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City of Costa Mesa

The City of Costa Mesa boasts of being one of Orange County's leading cultural and business centers. Located 37 miles southeast of Los Angeles, 88 miles north of San Diego and 475 miles south of San Francisco, Costa Mesa encompasses a total of 16 square miles with its southernmost border only 1 mile from the Pacific Ocean. The current population of approximately 103,823 has grown from 16,840 at the time of incorporation in 1953. Since that time, it has evolved from a semi-rural farming community to a city with its local economy primarily based upon retail commercial business and light manufacturing of electronics, pharmaceuticals and plastics. A general law city, Costa Mesa has a council-manager form of government and staff of approximately 600 full-time employees.

The 9.5 acre Costa Mesa Civic Center is located at 77 Fair Drive. City Hall is a five-story building where the primary administrative functions of the City are conducted. Also contained in the Civic Center complex are Council Chambers, the Police facility, Communications building and Fire Station No. 5.
State Highways 55, 73 and Interstate 405 all run through Costa Mesa.

Costa Mesa residents enjoy an ideally mild Southern California climate. Its location provides easy access to many of Southern California’s major attractions such as beaches, mountain areas, high and low deserts, Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Palm Springs and Los Angeles with its sports arenas and major league teams. Surrounded by the cities of Newport Beach, Irvine, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Santa Ana, Costa Mesa is in an area where it is wonderful to live and work

history

Located on the "coastal tableland" above Newport Bay, Costa Mesa was once grazing grounds for cattle belonging to the Mission San Juan Capistrano. At the beginning of the 19th century, missionaries built an adobe "Estancia" or way-station for the vaqueros who tended the herds. This structure still stands and was recently restored and transformed by the City into a museum at 1900 Adams Avenue.
In 1810, this same area was a part of the Spanish land grant of Santiago Del Santa Ana made to Jose Antonio Yorba. By 1880, settlers had begun buying portions of the rancho from Yorba's heirs and in the same decade established the town of Fairview. A school house and church were built near the present intersection of harbor and Adams, and a 25-room hotel accommodated visitors to the nearby hot sulfur springs. But in early 1889, a storm washed out the railroad and brought financial disaster to the community which soon reverted to a farming country.

By this time, the little town of Harper, named after a nearby rancher, had emerged on a siding of the Santa Ana and Newport Railroad. Its first business, Ozmen's General Store, stood on the corner of Newport and 18th Streets and contained the City's first post office, established in 1909. On May 11, 1920, Harper officially changed its name to Costa Mesa, which means coastal tableland in Spanish, and continued as an agricultural community, growing sweet potatoes, corn, tomatoes, strawberries, and apples.

Building and oil drilling industries were just beginning to bring new growth to the City when the depression hit Southern California. Industries collapsed and the local bank closed. More disaster followed when the 1933 earthquake shook the town, damaging businesses and the Main School. But the school was soon rebuilt and continued in operation as the Clara McNally School. These buildings are now used for school administrative and service purposes.

World War II brought many thousands of people to the area for training at the Santa Ana Army Air Base, located on what is now the Orange County Fairgrounds, Orange Coast College, and the present site of the Civic Center. When the war ended, many of these men returned with their families to begin the population boom which continues today.

On June 29, 1953, the City was incorporated and City Council-Manager form of government was chosen. The new City had an area of 3.5 square miles and a population of 16,840. Within 35 years, by 1988, the population had risen to 90,000 and the area to 17 square miles.

Today, Costa Mesa is a major commercial and industrial center of Orange County. The City, which formally adopted the slogan "The City of the Arts in late 1984, is home to a regional symphony orchestra and the South Coast Repertory Theater. Ground was broken in 1983 for the Orange County Performing Arts Center. This center includes a 3,000 seat facility which was completed in 1985, and a 1,000 seat auditorium slated for future development.

Costa Mesa Demographics