Hawthorne, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hawthorne, California
City
Flag Seal
Motto(s):  "City of Good Neighbors"
Location of Hawthorne in Los Angeles County, California.
Hawthorne, California Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area Show map of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Hawthorne, California Location in California Show map of California Hawthorne, California Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
Incorporated	July 12, 1922
Named for	Nathaniel Hawthorne
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
Area
• Total	6.09 sq mi (15.78 km2)
• Land	6.08 sq mi (15.75 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2)  0.18%
Elevation	72 ft (22 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	88,083
• Rank	99th in California
• Density	14,464/sq mi (5,581.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP Codes	90250 and 90251
Area codes	310/424, 213/323
FIPS code	06-32548
GNIS feature IDs	1652717, 2410720

Hawthorne is a city in sunny California, located near Los Angeles. It is part of a group of cities called the South Bay. In 2020, about 88,083 people lived in Hawthorne.

History of Hawthorne City

Hawthorne was once part of a large ranch called Rancho Sausal Redondo.

Hawthorne was once part of a huge ranch called Rancho Sausal Redondo. This ranch was given to Antonio Ygnacio Ávila in 1837 by the Mexican government. The ranch was very large, covering about 22,458 acres (91 square kilometers). It included areas that are now cities like Manhattan Beach, Inglewood, and Redondo Beach.

Hawthorne was started in 1905 by two real estate developers, B.L. Harding and H.D. Lombard. Harding's daughter was born on July 4th, the same day as a famous American writer named Nathaniel Hawthorne. So, they decided to name the new village after him.

Geography and Location

Hawthorne is surrounded by several other communities and cities. To the north, you'll find Lennox and Inglewood. To the east are Athens and Gardena. South of Hawthorne are El Camino Village, Lawndale, and Redondo Beach. Manhattan Beach is to the southwest, and El Segundo is to the west.

Two major freeways run near Hawthorne. The Century Freeway (I-105) is on the northern edge, and the San Diego Freeway (I-405) is on the western edge. Main streets like Rosecrans Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard help people get around the city.

Hawthorne is also very close to the Los Angeles International Airport, which is about 5 miles (8 kilometers) away. The city uses ZIP codes 90250 and 90251. Most of Hawthorne is in the 310 area code.

Hawthorne's Climate and Weather

Hawthorne has a Mediterranean climate, which means it has warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters. It gets a lot of sunshine throughout the year, with about 263 sunny days.

• The warmest month is usually August.
• The highest temperature ever recorded was 111°F (44°C) in 1961.
• January is usually the coolest month.
• The lowest temperature ever recorded was 15°F (-9°C) in 1963.
• Most of the rain falls during the winter and spring months.

Population and People

Hawthorne has grown quite a bit over the years. In 1930, there were about 6,596 people. By 2020, the population had grown to 88,083.

Population in 2020

In 2020, Hawthorne had a population of 88,083 people. The city is very diverse, with people from many different backgrounds.

• About 53.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino origin.
• Around 23.6% were Black or African American.
• About 10.4% were White (not Hispanic).
• Around 7.4% were Asian.
• Other groups made up the rest of the population.

There were 28,486 households in Hawthorne in 2010. Many of these households (43.3%) had children under 18 living there. The average household size was about 2.94 people.

Economy and Jobs

SpaceX's former headquarters in Hawthorne.

Hawthorne is known as a hub for the space industry. Many companies that work on space technology are located here. This is because there are many skilled engineers and technicians in the area. SpaceX, a famous space company, has its headquarters and main factory in Hawthorne.

Here are some of the top employers in Hawthorne as of 2021:

• SpaceX (6,094 employees)
• Amazon Fulfillment Center (1,500 employees)
• Hawthorne School District (900 employees)
• Wiseburn Unified School District (394 employees)
• City of Hawthorne (360 employees)
• Home Depot (340 employees)
• OSI Systems (280 employees)
• Expeditors (260 employees)
• Teledyne Relays (253 employees)
• Target (250 employees)

Other important businesses in Hawthorne include:

• Century Media Records, a music label.
• Tesla, Inc. has a design center at the Hawthorne Municipal Airport.
• Konami Digital Entertainment, a video game company, has its US offices here.
• ARCH Motorcycle, a company that makes motorcycles.
• Mynaric, a company working on laser communication.

P-61 planes being built by Northrop Corp. during World War II in Hawthorne.

In the past, Hawthorne was home to Northrop Corporation. This company was a major aircraft manufacturer during World War II. They built famous planes like the P-61 Black Widow fighter. Jack Northrop, the founder, developed his unique "flying wings" designs here, which later inspired the B-2 stealth bomber. The building where Northrop once operated is now used by SpaceX.

Education in Hawthorne

Hawthorne has several school districts that serve its students.

Schools for Kids and Teens

Many schools in and around Hawthorne help students learn and grow.

Centinela Valley Union High School District

• Hawthorne High School
• Leuzinger High School (in Lawndale, California)
• Lawndale High School (in Lawndale, California)

Hawthorne School District

Lawndale Elementary School District

• Franklin D. Roosevelt-Kit Carson Elementary School
• Will Rogers Middle School (in Lawndale)

Lennox School District

• Elementary schools like Buford, Felton, Jefferson, Dolores Hutera, and Moffett.
• All students in this district go to Lennox Middle School (grades 6–8).

Wiseburn Unified School District

• Juan Cabrillo Elementary School (Kindergarten-2nd grade)
• 138th St School (3rd-5th grade)
• Richard Henry Dana Middle School (6th-8th grade)
• Da Vinci Schools (9th-12th grade)

Los Angeles Unified School District

• Cimarron Elementary School (in Hawthorne)

Hawthorne Math and Science Academy is a special charter high school in Hawthorne that focuses on math and science.

Private Schools

There are also private schools in Hawthorne:

• Saint Joseph's Parish School (a Catholic school)
• Trinity Lutheran School
• Al Huda Islamic School

Colleges and Universities

For students who want to continue their education after high school, there are colleges nearby:

Los Angeles Community College District

• Los Angeles Southwest College
• El Camino College

Famous People from Hawthorne

Many well-known people have lived in or come from Hawthorne:

• All the original members of the Beach Boys grew up here, including Brian, Dennis, Carl Wilson, Mike Love, and Al Jardine. Their childhood home is now a special landmark.
• Fred Dryer, a former NFL player and actor, was born in Hawthorne.
• Cuco, a singer-songwriter, grew up and still lives in Hawthorne.
• Tracy Jones, a former Major League Baseball player, was born here.
• Rapper Kurupt lived in Hawthorne.
• Scott Laidlaw, a former NFL running back, grew up in Hawthorne and went to Hawthorne High School.
• Actress Marilyn Monroe lived in the city when she was very young.
• Singer Chris Montez grew up in Hawthorne.
• Jack Northrop, who founded Northrop Corporation, lived and worked here.
• Mike Scott, a famous baseball pitcher and Cy Young Award winner, grew up in Hawthorne.
• Sports figure Jim Thorpe lived in Hawthorne for a time, and there is a park named after him.
• Rapper Tyler, the Creator grew up in Hawthorne.
• Russell Westbrook of the Los Angeles Clippers grew up in Hawthorne.

See also

In Spanish: Hawthorne (California) para niños

Images for kids

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  SpaceX's former headquarters in Hawthorne.

• 

  P-61 planes being built by Northrop Corp. during World War II in Hawthorne.