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Renting an Apartment in Concord
Concord is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 121,780. In 1869 it was founded as Todos Santos by Don Salvio Pacheco on his land. Although it began life surrounded by farm land, it became one of the major suburbs of the East Bay portion of the San Francisco Bay Area. Located 19 miles (31 km) east of San Francisco, the city is the sixth largest in the nine San Francisco Bay Area Counties.
Geography
Concord is located at [show location on an interactive map] 37°58′4″N, 122°0′54″W (37.967825, -122.015135)GR1. In terms of travelling distance on the ground, it is 29 miles (47 km) northeast of San Francisco, California, 22 miles (35 km) northeast from Oakland, California, 65 miles (105 km) southwest of Sacramento, California, and 51 miles (82 km) north of San Jose, California.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 78.1 km˛ (30.1 mi˛), all land.
The focal point of downtown Concord is Todos Santos Plaza, which encompasses an entire city block and is known for its farmers market, free summer concerts, and large number of surrounding restaurants. Much of the area immediately around downtown has recently been redeveloped, with new high-density apartment and condominium projects to take advantage of the close proximity to public transportation and the vibrant area surrounding the park.
To the north and east of downtown is the older residential area of Concord, with many homes dating back to before World War II. In the far northern edge of town is a primarily industrial area, dominated by the Tesoro Golden Eagle refinery (which is actually not located within city limits). The southeastern area of the city, centered along Clayton Road, is primarily residential and was mostly developed in the 1960s and 1970s. In the southwest area of the city is the primarily Latino neighborhood known as Four Corners, centered around the intersection of Monument Boulevard and Oak Grove Road.
Main thoroughfares include Willow Pass Road, Concord Avenue, Concord Boulevard, Clayton Road, Ygnacio Valley Road and Treat Boulevard. The city is also served by Interstate 680, and state highways 4 and 242.
Concord is bordered on the west by Pleasant Hill and the unincorporated community of Pacheco, on the south by Walnut Creek, on the southeast by Clayton, on the northeast by Pittsburg and the unincorporated community of Bay Point, and on the north by the unincorporated community of Clyde. Though they don't share a border, Martinez (the county seat) is located almost immediately adjacent to Concord on the northwest.
History
The valleys north of Mount Diablo were inhabited by the Miwok people, who hunted elk and fished in the numerous streams flowing from the mountain into the San Francisco Bay. In 1772 Spanish explorers began to cross the area, but did not settle here. In 1834 the land surrounding Mount Diablo was granted to Don Salvio Pacheco (for whom the nearby town of Pacheco is named).
Concord was founded under the name of Todos Santos (a name still borne by the central city plaza and park between Willow Pass Road and Salvio Street), on the initiative of Pacheco in 1869. It achieved prominence in the 19th century as a result of most residents of Pacheco relocating to Concord to avoid the devastation of fire and flood which crippled Pacheco's formerly booming economy. Concord was incorporated on February 5, 1905.
The area around Concord in the surrounding Ygnacio and Clayton Valleys was a large agricultural area. Crops that were grown included grapes, walnuts, wheat, hay, and even tomatoes. The area to the east (site of the Concord Naval Weapons Station) was the site of a few enormous wheat ranches over 5,000 acres (20 km˛), and was almost a sea of wheat all the way to the marshes bordering Suisun Bay. During Prohibition, many vineyards were removed and replaced with walnut orchards. The town of Cowell, now incorporated into Concord, produced cement.
Transportation
Until 1995 the city was the eastern terminus of the Concord line of Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) commuter train system; the line has since been extended eastward to Pittsburg/Bay Point. The County Connection provides limited public transportation in the city and to other points in the county. Buses run from the North Concord BART station to Martinez, the county seat.
Buchanan Field Airport is a public county-owned airfield in the City of Concord.
Education
Concord is served by the Mount Diablo Unified School District. Concord's Mount Diablo High School is home to several acclaimed California academies, specifically the Digital Safari, a three-year program involving the integration of multimedia with the core curriculum through integrated, project-based learning. The headquarters of the Kabul Soccer Club is located in Concord.
Concord's De La Salle High School is home for the record winning streak of 151 games set by the football team between 1992 and 2004. During that span, De La Salle won 12 California North Coast sectional championships, and was named national champion five different times (once by ESPN, four times by USA Today).
De La Salle High School (a private Catholic High School) is bordered by its sister school Carondelet High School and Ygnacio Valley High School, who in 2000 nearly ended De La Salle High School's winning streak by leading them 7 to 6 into the second half on October 27th, 2000.
California State University, East Bay campus in Concord.