Burbank
Real Estate Statistics
| Total Listings: | 262 |
| Average Price: | $522,287 |
| Highest Listing Price: | $3,495,000 |
| Lowest Listing Price: | $1,000 |
Billed as the "Media Capital of the World,"[1] many media and entertainment companies are headquartered or have significant production facilities in Burbank, including Warner Bros. Entertainment, Warner Music Group, NBC Universal, The Walt Disney Company, Cartoon Network, Viacom, and PBS.
At one time it was referred to as "Beautiful Downtown Burbank" on Laugh-In and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The city was named after David Burbank, a New Hampshire-born dentist and entrepreneur.[2]
Early history
The city of Burbank occupies land that was originally part of two Spanish and Mexican-era colonial land grants, the 36,400-acre Rancho San Rafael, granted to Jose Maria Verdugo by the Spanish Bourbon government in 1784, and the 4,063-acre Rancho Providencia created in 1821. Historically, this area was the scene of a military skirmish which resulted in the unseating of the Spanish Governor of California, and his replacement by the Mexican leader Pio Pico. Remnants of the military battle reportedly were found many years later in the vicinity of Warner Brothers Studio when residents dug up cannon balls.[3]
Dr. David Burbank purchased over 4,600 acres of the former Verdugo holding and another 4,600 acres of the Rancho Providencia in 1867 and built a ranch house and began to raise sheep and grow wheat on the ranch.[2] By 1876, the San Fernando Valley became the largest wheat-raising area in Los Angeles County. But the droughts of the 1860s and 1870s underlined the need for steady water supplies.
A professionally trained dentist, Dr. Burbank began his career in Waterville, Maine. In 1853 he moved to San Francisco and resumed his dental practice until 1866. In 1867 he purchased Rancho Providencia from David W. Alexander and Francis Mellus, and he purchased the western portion of the San Rafael Rancho (4,603 acres) from Jonathon R. Scott. Dr. Burbank's property reached nearly 9,200 acres at a cost of $9,000.[4]
Dr. Burbank also later owned the Burbank Theatre, which opened on November 27, 1893 at a cost of $150,000. The theater was intended to be an opera house. Instead it staged plays and became known nationally. The theatre featured famous actors of the time including Fay Bainter and Marjorie Rambeau, until it had deteriorated into a burlesque house.[5]
When the area that became Burbank was settled in the 1870s and 1880s, the streets were aligned along what is now Olive Avenue, the road to the Cahuenga Pass and downtown Los Angeles. These were largely the roads the Indians traveled and the early settlers took their produce down to Los Angeles to sell and to buy supplies along these routes.
At the time, the primary long-distance transportation methods available to San Fernando Valley residents were stagecoach and train. Stagecoaching between Los Angeles and San Francisco through the Valley began in 1858. The Southern Pacific Railroad arrived in the Valley in 1876, completing the route connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles.[6]
A shrewd businessman, foreseeing the value of rail transport, Burbank sold Southern Pacific Railroad a right-of-way through the property for one dollar. The first train passed through Burbank on April 5, 1874. A boom created by a rate war between the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific brought people streaming into California shortly thereafter, and a group of speculators purchased much of Dr. Burbank's land holdings in 1886 for $250,000.[4]
Burbank as envisioned by Providencia Land, Water & Development Co.The speculators formed the Providencia Land, Water, and Development Company and began developing the land, calling the new town "Burbank" after its founder, and began offering farm lots on May 1, 1887. The establishment of a water system in 1887 allowed farmers to irrigate their orchards and provided a stronger base for agricultural development.[7]
At the same time, the arrival of the railroad provided immediate access for the farmers to bring crops to market. Packing houses and warehouses were built along the railroad corridors. The railroads also provided access to the county for tourists and immigrants alike. A Southern Pacific Railroad depot in Burbank was completed in 1887.
Burbank's first telephone exchange, or telephone switch, was established in August 1900, becoming the first in the San Fernando Valley. Within 5 years, there were several telephone exchanges in the Valley and became known as the San Fernando Valley
Home Telephone Company, based in Glendale.[8] Home Telephone competed with Tropico, and in 1918 both were taken over by Pacific Telephone Company. At this time, there were an estimated 300 hand-cranked telephones in Burbank.
In 1911, wealthy farmer Joseph Fawkes settled in the burgeoning town of Burbank. He grew apricots and owned a house on West Olive Avenue. But he also had a fascination for machinery, and soon began developing what became known as the "Fawkes Folly" aerial trolley.[9] He and E.C. Fawkes, likely a relative, secured a patent for the nation's first monorail. The two formed the Aerial Trolley Car Company and set about building a prototype they believed would revolutionize transportation.[10
Joseph Fawkes called the trolley his Aerial Swallow, a cigar-shaped, suspended monorail driven by a propeller that he promised would carry passengers from Burbank to downtown Los Angeles in 10 minutes. The first open car accommodated about 20 passengers and was suspended from an overhead track and supported by wooden beams. In 1907, the monorail car made first and only run through his Burbank ranch, with a line between Lake and Flower Streets. The monorail was considered a failure after gliding just a foot or so and falling to pieces. Nobody was injured but Joseph Fawkes pride was badly hurt as Aerial Swallow became known as "Fawkes' Folly." City officials viewed his test run as a failure and focused on getting a Pacific Electric Streetcar line into Burbank.
Laid out and surveyed with a modern business district surrounded by residential lots, wide boulevards were carved out as the "Los Angeles Express" printed: "Burbank, the town, being built in the midst of the new farming community, has been laid out in such a manner as to make it by and by an unusually pretty town. The streets and avenues are wide and, all have been handsomely graded. All improvements being made would do credit to a city ... Everything done at Burbank has been done right."
The citizens of Burbank had to put up a $48,000 subsidy to get the reluctant Pacific Electric Streetcar officials to agree to extend the line from Glendale to Burbank.[7] The first Red Car rolled into Burbank on Sept. 6, 1911, with a tremendous celebration. That was about two months after the town became a city. The Burbank Line was completed through to Cypress Avenue in Burbank, and by mid-1925 this line was extended about a mile further along Glenoaks Boulevard to Eton Drive. A small wooden station was erected in Burbank in 1911 at Orange Grove Avenue with a small storage yard in its rear. This depot was destroyed by fire in 1942 and in 1947 a small passenger shelter was constructed.
On May 26, 1942, the California State Railroad Commission proposed an extension of the Burbank Line to the Lockheed plant.[11] The proposal called for a double track line from Arden Junction along Glenoaks to San Fernando Road and Empire Way, just northeast of Lockheed's main facility. But this extension never materialized and the commission moved on to other projects in the San Fernando Valley. The Red Car line in Burbank was abandoned and the tracks removed in 1956.
At the time of cityhood, Burbank had a voluntary fire department. Fire protection depended upon the bucket brigade and finding a hydrant. It wasn't until 1913 that the city created its own fire department. By 1916, the city was installing an additional 40 new fire hydrants but still relying on volunteers for fire fighting. In 1927, the city switched from a volunteer fire department to a professional one. The city marshal's office was changed to the Burbank Police Department in 1923. The first police chief was George Cole, who later became a U.S. Treasury prohibition officer.
In 1928, Burbank was one of the first 13 cities to join the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, one of the largest suppliers of water in the world. By 1937, the first power from Hoover Dam was distributed over Burbank's own electricity lines.[12]
The city purchases about 55% of its water from the MWD.[13]
The City of Burbank
The town grew steadily, weathering the drought and depression that hit Los Angeles in the 1890s and in 20 years, the community had a bank, newspaper, high school and a thriving business district with a hardware store, livery stable, dry goods store, general store, and bicycle repair shop. The city's first newspaper, Burbank Review, established in 1906.
The populace petitioned the State Legislature to incorporate as a city on July 8, 1911, with businessman Thomas Story as the mayor. Voters approved incorporation by a vote of 81 to 51. At the time, the Board of Trustees governed the community which numbered 500 residents. The first city seal adopted by Burbank featured a cantaloupe, which was a crop that helped save the town's life when the land boom collapsed.[10]
In 1931, the original city seal was replaced and in 1978 the modern seal was adopted. The new seal shows City Hall beneath a banner but no cantaloupe. An airplane symbolizes the city's aircraft industry, the strip of film and stage light represent motion picture production. The bottom portion depicts the sun rising over the Verdugo Mountains.
In 1915, major sections of the Valley capitulated, helping Los Angeles to more than double its size that year. But Burbank was among a handful of towns with their own water wells and remained independent. By 1916 Burbank had 1,500 residents. In 1927, five miles of paved streets had increased to 125 miles. By 1930, as First National Studios, Andrew Jergens Company, The Lockheed Company, McNeill and Libby Canning Company, the Moreland Company, and Northrop Aircraft Corporation opened facilities there, the population jumped to 16,662. Following a Valley land bust during the Depression, real estate began to bounce back in the mid-1930s. In Burbank, a 100-home construction project began in 1934. By 1936, property values in the city exceeded pre-Depression levels. By 1950, the population had reached 78,577.[14] It was no longer the "tiny little village" of Jane Russell's song "Hollywood Cinderella"; it had become a major Los Angeles suburb.
In 1922, the Burbank Chamber of Commerce was organized. The Federal government officially recognized Burbank's status in 1923 when the United States Postal Service reclassified the city from the rural village mail delivery to city postal delivery service.[10]
In the late 1970s, Burbank became part of the Verdugo Fire District under a joint communications agreement with nearby cities, including Glendale and Pasadena. Under contract, Burbank provides a Hazardous Materials team, Glendale provides an Air and
Lighting unit as well as the dispatch center, and Pasadena provides a Heavy – Urban Search and Rescue team. The three city fire departments are all dispatched from the Verdugo Communications Center, located in Glendale. Each of the three cities shares the cost of operating and maintaining this dispatch facility.
As of June 2008, the city employee population in Burbank stood at 1,683. Of the total, 1,253 were full-time, 217 part-time, and 213 temporary employees. The Burbank City Employees Association represents workers in the city. The organization dates back to 1939, and its primary role was to secure civil service status for city workers. The BCEA, representing more than 750 city employees, is one of six bargaining unions in Burbank city government. Others include: the Burbank Fire Fighters Association, the Burbank Police Officers’ Association, the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers Local 18, the Burbank Fire Fighters-Chief Officer’s Unit, and the Burbank Management Association.
Early manufacturing
In 1887, the Burbank Furniture Manufacturing Company was the town's first factory.[15] After the land boom downturn in 1888, the building was abandoned and transients slept in the empty factory. In 1917, the arrival of the Moreland Motor Truck Companychanged the town and resulted in a manufacturing and industrial workforce begin to take root in the city. Within a few years Moreland trucks were seen bearing the label, "Made in Burbank."[16] Watt Moreland, its owner, had relocated his plant to Burbank from Los Angeles. He selected 25 acres (100,000 m2) at San Fernando Road and Alameda Avenue. Moreland invested $1 million in the factory and machinery, and employed 500 people.
The Moreland Motor Truck Company in BurbankWithin the next several decades, factories, both large and small, would dot the area landscape. What had mainly been an agricultural and ranching area would get replaced with a variety of manufacturing industries. Moreland operated from 1917 to 1937. Aerospace supplier Menasco Manufacturing Company would later purchase the property. Menasco's Burbank landing gear factory closed in 1994 due to slow commercial and military orders, affecting 310 people. Within months of Moreland's arrival, Community Manufacturing Company, a $3 million tractor company, arrived in Burbank.
In 1920, the Andrew Jergens Company factory, located at Verdugo Avenue near the railroad tracks in Burbank. They began with a single product, coconut oil soap, but would later make face creams, lotions, liquid soaps and deodorants. Andrew Jergens Jr. along with his father, Cincinnati businessman Andrew Jergens, and business partners Frank Adams and Morris Spazier, purchased the site and built a single-story building. Despite the Depression, the Jergens company experienced an expansion. In 1931, new offices and shipping department facilities were built. In 1939, the Burbank corporation was dissolved and merged with his father's Cincinnati company. It then became known as the Andrew Jergens Co. of Ohio. The company closed its Burbank plant in 1992 after renovations to improve its productivity were deemed unworthy of the money. The closing affected nearly 90 employees.
Aviation
The establishment of the aircraft industry and a major airport in Burbank during the 1930s set the stage for major growth and development, which was to continue at an accelerated pace into World War II and well into the postwar era. Brothers Allan Loughead and Malcolm Loughead, founders of the Lockheed Aircraft Company, opened a Burbank manufacturing plant in 1928, and a year later famed aviation designer Jack Northrop built his historic Flying Wing airplane in his own plant nearby.
Dedicated on Memorial Day Weekend (May 30– June 1), 1930, the United Airport was the largest commercial airport in the Los Angeles area until it was eclipsed in 1946 by the Los Angeles Municipal Airport (now Los Angeles International Airport) in Westchester when that facility (the former Mines Field) commenced commercial operations. Amelia Earhart, Wiley Post and Howard Hughes were among the notable aviation pioneers to pilot aircraft in and out of the original Union Air Terminal. By 1935, Union Air Terminal in Burbank ranked as the third-largest air terminal in the nation, with 46 airliners flying out of it daily. The airport served 9,895 passengers in 1931 and 98,485 passengers in 1936.
In 1931, Lockheed was then part of Detroit Aircraft Corp., which went into bankruptcy with its Lockheed unit. A year later, a group of investors acquired assets of the Lockheed company. The new owners staked their limited funds to develop an all metal, twin engine transport, the Model 10 Electra. It first flew in 1934 and quickly gained world wide fame.
Moreland's truck plant was later used by the Lockheed's Vega Aircraft Corporation, which made what was widely known as "the explorer's aircraft." Amelia Earhart flew one across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1936, Lockheed officially took over Vega Aircraft in Burbank.
During World War II, the entire area of Lockheed's Vega factory was camouflaged to fool an enemy reconnaissance effort. The factory was hidden beneath a complete suburb replete with rubber automobiles and peaceful rural neighborhood scenes painted on canvas.[17] Hundreds of fake trees and shrubs were positioned to give the entire area a three dimensional appearance. The fake trees and shrubs were created from chicken wire that had been treated with an adhesive and then covered with chicken feathers to provide a leafy texture. Air ducts disguised as fire hydrants made it possible for the Lockheed-Vega employees to continue working underneath the huge camouflage umbrella designed to conceal their factory.[18]
Burbank's airport has undergone several name changes since opening in 1930. It had five runways that radiated in varying directions, each 300 feet (91 m) wide and 2,600 feet long. It remained United Airport until 1934, when it was renamed Union Air Terminal (1934–1940). Boeing built planes on the field. Lockheed Aircraft had its own nearby airfield. Lockheed bought the airport in 1940 and renamed it Lockheed Air Terminal, which it was known as until 1967, when it became Hollywood-Burbank Airport. In 1978 it was renamed Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport (1978–2003) after Lockheed sold it to the three California cities for $51 million. In December 2003, the facility was renamed Bob Hope Airport in honor of the comedian who lived in nearby Toluca Lake.
In 2005, the city of Burbank and the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which owns and operates the airport, reached a development agreement. The agreement forbids further airport expansion until 2009. Unlike most other regional airports in California, Burbank's airport sits on land that was specifically zoned for airport use.
The growth of companies such as Lockheed, and the burgeoning entertainment industry drew more people to the area, and Burbank's population doubled between 1930 and 1940 to 34,337. Burbank saw its greatest growth during World War II due to Lockheed's presence, employing some 80,800 men and women producing aircraft such as the Hudson, P-38 Lightning, PV-1 Ventura and America's first jet fighter, the P-80 Shooting Star. Lockheed later created the U2, SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Nighthawk at its Burbank-based "Skunk Works".
Dozens of hamburger stands, restaurants and shops appeared around Lockheed to accommodate the employees. Some of the restaurants operated 24 hours a day. At one time, Lockheed paid utility rates representing 25% of the city's total utilities revenue,making Lockheed the city's cash cow. When Lockheed left, the economic loss was huge. At its height during World War II, the Lockheed facility employed up to 98,000 people.[19] Burbank's growth did not slow as war production ceased, and over 7,000 new residents created a postwar real estate boom. Real estate values soared as housing tracts appeared in the Magnolia Park area of Burbank between 1945 and 1950.
Following the World War II, homeless veterans lived in tent camps in Burbank, in Big Tujunga Canyon and at a decommissioned National Guard base in Griffith Park. The government also set up trailer camps at Hollywood Way and Winona Avenue in Burbank and in nearby Sun Valley. But new homes were built, the economy improved, and the military presence in Burbank continued to expand. Lockheed employees numbered 66,500 and expanded from aircraft to include spacecraft, missiles, electronics and shipbuilding.
Lockheed's presence in Burbank attracted dozens of firms making aircraft parts. One of them was Weber Aircraft Corporation, an aircraft interior manufacturer situated adjacent to Lockheed at the edge of the airport. In 1988, Weber closed its Burbank manufacturing plant, which then employed 1,000 people. Weber produced seats, galleys, lavatories and other equipment for commercial and military aircraft. Weber had been in Burbank for 37 years.
Entertainment industry
The motion picture business arrived in Burbank in the 1920s. In 1926, First National Pictures bought a 78-acre site on Olive Avenue near Dark Canyon. The property included a 40-acre (160,000 m2) hog ranch and the original David Burbank house, both owned by rancher Stephen A. Martin. In 1928-29, First National was takenover by a company founded by the four Warner brothers.
Columbia Pictures purchased property in Burbank as a ranch facility, used primarily for outdoor shooting. Walt Disney's company, which had outgrown its Hollywood quarters, bought 51 acres in Burbank. Disney's million-dollar studio, designed by Kem Weber, was completed in 1939 on Buena Vista Street. Disney originally wanted to build "Mickey Mouse Park," as he first called it, next to the Burbank studio. But his aides finally convinced him that the space was too small, and there was opposition from the Burbank City Council. One council member told Disney: "We don't want the carny atmosphere in Burbank." Disney later built his successful Disneyland in Anaheim.
Disney and Warner contributed to the war effort by producing both training and morale films for the armed services and cartoons promoting the sale of war bonds. Disney artists designed more than 1,000 unit mascot designs for the armed forces. Walt Disney had authorized that these insignias were to be designed at no charge. By war's end, the cost to Disney was over $30,000.
By the 1960s and '70s, more of the Hollywood entertainment industry was relocating to Burbank. The National Broadcasting Company moved its network television headquarters to its new location at Olive and Alameda avenues. The Burbank studio was
purchased in 1951, and NBC arrived in 1952 from its former location at Sunset and Vine in Hollywood. Although NBC promoted its Hollywood image for most of its West Coast telecasts (such as Ed McMahon's introduction to the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson: "from Hollywood"), comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin began mentioning "beautiful downtown Burbank" on Laugh-in in the 1960s.
By 1962, NBC's multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art complex was completed. Rumors surfaced of NBC leaving Burbank after its parent company General Electric Company acquired Universal Studios and renamed the merged division NBC Universal. Since the deal, NBC has been relocating key operations to the 391-acre (1.6 km2) Universal property located in Universal City, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Cinema history
Burbank has a rich cinematic history. Hundreds of major feature films have filmed in Burbank over the years, but perhaps none more famous than Casablanca (1942), starring Humphrey Bogart.[21] The movie began production a few months after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Due to World War II, location shooting was restricted and filming near airports was banned. As a result, Casablanca shot most of its major scenes on Stage 1 at the Warner Bros. Burbank Studios, including the film's famous airport scene. It featured a foggy Moroccan runway created on the stage where Bogart's character doesn't fly away with Ingrid Bergman. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) was also filmed at the Warner Bros. Burbank Studios.
The Gary Cooper classic High Noon (1952) shot on a western street at the Warner Brothers "Ranch", then known as the Columbia Ranch.[22] The ranch facility is situated less than a mile north of Warner's main lot in Burbank. The 1957 classic 3:10 to Yuma also filmed on the old Columbia Ranch, and much of the outdoor filming for the Three Stooges took place at Columbia Ranch, including most of the chase scenes. In 1993, Warner Bros. bulldozed the historic Burbank-based sets used to film High Noon and
Lee Marvin's 1965 Oscar-winning Western comedy Cat Ballou, as well as several other features and television shows.
Other classic live-action films shot in Burbank include Disney's Mary Poppins (1964), filmed on Sound Stage 2 at the Walt Disney Studios. Julie Andrews returned 37 years later to make Disney's The Princess Diaries (2001). As a tribute to the actress,
Disney renamed the sound stage "The Julie Andrews Stage" in 2001. In 2002, a fire broke out on the Disney's Burbank lot, damaging a sound stage where a set was under construction for Disney's feature film Pirates of the Caribbean (2003). No one was injured in the blaze.
During the filming of the movie Apollo 13 (1995) and also Coach Carter (2005), the producers shot scenes at Burbank's Safari Inn Motel. Quentin Tarantino's film True Romance (1993) also filmed on location at the motel. Back to the Future (1985) shot extensively on the Universal Studios backlot but also filmed band audition scenes at the Burbank Community Center.
The city's mall, Burbank Town Center, is a popular backdrop for shooting movies, television shows and commercials. Over the years, it was the site for scenes in Bad News Bears (2005) to location shooting for Cold Case, Gilmore Girls, ER and even Desperate Housewives.[23] The ABC show Desperate Housewives also is known to frequently use the Magnolia Park area for show scenes, along with the city's retail district along Riverside and adjacent to Toluca Lake, California.
Burbank today
Burbank is home to many employees of the motion picture and television studios located in the area.
Entertainment has generally replaced the defense industry as the primary employer, who are attracted by the relative safety and security offered by its own police and fire departments, highly rated schools and hospital. Other reasons cited are its small-town feel while located only 10 minutes away by car to the hip clubs and restaurants of Hollywood.
The Intersection of Olive and San Fernando Road in Burbank, CAThe Bob's Big Boy Restaurant in Burbank (est. 1949) is the oldest remaining Bob's Big Boy in America, and in 1993 was designated a California Point of Historical Interest. Located at 4211
Riverside Drive, it was designed by Wayne McAllister. The eatery features a soaring pylon sign, an open kitchen and big picture windows, all of which are elements of Googie architecture. In 1992, the restaurant's new owner sought to raze the structure and replace it with an office building or shopping center, but the landmark designation made it legally more difficult to make significant changes.
Residents enjoy the music of the Burbank Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, the Starlight Bowl, fine restaurants, the city's Downtown Burbank Mall, a burgeoning "Burbank Village" shopping district, and many theatres, parks, and libraries. Visitors to Burbank are attracted to the Warner Bros. Studio VIP tour and close proximity to all other entertainments and attractions that Los Angeles offers.
Transportation
The Bob Hope Airport services 4.9 million travelers per year with seven carriers, with over 70 flights daily. The airport, located in the northwestern corner of the city, is the source of most street traffic in the city. In December 2008, a slowdown in passenger traffic led the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority to curtail spending plans, including deferring multimillion-dollar construction projects.
The construction of major freeways through and around the city of Burbank starting in the 1950s both divided the city from itself and linked it to the rapidly growing Los Angeles region. Burbank is easily accessible by and can easily access the Southern California freeways via the Golden State Freeway (I-5), which bisects the city from northwest to southeast, and the Ventura Freeway which connects Burbank to the U.S. Route 101 on the south and the nearby Foothill Freeway to the east. The Ventura Freeway was completed in 1960.
Sister cities
Burbank is also affiliated with the following sister cities:
- Incheon, South Korea
- Ota, Japan
- Solna, Sweden
- Gaborone, Botswana
- Curitiba, Brazil
Geography
Burbank is located at 34°10′49″N 118°19′42″W / 34.18028°N 118.32833°W / 34.18028; -118.32833.[28] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.4 mi². 17.4 mi² of it is land and 0.04 mi² of it (0.12%) is water. It is bordered by Glendale to the east, Toluca Lake on the west, and Griffith Park to the South. Hollywood is easily accessible from Burbank.
Elevations in the city range from 500 feet in the lower valley areas to about 800 feet near the Verdugo Mountains. Most of Burbank features a water table more than 100 feet deep, more than the measures found in the 1940s when the water table was within 50 feet of the ground surface in some areas of Burbank.
Climate
The highest recorded temperature in Burbank was 113 °F in 1971. The lowest recorded temperature was 22 °F in 1978. The driest rainfall season on record was the 2006–2007 season with 2.83 inches beating the previous record of 5.12 inches set in 2001–2002.[23] The months that receive the most precipitation are February and March, respectively.[24]
Warmest Month: August
Coolest Month: December
Highest Precipitation: February
Lowest Precipitation: July
Demographics
Burbank experienced an 8% increase in population between 2000 and 2007, bringing its total population in 2007 to 107,921. Population growth was influenced by Burbank's expanding employment base, high quality public schools, and access to regional transportation routes and metropolitan Los Angeles. According to the Southern California Association of Government's 2007 Regional Transportation Plan growth forecasts, the population of Burbank is expected to grow to approximately 116,500 by 2015 and 125,000 by 2025, a 15% increase over the 18-year period.
As of the census[25] of 2000, there were 100,316 people, 41,608 households, and 24,382 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,782.4/mi². There were 42,847 housing units at an average density of 2,469.8/mi².
There were 41,608 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.14.
The median income for a household in the city was $62,347, and the median income for a family was $67,767.
Politics
In 1916, the original Burbank City Hall was constructed after bonds were issued to finance the project and pay for fire apparatus. Burbank's current City Hall was constructed from 1941 to 1942 in a neo-federalist Moderne style popular in the late Depression era. The structure was built at a total cost of $409,000, with funding from the Federal Works Agency and Works Project Administration programs. City Hall was designed by architects William Allen and W. George Lutzi and completed in 1943.
Originally, the City Hall building housed all city services, including the police and fire departments, an emergency medical ward, a courthouse and a jail. One of the most distinctive features of the cream-colored concrete building is its 77-foot (23 m) tower, which serves as the main lobby. The lobby interior features more than 20 types of marble, which can be found in the city seal on the floor, the trim, walls and in the treads and risers of a the grand stairway. Artist Hugo Ballin created a "Four Freedoms" mural in Burbank's City Council chambers during World War II, although it was covered up for decades until art aficionados convinced the city to have the mural fully revealed. Ballin's work illustrates the "Four Freedoms" outlined in President Franklin Roosevelt's
In 1996, the City Hall was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, becoming the second building in Burbank to be listed on the register. The first was Burbank's main post office just blocks away from City Hall on Olive Avenue. In 1998, Burbank's state-of-the-art Police/Fire facility opened.
In the state legislature Burbank is located in the 21st Senate District, and in the 43rd Assembly District. Federally, Burbank is located in California's 27th and 29th congressional districts.
Burbank is a Charter City that operates under the City Council-City Manager form of government. In 1927, voters approved the Council-Manager form of government. The five-member City Council is elected for four-year overlapping terms, with the Mayor appointed annually from among the Council. The City Clerk and the City Treasurer are also elected officials.
Community organizations
The city of Burbank includes and supports a variety of nonprofit organizations that enhance the quality of life in Burbank. Extremely strong links between local residents, business owners, and government have created a network of organizations that provide support in the areas of education, employment, homeless services, after-school activities, health services, and social services. Local organizations include:
- Burbank Tournament of Roses Association[26]
- The Salvation Army of Burbank
- Burbank Fire Corps[27]
- The Kiwanis Club of Burbank
- The Burbank Rotary Club
- Burbank Community Health Clinic
- The Elk Lodge of Burbank
- The Burbank Jocelyn Center for the Elderly
- The Boys & Girls Club of Burbank
- The Burbank Temporary Aid Center[28]
- Burbank Masonic Lodge
Notes
1. "Burbank, Ca. – Media Capital of the World". Travel America. 20 April 2007. http://www.usacitydirectories.com/travelamerica/index.php?entry=entry070420-130359.
2. "The American Period". A history of Burbank. Burbank Unified School District. 1967. http://wesclark.com/burbank/american_period.html.
3."Battle of La Providencia: Second Battle of Cahuenga Pass". The California State Military Museum. http://www.militarymuseum.org/LaProvidencia.html.
4. Rasmussen, Cecilia (3 June 2007). "What's in a name? Clues to a city's past". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jun/03/local/me-then3.
5. "Dr. David Burbank, 1850". Oviatt Library Digital Collections. http://digital-library.csun.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/SFVH&CISOPTR=4100.
6. Roderick, Kevin (24 November 2005). "Timeline of Valley history". The Valley Observed. http://www.americassuburb.com/timeline.html.
7. "History of Burbank, California". City of Burbank. http://www.ci.burbank.ca.us/citymanager/history.htm.
8. Bills, Emily (2004). "The Telephone Shapes Los Angeles, 1880-1950". PART (11). http://web.gc.cuny.edu/dept/arthi/part/part11/articles/bills.html.
9. "Aerial Trolley Car Co., Inc. L.W. and E.C. Fawkes, Palentees. Burbank, California C.C. Pierce". Calisphere. http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/tf8779p41q/.
10. "The City of Burbank". A history of Burbank. Burbank Unified School District. 1967. http://wesclark.com/burbank/city_of_burbank.html.
11. "Pacific Electric Glendale-Burbank Line". The Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California. http://www.erha.org/pewgb.htm.
12. "The History of Burbank Water and Power". Burbank Water and Power. http://www.burbankwaterandpower.net/the-history-of-burbank-water-and-power.
13. Cadelago, Christopher (18 May 2009). "Service fees may rise soon". Burbank Leader. http://burbankleader.com/articles/2009/05/20/politics/blr-utilities16.txt.
14. "General Population By City: Los Angeles County, 1910–1950". Los Angeles Almanac. http://www.laalmanac.com/population/po26.htm.
15. "Burbank Furniture Manufacturing Company, 1887". Oviatt Library Digital Collections. http://digital-library.csun.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/SFVH&CISOPTR=4183.
16. "Fiscally Responsible City Governance". City of Burbank Strategic Plan 2001–2010. http://www.ci.burbank.ca.us/citymanager/PDF/Section%20G.pdf.
17. "World War II-Lockheed Burbank Aircraft Plant Camouflage". Amazing Posts. 16 August 2008. http://www.amazingposts.com/2008/08/world-war-ii-lockheed-burbank-aircraft.html.
18. "California Becomes a Giant Movie Set". Flat Rock. 16 July 2009. http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/flying/the_disguise_of_california.htm.
19.^"Demographics". The Burbank Chamber of Commerce. http://www.burbankchamber.org/html/demographics.asp.
20. Cadelago, Christopher (7 August 2009). "Airport’s fares are 3rd-lowest". Burbank Leader. http://www.burbankleader.com/articles/2009/08/10/news/blr-airport080809.txt.
21. "Top Movies Filmed in Burbank, California". TopTenReviews.com. http://movies.toptenreviews.com/list-california-burbank.htm.
22. Janssen, Mike (1 May 2007). "The Mall Coming To A Theater Near You". Retail Traffic. http://retailtrafficmag.com/mag/retail_mall_coming_theater/. .
23."US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
24."Selected U.S. City and State Extremes – June 2007". National Climatic Data Center. 20 August 2008. www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2007/jun/junext2007.html. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
25."American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
26. "The Burbank Tournament of Roses Association". 7 August 2009. http://www.burbankrosefloat.com/.
27. Burbank Fire Corps Program". http://burbankfirecorps.org/.
28. "Burbank Temporary Aid Center". Burbank.com. http://www.burbank.com/btac.php.
References
- Brief History of Burbank, California (Burbank Chamber of Commerce, 1961)
- Of Men and Stars, A History of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation (Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, 1957–1958)
- Ranchos de Los Santos, The Story of Burbank (The Burbank Branch of the Security Trust and Savings Bank, 1927)
- The Story of Burbank from Her Eventful Pioneer Days (The Magnolia Park Chamber of Commerce, 1954)
- Your Burbank Home (Burbank Merchant's Association, 1928)
External links
- City of Burbank - official
- Burbank Water & Power - official
- Burbank Unified School District
- Burbank Chamber of Commerce
- Bob Hope Airport - official
- Burbankia (Burbank history and lore)
- Burbank.com - Your online guide to Burbank, California
- Burbank Community Book, 1944
- A History of Burbank, 1968
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Luxurious Burbank Hills Private Community Custom Built Home Finished In 2008 With A Commanding View Of...
Pride Of Ownership! 6 Units! Complete Remodel In 2006...
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**Taken from wikipedia.org