Indio, California
Encyclopedia
Indio is a city in Riverside County
, California
, United States, located in the Coachella Valley
of Southern California
's Colorado Desert
region. It lies 26 miles (42 km) east of Palm Springs
, 70 miles (113 km) east of Riverside
, and 125 miles (201 km) east of Los Angeles
. It is about 86 miles (138 km) north of Mexicali, Baja California on the U.S.-Mexican border. The word Indio is Spanish for Indian.
The population was 76,036 in the 2010 United States Census, up from 49,116 at the 2000 census, an increase of over 50%, and well above the approx. 10% growth for the U.S. during the same decade. Indio was once referred to as "the Hub of the Valley", the city Chamber of Commerce jingle in the 1970s. Since then, it has become an exurb town of economic value and sunbelt growth potential in the easternmost urbanized area of Southern California.
While Indio started as a railroad town, it developed into an agricultural area shortly after. Onions, cotton
, grapes, citrus
and dates thrived in the arid climate due to the ingenuity of farmers finding various means of attaining water; first through artesian wells and later through the valley’s branch of the All-American Canal
. However, water also was a major problem for Indio and the city was flooded several times until the storm water canals were created throughout the Coachella Valley.
Businessmen and women found this last frontier land of the continental United States as an ideal place to start fresh. Dr. Harry Smiley and his wife Nell were early residents and stayed in Indio after their car broke down on the way to Los Angeles and became people of influence and helped shape the area. A.G. Tingman was an early storeowner and first Postmaster of Indio, but also well known for taking advantage of miners as they headed to the mountains, selling at rather high prices. Later Dr. June Robertson McCarroll became a leading philanthropist as well as successful doctor in Indio. She was responsible along with the Indio Woman’s Club for pressing California into adopting the placing of white lines down the streets after she nearly got hit one too many times by passing vehicles. But even though these early founders of the city are considered pioneers, they still partook in the lifestyles of their friends living in such areas as Los Angeles. Indio established itself quickly and kept up with all the trends as they were brought in by the railroads.
At the turn of the 20th century, Indio was already an area that was not going to be a fading railroad town. Schools were built, the La Casita hospital provided medical services, and families established roots. This was the growth of a city, not just a railroad town.
By 1920, about one to two thousand year round residents lived in Indio, while it can double to 2,500 to 5,000 during the winter months and was advertised as a health resort for senior citizens and those with respiratory diseases and ailments in the rest of the 20th century.
Indio also served as the home of the USDA’s Date Station, a place where leading scientific research was taking place on the fruit that would become a major part of the culture of Indio. The station started in 1907 and was responsible for the ability of local farmers to better understand this unique crop and make the Coachella Valley a leader in American date crops. This also created a special tie of Indio to the Middle East that continues today. This also led to the one of a kind theme for our County Fair with the Middle Eastern flair.
It was not long before Coachella and Thermal were larger cities than Indio, but Indio remained the “Hub of the Valley,” as it was so called. With the burning of the majority of Thermal and the decline of Coachella, Indio grew again. By 1930 Indio was a thriving area and incorporated. On September 6, 1930, storekeeper Fred Kohler received the first business license in Indio.
It was also aided by the visiting soldiers from Patton’s training grounds in Chiriaco Summit
located 30 miles to the east. However, Indio saw another decline as the valley’s population begin to move west towards newer cities such as Palm Desert. However, now there is a reversal in this trend and the eastern section of the valley is poised to once again become the center of the Coachella Valley.
The city had significant unemployment rates (in some cases over 20 percent) in the late 20th century and from the Late-2000s recession . The rate in 2006 was under 5 percent after the local economy rebounded in the real estate boom when more affluent residents moved in. The rapid population growth fuelled the city's present need for employment opportunities.
, the city has a total area of 75.6 square kilometres (29 sq mi), 99.97% of which is land and 0.03% is water.
The telephone area code is 760. The city's Zip codes are 92201 and 92203 north of Interstate 10. About 3 miles (5 km) north and east of Indio is the San Andreas Fault
, a major tectonic plate boundary of the Pacific and North American plates.
Indio has the Riverside county's eastern branch offices, because Indio was historically the main population center of the Coachella valley, except when Palm Springs had more people from 1955 to 1992, when the US census announced Indio surpassed Palm Springs and that title was returned to them. The official elevation of Indio is below sea level; the city hall is 14 feet (4 m) below sea level, as the Eastern half of the Coachella valley drops as low as 150 feet (45.7 m) below sea level (the lake shore of the Salton Sea
is 15 miles (24 km) South of Indio).
region of the Sonoran Desert
. It is adjacent to the geologic Salton Sink
and within the site of historic Lake Cahuilla
of the Lower Colorado River Valley
. Indio is an official National Bird Sanctuary, because of the seasonal bird migration flight routes that cross the town on route to the Salton Sea
.
was 2,604.9 people per square mile (1,005.8/km²). The racial makeup of Indio was 46,735 (61.5%) White, 1,805 (2.4%) African American, 741 (1.0%) Native American, 1,693 (2.2%) Asian, 55 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 22,394 (29.5%) from other races
, and 2,613 (3.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 51,540 persons (67.8%).
The Census reported that 75,087 people (98.8% of the population) lived in households, 365 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 584 (0.8%) were institutionalized.
There were 23,378 households, out of which 10,522 (45.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 13,149 (56.2%) were opposite-sex married couples
living together, 3,578 (15.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,512 (6.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,654 (7.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
, and 232 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,859 households (16.5%) were made up of individuals and 1,777 (7.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.21. There were 18,239 families
(78.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.60.
The population was spread out with 22,879 people (30.1%) under the age of 18, 7,247 people (9.5%) aged 18 to 24, 20,705 people (27.2%) aged 25 to 44, 15,793 people (20.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 9,412 people (12.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.2 years. For every 100 females there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.
There were 28,971 housing units at an average density of 992.5 per square mile (383.2/km²), of which 15,274 (65.3%) were owner-occupied, and 8,104 (34.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 5.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 12.5%. 46,780 people (61.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 28,307 people (37.2%) lived in rental housing units.
of 2000, there were 49,116 people, 13,871 households, and 11,069 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,840.3 people per square mile (710.5/km²). There were 16,909 housing units at an average density of 633.6 per square mile (244.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 44.4% White
, 2.8% Black
, 1.0% Native American
, 1.5% Asian American
, 0.1% Pacific Islander
, 42.0% from other races
, and 3.9% from two or more races. 65.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino
of any race.
There were 13,871 households out of which 48.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples
living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.2% were non-families. 16.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.5 and the average family size was 3.9.
In the city the population was spread out with 35.3% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 15.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,624, and the median income for a family was $35,564. Males had a median income of $25,651 versus $21,093 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $13,525. About 16.8% of families and 21.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.2% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.
has one of California's highest percentage of Hispanics; about 70-75% of Indio's residents are of Hispanic origin. Coachella is 95 percent, a very dense enclave of Hispanic/Mexican-American culture.
In addition to Mexican Americans, Indio also a large percentage (from 25 to 30%) of Hispanic groups from other countries (in order): El Salvador
, Honduras
, Guatemala
, Nicaragua
, Colombia
and Ecuador
. The Mexican American presence in Indio dates back for over a century since the arrival of Traquero
s or railroad laborers employed by Southern Pacific settled in Indio by 1910. The need for farm labor, construction, golf resorts and domestic jobs in the Palm Springs area is responsible for turning Indio to a magnet for Mexican immigrants.
Indio had a history of ethnic segregation
patterns, when Hispanics tend to live apart from Anglos, for three generations, until the 1980s/90s when Hispanics began to move anywhere without discrimination or restriction.
City leaders and other locals are expanding city public services, including recreation activities, commercial retail centers and industrial complexes.
The 2010 United States Census recorded the city's population to be about 76,000 residents, but some believe that this figure underestimates seasonal residents and recent-arriving immigrants.
and tourism
, although the majority of tourist activity is seasonal between October and May.
Travelers from around the world still can stop by Shields Date Gardens
, a date grower that maintains a large retail store along State Highway 111 in Indio. There are citrus
groves and vegetable
fields surrounding the city limits, but rapid development of new housing tracts and golf courses in the "East Valley" in the 1990s and 2000s has displaced most of the agricultural space.
In fact light industry is not a new thing in Indio. In the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, the Bank of America
-owned Giannini Research Institute, Kaiser Inc.
and Cabazon Firearms had contracts with both NASA
and the US Armed Forces that produced ammunition, computer parts, moon rover parts for the Apollo landing probe program and railroad train engines for the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Indio sought more corporate businesses and office professions, like fruit packing and shipping firms. Locally-based United States Filter Corporation, Guy Evans Inc., Dimare Fruit Co., West Coast Turf and Japanese-owned Sun World Inc.; and move-in companies such as Borden
, Coca-Cola
, Ernst and Young, Ferguson
, Fulton Distributors, Konami
, Pulte Homes
, Sunrise Company and SunScape Tech choose Indio for the location of transport routes, low economical costs and growth potential.
Two major annual festivals are the National Date Festival
and the Indio International Tamale Festival.
Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival
is held each February at the Riverside County Fairgrounds, located at Highway 111 in the heart of Indio. Since 1947, this festival has celebrated the date fruit crop of the Coachella Valley.
The Tamale Festival is held each December on the streets of Old Town Indio and has earned two Guinness World Records: the largest tamale festival (120,000 in attendance, Dec. 2-3, 2000) and the world's largest tamale, [over 1 foot (0.3048 m) in diameter and 40 feet (12.2 m) in length], created by Chef John Sedlar. The 2006 Guinness Book calls the festival "the world's largest cooking and culinary festival."
Starting in 1999, Indio has hosted the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
at the Empire Polo Field.
In May 2007, Goldenvoice, promoters of the Coachella
, started Stagecoach
, a two-day country music festival held the weekend following the Coachella. Performers have included George Strait
, Kenny Chesney
, the Eagles, Sugarland
, Taylor Swift
, and Kid Rock
.
The Date Festival/County Fairgrounds' Grandstand Arena Stadium is the site for live music concerts (mostly amateur bands), 4x4 monster truck
rallies, rodeo or horse riding events, and camel
races during the National Date Festival.
Indio is also the site of the annual Southwest Arts Festival, the Cabazon Indian National Pow Wow, the Palm Springs Kennel Club's Annual Dog Show at the Empire Polo Club, the Family Motor Coach Association's Annual Western Region RV Rally at the Fairgrounds, and the U.S. Field Hockey Association's annual Hockey Festival held every November.
, state park property, are native California fan palms
that thrive in many locations but rarely in such numbers as in the canyons of the Indio Hills. Here, along a line where the San Andreas fault
captures groundwater that nurtures the palms, is a wild parkland which is part of the adjacent Coachella Valley Preserve. The park contains some fine native palm groves that include Indian, Hidden, Pushawalla, Biskra, Macomber and Horseshoe palms. The nearest palm groves are relatively easy to reach from the trailhead and parking area 4 miles (6 km) north of Indio. There are currently no marked access roads to the property.
; El Paso, Texas
; and Eureka
, Bishop
, Needles
, & 29 Palms
in California, as well the famous Chicano Park
mural to commemorate Hispanic-American life in Barrio Logan, San Diego in the late 1970s.
It began with a suggestion to start a mural project first brought to the city by David Hernandez, a former Indio city council member, after he visited Chemainus. Very little happened with this concept until 1996, when the Riverside County National Date Festival's executive director Bruce Latta and commissioned artist Bill Weber
of San Francisco to paint a mural of the Taj Mahal
on the Taj Mahal (Garden of Allah) building at the fairgrounds. At the same time, local businessman Bruce Clark, who was instrumental in promoting Historic U.S. Route 99
(Indio Blvd.) to its former status as the Main Street of California, brought the mural idea forward again, after seeing the success of a similar program in 29 Palms. When Clark presented the idea to the chamber board of directors, the timing and membership was right and the idea was immediately recognized as something that could provide a major impact on city economics, pride and tourism. Indio since now has ten murals about the city's history and development on the sides of various buildings in old town.
Indio 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, Indio is located in California's 45th congressional district
, which has a Cook PVI
of R +3 and is represented by Republican Mary Bono Mack. Riverside County’s East branch offices are located in Indio.
The growth in population increased political representation, as the area (including Palm Desert, California
) are covered by the 45th and 46th US congressional, and 64th and 80th state assembly districts, created by each city's partisan majorities (Monroe Street and Interstate 10, where the elevation is sea level, also is a political representative boundary-mostly Democrat to the east, mostly Republican west), signified the city's socioeconomic divide, replaced the older north/south divide of Indio Boulevard and State Route 111. Recently, Interstate 10 from Monroe street to the Cabazon Indian Reservation became another socioeconomic divide.
According to the Riverside County board of voter registration, the majority of moved-in(younger) registered voters are affiliated with the Democratic party, while large portions of the Coachella Valley (except Palm Springs) tend to affiliate with the Republican political party. In recent years, new suburban residents (mostly retired transplants) are usually Republican, while long time residents (mostly Hispanic) tend to be Democrat.
and on the city's south eastern corner, Coachella Valley Unified.
Desert Sands' headquarters is located in La Quinta.
Indio's six elementary and two middle schools are highly rated under the California Distinguished Schools program. Because of Indio's growing population and above-average number of young people with families, the two school districts are expanding, with plans on building more schools, along with remodeling the older ones with new buildings and designs.
Schools in or near Indio:
Desert Sands Unified
Coachella Valley Unified schools
Private schools
Grace Academy (K-8), Indio Christian Center (1-12), River Springs Charter School (K-12), Our Lady of Perpetual Help (PK-8), Trinity Lutheran Child Development Center (PK, K) and Christian School of the Desert (PK-12), located in nearby Bermuda Dunes.
Higher Education
In 2002, College of the Desert, or C.O.D.
, the valley's community college, opened an East valley campus facility in the Riverside County Employment Developmental Center located on Monroe Street. Recently, it has expanded its classes to a new "East Valley" Educational center in Mecca.
Riverside County has a Regional Occupational Program facility in Indio that provides vocational educational courses in the Coachella valley's job market.
, Riverside-based the Press-Enterprise and the Los Angeles Times
are available in markets, coffee shops and book stores. Two weekly papers, The Indio Sun owned by the Desert Sun is focused on local news and issues, and the Desert Post Weekly and the D from the Press-Enterprise, are artistic/pop culture variety papers.
Indio has ten local television stations serving the Coachella Valley, and six Spanish-language networks (local or regional affiliates like KUNA-LP
and KVER-CA
), some are over-air signals from Mexico. About eight Los Angeles
television stations are available on cable and satellite service.
Three out of 20 Palm Springs area's radio stations are licensed to Indio: KESQ 1400 AM (in Spanish
) owned by KESQ-TV
/KDFX-CA
, KKUU
92.7 FM (Urban/Hip-hop/R&B) owned by Morris Communications
, and smooth jazz
KJJZ
102.3 FM owned by RM Broadcasting. However, none of the stations have their offices or studios in Indio. KESQ is located in Palm Desert; both KKUU and KJJZ are located in Palm Springs.
Indio has a regional Sheriff Station and one of Riverside County's five detention facilities. The Sheriff Station's deputies patrol the municipalities of La Quinta and Coachella.
Indio contracts out for fire protection and emergency medical services (EMS) with the Riverside County Fire Department through a cooperative agreement with CAL FIRE (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
). Indio has 4 fire stations utilizing 4 engine companies, 3 paramedic ambulances and 1 truck company.
(FAA designator: UDD) is on the north-western border of Indio, along I-10 just west of Jefferson Street. It has a 5000 feet (1,524 m) runway and serves small private planes, air carriers and commuter jets. The Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport
in Thermal
just a few minutes from Indio is named for the famous 1920s pilot and Indio resident and used for cargo planes to ship agricultural products, also on the four-lane California State Route 86S expressway or the "NAFTA highway" (in reference to the North American Free Trade Agreement
) for international traffic.
The Greyhound
and Amtrak
passenger buses have a highly-used bus depot in downtown Indio, where buses stop by regularly on the way to stops in Southern California
, Arizona
and the Mexican border. A recently-approved plan for a new transportation center for Greyhound and Amtrak will break ground and open for service as early as Sep. 2010. The city is part of the local SunBus line, which services much of the Coachella Valley. Its substation is located on Highway 111
and Golf Center Drive, part of business route 10 that connects Indio and Coachella.
in Indio with Basic Emergency Services as of 2006. One of three hospitals in the Coachella Valley, JFK hospital boasts to being one of the state's busiest maternity wards and in 2005, opened a new maternity center in part of hospital expansion plan for more surgical rooms, intensive care units and a new concrete emergency heliport. The Indio (renamed John F. Kennedy
) hospital opened in a new location in 1983 on land donated by hospital co-founder Dr. Reynaldo J. Carreon.
Due to parks and recreation budget cuts, the proposed Indio Family and Sports Complex park on the corner of 44th Avenue and Jackson Street project was abandoned.
The city's namesake appeared on a circus poster in a fast food joint scene of the 1990 comedy movie Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
. A little league record-holding batter from Indio was one of the talented youth athletes on the intro of sports comedy movie Jerry Maguire
.
Indio was also the site of an episode of Monster Garage
in which a Ford Mustang
convertible was converted into a lawn mower. Huell Howser
's state travel show California Gold
stopped by "Old Town Indio" to report on the city's older dwellings had swamp coolers for permanent residents to stay cool in the summer.
The Jackie & Bender
morning show's Harry Potter
E! True Hollywood Story
parody mentions Indio as the town that Harry Potter is arrested in during a Meth lab bust.
On October 11, 1991 Jimmy Swaggart
was pulled over into an Indio gas station off Indio Blvd. Swaggart was with the company of a prostitute that admitted that Swaggart had propositioned for sex. There is a plaque marking the gas station where Swaggart was arrested.
Indio was a location for film, The Beast with 1 Million Eyes, starring Dona Cole and Chester Conklin.
An episode of the animated The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
titled The Ruby Yacht of Omar Khayyam
announces the upcoming second installment of the episode as Rimsky & Korsakov Go to Palm Springs, or Song of Indio.
Indio was mentioned 3 times on the Phil Hendrie Show radio comedy, once about the bus station, a car wash business and a grocery store that the host made jokes about his travels in the city.
ABC's Scoundrels
is set in Indio and other Desert Cities' however, it is being filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico
.
The Big 4 of thrash metal, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax played the first U.S. Big 4 show at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio.
, a large source of local immigration. A great amount of immigrants also come from the Mexican state of Michoacan
, especially from the municipalities of Jiquilpan
, Sahuayo
and even from small communities such as La Lagunita and Paredones.
In Oct. 2006, Indio approved a US Olympic Team training facility (for basketball and ice skating) though not yet broke ground for construction, may be open to the public.
The Landmark Golf Club opened in 1998 had the Skins Game
for four years. It is now known as Terra Lago and includes the residential community of Terra Lago
. Indio has several other golf courses: such as the Plantation, Heritage Palms, Sun City Shadow Hills, Indian Springs and Indian Palms. The Indio (municipal) Golf Club is the second longest par-3 executive course in the USA. The course is open until 10:00 pm thanks to the new lighting upgrades.
It has two world famous polo
clubs: Empire and Eldorado on the city's southwestern end that hold annual polo and special events. The Prince of Wales
and Sarah, Duchess of York
were seen in the polo clubs.
The local electricity provider, Imperial Irrigation District
wasn't affected by the 2000-01 California energy crisis, residents pay 65% less on their electric bills than neighbors to the west, under Southern California Edison
. In 2001, Forbes
magazine designated Indio west of Monroe street (and nearby La Quinta, Bermuda Dunes
and Indian Wells
, all the way to Gene Autry Trail in Palm Springs) as one of America's wealthiest areas.
Indio had city-to-city economic exchange programs with Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico in the Sister Cities International (SCI) program. There are similar inter-city exchange agreements with Lynwood, California
; Farmington, Minnesota
and American Fork, Utah
both in the U.S.
, and officials from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games visited the 2010 National Date Festival to promote the Vancouver area.
In 1999, Larry Fortensky
one of actress Elizabeth Taylor
's husbands, was arrested for drug possession near Indio. In the following year (2000), actor Robert Downey Jr.
attended trial for drug possession (he was in Palm Springs) in the Larson Justice Center county court house with media coverage.
- International Sister Cities program.
Also the city had a chamber of commerce relationship with the Mexican state of Sinaloa
.
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, located 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...
of Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
's Colorado Desert
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
region. It lies 26 miles (42 km) east 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...
, 70 miles (113 km) east of Riverside
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
, and 125 miles (201 km) east of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. It is about 86 miles (138 km) north of Mexicali, Baja California on the U.S.-Mexican border. The word Indio is Spanish for Indian.
The population was 76,036 in the 2010 United States Census, up from 49,116 at the 2000 census, an increase of over 50%, and well above the approx. 10% growth for the U.S. during the same decade. Indio was once referred to as "the Hub of the Valley", the city Chamber of Commerce jingle in the 1970s. Since then, it has become an exurb town of economic value and sunbelt growth potential in the easternmost urbanized area of Southern California.
History
The City of Indio came about because of the need of a halfway point for the Southern Pacific Railroad between Yuma and Los Angeles. The engines needed to be cleaned of all of the sand taken in and re-filled with water. At first, the-would-be city was called Indian Wells, but because of so many other areas already called that, Indio—after a Spanish variation of the word “Indian” -- was chosen. After the railroad's arrival in 1876, Indio really started to take root. The first permanent building was the craftsman style Southern Pacific Depot station and hotel. Southern Pacific tried to make life as comfortable as it could for their workers in order to keep them from leaving such a difficult area to live in at the time. It was at the same the center of all social life in the desert with a fancy dining room and hosting dances on Friday nights.While Indio started as a railroad town, it developed into an agricultural area shortly after. Onions, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, grapes, citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
and dates thrived in the arid climate due to the ingenuity of farmers finding various means of attaining water; first through artesian wells and later through the valley’s branch of the All-American Canal
All-American Canal
The All-American Canal is an long aqueduct, located in southeastern California. It conveys water from the Colorado River into the Imperial Valley and to nine cities. It is the Imperial Valley's only water source, and replaced the Alamo Canal, which was located mostly in Mexico...
. However, water also was a major problem for Indio and the city was flooded several times until the storm water canals were created throughout the Coachella Valley.
Businessmen and women found this last frontier land of the continental United States as an ideal place to start fresh. Dr. Harry Smiley and his wife Nell were early residents and stayed in Indio after their car broke down on the way to Los Angeles and became people of influence and helped shape the area. A.G. Tingman was an early storeowner and first Postmaster of Indio, but also well known for taking advantage of miners as they headed to the mountains, selling at rather high prices. Later Dr. June Robertson McCarroll became a leading philanthropist as well as successful doctor in Indio. She was responsible along with the Indio Woman’s Club for pressing California into adopting the placing of white lines down the streets after she nearly got hit one too many times by passing vehicles. But even though these early founders of the city are considered pioneers, they still partook in the lifestyles of their friends living in such areas as Los Angeles. Indio established itself quickly and kept up with all the trends as they were brought in by the railroads.
At the turn of the 20th century, Indio was already an area that was not going to be a fading railroad town. Schools were built, the La Casita hospital provided medical services, and families established roots. This was the growth of a city, not just a railroad town.
By 1920, about one to two thousand year round residents lived in Indio, while it can double to 2,500 to 5,000 during the winter months and was advertised as a health resort for senior citizens and those with respiratory diseases and ailments in the rest of the 20th century.
Indio also served as the home of the USDA’s Date Station, a place where leading scientific research was taking place on the fruit that would become a major part of the culture of Indio. The station started in 1907 and was responsible for the ability of local farmers to better understand this unique crop and make the Coachella Valley a leader in American date crops. This also created a special tie of Indio to the Middle East that continues today. This also led to the one of a kind theme for our County Fair with the Middle Eastern flair.
It was not long before Coachella and Thermal were larger cities than Indio, but Indio remained the “Hub of the Valley,” as it was so called. With the burning of the majority of Thermal and the decline of Coachella, Indio grew again. By 1930 Indio was a thriving area and incorporated. On September 6, 1930, storekeeper Fred Kohler received the first business license in Indio.
It was also aided by the visiting soldiers from Patton’s training grounds in Chiriaco Summit
Chiriaco Summit, California
Chiriaco Summit is a small unincorporated town and travel stop located along Interstate 10 in the Colorado Desert of Southern California. It is west of Desert Center....
located 30 miles to the east. However, Indio saw another decline as the valley’s population begin to move west towards newer cities such as Palm Desert. However, now there is a reversal in this trend and the eastern section of the valley is poised to once again become the center of the Coachella Valley.
The city had significant unemployment rates (in some cases over 20 percent) in the late 20th century and from the Late-2000s recession . The rate in 2006 was under 5 percent after the local economy rebounded in the real estate boom when more affluent residents moved in. The rapid population growth fuelled the city's present need for employment opportunities.
Geography
Indio is located at 33°43′12"N 116°13′55"W (33.719871, -116.231889). 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...
, the city has a total area of 75.6 square kilometres (29 sq mi), 99.97% of which is land and 0.03% is water.
The telephone area code is 760. The city's Zip codes are 92201 and 92203 north of Interstate 10. About 3 miles (5 km) north and east of Indio is the San Andreas Fault
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental strike-slip fault that runs a length of roughly through California in the United States. The fault's motion is right-lateral strike-slip...
, a major tectonic plate boundary of the Pacific and North American plates.
Indio has the Riverside county's eastern branch offices, because Indio was historically the main population center of the Coachella valley, except when Palm Springs had more people from 1955 to 1992, when the US census announced Indio surpassed Palm Springs and that title was returned to them. The official elevation of Indio is below sea level; the city hall is 14 feet (4 m) below sea level, as the Eastern half of the Coachella valley drops as low as 150 feet (45.7 m) below sea level (the lake shore of the Salton Sea
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, saline, endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial Valley. The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California. Like Death...
is 15 miles (24 km) South of Indio).
Climate
The climate of the Coachella Valley is influenced by the surrounding geography. High mountain ranges on three sides contribute to its unique and year-round warm climate, with some of warmest winters west of the Rocky Mountains. Indio has a warm winter/hot summer climate: Its average annual high temperature is 89.5 °F (31.9 °C) and average annual low is 62.1 °F (16.7 °C) but summer highs above 108 °F (42.2 °C) are common and sometimes exceed 120 °F (48.9 °C), while summer night lows often stay above 82 °F (27.8 °C). Winters are warm with daytime highs often between 68–86 °F (20–30 °C). Under 4 inches (101.6 mm) of annual precipitation are average, with over 348 days of sunshine per year. The hottest temperature ever recorded there was 125 °F (51.7 °C) on July 6, 1905. The mean annual temperature is 75.8 °F (24.3 °C).Nature and wildlife
Indio is in the Colorado DesertColorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
region of the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
. It is adjacent to the geologic Salton Sink
Salton Sink
The Salton Sink is a geographic sink in the Coachella and Imperial valleys of southeastern California. It is in the Colorado Desert subregion of the Sonoran Desert ecoregion...
and within the site of historic Lake Cahuilla
Lake Cahuilla
Prehistoric Lake Cahuilla was an extensive freshwater lake that filled the Coachella, Imperial, and Mexicali valleys of southeastern California and northeastern Baja California during the centuries prior to Spanish entry into the region...
of the Lower Colorado River Valley
Lower Colorado River Valley
The Lower Colorado River Valley is the river region of the lower Colorado River of the southwestern United States in North America that rises in the Rocky Mountains and has its outlet at the Colorado River Delta in the northern Sea of Cortez in northwestern Mexico, between the states of Baja...
. Indio is an official National Bird Sanctuary, because of the seasonal bird migration flight routes that cross the town on route to the Salton Sea
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, saline, endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial Valley. The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California. Like Death...
.
- Geography of the Colorado Desert
- Fauna of the Colorado Desert
- Flora of the Lower Colorado River Valley
- Sonoran Desert wildflowers
Demographics
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Indio had a population of 76,036. 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 2,604.9 people per square mile (1,005.8/km²). The racial makeup of Indio was 46,735 (61.5%) White, 1,805 (2.4%) African American, 741 (1.0%) Native American, 1,693 (2.2%) Asian, 55 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 22,394 (29.5%) 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 2,613 (3.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 51,540 persons (67.8%).
The Census reported that 75,087 people (98.8% of the population) lived in households, 365 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 584 (0.8%) were institutionalized.
There were 23,378 households, out of which 10,522 (45.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 13,149 (56.2%) 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, 3,578 (15.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,512 (6.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,654 (7.1%) 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 232 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,859 households (16.5%) were made up of individuals and 1,777 (7.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.21. There were 18,239 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...
(78.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.60.
The population was spread out with 22,879 people (30.1%) under the age of 18, 7,247 people (9.5%) aged 18 to 24, 20,705 people (27.2%) aged 25 to 44, 15,793 people (20.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 9,412 people (12.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.2 years. For every 100 females there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.
There were 28,971 housing units at an average density of 992.5 per square mile (383.2/km²), of which 15,274 (65.3%) were owner-occupied, and 8,104 (34.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 5.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 12.5%. 46,780 people (61.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 28,307 people (37.2%) 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 49,116 people, 13,871 households, and 11,069 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 1,840.3 people per square mile (710.5/km²). There were 16,909 housing units at an average density of 633.6 per square mile (244.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 44.4% 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...
, 2.8% 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...
, 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...
, 1.5% Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
, 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...
, 42.0% 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 3.9% from two or more races. 65.7% 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.
There were 13,871 households out of which 48.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% 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, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.2% were non-families. 16.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.5 and the average family size was 3.9.
In the city the population was spread out with 35.3% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 15.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,624, and the median income for a family was $35,564. Males had a median income of $25,651 versus $21,093 for females. 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 $13,525. About 16.8% of families and 21.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.2% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.
Hispanic enclave
Indio and the nearby city of CoachellaCoachella, California
Coachella is a city in Riverside County, California; it is the easternmost city in the region collectively known as the Coachella Valley...
has one of California's highest percentage of Hispanics; about 70-75% of Indio's residents are of Hispanic origin. Coachella is 95 percent, a very dense enclave of Hispanic/Mexican-American culture.
In addition to Mexican Americans, Indio also a large percentage (from 25 to 30%) of Hispanic groups from other countries (in order): El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. The Mexican American presence in Indio dates back for over a century since the arrival of Traquero
Traquero
A traquero is a railroad track worker, especially a Mexican or Mexican American railroad track worker . The word derives from "traque", Spanglish for "track".While the U.S...
s or railroad laborers employed by Southern Pacific settled in Indio by 1910. The need for farm labor, construction, golf resorts and domestic jobs in the Palm Springs area is responsible for turning Indio to a magnet for Mexican immigrants.
Indio had a history of ethnic segregation
Residential Segregation
Residential segregation is the physical separation of cultural groups based on residence and housing, or a form of segregation that "sorts population groups into various neighborhood contexts and shapes the living environment at the neighborhood level."...
patterns, when Hispanics tend to live apart from Anglos, for three generations, until the 1980s/90s when Hispanics began to move anywhere without discrimination or restriction.
Population growth
In the past quarter a century (from 1984 to 2008), Indio has grown many times its previous size. Indio handles unprecedented growth for being a select area of choice for thousands of new residents per year: an estimated 25 new residents are added per day.City leaders and other locals are expanding city public services, including recreation activities, commercial retail centers and industrial complexes.
The 2010 United States Census recorded the city's population to be about 76,000 residents, but some believe that this figure underestimates seasonal residents and recent-arriving immigrants.
Economy
Two major contributions to the local economy are year-round agricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, although the majority of tourist activity is seasonal between October and May.
Agriculture
Indio has been one of Southern California's most important agricultural regions, once responsible for a large percentage of the nation's date crop; however, with all the new residential and recreational development, the date groves are now more limited to south and southeast of Indio. Even the grove of date palms at the Riverside County Date Festival fairgrounds has been torn out by the county.Travelers from around the world still can stop by Shields Date Gardens
Shields Date Gardens
Shields Date Garden is a historic date palm orchard and tourist attraction in Indio, Riverside County, California, U.S.-History:The company was founded in 1924 by Floyd and Bess Shields. Floyd Shields was one of the pioneering date farmers in the still-young date industry of the Coachella Valley...
, a date grower that maintains a large retail store along State Highway 111 in Indio. There are citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
groves and vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
fields surrounding the city limits, but rapid development of new housing tracts and golf courses in the "East Valley" in the 1990s and 2000s has displaced most of the agricultural space.
Employment and job growth
In recent years, Indio served as a magnet of job opportunities for immigrants, and newcomers from parts of California and across the nation. Job fields, such as agriculture, construction, hospitality (hotel resorts), maintenance, and retail and housekeeping are highly needed in the area.In fact light industry is not a new thing in Indio. In the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, the Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
-owned Giannini Research Institute, Kaiser Inc.
Henry J. Kaiser
Henry John Kaiser was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. He established the Kaiser Shipyard which built Liberty ships during World War II, after which he formed Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Steel. Kaiser organized Kaiser Permanente health care...
and Cabazon Firearms had contracts with both NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
and the US Armed Forces that produced ammunition, computer parts, moon rover parts for the Apollo landing probe program and railroad train engines for the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Indio sought more corporate businesses and office professions, like fruit packing and shipping firms. Locally-based United States Filter Corporation, Guy Evans Inc., Dimare Fruit Co., West Coast Turf and Japanese-owned Sun World Inc.; and move-in companies such as Borden
Borden Milk Products
Borden Milk Products L.P. is a privately held American corporation owned by the Dallas, Texas-based Milk Products LLC, a subsidiary of Grupo Lala.- Borden's Beginnings :...
, Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, Ernst and Young, Ferguson
Ferguson Enterprises
Ferguson Enterprises Inc., headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, is largest plumbing wholesaler in North America and a major distributor of HVAC/R equipment, waterworks and fire protection products, and industrial pipes, valves and fittings.-History:...
, Fulton Distributors, Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
, Pulte Homes
Pulte Homes
Pulte Homes, Inc is a Bloomfield Hills, MI based company founded by Bill Pulte. Announced April 8, 2009, Pulte Homes has agreed to acquire Centex - creating the nation's largest homebuilding company in a stock transaction worth $3.1 billion, including $1.8 billion of debt...
, Sunrise Company and SunScape Tech choose Indio for the location of transport routes, low economical costs and growth potential.
Top employers
According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | County of Riverside 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,... |
1,351 |
| 2 | Desert Sands Unified School District Desert Sands Unified School District The Desert Sands Unified School District is a public school district located in La Quinta, California. The district was founded in 1964 after the state of California department of education consolidated all of Indio public schools at the time... |
1,090 |
| 3 | John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital Tenet Healthcare Tenet Healthcare Corporation, an investor-owned health-care delivery systems company based in Dallas, Texas. THC owns and operates 49 acute-care hospitals in 11 states and 90 outpatient centers in 12 states, with a majority of these hospitals in California, Florida and Texas... |
530 |
| 4 | City of Indio | 308 |
| 5 | Boulder West Components | 200 |
| 6 | Tidwell Concrete Construction | 110 |
| 7 | Mathis Brothers | 104 |
| 8 | The Home Depot The Home Depot The Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.The Home Depot operates 2,248 big-box format stores across the United States , Canada , Mexico and China, with a 12-store chain... |
103 |
| 9 | La Hacienda Nursery & Landscape | 76 |
| 10 | PHP Contracting | 60 |
Annual events
Because there are numerous festivals and special events held annually in Indio, the Chamber of Commerce deemed Indio's official nickname to be: "The City Of Festivals."Two major annual festivals are the National Date Festival
Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival
The National Date Festival takes place in Indio, California. Since 1947 the annual festival has been held to celebrate the Date Palm harvest in the Coachella Valley. The event is held in February on the Riverside County Fairgrounds....
and the Indio International Tamale Festival.
Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival
Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival
The National Date Festival takes place in Indio, California. Since 1947 the annual festival has been held to celebrate the Date Palm harvest in the Coachella Valley. The event is held in February on the Riverside County Fairgrounds....
is held each February at the Riverside County Fairgrounds, located at Highway 111 in the heart of Indio. Since 1947, this festival has celebrated the date fruit crop of the Coachella Valley.
The Tamale Festival is held each December on the streets of Old Town Indio and has earned two Guinness World Records: the largest tamale festival (120,000 in attendance, Dec. 2-3, 2000) and the world's largest tamale, [over 1 foot (0.3048 m) in diameter and 40 feet (12.2 m) in length], created by Chef John Sedlar. The 2006 Guinness Book calls the festival "the world's largest cooking and culinary festival."
Starting in 1999, Indio has hosted the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival, organized by Goldenvoice and held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley...
at the Empire Polo Field.
In May 2007, Goldenvoice, promoters of the Coachella
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival, organized by Goldenvoice and held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley...
, started Stagecoach
Stagecoach Festival
The Stagecoach Festival is an outdoor country music festival presented by Goldenvoice. The festival is located in Indio, CA, USA. It has various types of artists that attend, whether they be mainstream or almost unknown.-2007:...
, a two-day country music festival held the weekend following the Coachella. Performers have included George Strait
George Strait
George Harvey Strait is an American country music singer, actor, and music producer. Strait is referred to as the "King of Country," and critics call Strait a living legend. He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional...
, Kenny Chesney
Kenny Chesney
Kenneth "Kenny" Arnold Chesney is an American country music singer and songwriter. Chesney has recorded 15 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S...
, the Eagles, Sugarland
Sugarland (band)
Sugarland, an American country music duo, is composed of singer–songwriters Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush . Sugarland was founded in 2002 by Kristen Hall with Bush and ultimately became a trio after hiring Jennifer Nettles as lead singer...
, Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
, and Kid Rock
Kid Rock
Robert James "Bob" Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations...
.
The Date Festival/County Fairgrounds' Grandstand Arena Stadium is the site for live music concerts (mostly amateur bands), 4x4 monster truck
Monster truck
A monster truck is a pickup truck, typically styled after pickup trucks' bodies, modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension...
rallies, rodeo or horse riding events, and camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
races during the National Date Festival.
Indio is also the site of the annual Southwest Arts Festival, the Cabazon Indian National Pow Wow, the Palm Springs Kennel Club's Annual Dog Show at the Empire Polo Club, the Family Motor Coach Association's Annual Western Region RV Rally at the Fairgrounds, and the U.S. Field Hockey Association's annual Hockey Festival held every November.
Points of interest
Indio Hills PalmsIndio Hills Palms
Indio Hills Palms State Reserve and the Coachella Valley Preserve, located in the Indio Hills, contain the 1,000 Palms Oasis, and are a protected area in the Coachella Valley, located east of Palm Springs near Palm Desert, California...
, state park property, are native California fan palms
Washingtonia filifera
Washingtonia filifera , with the common names California Fan Palm , Desert Fan Palm, Cotton palm, and Arizona Fan Palm. It is a palm native to southwestern North America between an elevation range of , at seeps, desert bajadas, and springs where underground water is continuously available...
that thrive in many locations but rarely in such numbers as in the canyons of the Indio Hills. Here, along a line where the San Andreas fault
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental strike-slip fault that runs a length of roughly through California in the United States. The fault's motion is right-lateral strike-slip...
captures groundwater that nurtures the palms, is a wild parkland which is part of the adjacent Coachella Valley Preserve. The park contains some fine native palm groves that include Indian, Hidden, Pushawalla, Biskra, Macomber and Horseshoe palms. The nearest palm groves are relatively easy to reach from the trailhead and parking area 4 miles (6 km) north of Indio. There are currently no marked access roads to the property.
Indio's old town historic mural program
In the fall of 1996 the Indio Chamber of Commerce formed a committee to develop a Historic Mural Project to help revitalize the local economy at the time of the statewide economic recession, as Indio was one of California's most economically affected areas at the time. This concept is not new. Several communities have benefited from similar programs, such as Chemainus, CanadaChemainus, British Columbia
Chemainus is a community on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.Founded as a logging town in 1858, the town is now famous for its 39 outdoor murals. This outdoor gallery has given birth to 300 businesses, including a theatre, antiques dealers, and eateries. The tourist...
; El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
; and Eureka
Eureka, California
Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
, Bishop
Bishop, California
Bishop is a city in Inyo County, California, United States. Though Bishop is the only city and the largest populated place in Inyo County, the county seat is Independence. Bishop is located near the northern end of the Owens Valley, at an elevation of 4147 feet . The population was 3,879 at the...
, Needles
Needles, California
Needles is a city located in the Mojave Desert on the western banks of the Colorado River in San Bernardino County, California. It is located in the Mohave Valley, which straddles the California–Arizona border. The city is accessible via Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 95...
, & 29 Palms
Twentynine Palms, California
Twentynine Palms is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It was previously called Twenty-Nine Palms...
in California, as well the famous Chicano Park
Chicano Park
Chicano Park is a 32,000 square meter park located beneath the San Diego-Coronado Bridge in Barrio Logan, a predominantly Mexican American and Mexican-immigrant community in central San Diego, California...
mural to commemorate Hispanic-American life in Barrio Logan, San Diego in the late 1970s.
It began with a suggestion to start a mural project first brought to the city by David Hernandez, a former Indio city council member, after he visited Chemainus. Very little happened with this concept until 1996, when the Riverside County National Date Festival's executive director Bruce Latta and commissioned artist Bill Weber
Bill Weber
Bill Weber is a former television sports commentator, perhaps best known for his work on TNT and NBC NASCAR broadcasts. Weber was also the lead announcer for Champ Car World Series events and other auto racing series on NBC. He currently is working as an illusionist.-Early life and career:Weber...
of San Francisco to paint a mural of the Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
on the Taj Mahal (Garden of Allah) building at the fairgrounds. At the same time, local businessman Bruce Clark, who was instrumental in promoting Historic U.S. Route 99
U.S. Route 99
U.S. Route 99 was the main north–south highway on the West Coast of the United States until 1964, running from Calexico, California, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Blaine, Washington, on the U.S.-Canada border. It was a route of the United States Numbered Highways, assigned in 1926 and existing...
(Indio Blvd.) to its former status as the Main Street of California, brought the mural idea forward again, after seeing the success of a similar program in 29 Palms. When Clark presented the idea to the chamber board of directors, the timing and membership was right and the idea was immediately recognized as something that could provide a major impact on city economics, pride and tourism. Indio since now has ten murals about the city's history and development on the sides of various buildings in old town.
Politics
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...
Indio is located in the 40th Senate
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
District, 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
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
District, represented by Democrat
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
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, Indio 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. Riverside County’s East branch offices are located in Indio.
The growth in population increased political representation, as the area (including Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census, up from 41,155 at the 2000 census...
) are covered by the 45th and 46th US congressional, and 64th and 80th state assembly districts, created by each city's partisan majorities (Monroe Street and Interstate 10, where the elevation is sea level, also is a political representative boundary-mostly Democrat to the east, mostly Republican west), signified the city's socioeconomic divide, replaced the older north/south divide of Indio Boulevard and State Route 111. Recently, Interstate 10 from Monroe street to the Cabazon Indian Reservation became another socioeconomic divide.
According to the Riverside County board of voter registration, the majority of moved-in(younger) registered voters are affiliated with the Democratic party, while large portions of the Coachella Valley (except Palm Springs) tend to affiliate with the Republican political party. In recent years, new suburban residents (mostly retired transplants) are usually Republican, while long time residents (mostly Hispanic) tend to be Democrat.
Education
Indio is served by two public school districts: Desert Sands UnifiedDesert Sands Unified School District
The Desert Sands Unified School District is a public school district located in La Quinta, California. The district was founded in 1964 after the state of California department of education consolidated all of Indio public schools at the time...
and on the city's south eastern corner, Coachella Valley Unified.
Coachella Valley Unified School District
The Coachella Valley Unified School District is a public school district in Riverside County, California, United States, with headquarters in Thermal. The District serves a area, including the city of Coachella, a portion of Indio, south of Avenues 48 or 49, and Salton City in Imperial County...
Desert Sands' headquarters is located in La Quinta.
La Quinta, California
La Quinta is a resort city in Riverside County, California, USA, specifically in the Coachella Valley between Indian Wells and Indio. The population was 37,467 at the 2010 census, up from 23,694 at the 2000 census. The Robb Report credits La Quinta as the nation's leading golf destination...
Indio's six elementary and two middle schools are highly rated under the California Distinguished Schools program. Because of Indio's growing population and above-average number of young people with families, the two school districts are expanding, with plans on building more schools, along with remodeling the older ones with new buildings and designs.
Schools in or near Indio:
Desert Sands Unified
- ELEMENTARY (grades K-5): Carrillo Ranch, Dr. Reynaldo J. Carreon Jr. Academy, Amelia Earhart (Int'l studies), Dwight D. Eisenhower, Herbert Hoover, Andrew Jackson, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, James Madison, James Monroe (in Bermuda Dunes), Theodore Roosevelt, Martin Van Buren, Woodrow WilsonWoodrow Wilson Middle School, IndioWoodrow Wilson Middle School - Pre Law Magnet School was a middle school in Indio, California in the Desert Sands Unified School District...
, and Horizon Elementary (independent studies) in La Quinta.
- MIDDLE/JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS (grades 6-8): Desert Ridge Academy (Fall 2009); Thomas Jefferson; Indio MiddleIndio Middle SchoolIndio Middle School is a middle school in Indio, California in the Desert Sands Unified School District. It is also a Charter School as of 1996 and is the second in DSUSD history after George Washington Elementary School in Palm Desert...
; John Glenn (Int'l studies)John Glenn Middle School of International StudiesJohn Glenn Middle School of International Studies, or known more commonly as JGMS is a middle school in Indio, California which was established in the fall of 2001. They are ranked among the 100 best public schools in California for above-average academic performance in the years 2003 to 2006...
(California Distinguished School); and Horizon Middle (independent studies) in La Quinta.
- HIGH SCHOOLS (grades 9-12): Indio HighIndio High SchoolIndio High School is a public high school for grades 9-12. It is located in Indio, California and has a current enrollment of about 2,375 students. Its mascot is a Rajah . The school is part of the Desert Sands Unified School District. Indio High School has one of the largest student pupil...
; La Quinta HighLa Quinta High School (La Quinta, California)La Quinta High School is one of six public high schools, grades 9-12, in the Desert Sands Unified School District. It is located in the La Quinta, California. The school was a California Distinguished Schools award winner in 1999, 2003 and 2011.-History:...
in La Quinta; Shadow HillsShadow Hills High SchoolShadow Hills High School is a public high school for grades 9-12. It is located in north Indio, California, USA.Other high schools in the area are Indio High School, La Quinta High School and Palm Desert High School...
(Fall 2009); Amistad High, a continuation high school; and Horizon High (independent studies) in La Quinta.
- ADULT SCHOOL: Courses include: GED TEST preparation, ESL Beg/Int/Adv classes, Citizenship classes, a RossettaStone Language lab, and more.
Coachella Valley Unified schools
- ELEMENTARY (grades K-5): Mountain Vista Elementary.
- MIDDLE/JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS (grades 6-8): Cahuilla Desert Academy.
- HIGH SCHOOLS (grades 9-12): Coachella Valley HighCoachella Valley High School-Athletics:Coachella Valley High School is in the Desert Valley League which includes Cathedral City, Coachella Valley, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert and Palm Springs. Out of conference opponents sometimes include Desert Hot Springs and Desert Mirage High School near Mecca, California...
and Desert Mirage High, both in ThermalThermal, CaliforniaThermal is a census-designated place located approximately 25 miles southeast of Palm Springs and about 9.5 miles north of the Salton Sea. Although one can find sunny skies most days, residents occasionally endure strong winds and sizzling summer temperatures well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The...
.
Private schools
Grace Academy (K-8), Indio Christian Center (1-12), River Springs Charter School (K-12), Our Lady of Perpetual Help (PK-8), Trinity Lutheran Child Development Center (PK, K) and Christian School of the Desert (PK-12), located in nearby Bermuda Dunes.
Bermuda Dunes, California
Bermuda Dunes is a census-designated place in Riverside County, California. The population was 7,282 at the 2010 census, up from 6,229 at the 2000 census. Bermuda Dunes is located near Indio and east of Palm Springs....
Higher Education
In 2002, College of the Desert, or C.O.D.
College of the Desert
College of the Desert is a public two-year community college located in Palm Desert in the Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California...
, the valley's community college, opened an East valley campus facility in the Riverside County Employment Developmental Center located on Monroe Street. Recently, it has expanded its classes to a new "East Valley" Educational center in Mecca.
Mecca, California
Mecca is a census-designated place in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 8,577 at the 2010 census, up from 5,402 at the 2000 census....
Riverside County has a Regional Occupational Program facility in Indio that provides vocational educational courses in the Coachella valley's job market.
Media
Three daily newspapers serve Indio, the Desert SunThe Desert Sun
The Desert Sun is a local daily newspaper serving Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley of Southern California.It is owned by Gannett publications since 1988 and acquired the Indio Daily News in 1990 to become the sole local newspaper....
, Riverside-based the Press-Enterprise and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
are available in markets, coffee shops and book stores. Two weekly papers, The Indio Sun owned by the Desert Sun is focused on local news and issues, and the Desert Post Weekly and the D from the Press-Enterprise, are artistic/pop culture variety papers.
Indio has ten local television stations serving the Coachella Valley, and six Spanish-language networks (local or regional affiliates like KUNA-LP
KUNA-LP
KUNA-LP, channel 15, is a Telemundo affiliate in the Coachella Valley area of California that includes Indio and Palm Springs.KUNA-LP signed on the air originally as K15EI on May 15, 1996 and then switched call letters to KUNA-LP on March 31, 2003. KUNA-LP airs local news,Telemundo programming, and...
and KVER-CA
KVER-CA
KVER-CA is a low-power Class A Univision affiliate in Indio, California, broadcasting locally in analog on VHF channel 4 and on digital on UHF channel 40...
), some are over-air signals from Mexico. About eight Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
television stations are available on cable and satellite service.
Three out of 20 Palm Springs area's radio stations are licensed to Indio: KESQ 1400 AM (in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
) owned by KESQ-TV
KESQ-TV
KESQ-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Coachella Valley of California licensed to Palm Springs. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 42 from a transmitter on Edom Hill northeast of Cathedral City and I-10...
/KDFX-CA
KDFX-CA
KDFX-CA is the Class A Fox-affiliated television station for the Coachella Valley licensed to Indio and Palm Springs, California. It broadcasts an analog signal on UHF channel 33 from a transmitter on Edom Hill northeast of Cathedral City and I-10...
, KKUU
KKUU
KKUU is a commercial radio station in Indio, California, broadcasting to the Palm Springs, California, area on 92.7 FM.KKUU airs a Rhythmic Top 40 music format branded as "U 92.7" since March 1998.-History:...
92.7 FM (Urban/Hip-hop/R&B) owned by Morris Communications
Morris Communications
Morris Communications of Augusta, Georgia is a privately held media company with diversified holdings that include newspaper and magazine publishing, outdoor advertising, radio broadcasting, book publishing and distribution, visitor publications and online services. Newspapers are the foundation...
, and smooth jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
KJJZ
KJJZ
KJJZ is a 2.6 kW Class A commercial smooth jazz radio station licensed in Indio, California, with studios in Palm Springs and which serves the greater Coachella Valley on 102.3 FM. The transmitter site is on a peak of the Indio Hills....
102.3 FM owned by RM Broadcasting. However, none of the stations have their offices or studios in Indio. KESQ is located in Palm Desert; both KKUU and KJJZ are located in Palm Springs.
Public safety
Unlike the majority of Riverside County's cities, Indio has a city run police department where police services are provided.Indio has a regional Sheriff Station and one of Riverside County's five detention facilities. The Sheriff Station's deputies patrol the municipalities of La Quinta and Coachella.
Indio contracts out for fire protection and emergency medical services (EMS) with the Riverside County Fire Department through a cooperative agreement with CAL FIRE (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is the State of California's agency responsible for fire protection in State Responsibility Areas of California as well as the administration of the state's private and public forests. It is often referred to as The California Department of...
). Indio has 4 fire stations utilizing 4 engine companies, 3 paramedic ambulances and 1 truck company.
Transportation
Bermuda Dunes AirportBermuda Dunes Airport
Bermuda Dunes Airport is a public airport located 13 miles east of Palm Springs, serving Riverside County, California, USA. This general aviation airport covers and has one runway...
(FAA designator: UDD) is on the north-western border of Indio, along I-10 just west of Jefferson Street. It has a 5000 feet (1,524 m) runway and serves small private planes, air carriers and commuter jets. The Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport
Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport
Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport is a public airport located in Thermal, California, 20 miles southeast of Palm Springs.Built during World War II and used by both the US Army and US Navy, Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport has had several name changes. As a civilian facility, it was called...
in Thermal
Thermal, California
Thermal is a census-designated place located approximately 25 miles southeast of Palm Springs and about 9.5 miles north of the Salton Sea. Although one can find sunny skies most days, residents occasionally endure strong winds and sizzling summer temperatures well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The...
just a few minutes from Indio is named for the famous 1920s pilot and Indio resident and used for cargo planes to ship agricultural products, also on the four-lane California State Route 86S expressway or the "NAFTA highway" (in reference to the North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
) for international traffic.
The Greyhound
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
and Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
passenger buses have a highly-used bus depot in downtown Indio, where buses stop by regularly on the way to stops in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and the Mexican border. A recently-approved plan for a new transportation center for Greyhound and Amtrak will break ground and open for service as early as Sep. 2010. The city is part of the local SunBus line, which services much of the Coachella Valley. Its substation is located on Highway 111
California State Route 111
State Route 111 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It is the main north/south state highway and retail corridor through the Coachella Valley, a part of the Colorado Desert in the southeastern corner of the state and famous as a resort destination...
and Golf Center Drive, part of business route 10 that connects Indio and Coachella.
Health care
John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital is a General Acute Care HospitalHospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
in Indio with Basic Emergency Services as of 2006. One of three hospitals in the Coachella Valley, JFK hospital boasts to being one of the state's busiest maternity wards and in 2005, opened a new maternity center in part of hospital expansion plan for more surgical rooms, intensive care units and a new concrete emergency heliport. The Indio (renamed John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
) hospital opened in a new location in 1983 on land donated by hospital co-founder Dr. Reynaldo J. Carreon.
Parks and recreation
The city of Indio has 11 public parks (all operated by the City of Indio), a city-operated park near the municipal golf course, a community recreation center, a new senior center located one block from the new teen center located across from Indio High school and a Desert Park wildlife refuge north of 40th and 42nd Avenues.- City of Indio Park and Desert Wildlife Park.
- Miles Avenue Park (formerly City Park), near the Coachella Valley History Museum.
- Indio Community Center and Park, across from Indio High School.
- South Jackson Park with Pawley Pool facility, a soccer field, a little league baseball stadium and a YMCA/Boys & Girls club.
- North Jackson Park (renovated), near Jackson School.
- Tingman Park under the Jackson street bridge/Indio Boulevard (Historic US Route 99), named for city co-founder Pat Tingman.
- Dominguez Park on Crown Way, named for Al Dominguez, the city's first Mexican-American councilman in the 1950s/1960s.
- Carreon-Nobles Ranch Park with water tower arts mural of local history.
- Yucca (Lane) Park-Playground (completely renovated in 2008).
- Indio Terrace Park (closed in 1989, reopened in 1996).Now called Cahuilla Park and completely renovated in 2007
- Shields/Westside Park-Playground. (renovated in 2010)
- Hjorth Park-Playground. (Construction on hold)
- Doug York Plaza
Due to parks and recreation budget cuts, the proposed Indio Family and Sports Complex park on the corner of 44th Avenue and Jackson Street project was abandoned.
Notable natives and residents
- Al AdamsonAl AdamsonAl Adamson was a prolific director of B-grade horror films throughout the 1960s and 1970s.After assisting his father, Victor Adamson, in making the 1963 movie Halfway to Hell, Adamson decided to work in the motion picture industry himself...
- Writer/producer/director/actor - Jacqueline CochranJacqueline CochranJacqueline Cochran was a pioneer American aviator, considered to be one of the most gifted racing pilots of her generation...
- Notable female pilot - Cameron CroweCameron CroweCameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
- Writer/Director - Merv GriffinMerv GriffinMervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
- Producer - Anthony KimAnthony KimAnthony Ha-Jin Kim is an American professional golfer.-Amateur career:A Korean American, Kim was born in Los Angeles, California and resides in Dallas, Texas. He attended La Quinta High School in La Quinta, California. After high school, he attended the University of Oklahoma for three years; this...
- Golfer - Oscar LoyaOscar LoyaJoseph Oscar Loya is an American singer and Broadway musical theatre performer.- Life :Loya was born in 1979 in Indio, California and grew up as the youngest of five children in California...
- American singer and Broadway musical theatre performer - Oscar LuaOscar LuaOscar Lua is former American football linebacker. He was originally drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southern California.-Early years:...
- USCUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
college footballCollege footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
. - Vanessa MarcilVanessa MarcilVanessa Marcil is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Brenda Barrett Corinthos on General Hospital, Gina Kincaid on Beverly Hills, 90210 and Sam Marquez on Las Vegas....
- Actress - Rich NeweyRich NeweyRich Newey in the Coachella Valley, is a director/writer and editor currently residing in Los Angeles. He has directed music videos for such artists as Three 6 Mafia, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Sean Paul, Nate Dogg, Flipsyde, Nappy Roots, and Christina Aguilera among others. In 2007 he directed his...
- Music Video/Commercial/Film Director - Alan O'DayAlan O'DayAlan O'Day is an American singer-songwriter, best known for writing and singing "Undercover Angel," a song which was number 1 in 1977. He also wrote songs for several other notable performers, such as 1974's Helen Reddy number 1 hit "Angie Baby" and the Righteous Brothers' number 3 hit "Rock And...
- Musician - George Patton - General
- Tony ReaginsTony ReaginsTony Demetrius Reagins was an executive in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Reagins had previously served as general manager of the Angels from 2007 until his 2011 resignation...
- General Manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - Marco SanchezMarco Sanchez-Life and career:The son of Cuban immigrants, and the youngest of 4 siblings, Marco Sanchez was raised in Palm Desert, California. Having studied theater throughout junior high and high school, he entered the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television in 1988. In the summer of 1989, he studied...
- Actor - Bill SnyderBill SnyderBill Snyder is the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was rehired to the position on November 24, 2008, making Snyder one of the rare college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school. Snyder previously served as head coach at the school from 1989 to...
- Head football coach of the Kansas State University Wildcats from 1989-2005 & 2009–present was head football coach at Indio High School during the 1960s and 1970s. - JT Thomas - Writer
- Jeff WebbJeff WebbJeffrey Leon Webb is a gridiron football wide receiver for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
of the Kansas City ChiefsKansas City ChiefsThe Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a... - Ed WhiteEd White (football)Edward Alvin White is a former American football player. After retiring from football, White has worked as a coach and artist.-Biography:He graduated from Indio High School in Indio, California...
- San Diego ChargersSan Diego ChargersThe San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
/Minnesota VikingsMinnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
lineman. Played for Indio High School in the early 1960s. The high school football stadium was named for him.
Pop culture
Indio has appeared in movies, television and music.The city's namesake appeared on a circus poster in a fast food joint scene of the 1990 comedy movie Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead is a 1991 comedy film directed by Stephen Herek starring Christina Applegate.Applegate stars as a teenager whose mother leaves for a two-month summer vacation in Australia, putting all five siblings in the care of a strict tyrannical elderly babysitter...
. A little league record-holding batter from Indio was one of the talented youth athletes on the intro of sports comedy movie Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr. It was written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe...
.
Indio was also the site of an episode of Monster Garage
Monster Garage
Monster Garage is a television show for the Discovery Channel hosted by Jesse G. James. Each episode is an hour in length and was conceived and produced by Thom Beers.The show aired the series finale on June 12, 2006. Jesse G...
in which a Ford Mustang
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
convertible was converted into a lawn mower. Huell Howser
Huell Howser
Huell Burnley Howser is an American television personality best known for California's Gold, his travel show for the Los Angeles based KCET.-Early career:...
's state travel show California Gold
California Gold
Not to be confused with the television series California's GoldCalifornia Gold was an American soccer team, founded in 2002. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2006, when the team left the league and...
stopped by "Old Town Indio" to report on the city's older dwellings had swamp coolers for permanent residents to stay cool in the summer.
The Jackie & Bender
KBKS-FM
KBKS-FM , better known as "106.1 KISS FM", is a radio station in the Seattle, Washington area that plays current popular music. The Clear Channel outlet broadcasts at 106.1 MHz with an ERP of 68 kW and is licensed to Tacoma, Washington.-History:KBKS signed on the air in 1959 as KLAY-FM,...
morning show's Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
E! True Hollywood Story
E! True Hollywood Story
E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and well-known public figures...
parody mentions Indio as the town that Harry Potter is arrested in during a Meth lab bust.
On October 11, 1991 Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Lee Swaggart is a Pentecostal American pastor, teacher, musician, television host, and televangelist. He has preached to crowds around the world through his weekly telecast...
was pulled over into an Indio gas station off Indio Blvd. Swaggart was with the company of a prostitute that admitted that Swaggart had propositioned for sex. There is a plaque marking the gas station where Swaggart was arrested.
Indio was a location for film, The Beast with 1 Million Eyes, starring Dona Cole and Chester Conklin.
An episode of the animated The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959 to June 28, 1964 on the ABC and NBC television networks...
titled The Ruby Yacht of Omar Khayyam
Omar Khayyám
Omar Khayyám was aPersian polymath: philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and poet. He also wrote treatises on mechanics, geography, mineralogy, music, climatology and theology....
announces the upcoming second installment of the episode as Rimsky & Korsakov Go to Palm Springs, or Song of Indio.
Indio was mentioned 3 times on the Phil Hendrie Show radio comedy, once about the bus station, a car wash business and a grocery store that the host made jokes about his travels in the city.
ABC's Scoundrels
Scoundrels (TV series)
Scoundrels is an American television series that aired on the ABC network. It is based on the New Zealand TV series Outrageous Fortune. The one-hour comedy-drama premiered on Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 9 pm...
is set in Indio and other Desert Cities' however, it is being filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
.
The Big 4 of thrash metal, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax played the first U.S. Big 4 show at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio.
Miscellaneous
The annual National Date Festival's main attraction is the nightly musical pageant Arabian Nights in an open air amphitheater of the grandstand arena. After the National Date festival, a "SuperFiesta del Sinaloa" follows to honor Indio's historic ties with the Mexican state of SinaloaSinaloa
Sinaloa officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales....
, a large source of local immigration. A great amount of immigrants also come from the Mexican state of Michoacan
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
, especially from the municipalities of Jiquilpan
Jiquilpan
Jiquilpan is a municipality in the Mexican state of Michoacán...
, Sahuayo
Sahuayo
Sahuayo is a city in the state of Michoacán, in western México, near the southern shore of Lake Chapala. It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name...
and even from small communities such as La Lagunita and Paredones.
In Oct. 2006, Indio approved a US Olympic Team training facility (for basketball and ice skating) though not yet broke ground for construction, may be open to the public.
The Landmark Golf Club opened in 1998 had the Skins Game
Skins Game
A skins game is a type of scoring for various sports, most notably golf but also for curling and bowling.-LG Skins Game:There was an annual skins game for male professional golfers which takes place in November or December each year after the end of the official PGA Tour season. It is recognized by...
for four years. It is now known as Terra Lago and includes the residential community of Terra Lago
Terra Lago
Terra Lago, Indio is a gated community located in Riverside County, California, in the Palm Springs area, approximately east of Palm Springs in the Coachella Valley and managed by Merit Property Management...
. Indio has several other golf courses: such as the Plantation, Heritage Palms, Sun City Shadow Hills, Indian Springs and Indian Palms. The Indio (municipal) Golf Club is the second longest par-3 executive course in the USA. The course is open until 10:00 pm thanks to the new lighting upgrades.
It has two world famous polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
clubs: Empire and Eldorado on the city's southwestern end that hold annual polo and special events. The Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
and Sarah, Duchess of York
Sarah, Duchess of York
Sarah, Duchess of York is a British charity patron, spokesperson, writer, film producer, television personality and former member of the British Royal Family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, whom she married from 1986 to 1996...
were seen in the polo clubs.
The local electricity provider, Imperial Irrigation District
Imperial Irrigation District
The Imperial Irrigation District was formed in 1911 under the California Irrigation District Act to acquire the properties of the bankrupt California Development Company and its Mexican subsidiary. The IID had acquired 13 mutual water companies, which had developed and operated distribution canals...
wasn't affected by the 2000-01 California energy crisis, residents pay 65% less on their electric bills than neighbors to the west, under Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison , the largest subsidiary of Edison International , is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California, USA. It provides 14 million people with electricity...
. In 2001, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine designated Indio west of Monroe street (and nearby La Quinta, Bermuda Dunes
Bermuda Dunes, California
Bermuda Dunes is a census-designated place in Riverside County, California. The population was 7,282 at the 2010 census, up from 6,229 at the 2000 census. Bermuda Dunes is located near Indio and east of Palm Springs....
and Indian Wells
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
, all the way to Gene Autry Trail in Palm Springs) as one of America's wealthiest areas.
Indio had city-to-city economic exchange programs with Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico in the Sister Cities International (SCI) program. There are similar inter-city exchange agreements with Lynwood, California
Lynwood, California
Lynwood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 69,772, down from 69,845 at the 2000 census. Lynwood is located near South Gate and Compton in the southern portion of the Los Angeles Basin. Incorporated in...
; Farmington, Minnesota
Farmington, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,365 people, 4,169 households, and 3,255 families residing in the city. The population density was 986.0 people per square mile . There were 4,233 housing units at an average density of 337.5 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 95.62%...
and American Fork, Utah
American Fork, Utah
American Fork is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, at the foot of Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch Range, north of Utah Lake. It is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 26,263 at the 2010 census, nearly a 20% growth since the 2000 census...
both in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and officials from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games visited the 2010 National Date Festival to promote the Vancouver area.
In 1999, Larry Fortensky
Larry Fortensky
Larry Fortensky is a construction worker best known as the eighth and last husband of actress Elizabeth Taylor.Fortensky and Taylor were married on October 6, 1991, at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch and divorced on October 31, 1996....
one of actress Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
's husbands, was arrested for drug possession near Indio. In the following year (2000), actor Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr.
Robert John Downey, Jr. is an American actor. Downey made his screen debut in 1970 at the age of five when he appeared in his father's film Pound, and has worked consistently in film and television ever since. During the 1980s he had roles in a series of coming of age films associated with the...
attended trial for drug possession (he was in Palm Springs) in the Larson Justice Center county court house with media coverage.
Sister cities
MexicaliMexicali
Mexicali is the capital of the State of Baja California, seat of the Municipality of Mexicali, and 2nd largest city in Baja California. The City of Mexicali has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area reaches 936,826.The city...
- International Sister Cities program.
Also the city had a chamber of commerce relationship with the Mexican state of Sinaloa
Sinaloa
Sinaloa officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales....
.