Brookings, Oregon
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| Brookings, Oregon | |
| Motto: Where flowers meet the sea | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| County | Curry County |
| Incorporated | 1951 |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Pat Sherman |
| Area | |
| - City | 7.3 km² (2.8 sq mi) |
| - Land | 7.2 km² (2.8 sq mi) |
| - Water | 0.1 km² (0.04 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 39.32 m (129 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
| - City | 6,315 (est) |
| - Density | 753.8/km² (1,951.6/sq mi) |
| Population estimate by Portland State University | |
| Time zone | Pacific (UTC-8) |
| - Summer (DST) | Pacific (UTC-7) |
| Website: http://www.brookings.or.us/ | |
Brookings is a city in Curry County, Oregon, United States. It was named after John E. Brookings, president of the Brookings Lumber and Box Company, which founded the city in 1908. The population was 5,447 at the 2000 census. As of 2006, Brookings had a population of over 6,315 within the city limits.[1] The total population of the Brookings area is over 13,000, which includes Harbor (a CDP), and others. There have been numerous attempts to annex the nearby unincorporated areas into Brookings; while most attempts failed over the years, one large area north of town owned by Borax has succeeded. This development has the potential to add approximately 1000 homes over the next 20 years, although developers expect many of them to be occupied only seasonally.
Due to its location, Brookings is subject to winter (and less frequently summer) temperatures considered unseasonably warm for the Oregon Coast. Temperatures can reach 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (21 to 27 degrees Celsius) throughout the year. This is due in part to the marine influences from its location on the Pacific Ocean, but mostly from its situation at the foot of the Klamath Mountains, whose winds compress and warm the air flowing onto Brookings. This is called the Brookings effect or Chetco effect. But while area real estate agents and other unobjective sources have dubbed Brookings the "banana belt" of the Oregon coast, this is no Baja California. Heavy rain is common in the winter. Heavy fog is common in the summer.
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[edit] History
While John E. Brookings was responsible for the founding of Brookings as a company town, it was his cousin Robert S. Brookings, who was responsible for its actual design. The latter Brookings hired Bernard Maybeck, an architect based in San Francisco who was later involved in the Panama-Pacific Exposition, to lay out the plat of the townsite.
On September 9, 1942, Mount Emily, near Brookings, became the first site in the continental United States to suffer aerial bombardment in wartime. A Japanese floatplane piloted by Nobuo Fujita launched from submarine I-25 was loaded with incendiary bombs and sent to start massive fires in the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest. The attack caused only minor damage. Fujita would be invited back to Brookings in 1962 and he presented the town his family's 400-year old samurai sword in friendship after the Japanese government was given assurances that he would not be tried as a war criminal. Brookings made him an honorary citizen several days before his death in 1997.
Since the 1980s, Brookings has attracted retirees, largely from California, who have come to form a sizeable minority of the population. Their political influence is felt in routinely voting against new taxes. It is also home for a number of people who commute to jobs in California--mostly at nearby Pelican Bay State Prison.
[edit] Geography
Brookings is located at (42.057474, -124.286415)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.3 km² (2.8 mi²). 7.2 km² (2.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (1.06%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 5,447 people, 2,309 households, and 1,484 families residing in the city. The population density was 753.8/km² (1,951.6/mi²). There were 2,614 housing units at an average density of 361.7/km² (936.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.55% White, 0.20% African American, 2.40% Native American, 1.29% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 1.43% from other races, and 4.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.74% of the population.
There were 2,309 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 23.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,656, and the median income for a family was $36,846. Males had a median income of $33,073 versus $22,591 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,010. About 9.1% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Sister City
Brookings has one sister city:
Mitsukaiddo, Japan
Source: [1]
[edit] Transportation
[edit] External links
- City of Brookings
- Oregon Blue Book entry for Brookings
- Brookings Chamber of Commerce website
- Curry Coastal Pilot (Brookings' twice-weekly newspaper)
- Brookings, Gold Beach, and Curry County Map Resources
- KHSR-FM 91.9 Crescent City-Brookings - Diverse Public Radio
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
