City, Orange County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 92683, 92684, 92685
Compact
older bedroom city situated
between Huntington Beach and Garden Grove. Population 93,027. www.mccormacks.com
Like many
older cities, Westminster has been sprucing up and moving to a more modern
look, adding stores and modern housing but at a slow pace because empty lots
are few.
In 2006,
Westminster opened a cultural arts and performing arts center with a theater
that seats 411 and a banquet hall that seats 500.
Click for regional or detailed map
Children
attend schools in Westminster Elementary district, rankings from the 30th to
80th percentile in state comparisons. Many schools score just below and just
above the 50th percentile. See Schools.
Teens move
up to Westminster High in the Huntington Beach High School District. Some
students attend schools in Ocean View and Garden Grove districts. Every year
Westminster district hosts a Parents' Academy to give parents tips about helping
their kids academically.
Three homicides in 2005, two in 2004,
one in 2003, four in 2002, two each in 2001 and 2000, six in 1999, three in
1998, eight in 1997, nine in 1996, six in 1995 and for preceding years, five,
ten, four, five, four, two and three. In 2004, officer Steven Phillips, on
patrol, was killed when a car pulled in front of his motorcycle. See Crime. www.mccormacks.com
The state
in 2008 counted 27,419 housing units, of which 14,895 were single-family
detached, 2,553 single attached, 6,903 multiples and 3,068 mobile homes.
Owner-occupied units outnumber rentals 60 percent to 40.
Located on
flat land just north of Huntington Beach, Westminster started its housing boom
in the 1950s when it erected about 5,200 units.
In the
1960s, housing starts jumped to 8,500 and in the 1970s, the town built 8,400
units. In the 1980s, new housing dropped to about 2,400 units. In the last
decade, Westminster built about 1,600 units. To state this differently,
Westminster built 20 percent of its housing stock in the 1950s, 32 percent in
the 1960s and 31 percent in the 1970s — about 81 percent of all units
within these three decades.
Westminster
aimed its homes and apartments and mobile homes at the rising blue-collar,
white-collar worker. The three-bedroom residence leads the housing styles,
followed by the two and then the four. Most detached homes are single story.
With the years many of the first homes have faded but, on the plus side, many
have been kept up.
Wal-Mart
and Home Depot in or near one mall. Another mall has a Penney's Sears and
Macys. These stores pump millions into the city treasury. Little Saigon
district showcases Vietnamese stores and restaurants. Also close to a
Huntington Beach mall with movies. www.mccormacks.com
Boys and
Girls Club. Twenty neighborhood parks, cultural arts program, seniors center,
city hall rose garden. Little theater. Many activities, typical sports. For the
unusual, an ice-skating rink. Local groups sometimes field over 140 softball
teams for league play. Skateboard park. Statue at one park honors South Vietnamese
and American troops.
Golden
West Community College is situated on the south border of the town — many
classes, activities for public. Short drive to Pacific beaches.
Bisected
by Interstate 405, on the border of Highway 52, also known as the Garden Grove
Freeway. For many residents, the commute is short or endurable because
Westminster is close to several job centers.
Chamber of
commerce (714) 898-9648.
• In 2006,
a sports utility vehicle (SUV) driven by a 71-year-old man veered into a bus
stop and struck four members of a family. Two were seriously injured, one
suffered minor injuries and a boy, age 7, was killed. Driver may have been
reaching for cell phone, police said, when he lost control. Law, to take effect
in 2008, prohibits use of cell phone while driving. www.mccormacks.com
City web
site: www.ci.westminster.ca.us
