Temple City is a city in Los Angeles County located northeast of downtown Los Angeles and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. Temple City is part of a cluster of cities, along with Pasadena, Arcadia, Alhambra, San Marino, and San Gabriel, in the west San Gabriel Valley.
As of the 2020 census, Temple City had a population of 36,494.
History
The town of Temple originated on May 30, 1923, when Walter P. Temple (June 7, 1870 – November 13, 1938) purchased of land east of San Gabriel which had been part of Lucky Baldwin's Rancho Santa Anita. The original townsite (Tract 6561, recorded with the LA County Tax Assessor in June 1923) corresponds to the present-day area bounded by Garibaldi Avenue on the north, Baldwin Avenue on the east, Live Oak Avenue on the south, and Encinita Avenue on the west.
Temple, the son and tenth child of Pliny Fisk Temple and William Workman's daughter Antonia Margarita Workman, was born on Rancho La Merced, which is today part of the city of Montebello. This was the site of the original San Gabriel Mission, founded by the Franciscan Fathers next to the rich bottom lands of the San Gabriel River. Historically called "Rio de los Temblores", which means the River of the Earthquakes, it is today known as the Rio Hondo.
Temple envisioned building a community where average people could afford to live and own their homes. He then divided the area into lots and laid out the park facing Las Tunas Drive. He named other streets after friends and family: Workman, Kauffman, Rowland, Temple and Agnes. Bond issues initiated by Temple were responsible for street paving and electricity. Temple also petitioned the Pacific Electric Railway Company to extend its Los Angeles to Alhambra line to a depot adjacent to Temple City Park. The extension of the railway contributed to the steady growth of Temple City, and is commemorated by statues of railcar passengers along Rosemead Boulevard.
2009 Temple City Affair
In January 2009, the Los Angeles County District Attorney began investigating allegations that Temple City's mayor, Judy Wong, along with city council members David Capra, and former mayor Cathe Wilson solicited bribes in exchange for support of the proposed $75 million Temple City Piazza mall project and both women were charged with lying on fair political practice commission disclosure forms. Randy Wang, developer of the Piazza project, made allegations that Wong, Wilson and Councilman David Capra demanded and received cash bribes for their support of the development.
Wong, 55, the city's first Asian council member, was elected in 2003, was re-elected in 2007, and served as the city's first Asian mayor in 2007. Capra pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of failure to report a campaign contribution and agreed to resign as a condition for no prison time. Nine months after being indicted on charges of bribery and perjury, Wong resigned from office in March 2010; Wilson was voted out of office in spring 2009.
Cathe Wilson was charged with three counts each of perjury and bribery. The perjury charges included one count of lying to the Los Angeles County Grand Jury in 2008 and two counts of submitting false material in Fair Political Practices reports. Although she maintains her innocence, she chose not to plea, and her case was continued. On March 30, 2011, Wilson pleaded innocent to all charges. "Oh, yes, I've got to prove my innocence," Wilson, 78, said at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center when asked if she was going forward with the trial. "I wouldn't put my life savings... if I didn't believe in my innocence. It's all a crock." In May 2011 she was convicted on six felony counts. She was released under an Alternative Custody Program in 2013.
Former candidate Scott Carwile, Wilson's protege, pleaded guilty to felony perjury and was granted probation in exchange for testifying against Wilson.
Attempts to block housing
In the aftermath of the passage of SB9, a California State housing law that permitted owners of single-family housing to subdivide their houses into duplexes, local officials in Temple City enacted new regulations that sought to disincentivize homeowners from creating duplexes. For example, the city required a 1,000-square-foot courtyard separating housing units, as well as other regulations.<br>1860–1870 1880-1890<br> 1900 1910 1920<br> 1930 1940 1950<br> 1960 1970 1980<br> 1990
2000 2010<br> 2020
!Pop 1990
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!
!% 1980
!% 1990
!% 2000
!% 2010
!
|-
|White alone (NH)
|23,408
|18,957
|12,589
|8,095
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,896
|80.80%
|60.95%
|37.72%
|22.77%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13.42%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|69
|168
|289
|256
|style='background: #ffffe6; |260
|0.24%
|0.54%
|0.87%
|0.72%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.71%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|151
|86
|47
|35
|style='background: #ffffe6; |55
|0.52%
|0.28%
|0.14%
|0.10%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.15%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
| rowspan="2" |1,561
| rowspan="2" |5,991
|12,894
|19,682
|style='background: #ffffe6; |23,187
| rowspan="2" |5.39%
| rowspan="2" |19.26%
|38.63%
|55.35%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |63.54%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|8
|25
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13
|0.02%
|0.07%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.04%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|49
|36
|41
|36
|style='background: #ffffe6; |155
|0.17%
|0.12%
|0.12%
|0.10%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.42%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|673
|576
|style='background: #ffffe6; |821
|x
|x
|2.02%
|1.62%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.25%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|3,734
|5,862
|6,836
|6,853
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7,107
|12.89%
|18.85%
|20.48%
|19.27%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |19.47%
|-
|Total
|28,972
|31,100
|33,377
|35,558
|style='background: #ffffe6; |36,494
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Temple City had a population of 36,494. The median age was 43.4 years. 19.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 87.9 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 11,734 households in Temple City, of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 56.0% were married-couple households, 13.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 16.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
The census reported that 98.8% of the population lived in households, 0.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.8% were institutionalized.
The age distribution was 19.0% under the age of 18, 8.6% aged 18 to 24, 24.5% aged 25 to 44, 28.8% aged 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 43.4years. For every 100 females, there were 91.7 males.
2010
The 2010 United States census reported that Temple City had a population of 35,558. The population density was . The racial makeup of Temple City was 11,941 (33.6%) White (22.8% Non-Hispanic White), 283 (0.8%) African American, 150 (0.4%) Native American, 19,803 (55.7%) Asian, 31 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 2,316 (6.5%) from other races, and 1,034 (2.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6,853 persons (19.3%).
The census reported that 35,136 people (98.8% of the population) lived in households, 29 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 393 (1.1%) were institutionalized.
There were 11,606 households, out of which 4,402 (37.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,605 (56.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,714 (14.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 686 (5.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 404 (3.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 65 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,973 households (17.0%) were made up of individuals, and 844 (7.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03. There were 9,005 families (77.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.39.
The population was spread out, with 7,549 people (21.2%) under the age of 18, 2,887 people (8.1%) aged 18 to 24, 8,983 people (25.3%) aged 25 to 44, 10,778 people (30.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,361 people (15.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.
There were 12,117 housing units at an average density of , of which 7,453 (64.2%) were owner-occupied, and 4,153 (35.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.2%. 23,213 people (65.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 11,923 people (33.5%) lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States census, Temple City had a median household income of $97,082, with 5.9% of the population living below the federal poverty line.
The current city council members are:
- Mayor: Cynthia Sternquist
- Mayor Pro Tem: William Man
- 2009
- 2011 Tom Chavez
- 2013 Cynthia Sternquist
- 2014 Carl Blum
- 2015 Tom Chavez
- 2017–2018 Cynthia Sternquist
- 2018–2019 William Man
- 2019–2020 Nanette Fish
- 2020–2021 Tom Chavez
- 2021–2022 Vincent Yu
- 2022–2023 Cynthia Sternquist
- 2023–2024 William Man
State and federal
In the California State Legislature, Temple City is in , and in .
In the United States House of Representatives, Temple City is in .
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Monrovia Health Center in Monrovia, serving Temple City.
Infrastructure
Fire protection in Temple City is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) operates the Temple Station in Temple City.
Notable people
- Christine Abraham (b 1964) – mezzo-soprano and voice teacher
- Clyde Beck, (1900–1988) – was an infielder in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds from 1926 to 1931.
- Richard Drew, (b 1946) is an Associated Press photo-journalist. who photographed The Falling Man.
- Frank Finch (1911–1992) – sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times.
- Hal Finney and Dorian Nakamoto, suspected identities of Satoshi Nakamoto.
- David Klein, (b 1946) is an inventor of the Jelly Belly brand. In 1976, he was living in Temple City when he came up with the idea for the new candy company.
- Steven Lindsey, (b 1960) – NASA astronaut who has flown five separate flights, including the last flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery from 1997 to 2009
- Xpecial, (b 1992) – is a well-known professional gamer in the North American League of Legends.
Sister cities
Temple City currently has Sister City relations with the following places:
- City of Hawkesbury, Australia (Since 1984)
- Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, Mexico
See also
- List of cities in Los Angeles County, California