HAWTHORNE, CALIFORNIA

'Hawthorne' is a city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 84,112. Although incorporated as a city in 1922, Hawthorne is a part of the immense sprawl that amounts to the greater Los Angeles area.
Although Hawthorne itself is not a beach community, it is a part of the LA area deemed the "South Bay", and as such is adjacent to the city of Manhattan Beach and other waterfront towns (famous for their surfing areas) such as Redondo Beach.
Hawthorne is known to rock and roll fans as the home of Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys. The Wilson brothers' boyhood home was demolished in the late 1980s during the construction of the Century Freeway, although it was honored by the dedication of the Beach Boys Historic Landmark (California Landmark 1041) in May 2005.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Locations of interest

Famous residents

Education

Business

Pop Culture

References

External links

Geography

Hawthorne is located at (33.917214, -118.348607). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.7 km² (6.1 mi²), all land.
To the north of Hawthorne is the unincorporated community of Lennox and the city of Inglewood. To the east is the unincorporated community of Athens and the city of Gardena. To the south is the unincorporated community of El Camino Village, and the cities of Lawndale and Redondo Beach. Manhattan Beach is at the southwest corner of Hawthorne, and the city of El Segundo is to the west of Hawthorne. The unincorporated community of Del Aire is surrounded on three sides by the city of Hawthorne along western edge of Hawthorne.
The Century Freeway (Glenn Anderson Freeway, I-105) runs along the northern boundary of Hawthorne, with the LACMTA Green Line light rail line running down the center of the Century Freeway. The San Diego Freeway (I-405) runs along the western boundary of Hawthorne. Major east-west streets in Hawthorne include Rosecrans Ave., El Segundo Ave.. and Imperial Highway. Major north-south street include Aviation Blvd., Inglewood Ave., Hawthorne Blvd., Prairie Ave., Crenshaw Blvd., and Van Ness Ave.
Hawthorne is very close to the Los Angeles International Airport, aka "LAX."
Hawthorne comprises ZIP codes, 90250, 90251, and the 310 Area Code.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 84,112 people, 28,536 households, and 19,775 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,359.0/km² (13,879.4/mi²). There were 29,629 housing units at an average density of 1,887.8/km² (4,889.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 29.27% White, 33.02% Black or African American, 0.75% Native American, 6.73% Asian, 0.86% Pacific Islander, 24.16% from other races, and 5.22% from two or more races. 44.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 28,536 households out of which 43.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.6% were married couples living together, 23.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.50.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.7% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 34.9% from 25 to 44, 16.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,887, and the median income for a family was $35,149. Males had a median income of $29,481 versus $27,427 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,022. About 18.4% of families and 20.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.6% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Locations of interest

★ The Western Museum of Flight, which restores and displays historic aircraft, is located at the Hawthorne Municipal Airport.

★ Cockatoo Inn This was a restaurant and bar with had a bad reputation. It was alleged to be a house of prostitution, and some say that the Hawthorne Police turned a blind eye to it for a price. The place has since been torn down, and something new is being built in its place.

★ Beach Boys Historic Landmark

Famous residents

★ Actress Marilyn Monroe lived in the city as a young girl.

★ Sports figure Jim Thorpe resided in Hawthorne during part of his life, and there is a park named after him.

★ Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, of the Beach Boys were raised in Hawthorne.

★ NFL Players Curtis Conway, Dennis Northcutt, Jason Simmons have all resided in Hawthorne.

★ Rapper Kurupt lived in Hawthorne after moving from Philadelphia.

★ Actor Fred Dryer was born in Hawthorne.

★ Beatle George Harrison's 2nd wife Olivia Harrison, née Olivia Trinidad Arias, graduated from Hawthorne High School, class of 1965

★ Dorell Wright of the Miami Heat grew up in Hawthorne.

★ Butch Patrick also lived in Hawthorne for a short time. He drove a black Corvette.

Education

;Centinela Valley Union High School District

★ Hawthorne High School
;Hawthorne Elementary School District

★ Hawthorne Math and Science Academy (charter high school) [1]
;Los Angeles County Office of Education

★ Southwest Day (5^th-12^th grade)
;Wiseburn School District

★ Juan Cabrillo Elementary School (Kindergarten-2^nd grade),Peter Burnett Elementary School(3^rd-5^th grade), Dana Middle School(6^th-8^th grade)
;Los Angeles Community College District

★ Los Angeles Southwest College (in nearby Athens)

Business

★ Northrop Grumman has a large facility adjacent to the Hawthorne Municipal Airport.

★ Hawthorne Plaza shopping center

★ Mattel - the headquarters of Mattel was, for a long time, located in Hawthorne, but is now in nearby El Segundo, California.

Pop Culture

★ Hawthorne has also been the setting for several movie shoots. The abandoned Hawthorne Mall was used to film parking garage scenes of ''.

★ The movie ''Pulp Fiction'' has two characters dine in the Hawthorne Grill.

★ Scenes from ''Jackie Brown'' were filmed inside of the Cockatoo Inn.

★ Hawthorne was used for ''The Dead Girl'', a movie with ''Spider-Man'' star James Franco.

★ Portions of the movie ''Speed'' were filmed in Hawthorne, on the as yet unopened 105 Freeway.

★ The Beach Boys emerged from Hawthorne and attended Hawthorne High School.

★ Many of the members of the band IRATE (Infinite Rebellion Against The Establishment) come from Hawthorne, CA and attended Leuzinger High School.

★ In August 1967, a 17 year old from Hawthorne named Ricky Yama was killed at Disneyland when he (in violation of safety instructions) exited his People Mover vehicle as it was passing through a tunnel. He slipped and was crushed to death by oncoming vehicles. Ricky is one of nine (to date) Disneyland guests to die in events on Disneyland attractions.

★ The MADtv character Bunifa Latifah Halifah Sharifa Jackson is from Hawthorne, California.

★ Multiple winning jackpot tickets for Mega Millions was sold in Hawthorne, May 11, 2007 drawing, the annuity value was $112 million; two persons shared the ticket, choosing the cash option. They split $67 million.

★ Scenes from the TV show Medium, The OC, & CSI were filmed in various locations.

References

1. City of Hawthorne, CA - Mayor
2. Incorporation Dates of California Cities
3. Hawthorne city, California - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder
4. USPS - ZIP Code Lookup - Find a ZIP+ 4 Code By City Results
5. Number Administration System - NPA and City/Town Search Results


★ Walt Dixon, "''Hawthorne, California (Images of America)"'', 2005 ISBN 0-7385-2971-0

External links

★ Hawthorne official website

★ Hawthorne Chamber of Commerce

★ Western Museum of Flight

★ US Census map