Benicia, California: Neighborhood of Artistry
Benicia is a magnificently beautiful city, balanced on the hillside of the Northern San Francisco Bay region and composed of artistic communities of glass and fine artists, participatory community events that are welcoming to visitors, nationally ranked schools and enough comfort and sense of neighborhood to gain listings in recognized publications, such as Fortune Magazine’s top 100 best waterfront communities.
Benicia is a city that blends the beauty of nature with vistas that capture the magnificence of bustling growth all around us. New housing and business areas are being added within the confines of urban growth restrictions, while our park and recreational resources are being enhanced to encourage tourists and families who enjoy bike commuting to public transportation, nature strolls, art walks, and the comforts of top quality family shopping. Recent improvements on our waterfront have made fishing a comfortable companion to strolling farmers markets and coffee shops that inspire young and old alike to just hang out.
Benicia was the first California City to incorporate in the State. The City’s history reflects its struggle to balance the needs of working families with creative neighborhood aspirations. Confidence was so high in its early years, in fact, that it was generally believed that Benicia might some day be a port city in competition with San Francisco. It actually became California’s State Capital in 1853, but then lost that prominence just a year later when political forces coalesced to move the government to its present Sacramento location. The Capital Building built for this short tenure remains an active historical site.
Benicia is a city that strives to be recognized as a unique place in the sprawling Bay Area. This springs from its backwater origins with just a few thousand people-where it was mostly known as the area around the US Army’s Benicia Arsenal-to its contemporary efforts to maintain a diverse population balanced among all well blended neighborhoods.
World War II first re-enlivened the town by doubling the population to upwards of 7,000 residents who, with transportation improvements, were beginning to recognize the benefits of their proximity to San Francisco. The building of the Benicia-Martinez and Carquinez bridges would ultimately bring thousands of commuters and travelers past the City as they journeyed north. At about the same time, the closing of the Arsenal dramatically changed the area by allowing military support and shipping resources to be better integrated into residential and light industrial zones. New displays of these landmarks are now visible from the Benicia-Martinez Bridge, which is currently being remodeled into a model structure that incorporates its surroundings and functionality (with a look-out area where some of Benicia’s artistic and part resources will be prominent).
Today’s population of 28,000 keeps Benicia grounded in small town success. The San Francisco Chronical Newspaper Survey recently ranked Benicia as the “Best Place to Raise a Family.” It has the lowest crime rate in Solano County and one of the nations lowest rates for cities under 30,000. SchoolMatch, a private corporate site location firm, put our schools in the top 15% of the nation.
Business operating costs are inviting to small and community-oriented businesses, where residents enjoy a 3% unemployment rate and a household income of $71,700. These economic factors and the City’s efforts to reach out to engage its citizens helped earn Benicia the California League of Cities’ Helen Putnam Award for Innovation in Government.
Blown glass, sculpture and paint artists from Benicia contribute to year-round and seasonal studio tours; some have even been prominently displayed in contemporary artistic presentations in the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. Over 100 local artists have online studios, thereby joining the four internationally acclaimed glass studios that call Benicia home on the front lines of neighborhood artistry.
Benicia hosts many annual events. Among those listed on www.CityofBenicia.org, are the Annual Peddlers Fair, Handicraft Fair, Opening Day on the Straits, Glass Studios Open House, Heritage Home Tour, Arts in the Park, Christmas at the Clocktower, and the Downtown Farmers Market.
