 April 2011) is the name used by the presumed pseudonymous person or persons who developed bitcoin, authored the bitcoin white paper, and created and deployed bitcoin's original reference implementation. As part of the ...
. * David Klein, (b 1946) is an inventor of the
Jelly Belly Jelly Belly Candy Company, formerly known as Herman Goelitz Candy Company and Goelitz Confectionery Company, is an American company that manufactures Jelly Belly jelly beans and other candy. The company is based in Fairfield, California, with ...
brand. In 1976, he was living in Temple City when he came up with the idea for the new candy company.(Required paid subscription) * Steven Lindsey, (b 1960) - NASA astronaut who has flown five separate flights, including the last flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery from 1997 to 2009 *
Xpecial Alex Chu (born August 12, 1992), better known by his in-game name Xpecial, is an American ''League of Legends'' player who is the head coach for Harrisburg University. He previously played for several teams, including Phoenix1, Team Dignitas, Te ...
, (b 1992) - is a well-known professional gamer in the North American League of Legends.


Sister cities

Temple City currently has Sister City relations with the following places: *
City of Hawkesbury The City of Hawkesbury is a Local government in Australia, local government area that is located on the far northwest fringe of the Sydney, Greater Sydney area in New South Wales, Australia. The local government area is located in the Hawkesbury ...
, Australia (Since 1984) *
Magdalena de Kino Magdalena de Kino () is a city, part of the surrounding municipality of the same name, located in the Mexican state of Sonora covering approximately 560 square miles (1,460 square kilometers). According to the 2005 census, the city's populatio ...
, Sonora, Mexico


See also

*
List of cities in Los Angeles County, California There are 88 cities in Los Angeles County, California. Each city has a mayor and a city council. Cities See also *List of cities and towns in the San Francisco Bay Area *List of municipalities in California References

* * {{Los Angeles ...


References


External links

* {{authority control Cities in Los Angeles County, California Communities in the San Gabriel Valley Incorporated cities and towns in California