City, Los Angeles County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 91006, 91007, 91066, 91077
Prestige bedroom city. Mansions and many large homes. Built on mostly level or rolling land that rises into the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. www.mccormacks.com
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Home to Santa Anita, one of the premier race tracks of the West Coast. Crime low. School scores very high.
Population 56,491. Median age of residents is 41. Under 18 years, 23 percent. Over 55 years, 26 percent. Heads turning gray but still fair number of kids.
Borders or close to San Marino, Pasadena and Sierra Madre. These are affluent towns, interested in the arts and, at the risk of sounding pompous, in what might be called a cultured way of life.
San Marino is home to the Huntington Library, Pasadena to the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech), a famous playhouse, the Norton Simon Museum and to several collegiate institutions. Occidental College is located just outside Pasadena city limits.
Arcadia borders or is close to middle and low-middle towns and neighborhoods. In Los Angeles County the rich, the middle and the poor are, physically, often never far apart. But this granted, Arcadia, because of its schools and the general high quality of its homes, is recognized as an exceptional town and a pretty town. On a clear day, with the mountains shimmering in the background and the horses galloping down the stretch, Arcadia delights the eye. www.mccormacks.com
Incorporated as a city in 1903 by Elias “Lucky” Baldwin, gambler, speculator and big thinker, Arcadia developed slowly and initially favored estate homes on the north side. By 1940, it claimed 9,100 residents.
In the late 1940s and 1950s, the great suburban boom washed over the city. By 1950, the population had soared to 23,000 and by 1960 to 41,000. Then things slowed. Between 1940 and 1970, Arcadia built about 15,000 housing units. Between 1970 and 2000, it built 6,300 and in the last decade, housing starts numbered only 1,700 (and many were replacement homes).
Like many L.A. towns in the post war era, Arcadia built many three-bedroom homes but a cut or two above what was popular. The town has many low-slung ranchers lovingly maintained. It is possible, on the east side, to find a block or two where the single homes can be described as plain or ordinary.
But rising values, if nothing else, encourage residents to remodel and make improvements. Many lawns have been professionally landscaped.
Many homes, especially south of Duarte Road, were demolished and replaced with larger homes, some exuberantly different from their neighbors. The new home might have a half circle driveway, two stories, gables or turrets, white stone or brick facing, loads of glass and moorish columns. The adjoining home might be a 1950s rancher, its elegance understated, one story, four bedrooms, earth tones. www.mccormacks.com
West of the racetrack, the homes tend to old-fashioned upscale, plenty of trees and foliage.
The largest homes, mixed with custom and nice but not overwhelming homes, are to be found north of Foothill Boulevard. Some homes here are knockouts, as opulent as you will find in any place in California. The terrain in this neighborhood rises sharply and creates vistas for homes.
Apartments, townhouses and condos were built in the downtown, near Huntington Drive, and along parts of Duarte Road and Baldwin Avenue.
Most of the shops, hotels (Hilton, Marriott, Embassy) and office buildings are located on or near Duarte Road and Huntington Drive. Regional mall with a Nordstrom and a Macys is located near the racetrack and the civic center. Also near the racetrack, Methodist Hospital, perhaps Arcadia's largest employer.
Trees, trees, trees everywhere, many maintained by city. Adds to the charm. On a few streets, peacocks are allowed to roam free. www.mccormacks.com
Baldwin, who had a hand in developing several towns or neighborhoods, had a ranch in Arcadia. It was converted into a large arboretum that is managed by the county.
State in 2008 counted 20,304 units: 11,857 single homes, 1,730 single attached, 6,691 multiples, 26 mobiles.
Education by Arcadia school district. All schools are scoring in the 90th percentile and some are scoring above the 95th percentile, among highest in state, indicating solid community and parental support for education. Bond passed to renovate schools. A few streets are in other school districts. Check with schools for precise borders.
Arcadia High often wins the regional National Science Bowl. Every year in California only about three dozen high schools break the 600 mark in the math SAT. Arcadia High always makes the list; in 2005 hitting 632. School district runs classes for parents with young children. See Schools.
Two homicides in 2005, four in 2004, two each in 2003, 2002 and 2001, zero in 2000 and 1999. For previous years are 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1. Arcadia has its own police department. In 2005, stockbroker was accused of shooting his wife to death. See Crime.
Horse racing, library, 18 parks, movies, two golf courses, community center, two public swimming pools. Also equestrian trails. First-class mall. Hotels. About 3,500 swimming pools in city. Developer wants to build mall in race-track parking lot; some residents opposed. www.mccormacks.com
Every year, arboretum sponsors a tasting of Heirloom tomatoes.
About 17 miles to downtown L.A. Easy access to Foothill Freeway. Many jobs in Pasadena.
For orientation on cities, towns and neighborhoods of Los Angeles County, see County Overview.
Chamber of commerce: (626) 447-2159.
City web site: www.ci.arcadia.ca.us
