Santa Barbara County
Cities and Towns
Source: Wikipedia
Solvang
Solvang is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. The city of Solvang is one of the communities that make up the Santa Ynez Valley. The population was 5,332 at the 2000 census.
Solvang, California
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Danish-land!.jpg
A Danish-inspired windmill in Solvang
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Solvang-Jan05.jpg
Solvang was founded in 1911 on 9,000
acres of formerly Spanish land by a group of Danish educators,
who traveled west to escape midwestern winters. The city is home
to some bakeries, restaurants, and merchants offering a taste of
Denmark in California. The architecture of many of the buildings
follows traditional Danish style. There is a copy of the famous
Little Mermaid statue from Copenhagen, as well as one featuring
the bust of famed Danish fable writer Hans Christian Andersen. A
replica of the Copenhagen observatory Rundetårn in the scale 1:3
was finished in 1991 and can be seen in the city centre.
Mission Santa Ines, one of the California missions, is both a
National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark.
It is located near the center of the town, at the junction of
State Route 246 and Alisal Road.
Geography
Solvang is located at 34°35'38N 120°8'23W.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a
total area of 2.5 square miles, all of it land. Solvang actually
bears very little resemblance to modern Denmark.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were
5,332 people, 2,185 households, and 1,415 families residing in
the city. The population density was 2,143.3 people per square
mile. There were 2,288 housing units at an average density of
919.7/sq mi. The racial makeup of the city was 88.24% White,
0.43% African American, 0.66% Native American, 1.05% Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 5.51% from other races, and 4.07% from two or
more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 19.86%
of the population.
There were 2,185 households out of which 26.8% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living
together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present,
and 35.2% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up
of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65
years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and
the average family size was 2.96.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.9% under the
age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45
to 64, and 22.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median
age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 89.8 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,799, and
the median income for a family was $57,703. Males had a median
income of $41,429 versus $30,175 for females. The per capita
income for the city was $25,363. About 2.7% of families and 6.7%
of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of
those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
Public safety
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department has a regional
station in the nearby town of Santa Ynez (but also provides
police services to the City of Solvang as well), while the
Solvang Volunteer Fire Department was disbanded in April 2007 and
replaced with a contract from the Santa Barbara County Fire
Department.
Danish museums
In the city is located the Hans
Christian Andersen Museum and Elverhoj Museum of History and Art.
Popular media
Much of the Oscar-winning 2004 film Sideways was filmed in
Solvang and in nearby Buellton.
Patricia Hitchcock, the only child of the film director Alfred Hitchcock, currently resides in Solvang.
Solvang was one of the two locations featured in the William Castle film Homicidal. The location used for the drugstore and flowershop still stands today and remains relatively unchanged.
Rancho del Cielo, President Ronald Reagan's ranch which served as the "Western White House" during Reagan's two terms in office, is located about six miles (10 km) outside of Solvang.
In The Simpsons episode "Little Orphan Millie," it was revealed that Milhouse has an uncle from Solvang named Norbert "Zack" Van Houten. Bart has a telephone conversation with a switchboard operator in Solvang, and a wooden "Solvang Air" airliner, whose fuselage resembles buildings in the town, is shown landing at Springfield Airport. Uncle Zack's overwhelming pride in his Danish heritage also reflects Solvang's history from its founding by Danish citizens.
Ska-punk band Mad Caddies call Solvang their home.
In American Dad, Roger refers to buying chocolate in Solvang.
The town of Solvang was featured on Bravo's hit television show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List during its third season.
In an episode of Pinky and the Brain, Brain forms a basketball team that has a practice session in Solvang.
The Tour of California cycle race has had time trial stages in Solvang on three occasions: 2007, 2008 and 2009.
In season 5 episode "Happy Birthday, Anastasia," The Girls Next Door and their guests take a road trip which includes a visit to Solvang; its original airdate was January 4, 2009.
This page was last updated July 19, 2009.
