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Gilroy City Information
Gilroy is best known as the "Garlic Capital of the World," and home of the annual Garlic Festival in July. But the City is also known for its peaceful residential environment, its award-winning parks, golf course and recreation programs, and for its "urban forest," for which the City has won Tree City USA awards annually since 1979.
Gilroy is centrally located within a short driving distance of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz, the San Joaquin Valley, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Community Resources
A variety of superior community facilities and resources have placed Gilroy high in recent surveys which have attempted to measure the "quality of life" in Bay Area cities.
Major community facilities unveiled in the last decade include St. Louise Regional Hospital along U.S. 101, Wheeler Manor (senior residence) and an expanded Senior Center complex at Sixth and Hanna streets. The Gilroy library is also newly refurbished and computerized. Gavilan Community College in Gilroy is known for the beauty of its campus, set in the foothills which surround the City. Downtown, new vitality and a healthy respect for history make for a lively and interesting town center. Mature neighborhoods blend with newer homes to create an ambient atmosphere for residential areas, served by nearby schools, parks and churches, and just the right combination of rural and suburban amenities.
Average home costs in the area are in the $410,000 range.
Street Plan
Gilroy is situated in South Santa Clara County at the crossing of U.S. Highway 101 and State Highway 152.
The 1.5 square mile rectangle known as "The Old Quad, " was laid out in the mid-1800's, and served as the City's original city limits from its incorporation in 1870 until the first annexation in 1948. The system of numbered streets was used for east-west streets, with First Street/Hecker Pass Highway at the north, and Eleventh Street at the South. East-West streets added in modern times have not been numbered, but have been named after trees, birds, presidents, historic Gilroy names, and old spanish or early American names.
Sixth Street was once the central road, with perpendicular streets being labeled, for example, "North Hanna" to the north of Sixth, and "South Hanna" to the south. The addressing scheme changed in 1969. Now Gilroy and Morgan Hill share a common numbering pattern for Monterey Road. East-West streets are labeled "East" and "West" as they cross Monterey.
Population
Gilroy is a growing community with a population of about 40,153 (State Dept. of Finance, 1/1/00), representing over 2 percent of Santa Clara County. Gilroy serves as the center of a rural area of about 45,000. Projections have shown a potential population growth to 50,000 by the end of the century (ABAG Projections '96).
The 1990 ethnic breakdown of the City's population is 47.7% Caucasion, 47.3% Hispanic, 3.4% Asain, 1% Black, .4% American Indian, and .3% other. The school-age population, however, shows the Hispanic student population to be over 50%.
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