Newport Beach, California Newport Beach ( ) is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The United States Census Bureau places the city's population at over 60,000. It is part of the North Orange County urbanized area. History Origins The area that became Newport Beach was originally inhabited by a tribe of Sealek, part of a linguistic group known as the Costanoan people. They made their living gathering plants and other sea life from the seaside. They developed a complex network of trails to navigate the area. These trails came to be known as the Gabrielino Trail. They also developed a large number of estuaries, where they could raise and harvest their crops in rich soil. In 1769, a military expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá came across a settlement on what is now known as the Back Bay of Newport Beach (also known as Seal Beach). During the Mexican period, the Sealek population began to decline. The missionization of the area began in 1775 and was completed in 1787. After Mexico became independent in 1821, the state government began restricting use of the Gabrielino Trail by both natives and non-natives. In 1842 the Mexican government ordered the settlement to be burned, and only about 40 survivors were able to escape to safety. Although most of the population was killed, the village was rebuilt soon after. The first non-native settlement was founded in 1889, when a whaling captain called Lewis Bernard moved his whaling station from nearby Dana Point to the area where Newport Beach is today. The beach town was called 'Newport' for Bernard's hometown in Vermont. Bernard's whaling station was the first permanent American settlement at this site. It is now the location of a state historical museum. During the Spanish–American War, the port of San Juan Capistrano was fortified to prevent the Spanish fleet from entering the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Government also feared that foreign powers would occupy San Pedro Bay. The U.S. Navy was ordered to prevent this from happening. Because of this, they wanted the area that is now Newport Beach to be declared a military reservation. To protect their interest in the bay, they sent the battleship USS Texas to San Pedro Bay to make sure no ships entered the bay. After the battleship returned to San Diego Bay, they wanted a lighthouse to be constructed in the area. It was constructed in 1902 near what is now known as Lovers Point. Early inhabitants of the area included the Serrano tribe, along with the Gabrielinos who had inhabited the area for years. The Serranos were an aggressive tribe who did not appreciate Spanish interference in their native lands. They were known as a fierce people, living a primitive, nomadic life that involved warfare with the Gabrielinos. While they were mostly wiped out by the Spanish, it is estimated that at one point there were several thousand of them. They survived until 1843, when they were annihilated by the Spanish. The Gabrielinos and the Serranos were among the original inhabitants of the area. By 1890 the city had a school, a store, and a dozen homes. At this time it was called Seal Beach. The name was soon changed to Newport Beach. Development In the 1930s, much of the land between Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Santa Ana was purchased for about a mile between the Pacific Ocean and the then proposed route of the railroad. The Army Corps of Engineers began leasing out parcels for development. Commercial use became common in the area, and eventually most of the land was privately owned. Much of this land was occupied by trailer parks for people living in the cities of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach. The first beach hotel on the coast was built at Sunset Beach, an area just south of Newport. The Cliff House, as it was known, was built in 1929 and was one of the earliest motels in California. On February 4, 1909, the Southern Pacific railroad began its passenger train service to Huntington Beach, which had not previously had any railway access. The tracks ended at the ocean, making a spur to a hotel called the Ocean House, which had previously been built by the Santa Fe railroad. It was one of the few hotels with a restaurant on the coast, and also the location of the Huntington Beach lifeguards office. The train was removed in 1946. The city The City of Newport Beach was incorporated on March 31, 1907. It was named after a village in Wales, the Welsh Newport or Caerffili. The Spanish name meant "small harbour" (from Latin portus). There was originally very little business and commercial interest in Newport Beach; it was primarily a beach resort and had few real business interests, even though it had a railroad connection. A few early businesses sprang up, but most of the commercial activity revolved around the hotels and beachfront. After the arrival of the Southern Pacific in 1909, the railroad spurred beach resort development on the surrounding land. At first, the area was called Sunset Beach, or Seal Beach. It was renamed Newport Beach on February 4, 1909. The name Newport was chosen because of the New York World article, stating Newport, Rhode Island was a beautiful place to visit and that San Francisco, for many years California's "prettiest city", should "learn of Newport's charms". In the 1930s the railroad established a train station. The Newport Fire Department traces its origins to the organization of volunteer firefighters in 1882. The Newport Volunteer Fire Department was officially recognized by the City Council in 1882. In 1936, the city purchased 60 acres of land at its present location, along the Balboa Peninsula, and gave the parcel to the U.S. Navy, and over the years was used as a landing strip for the Naval Auxiliary Air Facility, U.S. Naval Radio Station, and Naval Base Communications Station. The Navy facility closed on August 31, 2005 and was officially deeded to the city in September 2006, becoming Newport Beach Airport, which reopened on July 10, 2007 as a general aviation facility. In 1953, the Newport Freeway (SR 55) was opened, a north-south freeway that runs from Interstate 405 to Interstate 5. To this day, the largest population cluster of Newport Beach is along SR 39 (aka Pacific Coast Highway, PCH). Geography Newport Beach is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (68.16%) of it is covered by water. It is a member of the South Coast Air Basin, an airshed affected by air pollution. There is also an airport located in Newport Beach. Climate The climate of Newport Beach is classified as being in a Mediterranean climate zone by the Köppen Climate System. The area enjoys mild to warm weather, but still has cold winter mornings and occasional cool breezes. The dry winter season (July–September) is characterized by afternoon coastal fog while rain, especially in the months of May and June can produce showers. Summer days are also rather sunny. Because it is often windy and rainy in the summer, it is not uncommon to hear winds of over 20 mph and an average rainfall is a year. Winds generally blow from the northwest during the winter and from the south in the summer, and the prevailing wind direction in the region is to the north (about 70%). In winter, the prevailing winds blow from the northwest, but in summer, the wind comes from the northeast. Demographics 2010 The 2010 United States Census reported that Newport Beach had a population of 38,943. The population density was 3,229.6 people per square mile (1,240.1/km²). The racial makeup of Newport Beach was 32,786 (84.7%) White (78.4% Non-Hispanic White), 2,087 (5.4%) African American, 112 (0.3%) Native American, 6,934 (17.9%) Asian, 69 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 84 (0.2%) from other races, and 1,487 (3.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,983 persons (5.3%). The Census reported that 38,861 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 12 (0.03%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 40 (0.1%) were institutionalized. There were 15,206 households, out of which 4,746 (31.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,933 (51.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,225 (8.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 496 (3.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 511 (3.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 125 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 4,972 households (32.6%) were made up of individuals and 2,040 (13.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45. There were 9,792 families (63.8% of all households); the average