Redding, California


Redding is a city in and the county seat of Shasta County, California, United States, in the northern part of the state. It lies along the Sacramento River, north of Sacramento, and south of California's northern border with Oregon. Interstate 5 bisects the entire city, from the south to north before it approaches Shasta Lake, which is located to the north. The 2010 population was 90,322. Redding is the largest city in the Shasta Cascade region, and it is the sixth-largest city in the Sacramento Valley, behind Chico, Sacramento, Elk Grove, Roseville, and Vacaville.

Etymology

During the gold rush, the area that now comprises Redding was called Poverty Flats. In 1868 the first land agent for the Central Pacific Railroad, a former Sacramento politician named Benjamin Bernard Redding, bought property in Poverty Flats on behalf of the railroad so that it could build a northern terminus there. In the process of building the terminus, the railroad also built a town in the same area, which they named Redding in honor of Benjamin Redding. In 1874 there was a dispute over the name by local legislators and it was changed for a time to Reading, in order to honor Pierson B. Reading, who arrived in the area in 1843, owned the Buenaventura land grant on which Redding sits, and had died only a few years before, in 1868. The name, however, was officially changed back to Redding by 1880. It has been called Redding ever since.

History

Indigenous culture

Before European settlers came to the area, it was inhabited by a tribe of Native Americans called the Wintu. At their height, the Wintu had as many as 239 villages in the Shasta County area.

First European Settlers

Although Europeans had been to California as early as 1542, when Juan Cabrillo sailed to what is now the San Diego Bay, the indigenous Indians were probably the only inhabitants of far Northern California region until Russian fur trappers came through the area in 1815.
The first European settlement in the area was established in 1844 by Pierson B. Reading, an early California pioneer who received a Rancho Buena Ventura Mexican land grant for that is now covered by Redding and Cottonwood, California. At the time, it was the northernmost nonnative settlement in California.

Founding of Redding

During the gold rush, 49ers found gold to the north on Rock, Middle and Salt creeks, near Shasta, California, and to the south along Oregon and Olney creeks but the area that is now Redding was poor placer gold ground and called Poverty Flats. In 1868 the first land agent for the Central Pacific Railroad, a former Sacramento politician named Benjamin B. Redding, bought property in Poverty Flats on behalf of the railroad for a northern terminus, which the tracks reached in 1873. In the process of building the terminus, the railroad also built the town of Redding which was officially incorporated on October 4, 1887. In 1888, Redding won the county seat from Shasta.

Early 20th century

In the early twentieth century the town's economic growth was spurred by the significant copper and iron mineral extraction industry nearby. However, the mining industry eventually declined, causing the economy and population to falter by 1920. It recovered in the thirties as the economy boomed due to the construction of Shasta Dam to the northwest. The building of the dam, which was completed in 1945, caused Redding's population to nearly double, also spurring the growth and development of other towns in the area.

Mid- to late-20th century

Redding continued to grow steadily in the 1950s due to the region's growing lumber industry and tourism brought about by the newly completed dam. The constructions of Whiskeytown and Keswick dams also helped boost the economy by bringing new workers to the area. Interstate 5 was built during the sixties and seventies, which added to development and tourism in the region.
Growth in Redding during the '60s and '70s was also caused by annexation of an area east of the Sacramento River made up of the unincorporated community of Enterprise. Enterprise residents voted to support the annexation primarily to acquire less expensive electricity via Redding's municipal utility, which receives power from the dam.
During the 1970s, the lumber industry suffered from decline. Lumber mills in the area closed down and heavily impacted the Redding area. Things later picked up, due to a retail and housing boom in the late-1980s that continued until the mid-1990s.

21st century

In 2017, the city adopted a new flag after holding a redesign contest.
In late July 2018, the Carr Fire in Shasta County seriously impacted the Redding area with the destruction of at least 1,100 buildings, with several thousand more threatened, 38,000 people instructed to evacuate and 6 deaths.

Geography and climate

Location

Redding is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of. of it is land, and of it is beneath water.
Redding is located at the very northwestern end of the Central Valley, which transitions into the Cascade foothills. The city is surrounded by mountains to the north, east, and west and fertile farm land to the south. Outermost parts of the city are part of the Cascade foothills, whereas southern and central areas are in the Sacramento Valley.
The elevation in Redding is on average, whereas anywhere to the north, east, or west of downtown ranges between and feet. Southern portions range between and.
The Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River provides a considerable level of flood protection for Redding. The dam is capable of controlling flows up to 79,000 cubic feet per second. The flow rate exceeded this threshold in both 1970 and 1974.
Soils in and around town are composed mostly of clay or gravelly loam texture, with red or brown mineral horizons. They are slightly or moderately acidic in their natural state.

Subdivisions / Areas

Official

There are several rare and endangered species in Redding and its immediate vicinity. The Redding Redevelopment Plan EIR notes the California State listed endangered species, slender Orcutt grass, occurs in eastern Redding near the municipal airport, where vernal pools are known to exist. This endemic grass is a Federal Candidate for listing and is endangered throughout its range, confined to several populations, and seriously threatened by agriculture, overgrazing, and residential development. Vernal pools provide the preferred habitat for this plant, which the California Native Plant Society considers a rare and endangered species. These same vernal pools also support federally protected species such as the .

Climate

Redding has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, with very hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Winter provides the most precipitation of any season in Redding—the weather tends to be either rainy or foggy and at times, snow occurs. While summers are mostly hot and dry, thunderstorms are not uncommon. The average daily maximum temperature in July stays near. The highest official recorded temperature in Redding was on July 20, 1988, recorded at the nearby Redding Municipal Airport and the most recent of three occasions. Redding has an average possible sunshine of 88%, the second-highest percentage of any US city.
Redding occasionally receives snow, though it has received as much as of snow in a single storm, occurring on December 4-7, 1909 and December 22-24, 1968, including on December 23, 1968, the most in any calendar day on record. It rarely gets sleet or freezing rain. Frost occurs commonly in December through February, less often in March or November. In spring, rain is common. The city is located near the foothills of the Cascade and Klamath mountain ranges and it therefore gets much more rain than most places in the Sacramento Valley; temperature differentials between land and sea cause moist air from the latter to flow over the southern Sacramento valley during the summer months, producing intense heat in Redding. The direction of this winds switches from the north and east in the summer, as hot, high-pressure air flows from land to sea, making the area very dry. Tornadoes are extremely rare; flooding occurs only around the area near the Sacramento River. The coldest temperature recorded in Redding was on January 17, 2012 and December 9, 2009.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reported that Redding had a population of 89,861. The population density was 1,468.9 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Redding was 77,117 White, 1,092 African American, 2,034 Native American, 3,034 Asian, 156 Pacific Islander, 2,307 from other races, and 4,121 from two or more races. There were 7,787 people of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race.
The Census reported that 87,841 people lived in households, 1,138 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 882 were institutionalized.
There were 36,130 households, out of which 11,012 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 16,001 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 4,806 had a female householder with no husband present, 1,984 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,570 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 204 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 10,344 households were made up of individuals, and 4,622 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43. There were 22,791 families ; the average family size was 2.94.
The population was spread out, with 20,518 people under the age of 18, 9,436 people aged 18 to 24, 21,725 people aged 25 to 44, 23,424 people aged 45 to 64, and 14,758 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.
There were 38,679 housing units at an average density of 632.3 per square mile, of which 19,968 were owner-occupied, and 16,162 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.9%. 48,179 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 39,662 people lived in rental housing units.

Economy

The Redding Metropolitan Statistical Area was recognized as the 29th Most Dynamic MSA in the United States in 2019 by the Walton Family Foundation. Redding was recognized for having a diversified economy with several large employers in different sectors.
Top Exports:
Wood Product Manufacturing
Crop Production
Non Metallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
Food Manufacturing

Top employers

According to the City's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, these are the top employers in the city:
#Employer# of employees
1Mercy Medical Center1,832
2Shasta County1,750
3City of Redding1,129
4Shasta Regional Medical Center856
5CA Transportation Department663
6Redding Rancheria523
7Wal-Mart450
8Shasta Union High School District406
9Shasta College352
10Blue Shield of California330

Downtown Redding Revitalization

In 2019 work began in earnest for major transformation to occur in Downtown Redding with over $300 Million in projects.
Market Center
The premier project that started it all is the Market Center led by K2 Development Company in Partnership with the City of Redding, Shasta Regional Transportation Agency, and the State of California Housing and Community Development Agency. This $44 Million project razed the former Dicker's Building in the old Downtown Mall to make way for a mixed-use building with 82 apartments above 22,000 SF of restaurant and retail space. In addition, the Market Street Promenade was removed to bring Market St back down through the heart of Downtown Redding and Yuba and Butte Streets returning to traffic in the core of Redding.
Following the success of K2 in the initiation of their Market Center Project came the Block 7 Project in partnership with The McConnell Foundation.
BLOCK 7 DOWNTOWN ACTIVATION PROJECT
· Developing a multi-site, mixed-use project on 1.75 acres in the central business district of downtown Redding, CA.
· 79 affordable housing units, 20 market rate housing units, small business retail opportunity spaces, complete streets, a pedestrian-activated alley, 20,000 SF of open space with urban greening, 20K Northern Midrise anchored by public institution, 2+ miles of context-sensitive bikeways, supporting parking.
· Total Project SF +/- 200,000
Shasta County Courthouse
"The design and construction of the new Redding courthouse building consists of six stories above ground and a basement level with 14 courtrooms for a total of 166,887 building gross square feet in the city of Redding, County of Shasta. The new courthouse will be built on a 1.94-acre site in downtown Redding across from the existing main courthouse. The project includes 20 secure parking spaces for the court staff and six secure parking spaces for the marshals adjacent to the sallyport in the basement level. The project will utilize a Construction Manager at Risk delivery method. This facility will replace one courthouse and annex and three court facilities in Redding, provide space for a new judgeship from Assembly Bill 159, and provide a new judgeship from the third group of 50.

Government

State and federal representation

In the California State Legislature, Redding is in, and.
In the United States House of Representatives, Redding is in.

Municipal government

The city council is composed of . The city manager is Barry Tippin.
Redding is a general law city operating under the council-manager form of government.

Parks and recreation

Museums and public art

Architecture

Higher education

Public

Public

Print

Television

Radio

AM radio
FM radio

Transportation

Major highways

, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Redding station, operating its Coast Starlight daily in both directions between Seattle, Washington, and Los Angeles, California VA Portland, Oregon; Sacramento, California; Oakland, California; San Jose, California; Santa Barbara, California and all Intermediate station stops.
Amtrak California also provides Thruway Motorcoach service to Stockton or Sacramento for connections to the San Joaquins, which serve the San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and the Los Angeles area via bus connections.
Redding provides a city bus transportation system called RABA. RABA provides routes throughout the city of Redding and also provides transportation throughout Redding's suburbs. Transportation is also available by Sage Stage to Alturas and Trinity Transit to Weaverville. Redding is also served by the intercity bus companies Greyhound and Fronteras del Norte.

Air transportation

Air transportation for the Redding area is provided by two general aviation airports. Redding Municipal Airport, located south of Redding, has scheduled flights from SkyWest. The smaller Benton Airpark is located on the western side of Redding.

Prominent persons

This list includes notable persons who were born/raised/worked in, lived in, or whose identity was significantly influenced by Redding, as well as music groups that were founded in the area.

Actors and entertainment industry