Cathedral City, California
Encyclopedia
Cathedral City is a city in Riverside County
, California
, United States
. The population was 51,200 at the 2010 census. Sandwiched between Palm Springs
and Rancho Mirage
, it is one of the cities in the Coachella Valley
(Palm Springs area) of southern California. Cathedral City is the second largest in population in the Coachella Valley
, second only to Indio.
The town's name derives from "Cathedral Canyon" to the south of the town, so named in 1850 by Colonel Henry Washington because its rock formations were reminiscent of a cathedral
. The city itself started as a housing subdivision in 1925, but was not incorporated until 1981. The city grew 4-5 times in two decades.
Locals gave it the nickname "Cat City", short for Cathedral. Others like historians claim that came from the reputation as a slinger gaming gulch in the late 19th century, and a safe haven for bars or saloons during prohibition
of the 1920s.
, Cathedral City has a total area of 21.8 square miles (56.5 km²), of which, 21.5 square miles (55.7 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²) of it (1.18%) is water.
was 2,353.3 people per square mile (908.6/km²). The racial makeup of Cathedral City was 32,537 (63.5%) White, 1,344 (2.6%) African American, 540 (1.1%) Native American, 2,562 (5.0%) Asian, 55 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 12,008 (23.5%) from other races
, and 2,154 (4.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30,085 persons (58.8%).
The Census reported that 50,905 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 263 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 32 (0.1%) were institutionalized.
There were 17,047 households, out of which 6,574 (38.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,589 (44.5%) were opposite-sex married couples
living together, 2,291 (13.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,176 (6.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,054 (6.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
, and 779 (4.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 4,292 households (25.2%) were made up of individuals and 2,259 (13.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99. There were 11,056 families
(64.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.67.
The population was spread out with 13,856 people (27.1%) under the age of 18, 4,906 people (9.6%) aged 18 to 24, 12,948 people (25.3%) aged 25 to 44, 12,127 people (23.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 7,363 people (14.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.0 years. For every 100 females there were 105.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.2 males.
There were 20,995 housing units at an average density of 965.0 per square mile (372.6/km²), of which 10,769 (63.2%) were owner-occupied, and 6,278 (36.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 11.0%. 30,236 people (59.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 20,669 people (40.4%) lived in rental housing units.
of 2000, there were 42,647 people, 14,027 households, and 9,622 families residing in the city. The population density
was 2,224.0 people per square mile (858.5/km²). There were 17,893 housing units at an average density of 933.1 per square mile (360.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.3% White
, about half (50%) of the population is Hispanic or Latino. 2.7% Black
or African American
, 1.0% Native American
, 3.7% Asian
, 0.1% Pacific Islander
, 23.1% from other races
, and 4.1% from two or more races.
Cathedral City's population growth and suburban sprawl was based on recent waves of immigration and minority groups purchased homes and apartments. According to the 2006 United States Census estimates, about half (50.0%) of the population were Hispanic or Latino
of any race. But a 2006 study by the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce puts the city's Latino percentage at over 60%. The largest ethnicity represented are Mexican
and Mexican-American or Chicano
, but also are large numbers of Colombians
and Central American nationalities.
According to the 2000 Census, Cathedral City had a total of 14,027 households, 39.3% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% of which were married couples
living together, 11.9% of which had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% of which were non-families. Approximately 23% of all households were made up of individuals with 11.0% of them consisting of single individuals 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 people and the average family size was roughly three and a half people (3.63), which puts Cathedral City above both the California and U.S. averages in those categories.
As reported in the most recent census, the city's population was distributed across all age groups, with 31.1% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.0 males. Cathedral City has many senior citizen
communities and mobile home parks.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,887, and the median income for a family was $42,461. Men had a median income of $29,598, and the median income for women was $25,289. The per capita income
for the city was $16,215. About 10.2% of families and 13.6% of the total population had incomes below the poverty line, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over (this despite the fact that many consider Cathedral City a retirement haven).
The 2010 United States Census estimates placed Cathedral city's Latino percentage at over 60%. The bulk of Latinos live in the city's older, central section and in the area along Ramon Road between Cathedral Canyon Drive and Landau Boulevard and the Mid Valley Parkway, a section once known as "the Square Mile" but now commonly referred to by the city's denizens as "Little Mexico". But since then the section was nicknamed the "Diversity District" due to other immigrant and ethnic groups (i.e. Armenians
, Filipinos
, Salvadorans and Vietnamese
as examplatory) established small shops and stores selling ethnic-themed goods.
To the city's west, along Ramon Road and San Luis Rey Drive, is an area of multi-racial low-income "Dream Homes" or called "the Circle" adjacent to the Palm Springs International Airport
. Two other largely Hispanic sections of Cathedral City are "the Golden Mile" on Date Palm Drive, from Ramon Road to 30th Avenue and "el Barrio Viejo," also on Date Palm from Dinah Shore
to Gerald Ford
Drives. The North end or "Rimlon" a typo based of "Ramon" or "Landau" Roads is an upper-middle class and affluent housing tract, with the Minerva Road Christmas light extravaganza held every evening in December when it is nicknamed "Candy Cane Lane".
One-thirds of the Cathedral city jurisdiction are one-square mile land parcels of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation which includes much of Palm Springs
. They and the nearby desert resort city are home to a large LGBT community. Locally it is a myth that the renovated/gentrified downtown Cathedral City or "the (Cathedral) Cove" became a popular cultural niche for Gay and Lesbian couples. Cathedral City is also home to a large Jewish
population.
Cathedral City is located in the 40th Senate District
, represented by Democrat
Denise Moreno Ducheny
, and in the 80th Assembly District
, represented by Democrat Manuel Perez
. Federally, Cathedral City is located in California's 45th congressional district
, which has a Cook PVI
of R +3 and is represented by Republican Mary Bono Mack.
's Desert Oasis Hotel/resort located in the Cathedral Canyon Country Club. Other golf courses are the De Anza Palm Springs Country Club and Mobile Home Park, the Outdoor Resorts RV Golf Club Palm Springs, and the Doral Desert Princess Resort and Golf Club.
There is a large automotive mega-dealership known as the Palm Springs Auto Mall based on the city limits with Palm Springs, except the dealership lies in the Cathedral City side of State route 111 and Perez Road.
/ Mary Pickford
movie theater complex, and a total of 130 acre (0.5260918 km²) of new or remodeled stores.
The Big League Dreams Sports Park softball complex is on the corner of Date Palm and Dinah Shore drives, made up of four softball fields designed as replicas of four major league ballparks. The Pepsi All-Star Softball Game was held there since 1998. Cathedral City Soccer Park is a new sports facility. Cathedral City High School
, opened in 1991, is a major educational and recreational center to the city. The varsity football, basketball and soccer teams had earned CIF-southern California championship runs in the late 1990s and early 21st century.
Date Palm Country Club and golf course, designed in 1967 and opened in 1971, has an 18-hole "executive style" facility designed by Ted Robinson, ASCCA. It features 3100 yards (2,834.6 m) of golf from the longest tees for a par of 58. The course rating is 54.9/57.2 and it has a slope rating of 90/93. It is landscaped in Bermuda Greens and includes lakes and sand traps. The most memorable tee is the 175 yard 8th hole, which has an accurate tee shot over a lake. The Phil Harris Golf Classic was held there for many year from the 1940s to his death in 1994. Though built on part of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, an exclusive retirement community of manufactured homes lines the greens. The course is walkable and quiet.
Forest Lawn - Cathedral City Cemetery
and Desert Memorial Park
are located in Cathedral City. These parks are across Ramon Boulevard from each other. These cemeteries are visited by many tourists because of those who are buried there. Among them are Frank Sinatra
, Congressman Sonny Bono
, Alice Faye
, Phil Harris
, "Papa" John Phillips
, Jane Wyman
, Dinah Shore
, George Montgomery, Cameron Mitchell
, Harold Robbins
, Busby Berkeley
, William Powell
, Betty Hutton
, Guy Madison
, Buddy Rogers and many more.
The city was the teenage home of actress Suzanne Somers
(she still maintains a second home in nearby Palm Desert), and a winter residence for actors Robert Duvall
and Martin Landau
in the 1960s, and TV show host Monty Hall
in the 1990s.
Cathedral City hosts an annual Mexican Independence Day festival on every third weekend of September, also has an "el Grito de Dolores" to commemorate the event at the city hall/movie theater complex. The city has an economic partnership with the Mexican state of Jalisco
, a large source of local immigration. Chicano
folk musician Lalo Guerrero
lived in Cathedral City in his final years. But these festivals have been canceled due to gang related activity.
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 51,200 at the 2010 census. Sandwiched between Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
and Rancho Mirage
Rancho Mirage, California
Rancho Mirage is a resort city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal population can exceed 20,000. In between Cathedral City and Palm Desert, it is one of the eight cities of the Coachella...
, it is one of the cities in the Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
(Palm Springs area) of southern California. Cathedral City is the second largest in population in the Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
, second only to Indio.
The town's name derives from "Cathedral Canyon" to the south of the town, so named in 1850 by Colonel Henry Washington because its rock formations were reminiscent of a cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
. The city itself started as a housing subdivision in 1925, but was not incorporated until 1981. The city grew 4-5 times in two decades.
Locals gave it the nickname "Cat City", short for Cathedral. Others like historians claim that came from the reputation as a slinger gaming gulch in the late 19th century, and a safe haven for bars or saloons during prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
of the 1920s.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, Cathedral City has a total area of 21.8 square miles (56.5 km²), of which, 21.5 square miles (55.7 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²) of it (1.18%) is water.
Demographics and diversity
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Cathedral City had a population of 51,200. The population densityPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,353.3 people per square mile (908.6/km²). The racial makeup of Cathedral City was 32,537 (63.5%) White, 1,344 (2.6%) African American, 540 (1.1%) Native American, 2,562 (5.0%) Asian, 55 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 12,008 (23.5%) from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2,154 (4.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30,085 persons (58.8%).
The Census reported that 50,905 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 263 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 32 (0.1%) were institutionalized.
There were 17,047 households, out of which 6,574 (38.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,589 (44.5%) were opposite-sex married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 2,291 (13.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,176 (6.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,054 (6.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
POSSLQ
POSSLQ is an abbreviation for "Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters," a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of cohabitation in American households....
, and 779 (4.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 4,292 households (25.2%) were made up of individuals and 2,259 (13.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99. There were 11,056 families
Family (U.S. Census)
A family or family household is defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes as "a householder and one or more other people related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. They do not include same-sex married couples even if the marriage was performed in a state...
(64.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.67.
The population was spread out with 13,856 people (27.1%) under the age of 18, 4,906 people (9.6%) aged 18 to 24, 12,948 people (25.3%) aged 25 to 44, 12,127 people (23.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 7,363 people (14.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.0 years. For every 100 females there were 105.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.2 males.
There were 20,995 housing units at an average density of 965.0 per square mile (372.6/km²), of which 10,769 (63.2%) were owner-occupied, and 6,278 (36.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 11.0%. 30,236 people (59.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 20,669 people (40.4%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 42,647 people, 14,027 households, and 9,622 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,224.0 people per square mile (858.5/km²). There were 17,893 housing units at an average density of 933.1 per square mile (360.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.3% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, about half (50%) of the population is Hispanic or Latino. 2.7% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 1.0% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 3.7% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.1% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 23.1% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 4.1% from two or more races.
Cathedral City's population growth and suburban sprawl was based on recent waves of immigration and minority groups purchased homes and apartments. According to the 2006 United States Census estimates, about half (50.0%) of the population were Hispanic or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race. But a 2006 study by the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce puts the city's Latino percentage at over 60%. The largest ethnicity represented are Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
and Mexican-American or Chicano
Chicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
, but also are large numbers of Colombians
Colombians
Colombians may refer to:* Citizens of Colombia, a country in South America.* Ethnic Colombians** Colombian people, persons from Colombia or of Colombian ancestry...
and Central American nationalities.
According to the 2000 Census, Cathedral City had a total of 14,027 households, 39.3% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% of which were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.9% of which had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% of which were non-families. Approximately 23% of all households were made up of individuals with 11.0% of them consisting of single individuals 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 people and the average family size was roughly three and a half people (3.63), which puts Cathedral City above both the California and U.S. averages in those categories.
As reported in the most recent census, the city's population was distributed across all age groups, with 31.1% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.0 males. Cathedral City has many senior citizen
Senior citizen
Senior citizen is a common polite designation for an elderly person in both UK and US English, and it implies or means that the person is retired. This in turn implies or in fact means that the person is over the retirement age, which varies according to country. Synonyms include pensioner in UK...
communities and mobile home parks.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,887, and the median income for a family was $42,461. Men had a median income of $29,598, and the median income for women was $25,289. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $16,215. About 10.2% of families and 13.6% of the total population had incomes below the poverty line, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over (this despite the fact that many consider Cathedral City a retirement haven).
The 2010 United States Census estimates placed Cathedral city's Latino percentage at over 60%. The bulk of Latinos live in the city's older, central section and in the area along Ramon Road between Cathedral Canyon Drive and Landau Boulevard and the Mid Valley Parkway, a section once known as "the Square Mile" but now commonly referred to by the city's denizens as "Little Mexico". But since then the section was nicknamed the "Diversity District" due to other immigrant and ethnic groups (i.e. Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
, Filipinos
Filipino American
Filipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipino Americans, often shortened to "Fil-Ams", or "Pinoy",Filipinos in what is now the United States were first documented in the 16th century, with small settlements beginning in the 18th century...
, Salvadorans and Vietnamese
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
as examplatory) established small shops and stores selling ethnic-themed goods.
To the city's west, along Ramon Road and San Luis Rey Drive, is an area of multi-racial low-income "Dream Homes" or called "the Circle" adjacent to the Palm Springs International Airport
Palm Springs International Airport
Palm Springs International Airport is a public airport located two miles east of the central business district of Palm Springs, California, serving the Inland Empire Metropolitan Area of Southern California. The airport covers and utilizes two runways...
. Two other largely Hispanic sections of Cathedral City are "the Golden Mile" on Date Palm Drive, from Ramon Road to 30th Avenue and "el Barrio Viejo," also on Date Palm from Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
to Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
Drives. The North end or "Rimlon" a typo based of "Ramon" or "Landau" Roads is an upper-middle class and affluent housing tract, with the Minerva Road Christmas light extravaganza held every evening in December when it is nicknamed "Candy Cane Lane".
One-thirds of the Cathedral city jurisdiction are one-square mile land parcels of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation which includes much of Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
. They and the nearby desert resort city are home to a large LGBT community. Locally it is a myth that the renovated/gentrified downtown Cathedral City or "the (Cathedral) Cove" became a popular cultural niche for Gay and Lesbian couples. Cathedral City is also home to a large Jewish
American Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
population.
Politics
The current Cathedral City Mayor is Kathleen DeRosa, who was elected to her first term in 2004, second in 2006, third in 2008, and fourth in 2010. As of Dec. 1st, 2010 the current City Council Members are Sam Toles Greg Pettis, Bud England, and mayor pro-tem Chuck Vasquez. Non-incumbent Sam Toles took first place in the Nov. 2nd, 2010 election receiving 3,909 votes. Incumbent Chuck Vasquez was re-elected in second place with 3,533 votes, ousting the other incumbent by 365 votes. In November 2008, Cathedral City voters chose Barack Obama over John McCain in the Presidential election. In the state legislatureCalifornia State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...
Cathedral City is located in the 40th Senate District
California's 40th State Senate district
California's 40th State Senate District is one of 40 Senate Districts. It is currently represented by Democrat Juan Vargas of San Diego.-District profile:Riverside County*Blythe*Cathedral City*Coachella*East Blythe*Indio*Mecca*Thousand Palms...
, represented by Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Denise Moreno Ducheny
Denise Moreno Ducheny
Denise Moreno Ducheny is a California State Senator who represents Senate District 40, which includes southern San Diego County, part of Riverside County, and all of Imperial County. Ducheny is a Democrat. She lives with her husband, Al, in San Diego, California.-Background:Ducheny was born in...
, and in the 80th Assembly District
California's 80th State Assembly district
California's 80th State Assembly District is one of 80 districts in the California State Assembly. It is currently represented by Democrat Manuel Perez of Coachella.-District profile:...
, represented by Democrat Manuel Perez
Manuel Perez (politician)
V. Manuel Pérez is a Democratic Assemblymember from California's 80th State Assembly district from Coachella, California, United States.-Biography:...
. Federally, Cathedral City is located in California's 45th congressional district
California's 45th congressional district
California's 45th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California based in Riverside County. The district includes the communities of Palm Springs, Moreno Valley, Palm Desert, Hemet, Cathedral City, Temecula, Blythe, Rancho Mirage, Murrieta, Indio, Indian Wells,...
, which has a Cook PVI
Cook Partisan Voting Index
The Cook Partisan Voting Index , sometimes referred to as simply the Partisan Voting Index , is a measurement of how strongly an American congressional district or state leans toward one political party compared to the nation as a whole...
of R +3 and is represented by Republican Mary Bono Mack.
Economy
The city's several local golf resorts and tourism attractions provide a key element of the local economy for Cathedral City. It is the site of Lawrence WelkLawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...
's Desert Oasis Hotel/resort located in the Cathedral Canyon Country Club. Other golf courses are the De Anza Palm Springs Country Club and Mobile Home Park, the Outdoor Resorts RV Golf Club Palm Springs, and the Doral Desert Princess Resort and Golf Club.
There is a large automotive mega-dealership known as the Palm Springs Auto Mall based on the city limits with Palm Springs, except the dealership lies in the Cathedral City side of State route 111 and Perez Road.
History and environs
Cathedral City had a downtown revitalization program started in the late 1990s, with much completed by 2005. A new City Hall was built as was the IMAXIMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
/ Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
movie theater complex, and a total of 130 acre (0.5260918 km²) of new or remodeled stores.
The Big League Dreams Sports Park softball complex is on the corner of Date Palm and Dinah Shore drives, made up of four softball fields designed as replicas of four major league ballparks. The Pepsi All-Star Softball Game was held there since 1998. Cathedral City Soccer Park is a new sports facility. Cathedral City High School
Cathedral City High School
Cathedral City High School is a public high school for grades 9-12. It is located in Cathedral City, California and is part of the Palm Springs Unified School District.-History:...
, opened in 1991, is a major educational and recreational center to the city. The varsity football, basketball and soccer teams had earned CIF-southern California championship runs in the late 1990s and early 21st century.
Date Palm Country Club and golf course, designed in 1967 and opened in 1971, has an 18-hole "executive style" facility designed by Ted Robinson, ASCCA. It features 3100 yards (2,834.6 m) of golf from the longest tees for a par of 58. The course rating is 54.9/57.2 and it has a slope rating of 90/93. It is landscaped in Bermuda Greens and includes lakes and sand traps. The most memorable tee is the 175 yard 8th hole, which has an accurate tee shot over a lake. The Phil Harris Golf Classic was held there for many year from the 1940s to his death in 1994. Though built on part of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, an exclusive retirement community of manufactured homes lines the greens. The course is walkable and quiet.
Forest Lawn - Cathedral City Cemetery
Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City)
Forest Lawn Cemetery , renamed from Palm Springs Mortuary & Mausoleum in 2005, is a cemetery in Cathedral City, California near Palm Springs...
and Desert Memorial Park
Desert Memorial Park
Desert Memorial Park is a cemetery in Cathedral City, California, United States, near Palm Springs. It is maintained by the Palm Springs Cemetery District...
are located in Cathedral City. These parks are across Ramon Boulevard from each other. These cemeteries are visited by many tourists because of those who are buried there. Among them are Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Congressman Sonny Bono
Sonny Bono
Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono was an American recording artist, record producer, actor, and politician whose career spanned over three decades.-Early life:...
, Alice Faye
Alice Faye
Alice Faye was an American actress and singer, called by The New York Times "one of the few movie stars to walk away from stardom at the peak of her career." She is remembered first for her stardom at 20th Century Fox and, later, as the radio comedy partner of her husband, bandleader and comedian...
, Phil Harris
Phil Harris
Harris and Faye married in 1941; it was a second marriage for both and lasted 54 years, until Harris's death. Harris engaged in a fistfight at the Trocadero nightclub in 1938 with RKO studio mogul Bob Stevens; the cause was reported to be over Faye after Stevens and Faye had ended a romantic...
, "Papa" John Phillips
John Phillips (musician)
John Edmund Andrew Phillips , was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter and promoter . Known as Papa John, Phillips was a member and leader of the singing group The Mamas & the Papas...
, Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades...
, Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
, George Montgomery, Cameron Mitchell
Cameron Mitchell (actor)
Cameron Mitchell was an American film, television and Broadway actor with close ties to one of Canada's most successful families, and considered, by Lee Strasberg, to be one of the founding members of The Actor's Studio in New York City.-Early life and career:Born Cameron MacDowell Mitzel in...
, Harold Robbins
Harold Robbins
Harold Robbins was one of the best-selling American authors of all time. During his career, he wrote over 25 best-sellers, selling over 750 million copies in 32 languages....
, Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns...
, William Powell
William Powell
William Horatio Powell was an American actor.A major star at MGM, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the popular Thin Man series in which Powell and Loy played Nick and Nora Charles...
, Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedienne and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg, daughter of a railroad foreman, Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum . While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for...
, Guy Madison
Guy Madison
Guy Madison was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Robert Ozell Moseley in Pumpkin Center, California, Madison attended Bakersfield College, a junior college, for two years and then worked briefly as a telephone lineman before joining the United States Coast Guard in...
, Buddy Rogers and many more.
The city was the teenage home of actress Suzanne Somers
Suzanne Somers
Suzanne Somers is an American actress, author, singer and businesswoman, known for her television roles as Chrissy Snow on Three's Company and as Carol Lambert on Step by Step....
(she still maintains a second home in nearby Palm Desert), and a winter residence for actors Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
and Martin Landau
Martin Landau
Martin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
in the 1960s, and TV show host Monty Hall
Monty Hall
Monte Halperin, OC, OM , better known by the stage name Monty Hall, is a Canadian-born MC, producer, actor, singer and sportscaster, best known as host of the television game show Let's Make a Deal.-Early life:...
in the 1990s.
Cathedral City hosts an annual Mexican Independence Day festival on every third weekend of September, also has an "el Grito de Dolores" to commemorate the event at the city hall/movie theater complex. The city has an economic partnership with the Mexican state of Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, a large source of local immigration. Chicano
Chicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
folk musician Lalo Guerrero
Lalo Guerrero
Eduardo "Lalo" Guerrero , was a Mexican-American guitarist, singer and farm labor activist best known for his strong influence on today's Latin musical artists.-Life Summary:...
lived in Cathedral City in his final years. But these festivals have been canceled due to gang related activity.