Concord, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Concord, California
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Salvio Pacheco Square facing Todos Santos Plaza – downtown
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Location of Concord in Contra Costa County
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 Concord, California
Location in the United States
Concord, California
Location in California
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| Country | United States | |
| State | California | |
| County | Contra Costa | |
| Incorporated | February 8, 1905 | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | City Council/City Manager | |
| Area | ||
| • City | 30.55 sq mi (79.13 km2) | |
| • Land | 30.55 sq mi (79.13 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) 0% | |
| Elevation | 75 ft (23 m) | |
| Population
(2020)(US: 80th)
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| • City | 125,410 | |
| • Rank | ||
| • Density | 4,104.67/sq mi (1,584.85/km2) | |
| • Urban | 538,583 | |
| • Urban density | 3,064.3/sq mi (1,183.1/km2) | |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (Pacific) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (PDT) | |
| ZIP Codes |
94518–94521
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| Area code | 925 | |
| FIPS code | 06-16000 | |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1658308, 2410214 | |
Concord is a large city in Contra Costa County, California. About 122,315 people lived here in 2023. It's the tenth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Concord was started in 1869 by Salvio Pacheco II. He was a famous rancher from California. The city was first called Todos Santos, which means "all saints." Later, its name was changed to Concord. The city is an important suburban area in the East Bay part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is about 29 miles (47 km) east of San Francisco.
The United States Census Bureau also defines a larger urban area around Concord. This area includes Walnut Creek. In 2020, this urban area had about 538,583 people. This makes it the 80th largest urban area in the United States.
Contents
History of Concord
Long ago, the Miwok people lived in the valleys near Mount Diablo. They hunted elk and fished in the streams. It's important to know that Miwok and other native people still live in the city today.
In 1772, Spanish explorers came through the area. But they did not build settlements here. In 1834, a large piece of land was given to Salvio Pacheco. This land was called Rancho Monte del Diablo. The nearby town of Pacheco is named after him.
Concord was founded in 1869 by Salvio Pacheco. Its first name was Todos Santos. This name is still used for the central plaza and park downtown. Concord became important in the 1800s. Many people moved here from Pacheco. They moved to avoid fires and floods that hurt Pacheco's economy. Concord officially became a city on February 5, 1905.
The land around Concord was once a big farming area. Farmers grew grapes, walnuts, almonds, wheat, and tomatoes. The eastern part of the area, where the Concord Naval Weapons Station is now, had huge wheat farms. During Prohibition, many grape farms were replaced with walnut trees. The town of Cowell, which is now part of Concord, used to make cement.
The first post office in Concord opened in 1872.
Port Chicago Disaster
A very sad event happened during World War II at Port Chicago. On July 17, 1944, a huge explosion occurred. It happened while munitions were being loaded onto a Navy cargo ship. This explosion instantly killed 320 sailors, merchant seamen, and civilians. Most of the people who died were African Americans. This was the largest number of African American casualties in one event during the war.
The blast was so strong it was felt 30 miles (48 km) away. After this, 258 Black sailors refused to load more ammunition. This led to the Navy's biggest mutiny trial. Fifty men were found guilty. Later, Thurgood Marshall, who became a Supreme Court Justice, watched the trials. He said the court was unfair.
Concord's Location and Climate
Concord is located northeast of San Francisco. It is about 29 miles (47 km) from San Francisco. It is also 22 miles (35 km) northeast of Oakland. Sacramento is 65 miles (105 km) southwest. San Jose is 51 miles (82 km) north.
The city covers about 30.5 square miles (79 km2) of land.
The main part of downtown Concord is Todos Santos Plaza. This plaza covers a whole city block. It is famous for its farmers market and free summer concerts. Many restaurants are also around the plaza.
Concord is surrounded by other towns. To the west are Pleasant Hill and Pacheco. To the south is Walnut Creek. Clayton is to the southeast. Pittsburg and Bay Point are to the northeast. Clyde is to the north. Martinez, the county seat, is also very close to Concord.
Weather in Concord
Concord has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate. This means it has warm, dry summers. Winters are cool and wet.
In January, the average high temperature is about 57.2°F (14.0°C). The average low is about 41.6°F (5.3°C). In July, the average high is about 87.8°F (31.0°C). The average low is about 58.2°F (14.6°C).
Concord usually has about 45 days a year where the temperature reaches 90°F (32°C) or higher. It rarely gets very cold. The lowest temperature ever recorded was 24°F (-4°C) in December 1998. The highest was 113°F (45°C) in September 2017.
The city gets about 23.91 inches (607 mm) of rain each year. Rain usually falls on about 71 days.
Concord's Economy
For many years, Concord was mainly a "bedroom community." This means many people lived here but worked in bigger cities like San Francisco or Oakland. But now, more jobs are available within Concord itself.
Concord has a strong retail area. This includes the Sunvalley Shopping Center. This mall used to be one of the 50 largest in the United States. There are also many auto dealerships and a Costco.
Top Employers in Concord
Here are some of the biggest employers in Concord:
- John Muir Medical Center
- Mt. Diablo Unified School District
- City of Concord
- PG&E
- County Connection
- AssetMark
- Cerus Corporation
- Yard House
- Athens Administrators
- Swinerton
North of Concord is the Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS). It was built in 1942. During World War II, it was a major storage place for weapons. It supplied ships at Port Chicago. The CNWS also helped during the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. It sent out thousands of tons of materials.
The station has two parts: an inland area and a tidal area. The inland area is inside Concord's city limits. In 2007, the U.S. government announced that this inland part would close. The tidal area is still used by the military. It is now called Military Ocean Terminal Concord (MOTCO).
The city is planning what to do with the closed inland land. They might develop some of it. They also want to keep a large part as open space and parks. The Navy must approve any plans for the land.
Getting Around Concord
Concord is served by the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train system. Until 1995, Concord was the last stop on the line. Now, the line goes further east to Pittsburg/Bay Point and Antioch. The County Connection also provides bus service in the city. Buses connect to other places in the county.
Major roads in Concord include Willow Pass Road, Concord Avenue, and Clayton Road. The city is also served by Interstate 680 and state highways 4 and 242.
Buchanan Field Airport is a public airport in Concord. It is owned by the county.
News and Media
Concord has a daily newspaper called the East Bay Times. It used to be called the Contra Costa Times. The publisher also puts out a weekly paper, the Concord Transcript. This paper covers news for Concord and nearby Clayton.
Concord also gets radio stations from San Francisco and Sacramento. Clayton Valley Charter High School has its own student-run rock radio station, KVHS.
Television stations broadcasting from San Francisco, Sacramento, and San Jose serve Concord. It can sometimes be hard to get over-the-air TV signals because of hills.
Education in Concord
Concord is part of the Mount Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD). One of the schools is Mt. Diablo High School. It opened in 1901. It has special programs, like the Digital Safari Academy. This program teaches students about multimedia.
Clayton Valley Charter High School also has special programs. There are also Catholic schools in Concord. These include De La Salle High School for boys and Carondelet High School for girls. De La Salle's football team holds a U.S. record. They won 151 games in a row between 1992 and 2004! A Hollywood movie called When the Game Stands Tall was made about this amazing winning streak.
California State University, East Bay has a campus in Concord.
The Concord High School football team won the Northern California Boys Division II Championship in 2010.
Public Libraries
The Concord Library is part of the Contra Costa County Library system. It is located next to the Concord Civic Center.
Arts and Culture
Concord is famous for its annual Concord Jazz Festival. It was also home to the Concord Records jazz music label for many years. Famous jazz musician Dave Brubeck was born in Concord. In 2006, a park near Concord High School was named after him.
Concord is also home to the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps. This group has won the World Championship 21 times! They are the most awarded drum and bugle corps in history.
The Concord Pavilion is a large outdoor concert venue. It can hold 12,500 people. It was designed by Frank Gehry. It hosts concerts and community events. The first event there was the Concord Jazz Festival in 1975.
The Kabul Soccer Club has its main office in Concord.
Matteo's Dream Playground
Matteo's Dream is a special playground in Concord. It is designed for children of all abilities. It is named after Matteo Henderson, a boy with disabilities. Children in wheelchairs can easily use the playground. Its features are made to help people with different disabilities play together.
Fun Places to Visit in Concord
- Baldwin Community Park and the Concord Senior Center
- Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps
- Buchanan Field Airport
- Camp Concord at South Lake Tahoe (a family summer camp run by the city)
- Concord Pavilion (a big outdoor concert place)
- Concord Skatepark
- Dave Brubeck Park
- Don Francisco Galindo House
- Don Salvio Pacheco Adobe
- Hillcrest Park (home to Matteo's Dream playground)
- Lime Ridge Open Space
- Markham Regional Arboretum
- Mt. Diablo State Park
- Newhall Community Park
- Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
- Rick Sears Memorial Park
- Shiva Murugan Temple
- Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord
- Starting point of the Iron Horse Regional Trail
- Sunvalley Mall
- Todos Santos Plaza (where the farmer's market and concerts happen)
- West Wind Solano Drive-In Theater
- Willow Pass Community Park
- Ygnacio Valley Park
Sister City
Since 1974, Concord has had a sister city in Japan. This city is Kitakami, in Iwate. Concord built a small Japanese-style park to celebrate this friendship. They also placed half of a sculpture called The Communion Bridge there. The other half of the bridge is in Kitakami.
Every five years, people from Concord visit Kitakami. They also have a student exchange program for students.
Famous People from Concord
- Carlos Alazraqui, comedian and voice actor
- Blake Anderson, comedian and actor
- Autopsy, death metal band
- George Barnes, jazz musician
- Edi Birsan, game designer and city council member
- Dave Brubeck, famous jazz musician; born in Concord
- Gil Castillo, mixed martial artist
- Natalie Coughlin, Olympic gold-medalist swimmer
- Death Angel, thrash-metal band
- Tom Hanks, Oscar-winning actor and director; born in Concord
- Charley Koontz, actor
- Eva Marie, professional wrestler
- Cass McCombs, singer and songwriter
- Brent Mydland, keyboardist for the Grateful Dead
- Negativland, experimental music group
- Reed Nesbit, urologist
- Kyle Newacheck, TV writer
- Natalie Nunn, reality TV star
- Salvio Pacheco, founder of Concord
- Tom Candiotti, MLB Pitcher
- Julie Strain, actress and model
Images for kids
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Salvio Pacheco Square facing Todos Santos Plaza
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Flag of Concord
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Location of Concord in Contra Costa County
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Concord was founded as "Todos Santos" in 1869 by Don Salvio Pacheco, a noted Californio ranchero.
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Todos Santos Plaza is downtown.
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Sunvalley Shopping Center
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Aerial view of the Concord Naval Weapons Station
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Overlooking the North Concord BART Station
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The Pacheco Adobe, built 1835 on Rancho Monte del Diablo
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West Wind Solano Drive-In theatre sign at night time
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Artwork produced by Japanese and American citizens to celebrate the sister city relationship between Concord and Kitakami, located at the civic center
See also
In Spanish: Concord (California) para niños
