Sunnyvale, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sunnyvale, California
City
Downtown Sunnyvale
Seal
Location in Santa Clara County and the State of California
Sunnyvale, California Location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
County	Santa Clara
Incorporated	December 24, 1912
Government
• Type	Council–manager
Area
• Total	22.78 sq mi (58.99 km2)
• Land	22.06 sq mi (57.14 km2)
• Water	0.72 sq mi (1.86 km2)  3.09%
Elevation	125 ft (38 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	155,805
• Rank	2nd in Santa Clara County 36th in California 176th in the United States
• Density	6,839.6/sq mi (2,641.21/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP codes	94085–94090
Area codes	408/669 and 650
FIPS code	06-77000
GNIS feature IDs	1656344, 2412009

Sunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California. It is located in the Santa Clara Valley, which is part of the famous Silicon Valley.

Sunnyvale is near other cities like San Jose, Mountain View, and Cupertino. It is also close to Moffett Federal Airfield and NASA's Ames Research Center.

In 2020, about 155,805 people lived in Sunnyvale. This makes it the second-largest city in Santa Clara County, after San Jose. It is also one of the biggest cities in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sunnyvale is known as a major center for high-tech companies. It is even called the birthplace of the video game industry because Atari once had its main office here. Many technology and aerospace companies are located in Sunnyvale.

A special thing about Sunnyvale is its Department of Public Safety. All its workers are trained to be firefighters, police officers, and EMTs. This means they can help in any emergency role.

History of Sunnyvale

The Santa Clara Valley was home to the Ohlone people long before the Spanish arrived in the 1770s. Sadly, diseases brought by the Spanish, like smallpox, greatly reduced the Ohlone population. Some Ohlone people became Christians after the Spanish founded Mission Santa Clara in 1777.

Early Days: The 1800s

Lupe Yñigo was granted Rancho Posolmi in 1844, covering parts of Sunnyvale and Mountain View.

Libby Water Tower, a famous landmark in Sunnyvale.

In 1843, a large piece of land called Rancho Pastoria de las Borregas was given to Francisco Estrada and Inez Castro. Parts of this land later became Sunnyvale and Mountain View. A year later, Lupe Yñigo, a Native American, received his own land grant called Rancho Posolmi.

In 1850, Martin Murphy Jr. bought part of this land for $12,500. He started a wheat farm and ranch called Bay View. Murphy built the first wooden house in Santa Clara County. It was taken down in 1961 but rebuilt in 2008 as the Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum.

By 1860, the San Francisco and San Jose Rail Road built tracks through Bay View. They set up a stop called Murphy Station.

In the 1870s, many large wheat farms were replaced by small fruit orchards. Growing fruit became more profitable. In 1871, Dr. James M. Dawson and his wife started the first fruit canning factory in the county. Soon, fruit farming and canning became a huge business. By 1886, Santa Clara County was known as the "Garden of the World."

Many immigrants came to work in the orchards. In the 1880s, Chinese workers were important. Later, in the 1890s, people from Italy, Portugal, and Japan also came to work.

In 1897, Walter Everett Crossman bought a large area of land and started selling it. He called the area "Beautiful Murphy." The first school in the area, Encinal School, also opened in 1897.

Becoming a City: The 1900s

In 1901, the town needed a new name for its post office. On March 24, 1901, the name "Sunnyvale" was chosen because the area gets a lot of sunshine.

Sunnyvale kept growing. In 1904, people started drying fruit. In 1906, Libby, McNeill & Libby, a company from Chicago, opened its first fruit-packing factory in Sunnyvale. Today, a water tower that looks like a Libby's fruit cocktail can marks the old factory site.

Also in 1906, the Joshua Hendy Iron Works moved to Sunnyvale after its building in San Francisco was destroyed by fire after the 1906 earthquake. This was the first non-farming business in Sunnyvale. The company later made things like marine steam engines.

Joshua Hendy Iron Works Museum

In 1912, the people of Sunnyvale voted to become an official city.

Fremont High School opened in 1923. In 2023, the school celebrated its 100th birthday!

In 1924, Edwina Benner became the mayor of Sunnyvale. She was only the second female mayor in California's history.

In 1930, the U.S. government decided to build a dirigible base in Sunnyvale. This naval airfield was later called Moffett Federal Airfield or Moffett Field.

During World War II, Sunnyvale's economy changed from fruit farming to high-tech industries. The Joshua Hendy Iron Works made things for the war, like marine steam engines. As defense companies grew, more workers were needed. Many immigrants from Mexico came to Sunnyvale to help.

After the war, the fruit orchards were cleared to build homes, factories, and offices.

In 1950, Sunnyvale combined its volunteer fire department and police department into one Department of Public Safety.

In 1956, the aircraft company Lockheed moved its main office to Sunnyvale.

Since then, many high-tech companies have opened offices in Sunnyvale, including Advanced Micro Devices and Yahoo.

The very first test of Atari's coin-operated Pong, a famous early video game, happened in Sunnyvale in August 1972. It was installed in a bar called Andy Capp's Tavern. Atari's main office was also in Sunnyvale.

By 2002, most of the old orchards were gone, replaced by homes and shops. However, Sunnyvale still has city-owned orchards, like the Heritage Orchard near the Community Center.

In 1979, an indoor mall called Sunnyvale Town Center opened. After many years, the mall started to decline. It was torn down in 2007 to make way for new development.

Modern Sunnyvale: The 2000s

Sunnyvale celebrated its 100th birthday on August 25, 2012.

In 2009, parts of the main streets in downtown Sunnyvale were reopened to cars and people. This was part of a big project to rebuild the downtown area. New apartment buildings were also built.

By the mid-2010s, many new apartment buildings and businesses opened downtown. A Whole Foods Market and an AMC Theatres movie theater opened in October 2020.

Major Businesses Today

In recent years, many big technology companies have opened offices in Sunnyvale. These include Apple, LinkedIn, Google, Amazon, Meta, and Walmart Labs.

Google opened new offices in the Moffett Park area in 2022. Amazon and Meta also started leasing buildings in Sunnyvale in 2017 and 2021.

Largest Employers

Here are some of the biggest employers in Sunnyvale:

Geography and Climate

Sunnyvale is located at 37°22′7.56″N 122°2′13.4″W / 37.3687667°N 122.037056°W / 37.3687667; -122.037056. The city covers about 58.8 square kilometers (22.7 square miles). Most of this is land, with a small part being water. Sunnyvale is about 38 meters (125 feet) above sea level.

What's the Weather Like?

Sunnyvale has a Mediterranean climate. This means it has cool, wet winters and warm, very dry summers. Summer daytime temperatures are usually in the high 70s Fahrenheit (around 25-26 Celsius). In winter, daytime temperatures rarely drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 Celsius).

Snowfall is very rare in Sunnyvale. It snowed a little in 1962 and 1976. Tornadoes are also extremely rare, but Sunnyvale was briefly hit by small ones in 1951 and 1998.

People of Sunnyvale

Standard marker at city entrances.

In 2020, Sunnyvale had a population of 155,805 people. About half of the people in Sunnyvale are of Asian background. Many different cultures and backgrounds make up the city.

There were about 59,567 households in Sunnyvale. The average household size was 2.54 people. About 20.8% of the population was under 18 years old. The median age was 35.2 years.

Education in Sunnyvale

For elementary and middle schools, most of Sunnyvale is part of the Sunnyvale School District. Other parts are in different school districts like Cupertino Union School District or Santa Clara Unified School District.

For high schools, most students attend schools in the Fremont Union High School District, such as Fremont High School or Homestead High School. Some parts of the city are in the Santa Clara Unified School District.

The Sunnyvale Public Library provides library services for the city. It is located at the Sunnyvale Civic Center.

Schools in Sunnyvale School District

Other Schools for Sunnyvale Residents

Private Schools in Sunnyvale

• French American School of Silicon Valley (FASSV)
• Stratford School
• The King's Academy (Religious)
• Challenger School
• Rainbow Montessori
• Helios School
• Jazmin Chandler
• Resurrection School (Religious)
• Silicon Valley Academy (Religious)
• South Peninsula Hebrew day school (Religious)
• Sunnyvale Christian School (Religious)

Neighborhoods

The southern part of Sunnyvale is mostly homes. The northern part, north of Highway 237, is mainly for businesses and industries.

Many homes in Sunnyvale were designed by a famous architect named Joseph Eichler. There are over 1100 Eichler homes in 16 neighborhoods.

The eastern part of El Camino Real in Sunnyvale has many businesses owned by Indian immigrants.

Parks and Recreation

Sunnyvale has 476 acres of parks. Some popular parks include Las Palmas Park, Ortega Park, Seven Seas Park, Fair Oaks Park, and Washington Park. There are also two public golf courses.

Baylands Park is a large park where the yearly Linux Picnic is held. Charles Street Gardens is Sunnyvale's oldest and largest community garden, located next to the Public Library.

Getting Around Sunnyvale

Route 82 at the intersection with Mathilda Avenue.

Several major roads and freeways pass through Sunnyvale:

• Interstate 280
• U.S. Route 101
• State Route 82 (El Camino Real)
• State Route 85
• State Route 237

Public Transportation

Sunnyvale has public transportation options. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) offers light rail and buses. Caltrain commuter trains also serve Sunnyvale, with two stations: the Sunnyvale station downtown and the Lawrence station in eastern Sunnyvale.

Biking in Sunnyvale

Sunnyvale is recognized as a "Bicycle Friendly Community" by the League of American Bicyclists. This means it's a good place for biking! The city has a special committee that helps plan for more bike-friendly paths and areas.

Airports Near Sunnyvale

For flying to other cities, Sunnyvale is close to three international airports:

• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is about 9.5 miles away. You can get there by car, Caltrain, VTA light rail, or VTA bus.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is about 27.7 miles away. You can reach it by Caltrain and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART).
• Metropolitan Oakland International Airport (OAK) is about 37.5 miles away.

Local Legends

A popular story in Sunnyvale is about a ghost that supposedly haunts the old Toys 'R' Us store (now REI). A psychic named Sylvia Browne claimed to have contacted the ghost on a TV show in 1980. She called him Johnny Johnson and said he was a Swedish preacher who worked on the orchard where the store now stands. The story says he died from an accidental axe injury to his leg.

Famous People from Sunnyvale

Many interesting people have lived in or are from Sunnyvale:

• Michael Amick, soccer player
• Tony Anselmo, animator and voice of Donald Duck
• Jeff Baicher, soccer player
• Robert Hawkins, artist
• Ashleigh Aston Moore, actress
• Teri Hatcher, actress
• Imran Khan, Bollywood actor
• Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc.
• Lee Pelekoudas, former baseball general manager
• Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc.
• Arthur Davis, animator and director
• Timothy Linh Bui, filmmaker
• Tony Bui, film director
• Steve Kloves, American screenwriter and film director
• Antwon, hip-hop artist
• Brian MacLeod, musician
• The Orange Peels, musical group
• Juju Chang, television personality
• Martin Ford, author
• Jeff Goodell, writer
• Michael S. Malone, writer and journalist
• Amy Tan, novelist
• Tully Banta-Cain professional football player
• Brian Boitano, figure skater
• Benny Brown, runner
• Sean Dawkins, NFL player
• Penny Deen, swimmer and coach
• Francie Larrieu-Smith, track and field athlete
• Peter Ueberroth, former Major League Baseball Commissioner
• Bill Green, Olympic athlete
• Chris Pelekoudas, Major League Baseball umpire
• Troy Tulowitzki, Major League Baseball player
• Andrew Fire, 2006 Nobel Laureate in medicine
• Landon Curt Noll, astronomer and cryptographer
• Mark Rober, NASA engineer and scientific YouTuber
• Joe Prunty, NBA assistant coach

Sister Cities

Sunnyvale has a "Sister City" relationship with Iizuka, Japan. This means they have friendly exchange programs and learn about each other's cultures.

See also

In Spanish: Sunnyvale (California) para niños