City, Contra Costa County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 94565
One of the
old-new towns of East Contra Costa. Population 63,652. Changing demographics;
more middle class. A slow commute but much better than what other East County
cities endure. Now rebuilding its downtown. In 2006, passed another school
bond. www.mccormacks.com
Good town
for new homes. Family town, many kids, (about 31 percent of under age 18).
The state
in 2008 tallied 20,818 residences: 14,269 single-detached homes, 1,298
single-family attached, 4,570 multiples, 681 mobile homes. Pittsburg has just
about tripled its population in the last three decades. Diverse population.
Many efforts to get along.
In 1996,
BART (commute rail) extended its line to Pittsburg area and located the station
next to some of Pittsburg's new subdivisions. Highway 4 through most of
Pittsburg was widened from four to eight lanes. All this is making Pittsburg a
faster commute but the freeway still congests (on the evening commute, often
about three miles before it reaches Pittsburg.)
Click for regional or detailed map
Pittsburg
passed a $30 million bond in 1995 to renovate schools and in 2004 passed
another renovation-construction bond. Schools have been built to handle growing
enrollments.
In 2006,
voters approved an $85 million bond to rebuild Pittsburg High School and
renovate Riverside High, an alternative school. www.mccormacks.com
Two large private schools in town. New
and expanded adult school. Community college that, thanks to passage of a bond
and state money, recently built a library and a math and science complex. The
college, Los Medanos, offers over 350 classes and activities, many open to the
public.
In 2006,
JFK University, private, opened a branch in Pittsburg and offered classes
leading toward degrees in counseling and psychology.
First a
fishing village, then a coal-mining town, Pittsburg during World War II was an
industrial center and a staging camp for Pacific troops. After the Korean War,
the camp was dismantled, industry declined and Pittsburg returned to its
self-contained existence but not for long.
Highway 4 was
extended to East County, opening the land for suburbia. About the same time,
major firms built office complexes in the Central County, bringing thousands of
jobs within driving distance of the East County.
In poured
the newcomers. When the freeway came, it bypassed and just about killed
Pittsburg’s downtown. Some industries remained but because of automation and
foreign competition thousands of factory jobs were lost. Several downtown
neighborhoods went into decline. www.mccormacks.com
Later, through redevelopment, a tax-capture,
rejuvenation plan, the city
bulldozed many blocks in old town. With the expansion of the marina and
the addition of new homes, the middle class has somewhat returned to the
downtown. The old town has some
older streets that have held their value and show a lot of tender loving. Some
of the newer homes run to two story with plenty of space.
Under construction in 2007, a downtown project of shops, restaurants and 195 townhouses and condos, one to three bedrooms.
Most of
the new housing has been erected south of the freeway and in price aimed at the
middle class. More middle class usually means higher school rankings, lower
crime.
In 2006,
Pittsburg began another phase of downtown redevelopment, an ambitious effort
that will continue to remake this section — 742 more homes, new
restaurants — Chili’s, Outback Steakhouse — 24-hour food outlet
store, a hotel, apartments. The marina, 575 slips, is located the downtown. It
also has been improved, with the hope of bringing in people who will spend in
the downtown.
Five
homicides in 2005. Counts for previous years are 8, 6, 6, 4, 4, 2, 8, 7,
2, 9, 9, 2, 10, 4, 3, 4, 6. New police
station. Homicide detective slain in 2003; suspect died days later in shootout
with police in Modesto. In 2005, another officer was shot to death while
pursuing two suspects, who were later captured. In 2006, a 91-year-woman was
murdered at a nursing home. The suspect, a street person, is also accused of
robbing the place.
For years,
Pittsburg, especially in parts of the downtown, suffered from a reputation as
being high in crime. With redevelopment, with new housing and businesses and
new police administrators and more attention, the city hopes to reduce the
crime, erode this perception and make the downtown more inviting. www.mccormacks.com
Highway 4
runs over Willow Pass, for decades a notorious bottleneck in Contra Costa
traffic. But in recent years the pass has been widened and the climb, which
slowed the trucks, lowered.
The BART
extension follows the freeway. Pittsburg and neighboring cities are working
with Union Pacific to run passenger trains from the Pittsburg BART station to
Byron.
Kirker
Pass, a four-lane expressway, scoots you down to Walnut Creek but the road
crawls during peak hours. Metering lights have been installed on Kirker Pass.
Tri Delta Transit runs buses throughout the East County. County Connection runs
express buses to the Walnut Creek and Concord BART stations.
At least
15 parks, baseball, soccer, softball, football, fishing, boating, water sports,
bocce (annual tournament), Boys and Girls Club, 18-hole golf course with
clubhouse, YWCA. Bowling alley. One of largest marinas in northern California.
Swim center, seniors center, community center.
City hall
runs classes-activities for kiddies. Movie complex, 12 theaters. Roller-skating
rink. Small World Park chugs kids around in a miniature train. Regional park is
restoring some coal mines as exhibits. www.mccormacks.com
Music
Pavilion and Waterworld are just over the hill. Annual Seafood Festival draws
over 100,000. Pittsburg also celebrates Juneteenth Days and Columbus Day.
Wal-Mart,
Target, Home Depot. For more
shopping, Antioch has a mall, with Macys, on Somersville Road at the Pittsburg
border.
Historical
museum. New civic center. Closed for eight years, Los Medanos Hospital was
reopened as clinic. Opened in 2004, a Hindu community center.
Power
lines from generating plant range across town. Big industry (Dow, U.S.
Steel-Posco) a major presence. In recent years, the town opened two power
plants, cleaner and more efficient than the old plants. Pittsburg has a
reputation as an industrial, blue-collar town. There's enough industry in the
city to justify this image but industry for the most part is removed from the
residential sections.
Mt. Diablo
is in the background, the town is on the water. Pittsburg’s close, it’s
affordable. www.mccormacks.com
Chamber of
commerce (925) 432-7301.
• In 2001
it was the toast of Pittsburg. About 30 people camped out to be the first to
buy. The store was Krispy Kreme Donuts. In 2006, low-carbed by a fickle public,
the store was toast. Closed. But three other donut shops in town are thriving.
• In the
works, another elementary school for the downtown.
City web
site: www.ci.pittsburg.ca.us
