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70-820: The pageant began in Santa Cruz in 1924 and was held there in 1925. During the years 1926 through 1946 in years when the Miss California pageant was held, the competition was primarily in San Francisco and Venice, California. In 1947, it returned to Santa Cruz and was held there annually until 1985, after which it moved to San Diego in response to years of protests and a "Myth California" counter pageant organized by local feminist activists led by Ann Simonton and Nikki Craft . It has been held in Visalia, California since 2023. Kimberly Vernon of Santa Clara

140-535: A college town . Indigenous people have been living in the Santa Cruz region for at least 12,000 years. Prior to the arrival of Spanish soldiers, missionaries and colonists in the late 18th century, the area was home to the Awaswas nation of Ohlone people, who lived in a territory stretching slightly north of Davenport to Rio Del Mar. The Awaswas tribe was made up of no more than 1,000 people and their language

210-481: A 2007 estimate ). Males had a median income of $ 44,751 versus $ 32,699 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 25,758. About 6.6% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over. The 2010 United States Census reported that Santa Cruz had a population of 59,946. The population density was 3,787.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,462.2/km ). The racial makeup of Santa Cruz

280-480: A camping place were an adequate supply of drinkable fresh water and forage for the livestock. For that reason, most of the campsites were near creeks, ponds or springs. All three of the main land expedition diaries give daily distances traveled in leagues . As used at that time, one Spanish league equaled about 2.6 miles. A typical day's march covered 2–4 leagues, with frequent rest days. The following year (1770), Portolá returned north as far as Monterrey to establish

350-509: A diary). The 1776 expedition of Juan Bautista de Anza used the official Portolá expedition report (drawn from the diaries) to follow mostly in the footsteps of Portolá from Mission San Gabriel to Monterrey, taking the Fages route from Monterrey to San Francisco Bay. Much of today's Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail in coastal California was previously the Portolá trail. Sixteen of

420-436: A dozen buildings being vandalized and numerous storefronts being damaged. Property damages are estimated to top roughly $ 100,000. Prior to the riot, a May Day rally was being held for worker and immigrant rights. According to police, the rally was infiltrated by a local anarchist group, who used the rally as a cover for attacking corporate premises. Occupy Santa Cruz formed as an autonomous organization in solidarity with

490-628: A fully professional ensemble of 65 members which presents an annual concert series at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium and the Mello Center in Watsonville. By the 1860s, Pacific Avenue had become the main street of downtown Santa Cruz, and remains so today. Local architect Kermit Darrow and landscape architect Roy Rydell were engaged in 1969 to convert several blocks of Pacific Avenue into a semi-pedestrian street named

560-418: A parish church, the former Santa Cruz mission was unable to maintain its building complex after secularization, and the adobe buildings slowly began to fall apart from wet weather and lack of maintenance. The chapel tower fell in 1840 and the entire front wall was destroyed in the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake . In 1858 a "modern" church was built next door to the remaining rear portion of the chapel. That remainder

630-434: A public safety crisis, a situation that has gathered national attention. The principal industries of Santa Cruz are agriculture, tourism, education (UC Santa Cruz) and high technology . Santa Cruz is a center of the organic agriculture movement, and many specialty products as well as housing the headquarters of California Certified Organic Farmers . Tourist attractions include the classic Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on

700-722: A slew of other entheogenic plants on the Federal Schedule 1 Substance List. In 1998, the Santa Cruz community declared itself a nuclear-free zone , and in 2003, the Santa Cruz City Council became the first city council in the U.S. to denounce the Iraq War. The City Council of Santa Cruz also issued a proclamation opposing the USA PATRIOT Act . Notable feminist activists Nikki Craft and Ann Simonton resided in Santa Cruz, where they formed

770-470: A total of seven registrations for the "Surf City USA" trademark. None of these registrations of the trademark are on the principal register , but on the secondary register , which means that Huntington Beach has no exclusive right to assert ownership over the "Surf City USA" trademark. Two Santa Cruz surf shops, Shoreline Surf Shop and Noland's on the Wharf, sued the city of Huntington Beach in order to protect

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840-477: A whole, they provide detailed daily information on the route traveled and camping locations, as well as descriptions of the country and its native inhabitants. The Portolá expedition was the brainchild of José de Gálvez , visitador (inspector general, a personal representative of the king) in New Spain. On his recommendation, King Charles III of Spain authorized Gálvez to explore Alta California and establish

910-438: Is also stage to many street performers, musicians, and artists, oftentimes creating the presence of background music and miscellaneous street side entertainment when visiting downtown. Consequently, Pacific Avenue serves as an outlet for the artistic and unique culture that Santa Cruz possesses. As of 2023 , the top employers within the city were: Santa Cruz has a number of cultural institutions and other attractions, including

980-669: Is an annual festival of contemporary music for orchestra that has been called a "new music mecca" by The New York Times . Santa Cruz Shakespeare is an annual summer festival that performs William Shakespeare plays every summer. Other notable events include the Santa Cruz Film Festival, the Santa Cruz Blues Festival, the Santa Cruz Digital Arts & New Media Festival, and Santa Cruz Pride. The O'Neill Cold Water Classic

1050-399: Is annual surfing event that draws crowds at the popular Steamer Lane . The Open Studios Art Tour is an art fair has been run for more than three decades and draws artists and patrons from around the area. First Friday Santa Cruz is a monthly event features dozens of art openings in the Santa Cruz area on the first Friday of the month. The Santa Cruz County Symphony , founded in 1958, is

1120-566: Is commonly accepted to be anything west of the San Lorenzo River and the "eastside" east of the San Lorenzo River all the way to neighboring towns of Soquel and Capitola . And the beginning of Aptos is seen as the end boundary for the "eastside". Santa Cruz has mild weather throughout the year, experiencing a warm-summer Mediterranean climate characterized by mild, wet winters and warm, mostly dry summers. Due to its proximity to Monterey Bay , fog and low overcast are common during

1190-634: Is now extinct. The only remnants of their spoken language are three local place names: Aptos , Soquel and Zayante ; and the name of a native shellfish – abalone . At the time of colonization, the Indigenous people belonged to the Uypi tribe of the Awaswas -speaking dialectical group. They called the area Aulinta . The first European land exploration of Alta California , the Spanish Portolá expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá , passed through

1260-813: The Villa de Branciforte , a town named in honor of the Viceroy. One of only three civilian towns established in California during the Spanish colonial period (the other two became Los Angeles and San Jose), the Villa was located across the San Lorenzo River , less than a mile from the Mission. Its original main street is now North Branciforte Avenue. Villa de Branciforte later lost its civic status, and in 1905

1330-658: The American Civil War . The extensive complex built on the San Lorenzo River upstream of Santa Cruz used charcoal and powder kegs manufactured from local forests. The Works later manufactured smokeless powder used in United States Army Krag-Jørgensen rifles and guns of the United States Navy Pacific and Asiatic fleets. Santa Cruz was hard hit by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake that killed three people. It

1400-589: The California Register of Historical Resources include Mission Santa Cruz , Villa de Branciforte , and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk . After Huntington Beach, California , trademarked the "Surf City USA" name, Santa Cruz politicians tried to stop the mark from being registered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office because of a 10-year-old controversy over Santa Cruz's nickname "Surf City." Huntington Beach has obtained

1470-532: The San Carlos — one of three ships supporting the expedition — also kept a diary that has survived, but he only sailed as far as San Diego, and never joined the expedition on land. Free online translations of both Vila's and Costansó's diaries are available. Fages also wrote, in 1775, an after-the fact account of the 1769–70 expedition. The official report of the expedition is also available online. Written later by Carlos Francisco de Croix , marqués de Croix,

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1540-818: The University of California, Santa Cruz, Arboretum ; Mission Santa Cruz ; the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History ; the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History ; the Santa Cruz Art League (which includes an art gallery, theater, and classroom); the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum (housed in a lighthouse near Steamer Lane ); and the Tannery Arts Center. Santa Cruz hosts numerous cultural events and festivals every year. The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music

1610-634: The "Praying Mantis Brigade". This collection of activists organized the "Myth California Pageant" in the 1980s protesting the objectification of women. Myth California was staged concurrently with the Miss California pageant held in Santa Cruz since the 1920s. The protests ran for nine years and eventually contributed to the Miss California pageant leaving Santa Cruz. Riots occurred on May 1, 2010, sparked when anarchist extremists threw paint at police cars and painted anarchist symbols and anti-capitalist phrases onto buildings, resulting in more than

1680-412: The 5–10 miles/day the diarists noted later on. The plan was for marchers and ships to reach San Diego at the same time but, as we'll see, the ships made much better time. Several of the soldiers requested permission to go hunting, as many deer had been seen. Some of them went quite a long way from the camp and reached the top of the hills so that they did not return until after nightfall. They said that to

1750-611: The Pacific Garden Mall. The Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 destroyed nearly all of the 19th-century buildings in the downtown area. The Pacific Avenue Historic District had been recognized by the National Register of Historic Places ; it was delisted in 1991. After the earthquake, the Pacific Garden Mall theme was eliminated, and an updated downtown design plan by ROMA Design Group was implemented. As of 2016, only one empty lot remains on Pacific Avenue from

1820-742: The Santa Cruz Cannabis Buyers Club opened its doors in April 1995. Santa Cruz also became one of the first cities in California to test the state's medical marijuana laws in court after the arrest of Valerie Corral and Mike Corral, founders of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana , by the DEA . In January 2020, Santa Cruz became the third city in the US and second city in California to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms in addition to

1890-499: The admission of California as a U. S. state in 1850, Santa Cruz was incorporated as a town in 1866, and became a charter city in 1876. The completion of the South Pacific Coast Railroad in 1880 and the creation of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in 1904 solidified the city's status as a seaside resort community , while the establishment of the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1965 made Santa Cruz

1960-437: The age of 18 living in them, 7,310 (33.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,833 (8.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 862 (4.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,802 (8.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 379 (1.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships . 6,773 households (31.3%) were made up of individuals, and 1,862 (8.6%) had someone living alone who

2030-426: The age of 18 living with them, 37.0% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.1% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.98. In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 17.3% under

2100-451: The age of 18, 20.5% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males age 18 and over. The median income for a household in the city was $ 50,605, and the median income for a family was $ 62,231 (these figures had risen to $ 59,172 and $ 80,496 respectively as of

2170-472: The area on its way north, still searching for the "port of Monterey" described by Sebastian Vizcaino in 1602. The party forded the river (probably near where the Soquel Avenue bridge now stands) and camped nearby on October 17, 1769 . Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí , traveling with the expedition, noted in his diary that, "This river was named San Lorenzo." (for Saint Lawrence ). Next morning,

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2240-568: The area was annexed into the City of Santa Cruz. In the 1820s, newly independent Mexico assumed control of the area. Following the Mexican secularization act of 1833 , governor Figueroa attempted to rename the community that had grown up around the mission after himself, to Pueblo de Figueroa . The pueblo designation was never made official, however. The new name did not catch on and Santa Cruz remained Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz mission, along with

2310-402: The arrival of immigrants from the eastern United States. Elihu Anthony (1818–1905) arrived in Santa Cruz in 1847 and opened many firsts for the city, including the first Protestant Church and the first blacksmith foundry. He built the first wharf and was the first postmaster. He developed the first commercial blocks in downtown Santa Cruz with his early blacksmith foundry located at what is now

2380-557: The beach, the redwood forests in the Santa Cruz Mountains above the town, and Monterey Bay, which is protected as a marine sanctuary . Technology companies have made Santa Cruz their home since the 1980s. Examples from that era include the Santa Cruz Operation (later Tarantella, Inc. ), Plantronics , and Parallel Computers, Inc. Downtown Santa Cruz houses a variety of storefronts and businesses. It

2450-424: The boundaries of today's city of Santa Cruz. Rancho Potrero Y Rincon de San Pedro Regalado consisted mostly of flat, river-bottom pasture land north of Mission Hill ("potrero" translates as "pasture"). Rancho Tres Ojos de Agua was on the west side. Three other rancho boundaries later became part of the modern city limits: Rancho Refugio on the west. Rancho Carbonera on the north, and Rancho Arroyo del Rodeo on

2520-431: The brief document drew on the diaries kept by the expedition participants. Governor Portolá and the others in the land arm of the expedition departed from Loreto, Baja California (capital of Las Californias ), about the same time the ships left La Paz (Loreto is about 150 miles north of La Paz). The rough-to-non-existent trail was over 400 miles from Loreto north to Velicatá, and land travel can't have been much faster than

2590-479: The city. The population density includes 1,682.2/km (4,357/sq mi). There were 21,504 housing units at an average density of 1,715.8 units per square mile (662.5 units/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 78.7% White , 17.4% Hispanic or Latino , 1.7% African American , 0.9% Native American , 4.9% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 9.1% from other races , and 4.5% from two or more races. There were 20,442 households, out of which 25.1% had children under

2660-623: The conversion of the Awaswas of Chatu-Mu and surrounding Ohlone villages . Santa Cruz was the twelfth mission to be founded in California . The creek, however, later lost the name, and is known today as Laurel Creek because it parallels Laurel Street. It is the main feeder of Neary Lagoon . In 1797, Governor Diego de Borica , by order of the Viceroy of New Spain , Miguel de la Grúa Talamanca y Branciforte, marqués de Branciforte , established

2730-600: The corner of Pacific Avenue and Mission Street. With Frederick A. Hihn , Anthony built the first private water supply network in the city and serving nearby communities. The establishment of railroad lines in Santa Cruz in 1875–76 with the Santa Cruz & Felton Railroad and the Santa Cruz Railroad provided market access for the city's timber, leather and limestone industries. California Powder Works began manufacturing blasting powder for California mining when normal supplies were interrupted by

2800-988: The destruction of the 1989 earthquake. Landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Santa Cruz County, California include the Branciforte Adobe , the Cowell Lime Works Historic District , the Golden Gate Villa , the Hinds House , Mission Santa Cruz , the Neary-Rodriguez Adobe , the Octagon Building , and the Santa Cruz Looff Carousel and Roller Coaster , among others. Landmarks on

2870-522: The detour that they would unavoidably have to make to round the estuary, whose extent the hunters represented as being very great. Crespí also quotes a revealing passage from the expedition's guidebook, in which Cabrera Bueno described what he called the "Bahia de San Francisco": Through the opening in the center enters an estuary of salt water without any breaking of the waves at all, and by going in one will find friendly Indians and can easily take on water and wood. Crespí thought that this passage described

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2940-646: The east. After secularization put most California land into private hands, immigrants from the United States began to arrive in steadily increasing numbers, especially in the 1840s when overland routes like the California Trail were opened. In 1848, following the Mexican–American War , Mexico ceded the territory of Alta California to the U.S. in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . Demoted to

3010-461: The entrance to the huge "estuary" the scouts had just found. If Crespí's interpretation was correct, then the discovery of San Francisco Bay happened many years earlier (Cabrera Bueno's Navegación Espéculativa y Práctica was published in 1734). ...below Monterey, which is the goal of our long journey, we recognize some marks, such as Sierra de Santa Lucia...and the Point of Pines. But no harbor at all

3080-556: The expedition set out again, and Crespi noted that, "Five hundred steps after we started we crossed a good arroyo of running water which descends from some high hills where it rises. It was named "El Arroyo de la Santísima Cruz, which translates literally as "The Stream of the Most Holy Cross". In 1791, Father Fermín Lasuén continued the use of Crespi's name when he declared the establishment of La Misión de la Exaltación de la Santa Cruz (also known as Mission Santa Cruz ) for

3150-682: The first permanent Spanish presence there. Gálvez was supported in the planning of an expedition by Carlos Francisco de Croix (Viceroy of New Spain ), and Father Junípero Serra (head of the Franciscan mission to the Californias ). Gálvez and Serra met in November, 1768, to plan the expedition. The goals set were to establish two Presidios and nearby missions – at San Diego and Monterrey (one "r" has since been dropped). These places had been described and given names 166 years before by

3220-630: The land march up the coast and keep the expedition supplied from the naval depot at La Paz (on the Baja peninsula), and another ship to connect La Paz with the mainland at San Blas . Elements of the land expedition gathered north of Loreto in March, 1769, and marched north-west to San Diego; then from San Diego to the San Francisco Peninsula and back. Rivera led the first group, consisting mainly of soldiers, scouts and engineers to prepare

3290-635: The maritime explorations of Sebastián Vizcaíno . In addition, the name San Carlos Borromeo was chosen for the mission at Monterrey. Gálvez placed Gaspar de Portolá , recently appointed governor of Las Californias , in overall command of the expedition. Second in command was Captain Fernando Rivera y Moncada , commander of the Presidio at Loreto . Serra headed the Franciscan missionary contingent. Three ships were also assigned: two to follow

3360-454: The modern campsite locations, as shown below. Bolton also included maps with his "best guess" of the expedition's march routes, superimposed on modern California maps. In 2001, a new edition of the Crespí diary was published, with side-by-side Spanish and English text – both of Crespí's original field notes, and also his expanded rewrite for the later official version. Vicente Vila, captain of

3430-460: The night and morning hours, especially in the summer. Santa Cruz frequently experiences an Indian summer , with the year's warmest temperatures often occurring in the autumn. Since the city faces south rather than west with mountains to its north, temperatures are usually several degrees warmer than in coastal areas to its northwest. Recorded from the census of 2000, there were 54,593 people total with 20,442 households and 10,404 families residing in

3500-432: The north of the bay they had seen an immense arm of the sea or estuary, which extended inland as far as they could see, to the southeast... The hunters in this unnamed group were thus the first to report back to expedition leaders the sighting of San Francisco Bay. Ortega's scouts, however, because they left camp a day earlier, were probably the first to see the bay. The hunters also saw and reported that further progress to

3570-495: The north was blocked by the wide bay entrance channel (later named the Golden Gate by John C. Fremont . As Crespí wrote: We conjectured also from these reports that the explorers could not have crossed to the opposite shore which was seen to the north, and consequently, would not succeed in exploring the point which we judge to be that of Los Reyes, for it would be impossible in the three days that they were to be gone to make

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3640-517: The northern edge of Monterey Bay . The area is losing several feet of beach a year. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city covers an area of 15.8 square miles (41 km ), of which 12.7 square miles (33 km ) is land, and 3.1 square miles (8.0 km ) (19.51%s) is water. To Santa Cruz locals the area is often discussed in terms of distinct regions: east side and west side. The "westside" of Santa Cruz

3710-461: The northern section of the expedition's trail was in today's US state of California . Missionary Juan Crespi kept a diary describing the group's daily progress and detailed descriptions of their locations, allowing modern researchers to reconstruct their journey. Portions of other diaries by Gaspar de Portolá , engineer Miguel Costansó, missionary Junípero Serra, army officer Jose de Canizares, and Sergeant José Ortega also survived. When analyzed as

3780-465: The progress during 1769 and 1770 of the first European exploration-by-land of north-western coastal areas in what became Las Californias , a province of Spanish colonial New Spain . Later, the region was administratively-split into Baja (lower, see Baja California peninsula ) and Alta (upper, see Alta California ). The first section of the march was on the Baja California peninsula, and

3850-643: The public use of the term "Surf City." The parties reached a confidential settlement in January 2008, in which neither side admitted liability and all claims and counterclaims were dismissed. The Santa Cruz surf shops continue to print T-shirts, and the Visitor's Bureau retains the right to use the trademark. Timeline of the Portol%C3%A1 expedition This timeline of the Portolá expedition tracks

3920-628: The rest of the twenty-one Alta California missions, was secularized within a few years after 1833. Even before secularization, the Native American population had declined. Following secularization, mission grazing lands, which once extended from the San Lorenzo River north along the coast to approximately today's Santa Cruz County border, were taken away and broken up into large land grants called ranchos . The grants were made by several different governors between 1834 and 1845 (see List of Ranchos of California ). Two ranchos were totally within

3990-583: The road and deal with hostile natives. Portolá and Serra followed in a second group with the civilians, livestock and baggage. Serra stayed with the new mission in San Diego while Portolá and Rivera took a smaller group north. Led by Rivera's scouts, the road followed established native paths as much as possible (the southern and central California coastal areas were found to have the densest native population of any region north of central Mexico), and blazing new trails where necessary. The two main requirements for

4060-551: The second Presidio there and to establish a new provincial seat. Serra came north by sea to make the Mission San Carlos Borromeo del rio Carmelo (moved a few miles south from its original Monterrey location) his headquarters. Portolá's successor as governor, Pedro Fages , found an easier inland route later in 1770 from Monterrey to San Francisco Bay, and further explored the eastern side of the bay in 1772 (accompanied again by padre Juan Crespí , who again kept

4130-501: The twenty-one Spanish Missions of California were established along the Portolá route. The Crespí diary is the most complete of the three land expedition accounts, because Crespí was the only diarist present during the entire expedition. It includes nearly all of the information found in the other two, plus many extra details about the country and the native peoples. Herbert Bolton translated Crespi's diary to English and annotated it with modern references. Bolton added information about

4200-400: The worldwide Occupy movement , a broad-based protest against economic and social inequality. The organization gained most of its notoriety when members barricaded themselves in an empty bank building owned by Wells Fargo and occupied the building for 72 hours, causing $ 30,000 in damages. Eleven criminal charges were filed, at least seven of which have since been dropped. Santa Cruz is on

4270-856: Was 1.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.4%. 22,861 people (38.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 28,796 people (48.0%) lived in rental housing units. The median price of a home being $ 640,000 as of April 2013. Santa Cruz has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the US, with 9,041 estimated homeless in Santa Cruz county in 2011, approximately 3.5% of the total county population. with over 52% of homeless experiencing some form of mental illness, including clinical depression or PTSD and over 26% suffering unspecified mental illness . Additionally, 38% of homeless surveyed in Santa Cruz county in 2011 experienced drug and/or alcohol dependency . In recent years, citizen groups such as Take Back Santa Cruz, established in 2009, have lobbied city government and officials to address what they view as

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4340-536: Was 29.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.7 males. By one estimate, Santa Cruz had in 2023 the least affordable rental market in the United States, pushing past San Francisco which was previously the most unaffordable rental market. There were 23,316 housing units at an average density of 1,473.0 units per square mile (568.7 units/km ), of which 9,375 (43.3%) were owner-occupied, and 12,282 (56.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate

4410-547: Was 44,661 (74.5%) White , 1,071 (1.8%) African American , 440 (0.7%) Native American , 4,591 (7.7%) Asian , 108 (0.2%) Pacific Islander , 5,673 (9.5%) from other races , and 3,402 (5.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11,624 persons (19.4%). The Census reported that 51,657 people (86.2% of the population) lived in households, 7,910 (13.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 379 (0.6%) were institutionalized. There were 21,657 households, out of which 4,817 (22.2%) had children under

4480-430: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39. There were 10,005 families (46.2% of all households); the average family size was 2.92. The age distribution of the population shows 8,196 people (13.7%) under the age of 18, 17,449 people (29.1%) aged 18 to 24, 15,033 people (25.1%) aged 25 to 44, 13,983 people (23.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,285 people (8.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

4550-410: Was again hit by ocean surges caused by 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai eruption and tsunami , that caused damages to the harbor. Santa Cruz became one of the first cities to approve marijuana for medicinal uses. In 1992, residents overwhelmingly approved Measure A, which allowed for the medicinal uses of marijuana. Santa Cruz was home to the second above-ground medical marijuana club in the world when

4620-492: Was also hit by ocean surges caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami , wherein the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor sustained an estimated $ 10 million of damage, with another $ 5 million of damage to docked boats there. Following the earthquake, a former building chief urged the city government to consider relocating to a safer location with lower risk of damage from seismic activity. It

4690-497: Was crowned Miss California 2024 on June 15, 2024, at the Visalia Convention Center Visalia, California . She will compete for the title of Miss America 2025. The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss California titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award

4760-442: Was demolished in 1889, when today's Holy Cross church was built on the site, in a gothic style. California was the first portion of the former Mexican territory to become a state, in 1850. Santa Cruz County was established the same year, and Santa Cruz became the county seat. Santa Cruz was incorporated as a town in 1866, and became a charter city in 1876. Following the U.S. Conquest of California , Santa Cruz steadily grew with

4830-548: Was founded by the Spanish in 1791, when Fermín de Lasuén established Mission Santa Cruz . Soon after, a settlement grew up near the mission called Branciforte , which came to be known across Alta California for its lawlessness. With the Mexican secularization of the Californian missions in 1833, the former mission was divided and granted as rancho grants . Following the American Conquest of California and

4900-565: Was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title. Non-finalist Talent Award Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz ( Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the largest city and the county seat of Santa Cruz County , in Northern California . As of the 2020 census , the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay , Santa Cruz is a popular tourist destination, owing to its beaches, surf culture , and historic landmarks. Santa Cruz

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