City, Napa County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 94574
Heart of the wine country. Many of the major wineries are located in town or nearby and St. Helena does a lively trade in tourists, diners and tasters. The town name has become almost synonymous with haute cuisine. www.mccormacks.com
Fairly stable town but almost every year it seems to add some homes. Started 1980 with 4,898 residents, finished with 4,990, and by 2000 rose to 5,950 inhabitants. Median age is 40. Kids under 18 make up 25 percent of town, those over 55 make up 27 percent. Another rounded burg. The state in 2007 estimated the population at 5,993.
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Trailer park on the east side of town. Regular housing on the west. About 45 percent of the housing units predate 1970. Generally, the homes are well-kept. Lots of trees and greenery. Vineyards start at city borders and on some streets within. www.mccormacks.com
State in 2007 counted 2,762 residential units: 1,691 single homes, 215 single attached, 692 apartments, 162 mobile homes. Growth controls. In the 1990s, St. Helena built 450 units, over half of them single homes. About 200 of the mobile homes were flooded in the 1995 storms.
Away from Main Street, St. Helena comes across as a country town that in a small way has been “discovered” by people who appreciate the good life: the wineries, the restaurants, a morning cappuccino, factory outlets.
New supermarket and miscellaneous stores and offices built just east of Main Street.
Library. Bocce popular. Dated but cherished, an A & W Root Beer, still gurgling along, and Taylor's Refresher, drive-in hot dogs, hamburgers, etc.
Wine train. Beringer Winery; pretty. Former Christian Brothers winery, gorgeous place, over 100 years old, in 1995 was turned into the Culinary Institute of America. Main Street is also Highway 29, frequently congested in tourist season. Movie house, restaurants, delis, small shops, some Victorians. Residents, tired of tourists, are discouraging more restaurants, hotels, gift shops. www.mccormacks.com
Schools
One primary school, one elementary, one intermediate, one high. Academic rankings, 60th to 80th percentile, compared to other California schools. After failing once, a school bond made it in 1997. The money was used to renovate three schools and build science labs and a primary school (K-2nd grade). Town has a Catholic school. High-school pool in summer open to residents. Branch campus of community college. See Schools.
Crime
One homicide in 2004. Zero homicides between 1995 and 2003. Commute ... if you have a local job or one in Napa City ... excellent.
If you labor in San Francisco, our sympathies. For car alternative, buses and at Vallejo ferry service to downtown San Francisco.
Chamber of commerce: (707) 963-4456. www.mccormacks.com
City web site: www.ci.st-helena.ca.us
