City of Pleasant Hill | |
|---|---|
 City Hall | |
 Flag | |
 Location inContra Costa County and the state ofCalifornia | |
  City of Pleasant Hill Location in California | |
| Coordinates:37°56′53″N122°03′09″W / 37.94806°N 122.05250°W /37.94806; -122.05250 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Contra Costa |
| Incorporated | November 14, 1961[1] |
| Government | |
| • City Council |
|
| • City Treasurer | Andrew Kalinowski[3] |
| • City Clerk | Lyone Conner[4] |
| • State Leg. | Sen.Tim Grayson (D)[5] Asm.Anamarie Avila Farias (D)[6] |
| • U. S. Congress | Mark DeSaulnier (D)[7] |
| Area | |
• Total | 7.08 sq mi (18.33 km2) |
| • Land | 7.07 sq mi (18.32 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0.00 km2) 0% |
| Elevation | 52 ft (16 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 34,613 |
| • Density | 4,893/sq mi (1,889/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code | 94523 |
| Area code | 925 |
| FIPS code | 06-57764 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1659406,2411439 |
| Website | Official website |
Pleasant Hill is a city inContra Costa County, California, United States, in theEast Bay of theSan Francisco Bay Area. The population was 34,613 at the2020 census. It wasincorporated in 1961. Pleasant Hill is the home ofCollege Park High School,Diablo Valley College, the Pleasant Hill Library of theContra Costa County Library system, and the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District.
Before colonization the area was inhabited by members of theBay Miwok people. The San Ramon Valley Branch Line of theSouthern Pacific entered service in 1891 with twoflag stops in the area that would become the City of Pleasant Hill: Hookston, located today where theIron Horse Regional Trail crosses Hookston Road, and Sparkle, where the Southern Pacific andSacramento Northern Railway intersected and today stands the Pleasant HillBART station. The area began to besuburbanized in the 1920s followingprohibition, as the many localvineyards were removed and the formerly agricultural land was subdivided for housing. Monument Boulevard was named after the Soldiers Memorial Monument to commemorate veterans and war dead ofWorld War I from Contra Costa County. It was erected on December 11, 1927, at the intersection of Monument Boulevard and the Contra Costa Highway, now Contra Costa Boulevard. The monument depicts one black and three white soldiers. It is 45 feet (14 meters) tall, constructed of formed concrete, and weighs 150 tons. In 1954 the monument was moved to its current site at the intersection of Boyd Road and Contra Costa Boulevard to make way for the construction ofState Route 21.
Developed largely in the years followingWorld War II, the area did not have a post office until 1948. The cityincorporated in 1961.[9]
On February 21, 1967, Century 21 Theaters opened an 895-seat dome theater between Monument Boulevard and Hookston Road, just off I-680. The futuristic dome-topped cinema became an iconic landmark for the newly incorporated city.[10] The theater was designed by prolific Bay Area architect Vincent G. Raney. It had a distinctive 50-foot-high domed ceiling and oversized curved screen. The theater was initially built to showcase theCinerama widescreen process developed in the 1950s. The screen was later updated to standard flat-screen.[11] In 1973, four additional single-screen auditoriums were added to the front of the building. Renamed as Century 5 Theatres, it continued to be known familiarly as the Dome.[12]
The city hall of Pleasant Hill was designed by architect Charles Moore. Completed in the late 20th century, it has won several awards for architectural design.
For most of its history, Pleasant Hill did not have a truedowntown orMain Street. In 1991, the city began planning the redevelopment of the area around the intersection of Monument and Contra Costa boulevards. In July 2000, Downtown Pleasant Hill finally opened. The privately owned and operated outdoorshopping center was designed to resemble a typical small Main Street.
Starting in 2003, CinéArts operated the former Century 5 Theatres, screening primarily independent and foreign films. Due to changes in viewing habits, as many people screened movies at home, business continued to decline. The theater's property owner, SyWest Development, closed the Dome on April 21, 2013. On its last night of operation, CinéArts screenedStanley Kubrick's classic2001: A Space Odyssey.[13]
Sywest gained the approval of the Pleasant Hill City Council for its proposal to tear down the theater and redevelop the property as a two-story, 73,000+ square-foot building to house a Dick's Sporting Goods. Supporters of the theater submitted two separate appeals to overturn the approval of demolition: one by a resident of Pleasant Hill, and one by Save the Pleasant Hill Dome (SPHD) organization.[13] Both appeals were voted down by a majority of the city council; Mayor Michael G. Harris and councilmember Ken Carlson voted in favor of the appeal.[14][15][16] SyWest had the Dome demolished on May 8, 2013, precluding any further court action.[17][18][19]
On October 14, 2019, a magnitude 4.5 earthquake shook the city.[20][21]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.1 square miles (18 square kilometers). Pleasant Hill has a varied landscape with some valleys and rolling hills. In undisturbed wilderness,oak woodlands andmixed woods can be found. It is located in the centralEast San Francisco Bay.
This region has warm and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius). According to theKöppen Climate Classification system, Pleasant Hill has awarm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.[22] Winter daytime temperatures tend to be in the fifties to low sixties, and summers range in the seventies to upper eighties, occasionally reaching the low nineties. On very rare occasions, the temperatures can reach the one hundred degree range during extremeheat waves. Freezing in winter is rare, but it does happen. Summerfog is occasional but winter fog is very common.
Elementary schools
Middle schools
High schools
The Pleasant Hill Library is part of theContra Costa County Library system.[23] The library system was headquartered in Pleasant Hill before relocating to Martinez in preparation for the construction of a new Pleasant Hill Library.[24]
Parks in Pleasant Hill are maintained and managed by thePleasant Hill Recreation & Park District. The district is a separate entity from the City of Pleasant Hill.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 5,686 | — | |
| 1960 | 23,844 | 319.3% | |
| 1970 | 24,610 | 3.2% | |
| 1980 | 25,547 | 3.8% | |
| 1990 | 31,585 | 23.6% | |
| 2000 | 32,837 | 4.0% | |
| 2010 | 33,152 | 1.0% | |
| 2020 | 34,613 | 4.4% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[25] | |||
The2020 United States census reported that Pleasant Hill had a population of 34,613. The population density was 4,892.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,888.9/km2). The racial makeup of Pleasant Hill was 63.1%White, 2.7%African American, 0.6%Native American, 15.4%Asian, 0.3%Pacific Islander, 4.6% fromother races, and 13.4% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.3% of the population.
The census reported that 98.2% of the population lived in households, 0.8% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1.0% were institutionalized.
There were 13,918 households, out of which 29.4% included children under the age of 18, 50.0% were married-couple households, 6.7% werecohabiting couple households, 27.0% had a female householder with no partner present, and 16.3% had a male householder with no partner present. 26.2% of households were one person, and 11.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.44. There were 9,003families (64.7% of all households).
The age distribution was 19.5% under the age of 18, 7.3% aged 18 to 24, 27.3% aged 25 to 44, 26.8% aged 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.2 males.
There were 14,458 housing units at an average density of 2,043.5 units per square mile (789.0 units/km2), of which 13,918 (96.3%) were occupied. Of these, 62.4% were owner-occupied, and 37.6% were occupied by renters.[26][27]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $144,513, and theper capita income was $68,493. About 4.3% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line.[28]
The Gregory Gardens subdivision developed in 1950 required purchasers of new homes to accept aCovenant that restricted ownership to Caucasians (such provisions have since been ruled as unconstitutional).[29] The Covenant also limited the structures that could be built, animals allowed on premises, and commercial activities.
Pleasant Hill used a system ofenvironmental planning at a relatively early stage of its modern growth. Notably the city authorized a study in the 1980s ofhillside development, which included detailed mapping ofbiota,geotechnical hazards,sound levels and other environmental constraints. These studies were used to establish appropriatezoning and development densities for all the principal undeveloped hillside areas within the city.
The city of Pleasant Hill is served by theEast Bay Times dailynewspaper, published by Bay Area News Group-East Bay (part of theMedia News Group of Denver, Colorado). It is also served by theCommunity Focus newspaper.Community Focus is an independent, monthly newspaper that concentrates on local events and information.
The city is also served byPleasant Hill Patch, a local news website covering community news and events.Patch Media is owned byAOL Inc.
Pleasant Hill, California has onesister city, as designated bySister Cities International:
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