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San Lorenzo, California

Coordinates: 37°40′52″N 122°07′28″W / 37.68111°N 122.12444°W / 37.68111; -122.12444
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For the San Lorenzo Valley, a region of Santa Cruz County, California, see San Lorenzo Valley.

San Lorenzo
Census-designated place
Location in Alameda County and the state of California
Location in Alameda County and the state of California
San Lorenzo is located in the United States
San Lorenzo
San Lorenzo
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 37°40′52″N 122°07′28″W / 37.68111°N 122.12444°W / 37.68111; -122.12444
Country United States
State California
CountyAlameda
Government
 • State SenateAisha Wahab (D)[1]
 • State AssemblyLiz Ortega (D)[2]
 • U. S. CongressEric Swalwell (D)[3]
Area
[4]
 • Total
2.770 sq mi (7.17 km2)
 • Land2.763 sq mi (7.16 km2)
 • Water0.007 sq mi (0.02 km2)  0.24%
Elevation
[5]
36 ft (11 m)
Population
 (2020)[6]
 • Total
29,581
 • Density11,000/sq mi (4,100/km2)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
94580
Area code(s)510, 341
FIPS code06-68112
GNIS feature IDs232433, 1659583, 2409260

San Lorenzo (Spanish for "Saint Laurence") is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 29,581 at the 2020 census.[6] It is an unincorporated community, located at the banks of San Lorenzo Creek. It was originally named Squattersville in 1851, but later renamed to San Lorenzo.[7]

In 1944, under contract to the U.S. Navy, The David D. Bohannon Company began construction of San Lorenzo Village, which was one of the nation's first planned communities, with parcels designated for schools, churches, parks, and several retail centers. Bohannon's pioneering pre-cutting techniques, referred to as the "California method,"[8] were used in later developments, such as the more famous Levittown, Pennsylvania.

History

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San Lorenzo is named after Rancho San Lorenzo, a vast estate granted in 1841 to Don Guillermo Castro, a noted Californio ranchero.

San Lorenzo is located on the route of El Camino Viejo on land of the former Rancho San Lorenzo, a Mexican land grant given to Guillermo Castro in 1841, and the former Rancho San Leandro, granted to José Joaquin Estudillo in 1842.[9]

Early residents during the California Gold Rush era lived here as squatters along the border between Rancho San Lorenzo and Rancho San Leandro.[10] The informal name given to the area was Squatterville.[11]

The first post office opened in San Lorenzo in 1854.[12]

Many of the early inhabitants are buried in San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery, including Moses Wicks, who brought oysters to San Leandro Bay from Patchogue, Long Island.[13] The cemetery is maintained by the county and the Hayward Area Historical Society.

San Lorenzo was mostly farmland, a significant center of production of fruit and flowers, from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century.

In 1944, under contract to the U.S. Navy, The David D. Bohannon Company began construction of San Lorenzo Village, a tract of two- and three-bedroom homes for workers in the East Bay's war industries. San Lorenzo Village was one of the nation's first planned communities, with parcels designated for schools, churches, parks, and several retail centers. Bohannon's pioneering pre-cutting techniques, referred to as the "California method," were used in later developments, such as the more famous Levittown, Pennsylvania. Home construction continued into the 1950s to accommodate the region's booming population.

San Lorenzo Village housing project launched as the largest privately financed housing project on the West Coast during WWII. San Lorenzo Shopping Center became one of the country's first planned community shopping centers and was home to the first Mervyn's Department Store.

Segregation

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The original San Lorenzo Village homes were restricted to white owners, and re-sale of homes were limited to white owners through racially restrictive covenants on property deeds.[14] "Sales brochures in the early to mid-1950s [...] assured prospective buyers that the village was "a safe investment" because "farsighted protective restrictions ... permanently safeguard your investment."" [14] These restrictions, among others around fencing and house colors, were enforced by the San Lorenzo Village Association.[15]

Legal enforcement of such covenants was deemed to violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by the Supreme Court in Shelley v. Kraemer (1948), meaning that while parties could choose to abide by the covenants, they could no longer be legally used to prevent non-white persons from buying properties with such restrictions. As a general note, without specific reference to San Lorenzo, after Shelley, homeowners associations still would bar non-white owners by requiring membership in the association before buying property, and federal and state governments refused to enforce the Shelley decision.[16] In San Lorenzo, the black population remained under one-half percent in the early 1970s.[17]

The language of these restrictions, even if not enforceable, may still be on property deeds.[18]

Geography

[edit]
William Roberts House

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2), of which, 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2) island and 0.24% is water. San Lorenzo Creek runs along its northern border. It is located between the incorporated cities of San Leandro to the north and Hayward to the south.

Demographics

[edit]

The 2020 United States Census reported that San Lorenzo had a population of 29,581. The population density was 9,711.4 inhabitants per square mile (3,749.6/km2). The racial makeup of San Lorenzo was 24.9% White, 5.2% African American, 1.6% Native American, 28.2% Asian, 1.2% Pacific Islander, 24.9% from other races, and 14.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 42.2% of the population.

The Census reported that 99.0% of the population lived in households, 0.6% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.3% were institutionalized.

There were 8,991 households, out of which 37.0% included children under the age of 18, 54.4% were married-couple households, 5.8% were cohabiting couple households, 24.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 15.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 17.1% of households were one person, and 9.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.26. There were 6,884 families (76.6% of all households).

The age distribution was 21.3% under the age of 18, 8.9% aged 18 to 24, 27.4% aged 25 to 44, 27.3% aged 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males.

There were 9,198 housing units at an average density of 3,019.7 units per square mile (1,165.9 units/km2), of which 8,991 (97.7%) were occupied. Of these, 64.1% were owner-occupied, and 35.9% were occupied by renters. [19][20]

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 51.6% of the population were born in California, 8.9% were born in a different state, 1.6% were born in a US territory or abroad to an American parent, and 37.9% were born outside US jurisdiction. Of those aged 5 or older, 43.1% spoke only English at home, 29.9% spoke Spanish, 2.6% spoke other Indo-European languages, 23.4% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 1.0% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 82.3% were high school graduates and 25.4% had a bachelor's degree.[21] The median household income was $110,495, and the per capita income was $41,279. Of those aged 16 and over, 63.1% were employed.[22]

Government

[edit]

San Lorenzo is an unincorporated community and thus is governed directly by the County of Alameda. The area is policed by the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. The San Lorenzo Village Homes Association, home to 5767 single-family homes, has been in place since 1945. The Homes Association Board is made up of five volunteer homeowners. The San Lorenzo Village Homes Association is the master association to four sub homeowners associations.

Public education

[edit]

San Lorenzo is served by the San Lorenzo Unified School District, established in 1865.

References

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  1. ^ "Senators". State of California. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  2. ^ "Members Assembly". State of California. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  3. ^ "California's 14th Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  4. ^ U.S. Census Archived 2012-07-02 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "San Lorenzo". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  6. ^ a b "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: San Lorenzo CDP, California". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  7. ^ Capace, Nancy (1999). Encyclopedia of California. North American Book Dist LLC. Page 414. ISBN 9780403093182.
  8. ^ Hope, Andrew (Summer 2005). "Evaluating the Significance of San Lorenzo Village, A Mid-20th Century Suburban Community" (PDF). CRM: The Journal of Heritage Stewardship. 2 (2): 53. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  9. ^ Ogden Hoffman, 1862, Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Numa Hubert, San Francisco
  10. ^ "Contents: Alameda County atlas map. - David Rumsey Historical Map Collection". www.davidrumsey.com. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  11. ^ "San Lorenzo, California History". www.sanlorenzoheritage.org. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  12. ^ Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, California: Word Dancer Press. p. 696. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
  13. ^ California, California State Parks, State of. "SAN LEANDRO OYSTER BEDS". CA State Parks. Retrieved January 8, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ a b Rothstein, Richard (2017). The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America (First ed.). New York. pp. 115–116. ISBN 978-1-63149-285-3. OCLC 959808903.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  15. ^ Stiles, Elaine B. (2015). "Every Lot a Garden Spot: "Big Dave" Bohannon and the Making of San Lorenzo Village". www.sanlorenzoheritage.org. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  16. ^ Moore, Eli, et al. Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, 2019, Roots, Race, and Place: A History of Racially Exclusionary Housing in the San Francisco Bay Area, https://escholarship.org/content/qt2j08r197/qt2j08r197_noSplash_eecbec55456f21df8cb302a7b292855a.pdf?t=qc30qt
  17. ^ Terry Link, “The White Noose: How Racist Federal Policies Put a Stranglehold on the City,” San Francisco, November 1971, 26-56.
  18. ^ "For whites only: Shocking language found in property docs throughout Bay Area". The Mercury News. February 26, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  19. ^ "San Lorenzo CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  20. ^ "San Lorenzo CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  21. ^ "San Lorenzo CDP, California; CP02: Comparative Social Characteristics in the United States - 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Comparison Profiles". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  22. ^ "San Lorenzo CDP, California; CP02: Selected Economic Characteristics - 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Comparison Profiles". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
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