A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Solvang, California | |
|---|---|
 .jpg)  .jpg) .JPG) Top: Tivoli Square, Petersen Village Inn; middle: Mission Santa Inés; bottom: Solvang windmill, Bethania Church | |
 Flag | |
| Nickname: Danish Capital of America | |
 Location in Santa Barbara County and the state of California | |
  Solvang Location in the United States  Solvang Solvang (California)  Solvang Solvang (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 34°35′38″N 120°8′23″W / 34.59389°N 120.13972°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Santa Barbara |
| Incorporated | May 1, 1985[1] |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Charles Uhrig[2] |
| • State Senator | Monique Limón (D)[3] |
| • CA Assembly | Gregg Hart (D)[3] |
| • U.S. Congress | Salud Carbajal (D)[4] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.43 sq mi (6.28 km2) |
| • Land | 2.42 sq mi (6.28 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) 0.05% |
| Elevation | 505 ft (154 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 6,126 |
| • Density | 2,500/sq mi (980/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−08:00 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−07:00 (PDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 93463-93464 |
| Area code | 805 |
| FIPS code | 06-72576 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1661468, 2411925 |
| Website | www |
Solvang (/ˈsɒlvæŋ/;[8] Danish for "sunny field") is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It is located in the Santa Ynez Valley. The population was 6,126 at the 2020 census, up from 5,245 at the 2010 census. Solvang was founded in 1911[8] and incorporated as a city on May 1, 1985.[1][9] Solvang has been described as "The Danish Capital of America".[10][11]
Solvang's origins date back to 1804, when Mission Santa Inés was founded by the Spanish under Esteban Tápis. A small community grew up around the mission called "Santa Inés" during the Mexican period, but it was largely abandoned after the American Conquest of California. In 1911, a new settlement was founded around the mission by a group of Danish Americans who purchased 9,000 acres (3,600 ha) of the surrounding Rancho San Carlos de Jonata, to establish a Danish community far from Midwestern winters. The community began building Danish-themed architecture in 1947, and has since become a tourist destination.[12] The community attracts tourists from Nordic countries, and has been the subject of several Danish royal visits, most recently by Prince Henrik in 2011.[13] A minority of residents in the 21st century are of Danish origin.[13]
History
Beginnings
The Santa Ynez Valley, in which Solvang lies, was originally inhabited by the Chumash, identified by Father Pedro Font, chaplain of the 1776 Anza Expedition, and were described as an ingenious and industrious people who are good fishermen and hunters, with an excellent astronomical system.[14]
As part of the expansion of the mission system established in California by Spanish missionaries, Father Estévan Tapís founded Mission Santa Inés, now located near the center of Solvang, in order to relieve overcrowding at Mission Santa Barbara and Mission La Purísima Concepción since it was located midway between the two. It also served as a gateway to the Chumash Indians living east of the Coast Range.[15]
After the Mexican War of Independence, the Mexican Assembly passed the Secularization Laws which confiscated Mission lands, along with other property, and transferred them to the control of local ranchers, with Solvang being later founded on what became known as the Rancho San Carlos de Jonata. With secularization, Mission Santa Inés began to decline and the Chumash Indian population in the area along with it.[15] For a time, the mission was a seminary but soon began to deteriorate; it was repaired by the Donahue family in 1884 and renovated by Fr. Alexander Buckler in 1904.[14]
Danish settlement
In 1910, Danish-Americans created the Danish-American Colony Company in San Francisco. Later that year, suitable land was found in the Santa Ynez Valley northwest of Santa Barbara, and in 1911, they acquired and founded Solvang. The Danes had bought almost 9,000 acres (36 km2) of the Rancho San Carlos de Jonata land grant, paying an average of $40 per acre.[16]
A hotel was built close to the Mission where new arrivals could be housed, and a school opened in 1911, with 21 students.[17][16]
Expansion
In 1912, when it became difficult to sell any more plots of land, developers from Solvang travelled to Iowa and Nebraska to persuade Danish immigrants to buy land in the town. This attracted new settlers. The early settlement had a store, a bank, a lumber yard, a barbershop and a post office.[17]
Folk high school
In 1914, Atterdag College opened, named after Valdemar IV of Denmark. The school taught Danish-speaking students in their late teens a curriculum that emphasized lectures, singing, gymnastics, folk dancing and fellowship. During World War I, enrollment dropped due to reduced Danish immigration, and a rise in nationalism. The school was sold to the Solvang Lutheran church in 1921.[8][17] Atterdag College continued to be used as a folk school, community meeting hall, performing arts venue, gymnastics center, summer school, and boarding house until it was demolished in 1970, and then replace by the Solvang Lutheran Home.[18]
Danish church
The Bethania Evangelical Lutheran Church opened in 1928, designed as a Gothic-styled, 14th century rural Danish church.[19] Originally, the services were mainly in Danish, but are now in English.[20]
Danish-styled architecture
Initially, most of Solvang's buildings were built in the same style as others in the area.[21] The Lutheran church was the first to be based on Danish architecture and bears a close relationship to Danish equivalents. But after World War II, interest grew in the concept of a "Danish Village". The pioneer of the Danish Provincial style was Ferdinand Sorensen, originally from Nebraska. In the mid-1940s, after returning to Solvang from a trip to Denmark, he first completed Møllebakken, his Danish-styled home, and then went on to build the first of the village's four windmills. A little later, Earl Petersen, a local architect, gave the older buildings a new look, adding façades in so-called "Danish Provincial" style.[22][23] Buildings in the half-timbered style of Danish rural houses proliferated, creating a new tourist attraction.[8] While much was done to create an "authentic" Danish atmosphere in the town center, it has been pointed out by Scandinavians that fake thatched roofs and artificial timbering are largely a result of local interests in general rather than those of the Danish immigrants themselves. The older buildings have simply been restyled to look Danish even if there was nothing Danish about them originally.[24]
Subsequent development
During the 1920s, the proportion of non-Danish residents rose substantially and local businesses and churches began providing services in English, in addition to traditional Danish.[21] In the 1930s, Solvang became the largest town in the Santa Ynez Valley and a commercial hub for the local region.[21] By the late 1940s, Solvang's growth stagnated as the town's economic activity focused predominately on agriculture, prompting younger residents to leave in search of more diverse job opportunities.[21] In 1947, the town was featured in an article in The Saturday Evening Post entitled "Little Denmark", which praised Solvang's quaint rural charms and sparked a tourism boom prompting residents of Los Angeles and San Francisco to take weekend trips to Solvang.[25] Solvang subsequently developed a tourism industry focused on emphasizing the town's Danish heritage.[21] The 2004 film Sideways brought attention to the vineyards in the surrounding Santa Ynez Valley and tasting rooms have opened.[26] Restaurants are also part of the revitalization of Solvang as it becomes a destination for locally sourced fare.[27]
Geography
Solvang is located in the Santa Ynez Valley some 46 miles (74 km) north-west of Santa Barbara and about 15 miles (24 km) north of the Pacific coast. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.2 km2), 99.95% of it land and 0.05% of it water.
Climate
Solvang enjoys sunshine throughout the year with clear, warm days and cool nights. Average temperatures vary between 52 and 72 °F (11 and 22 °C) with highs reaching the lower 90s °F (lower 30s °C) and winter lows in the upper 30s °F (below 5 °C). Furthermore, Solvang experiences large diurnal temperature variations, especially in the summer, when daily temperatures vary on average by almost 40 °F (20 °C). Average annual rainfall for Solvang (recorded between 1964 and 2010) is 19.31 inches (49 cm).[28]
Solvang is 140 miles (230 km) northwest of Los Angeles.[29]
| Climate data for Solvang, California | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 88 (31) |
92 (33) |
95 (35) |
105 (41) |
104 (40) |
113 (45) |
112 (44) |
112 (44) |
115 (46) |
110 (43) |
100 (38) |
94 (34) |
115 (46) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 65.3 (18.5) |
66.7 (19.3) |
68.8 (20.4) |
72.9 (22.7) |
77.5 (25.3) |
83.8 (28.8) |
90.6 (32.6) |
91.0 (32.8) |
88.1 (31.2) |
82.1 (27.8) |
73.2 (22.9) |
66.3 (19.1) |
77.2 (25.1) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 52 (11) |
53.5 (11.9) |
55.3 (12.9) |
58.2 (14.6) |
62.1 (16.7) |
66.6 (19.2) |
71.3 (21.8) |
71.6 (22.0) |
69.8 (21.0) |
65.0 (18.3) |
58.0 (14.4) |
52.5 (11.4) |
61.3 (16.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 38.6 (3.7) |
40.3 (4.6) |
41.8 (5.4) |
43.4 (6.3) |
46.8 (8.2) |
49.3 (9.6) |
52.1 (11.2) |
52.2 (11.2) |
51.4 (10.8) |
48.0 (8.9) |
42.8 (6.0) |
38.6 (3.7) |
45.4 (7.4) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 20 (−7) |
22 (−6) |
25 (−4) |
27 (−3) |
31 (−1) |
32 (0) |
36 (2) |
34 (1) |
34 (1) |
27 (−3) |
25 (−4) |
16 (−9) |
16 (−9) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 4.4 (110) |
4.7 (120) |
3.5 (89) |
1.5 (38) |
0.4 (10) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.2 (5.1) |
0.7 (18) |
1.9 (48) |
3.1 (79) |
20.5 (520) |
| Average precipitation days | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 40 |
| Source: [30] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1,325 | — | |
| 1970 | 2,004 | 51.2% | |
| 1980 | 3,091 | 54.2% | |
| 1990 | 4,741 | 53.4% | |
| 2000 | 5,332 | 12.5% | |
| 2010 | 5,245 | −1.6% | |
| 2020 | 6,126 | 16.8% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[31] | |||
2010
The 2010 United States Census[32] reported that Solvang had a population of 5,245. The population density was 2,161.6 inhabitants per square mile (834.6/km2). The racial makeup of Solvang was 4,326 (82.5%) White, 38 (0.7%) African American, 59 (1.1%) Native American, 72 (1.4%) Asian, 1 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 611 (11.6%) from other races, and 138 (2.6%) from two or more races. There were 1,530 Hispanic or Latino residents, of any race (29.2%).
The Census reported that 5,190 people (99.0% of the population) lived in households, 3 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 52 (1.0%) were institutionalized.
There were 2,173 households, out of which 611 (28.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,081 (49.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 183 (8.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 121 (5.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 120 (5.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 18 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 636 households (29.3%) were made up of individuals, and 303 (13.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39. There were 1,385 families (63.7% of all households); the average family size was 2.97.
There were 1,094 residents (20.9%) under the age of 18, 384 (7.3%) aged 18 to 24, 1,142 (21.8%) 25 to 44, 1,530 (29.2%) 45 to 64, and 1,095 residents (20.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.
There were 2,485 housing units at an average density of 1,024.1 per square mile (395.4/km2), of which 1,257 (57.8%) were owner-occupied, and 916 (42.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.9%. 2,872 people (54.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,318 people (44.2%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
As of the census[33] of 2000, there were 5,332 people, 2,185 households, and 1,415 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,143.3 inhabitants per square mile (827.5/km2). There were 2,288 housing units at an average density of 919.7 per square mile (355.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 88.24% White, 0.43% African American, 0.66% Native American, 1.05% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 5.51% from other races, and 4.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 19.86% of the population.
There were 2,185 households, out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the city, 21.9% of the population was under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 22.9% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,799, and the median income for a family was $57,703. Males had a median income of $41,429 versus $30,175 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,363. About 2.7% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Top employers
According to Solvang's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[34] the top employers in the city were: