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Cathedral City, California facts for kids

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City of Cathedral City
Cathedral City Hall
Cathedral City Hall
Location of Cathedral City in Riverside County, California.
Location of Cathedral City in Riverside County, California.
Cathedral City, California is located in the United States
Cathedral City, California
Cathedral City, California
Location in the United States
Country United States
State California
County Riverside
Incorporated November 16, 1981
Area
 • Total 22.75 sq mi (58.93 km2)
 • Land 22.49 sq mi (58.26 km2)
 • Water 0.26 sq mi (0.67 km2)  1.18%
Elevation
328 ft (100 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 51,493
 • Density 2,289.19/sq mi (883.85/km2)
Time zone UTC-8 (Pacific)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes
92234–92235
Area codes 442/760
FIPS code 06-12048
GNIS feature IDs 1656454, 2409412

Cathedral City, colloquially known as "Cat City", is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. Situated between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, the city has the second largest population, after Indio, of the nine cities in the Coachella Valley. Its population was 51,493 at the 2020 census, a slight increase from 51,200 at the 2010 census.

Prior to the arrival of European explorers and settlers, the land was part of the territory inhabited by the Cahuilla Indians. Today every other square mile of the city is part of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians reservation land. Development of a town began when a housing subdivision was built in 1925, although it was not incorporated until 1981.

History

Cathedral City had a downtown revitalization program started in the late 1990s, with much completed by 2005. A new city hall was built as was the IMAX/Mary Pickford movie theater complex, and a total of 130 acres (0.53 km2) of new or remodeled stores.

Depression era nightclubs

In 1931 Al and Lou Wertheimer of the reputed Detroit "Purple Gang" opened the Dunes Club just outside Palm Springs' city limits. This was followed in 1939 by Earl T. Sausser's 139 Club and the Cove Club in 1941, built by Jake Katelman and Frank Portnoy.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Cathedral City has a total area of 21.8 square miles (56 km2), of which, 21.5 square miles (56 km2) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) of it (1.18%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1960 1,855
1970 3,640 96.2%
1980 4,130 13.5%
1990 30,085 628.5%
2000 42,647 41.8%
2010 51,200 20.1%
2020 51,493 0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Cathedral City had a population of 51,200. The population density was 2,353.3 people per square mile (908.6/km2). The racial makeup of Cathedral City was 32,537 (63.5%) White (32.3% Non-Hispanic White), 1,344 (2.6%) African American, 540 (1.1%) Native American, 2,562 (5.0%) Asian, 55 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 12,008 (23.5%) from other races, and 2,154 (4.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30,085 persons (58.8%).

The Census reported that 50,905 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 263 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 32 (0.1%) were institutionalized.

There were 17,047 households, out of which 6,574 (38.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,589 (44.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,291 (13.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,176 (6.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,054 (6.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 779 (4.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 4,292 households (25.2%) were made up of individuals, and 2,259 (13.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99. There were 11,056 families (64.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.67.

The population was spread out, with 13,856 people (27.1%) under the age of 18, 4,906 people (9.6%) aged 18 to 24, 12,948 people (25.3%) aged 25 to 44, 12,127 people (23.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 7,363 people (14.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.2 males.

There were 20,995 housing units at an average density of 965.0 per square mile (372.6/km2), of which 10,769 (63.2%) were owner-occupied, and 6,278 (36.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 11.0%. 30,236 people (59.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 20,669 people (40.4%) lived in rental housing units.

During 2009–2013, Cathedral City had a median household income of $44,406, with 20.5% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 42,647 people, 14,027 households, and 9,622 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,224.0 people per square mile (858.5/km2). There were 17,893 housing units at an average density of 933.1 per square mile (360.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 65.3% White, about half (50%) of the population is Hispanic or Latino. 2.7% Black or African American, 1.0% Native American, 3.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 23.1% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races.

According to the 2000 Census, Cathedral City had a total of 14,027 households, 39.3% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% of which were married couples living together, 11.9% of which had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% of which were non-families. Approximately 23% of all households were made up of individuals, with 11.0% of them consisting of single individuals 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 people and the average family size was roughly three and a half people (3.63), which puts Cathedral City above both the California and U.S. averages in those categories.

As reported in the most recent census, the city's population was distributed across all age groups, with 31.1% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.0 males. Cathedral City has many senior citizen communities and mobile home parks.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,887, and the median income for a family was $42,461. Men had a median income of $29,598, and the median income for women was $25,289. The per capita income for the city was $16,215. About 10.2% of families and 13.6% of the total population had incomes below the poverty line, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over (senior citizens).

Parks and recreation

Date Palm Country Club and golf course, designed in 1967 and opened in 1971, has an 18-hole "executive style" facility designed by Ted Robinson, ASCCA. It features 3,100 yards (2,800 m) of golf from the longest tees for a par of 58. The course rating is 54.9/57.2 and it has a slope rating of 90/93. It is landscaped in Bermuda Greens and includes lakes and sand traps. The most memorable tee is the 175 yard 8th hole, which has an accurate tee shot over a lake. The Phil Harris Golf Classic was held there for many years from the 1940s to his death in 1994. Though built on part of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, an exclusive retirement community of manufactured homes lines the greens.

The Big League Dreams Sports Park softball complex is on the corner of Date Palm and Dinah Shore drives, made up of four softball fields designed as replicas of four major league ballparks. The Pepsi All-Star Softball Game was held there since 1998. Cathedral City Soccer Park is a new sports facility.

9 Parks in Cathedral City are

  • Century Park
  • Memorial Park
  • Ocotillo Park
  • Panorama Park
  • Patriot Park
  • Second Street Park
  • Soccer Park
  • Town Square
  • Dog Park

Golf

Several local golf resorts are in Cathedral City. These include Lawrence Welk's Desert Oasis Hotel/resort located in the Cathedral Canyon Country Club, the Date Palm Country Club, Outdoor Resort – Palm Springs, Cimarron Golf Resort, and the Doral Desert Princess Resort and Golf Club.

Economy

Cathedral City has an automotive mega-dealership known as the Palm Springs Auto Mall based on the city limits with Palm Springs.

Cathedral City hosts an annual Mexican Independence Day festival on every third weekend of September. To commemorate the event, an "el Grito de Dolores" is held at the city hall/movie theater complex.

One of the world's most technologically advanced hemp greenhouses is being developed in Cathedral City by the company Sunniva. Once completed, this facility will be approximately 489,000 square feet.

Education

Cathedral City High School, opened in 1991, is a major educational and recreational center to the city. The varsity football, basketball and soccer teams had earned CIF-southern California championship runs in the late 1990s and 2000s. Cathedral City is also home to Mayfield College, a private college that offers career training in health care, HVAC, technology, and business.

Notable people

Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra's grave at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City

The city was a winter residence for actors Robert Duvall and Martin Landau in the 1960s, and TV show host Monty Hall in the 1990s. Frank Sinatra's grave is located in Desert Memorial Park cemetery, as are those of several other prominent figures, including actor William Powell, singer-songwriter Sonny Bono, former mayor of Palm Springs, and actress Jane Wyman.

Other notable residents include:

  • Timothy Bradley (born 1983), a former WBO welterweight champion, is from Cathedral City and graduated from Cathedral City High School.
  • Lalo Guerrero (1916–2005), a Chicano folk musician, lived in Cathedral City in his final years.
  • John Michael Meehan (1959–2016), a nurse anesthetist and conman whose life story was adapted into the Dirty John podcast, lived in a trailer, on his sister Donna Meehan Stewart's RV lot in Cathedral City, before marrying Debra Newell.
  • Simon Oakland (1915–1983), an American actor, died in the town on August 29, 1983, a day after the actor's 68th birthday.
  • Agnes Lawrence Pelton (1881–1961), was a German-born modernist painter, who was particularly known for portraits of Native American Pueblo peoples, desert landscapes and still life paintings, spent the last 29 year of her life in Cathedral City. F Street was renamed Agnes Pelton Way in her honor.
  • Suzanne Somers (born 1946), American actress, lived in the city in her teenage years (she still maintains a second home in nearby Palm Springs).

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Cathedral City para niños

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