Pleasanton is a city in

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. ...

, United States. Located in the Amador Valley, it is a suburb in the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties ...

region of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...

. The population was 79,871 at the 2020 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton was ranked the wealthiest middle-sized city in the United States by the Census Bureau. Pleasanton is home to the headquarters of

Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, del ...

, Workday, Ellie Mae, Roche Molecular Diagnostics, Blackhawk Network Holdings, and

Veeva Systems Veeva Systems Inc. is an American cloud-computing company focused on pharmaceutical and life sciences industry applications. Headquartered in Pleasanton, California, it was founded in 2007 by Peter Gassner and Matt Wallach. It works with softw ...

. Other major employers include

Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente (; KP), commonly known simply as Kaiser, is an American integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield. Kaiser Per ...

Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word ...

and

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

. Although Oakland is the Alameda County seat, a few county offices are located in Pleasanton. The

Alameda County Fairgrounds The Alameda County Fairgrounds is a facility located in Pleasanton, California. It is home to the annual Alameda County Fair, held since 1912, as well as numerous trade shows and community events. Located on its grounds, the Pleasanton Fairground ...

are located in Pleasanton, where the county fair is held during the last week of June and the first week of July.

Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park is a park in the East Bay Regional Park District overlooking Pleasanton, California and the Livermore Valley to the east. The park is scheduled to grow by almost (''sic'') with the acquisition of the Tyler Ranch.'' ...

is located on the west side of town.

History

Alisal

Before the establishment of Pleasanton in the 1850s, an earlier settlement in the location was called Alisal. It was located on the lands of the

Rancho Santa Rita Rancho Santa Rita was a Mexican land grant in the Amador Valley and western Livermore Valley, which is in present day Alameda County, California. It was given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Jose Dolores Pacheco. The rancho included presen ...

near the site of an Indian ranchera, around the

Francisco Solano Alviso Adobe Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

, called ''El Alisal'' (The Sycamores), one of the earliest houses built in the valley in 1844. It is still standing and serves as the centerpiece of the Alviso Adobe Community Park. Alisal, nicknamed "The Most Desperate Town in the West", was one of the settlements located along ''

La Vereda del Monte La Vereda del Monte (Spanish for "The Mountain Trail") was a backcountry route through remote regions of the Diablo Range, one of the California Coast Ranges. La Vereda del Monte was the upper part of La Vereda Caballo, (Spanish for "The Horse Trai ...

'' that was a haunt and refuge of

bandits Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

and desperados in the era following the beginning of the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California f ...

. Main Street shootouts were not uncommon. Banditos such as Claudio Feliz and

Joaquin Murrieta Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo (sometimes spelled Murieta or Murietta) (1829 – July 25, 1853), also called the Robin Hood of the West or the Robin Hood of El Dorado, was a Mexican-American figure of disputed historicity. The novel '' The Life and A ...

would ambush prospectors on their way back from the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

fields and then seek refuge in Alisal. In the 1860s

Procopio Procopio (c. 1841 – 1882 to early 1890s), also known as Red-Handed bebito and Red Dick, was one of the best-known bandits in California history. His nickname was reportedly given due either to his red hair or his violent nature and bloodthirst ...

, Narciso Bojorques and others took refuge there.

Pleasanton

Pleasanton is located on the lands of the Rancho Valle de San José and

Mexican land grants. Its name was chosen in the 1860s by John W. Kottinger, an Alameda County

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

, after his friend,

Union army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

cavalry Major General Alfred Pleasonton. A typographical error by a recording clerk in Washington, D.C., apparently led to the current spelling. In 1917, Pleasanton was the backdrop for the film ''

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm ''Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'' is a classic American 1903 children's novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin that tells the story of Rebecca Rowena Randall and her aunts, one stern and one kind, in the fictional village of Riverboro, Maine. Rebecca's jo ...

'', starring

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

. The town was once home to

Phoebe Apperson Hearst Phoebe Elizabeth Apperson Hearst (December 3, 1842 – April 13, 1919) was an American philanthropist, feminist and suffragist. Hearst was the founder of the University of California Museum of Anthropology, now called the Phoebe A. Hearst Mu ...

, who lived in a 50-room mansion on a estate, now the site of Castlewood Country Club. Radum Plant was a sand and gravel plant opened in 1931 by Henry J. Kaiser Co., at Radum train station, one mile east of Pleasanton.

Geography

Pleasanton is adjacent to Hayward, Livermore, and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.63%) is water. On the east side of town on Stanley Blvd. near the Livermore border is Shadow Cliffs Regional Park, a lake that permits swimming, fishing, and boating. On the west side is the Pleasanton Ridge with two parks,

Pleasanton Ridge Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park is a park in the East Bay Regional Park District overlooking Pleasanton, California and the Livermore Valley to the east. The park is scheduled to grow by almost (''sic'') with the acquisition of the Tyler Ranch.'' ...

and

Augustin Bernal Park Augustin Bernal Community Park is a park in the hills southwest of Pleasanton, California. The park was donated to the city in 1971 by Walter S. Johnson, and connects to Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park. The park is named for the Spanish settle ...

. Much of Pleasanton is drained by the Arroyo Valle and

Arroyo Mocho Arroyo Mocho is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 stream which originates in the far northeastern corner of Santa Clara County and flows northwesterly into ...

watercourse A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams a ...

s. Pleasanton lies along the route of the historic

First transcontinental railroad North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...

Climate

Pleasanton features a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, featuring hot, dry summers and mild to cool winters with occasional rainfall (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

Csa). The highest recorded temperature was 115 °F (46 °C) in 1950. The lowest recorded temperature was 17 °F (−8 °C) in 1990.

Demographics

2020

The

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

reported that Pleasanton had a population of 79,871. The population density was . The racial makeup of Pleasanton was 47,058 (67.0%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 1,190 (1.7%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 226 (0.3%) Native American, 16,322 (23.2%) Asian, 134 (0.2%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 2,002 (2.8%) from other races, and 3,353 (4.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7,264 persons (10.3%). The Census reported that 69,829 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 320 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 136 (0.2%) were institutionalized. There were 25,245 households, out of which 10,785 (42.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 16,206 (64.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,024 (8.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 948 (3.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 887 (3.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 156 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. Of the households, 4,860 (19.3%) were made up of individuals, and 1,853 (7.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77. There were 19,178 families (76.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.20. The population was spread out, with 19,024 people (27.1%) under the age of 18, 4,378 people (6.2%) aged 18 to 24, 17,257 people (24.6%) aged 25 to 44, 21,965 people (31.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 7,661 people (10.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males. There were 26,053 housing units at an average density of , of which 25,245 were occupied, of which 17,891 (70.9%) were owner-occupied, and 7,354 (29.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.1%. 51,839 people (73.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 17,990 people (25.6%) lived in rental housing units.

Economy

Pleasanton experienced a major economic boom starting in the early 1980s, largely associated with the development of a number of

business park A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typically ...

s, the largest of which is the

Hacienda Business Park Hacienda Business Park is a 900-acre (364 hectare) mixed-use job center and housing development in Pleasanton, California. History Approved in 1982 and ratified by Pleasanton voters in 1983, the business park covers approximately 20 square blocks ...

. These host a number of campus-like clusters of low-rise and medium-rise office buildings. Pleasanton has been successful in attracting a number of corporate headquarters, such as those of

, Blackhawk Network Holdings, Workday, Simpson Manufacturing, The Cooper Companies and

Shaklee Shaklee Corporation is an American manufacturer and distributor of natural nutrition supplements, beauty products, and household products. The company is based in Pleasanton, California with global operations in Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, ...

. Despite an increase in office space vacancy rates in 2000–2004, economic development has remained strong through the middle of the decade. Pleasanton was also the headquarters of the former PeopleSoft, Inc. (which was acquired by

Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. In 2020, Oracle was the third-largest software company in the world by revenue and market capitalization. The company sells da ...

Documentum Documentum is an enterprise content management platform, now owned by OpenText, as well as the name of the software company that originally developed the technology. EMC acquired Documentum for $1.7 billion in December, 2003. The Documentum pl ...

(which was acquired by EMC Corporation),

Thoratec Thoratec Corporation is a United States-based company that develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary medical devices used for mechanical circulatory support for the treatment of heart-failure patients worldwide. It is a global leader in mech ...

(now part of Abbott), E-Loan (which was acquired by Popular),

Spreckels Sugar Company The Spreckels Sugar Company is an American sugar beet refiner that for many years controlled much of the U.S. West Coast refined sugar market. It is currently headquartered in Brawley, California. History The Spreckels Sugar Company was founded b ...

(which was acquired by Imperial Holly), Ross Stores (which moved to nearby

in 2014), Patelco Credit Union (also moved to Dublin) and the home loan operation of

Providian Providian Financial Corporation was one of the leading credit card issuers in the United States when it was sold to Washington Mutual for approximately US$6.5 billion in October 2005. Providian was headquartered in San Francisco, California, and ...

(which was acquired by Washington Mutual, itself later acquired by

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, t ...

). Oracle occupies two buildings of the former PeopleSoft campus, and is the fourth-largest employer in Pleasanton, behind Workday, Safeway and Kaiser Permanente. In addition, Pleasanton is the site of a large

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile ...

campus. Other companies with major operations in Pleasanton include Hitachi High Technologies America, Inc.,

Cisco Systems Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...

, QASource,

Sage Software The Sage Group plc, commonly known as Sage, is a British multinational enterprise software company based in North Tyneside, England. As of 2017, it is the UK's second largest technology company, the world's third-largest supplier of enter ...

(Accpac, etc.), CooperVision,

Clorox The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2020 the Oakland, California based company had approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Net sales ...

, Fireside Bank (closed in 2012),

Roche F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche, is a Swiss multinational healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX ...

BMC Software BMC Software, Inc. is an American multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting, and Enterprise Software company based in Houston, Texas. Gartner has positioned BMC as a Leader for the eighth consecutive year in Gartner' ...

, Zoho Corporation, Applied Biosystems, EMC Corporation, Portrait Displays, Inc. and Broadcom Inc. In retail operations, Pleasanton has one major regional mall (

Stoneridge Shopping Center Stoneridge Shopping Center is an upscale major shopping mall in Pleasanton, California. The mall is managed and co-owned by Simon Property Group, and is adjacent to Interstate 680. The mall is anchored by JCPenney and two Macy's stores - a wome ...

) and a number of other shopping centers. Besides the anchor tenants

and

JC Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

at Stoneridge, notable large stores elsewhere in the city include

Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the largest home improvement re ...

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

, and Kohl's. In addition to the business parks and retail centers, Pleasanton is known for its lively downtown, which is home to a number of fine-dining, casual, and ethnic restaurants, specialty retailers, and service businesses. A redesign of Main Street in the 1990s emphasized pedestrian traffic and outdoor dining. In 2005, the median household income in Pleasanton was $101,022, the highest income for any city with a population between 65,000 and 249,999 people. Similarly, for 2007, the median household income rose to $113,345, also the highest in the category. According to City-Data.com, the median household income had risen to $121,622 by 2013, compared to a statewide median of $60,190. According to the Bay East Association of Realtors, the median price of a detached single family home was $1,795,000 as of August 2021. According to

Zillow.com Zillow Group, Inc., or simply Zillow, is an American tech real-estate marketplace company that was founded in 2006, and was created by Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink, former Microsoft executives and founders of Microsoft spin-off Expedia; Spencer Ra ...

, the median home value in Pleasanton was $1,500,415 as of September 2021.

Top employers

According to the city, as of June 2022 the top fifteen employers in Pleasanton are: *Headquartered in Pleasanton

Arts and culture

Events and festivals

Pleasanton maintains regular events for the community. Every Saturday morning a

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...

sets up on Angela, off Main Street. There are several parades during the year, commemorating Christmas, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day, as well as kicking off the beginning of the Alameda County Fair and soccer season.

First Wednesday

Beginning in the late 1990s, the Pleasanton Downtown Association organized the popular ''First Wednesday'' celebrations from May through September of each year. On the first Wednesday of summer months, Main Street was blocked to traffic and adopted a street fair atmosphere. Each First Wednesday celebration was given a theme and planned with related activities. At this local event, businesses and organizations from downtown and around the Tri-Valley set up booths in the center of the street. A local band performed in the Inklings coffee house parking lot, which was closed off for dancing. The parking lot was also set up as a beergarden, with beer and wine available for consumption. In 2017, the association announced it was discontinuing the events, and was considering other types of events in future years.

Friday Concerts in the Park

Another Pleasanton Downtown Association tradition is the ''Friday Concerts in the Park'' series. Every Friday from June until September the PDA schedules different local bands to perform in the evenings at the Lions' Wayside Park off of First Street. The events are free of charge and draw a crowd. Additional seating for 'Concerts in the Park' is available at Delucchi Park, at the intersection of First Street and Neal Street.

Fairgrounds

The

is a facility located in Pleasanton. It is home to the annual Alameda County Fair, held since 1912, as well as numerous trade shows and community events including but not limited to the Scottish Games which occur annually on Labor Day weekend. Located on its grounds, the Pleasanton Fairgrounds Racetrack was built in 1858, making it the oldest

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

track in the United States. There is a 3,000 seat amphitheater, as well as a nine-hole golf course located within the track's infield. The Alameda County Central Railroad Society has maintained a

model train Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, ...

exhibit at the fairgrounds since 1959.

Firehouse Arts Center

The Firehouse Arts Center, opened in 2010, is a center of culture and art for Pleasanton. It features a 221-seat theater, the Harrington art gallery, and classrooms for art and drama.

Hacienda del Pozo de Verona

Hacienda del Pozo de Verona (The House of the Wellhead of Verona) was destroyed in a fire in 1969. The house was built by architect A. C. Schweinfurth for Phoebe Hearst in 1898.

Government

Local

Pleasanton operates under a council–manager form of municipal government. The council consists of four elected at-large representatives and one directly elected mayor. The councilors are each elected to a four-year term, while the mayor serves a two-year term. Council and mayoral elections are non-partisan. Starting in 2022, Council elections are divided into 4 different municipal districts. The vice mayor is appointed each calendar year by the mayor. The mayor and council members are limited to a maximum term of eight years. The city council consists of: Karla Brown (mayor), Valerie Arkin, Jack Balch, Kathy Narum, and Julie Testa. The city manager is Gerry Beaudin.

State and Federal

In the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Pleasanton is in , and . Federally, Pleasanton is in . Pleasanton has 44,099 registered voters with 17,021 (39.2%) registered as Democrats, 11,338 (25.7%) registered as Republicans, and 13,867 (31.4%) Decline to State voters.

Education

In the majority of Pleasanton, the public schools are part of the Pleasanton Unified School District. Pleasanton USD formed in 1988 when the school districts of Pleasanton and

unified along city lines. A very small portion of Pleasanton is in the

Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD) is a public school district located in Livermore, California, Livermore, California, United States. It is located in Alameda County. Since May 2010, the Superintendent has been Kelly Bowers. ...

. Pleasanton's two

comprehensive high school Comprehensive high schools are the most popular form of public high schools around the world, designed to provide a well-rounded education to its students, as opposed to the practice in some places in which examinations are used to sort students in ...

s, Amador Valley and

Foothill Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

, are ranked by ''

Niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development * Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

'' among the top 200 public high schools in the nation. Pleasanton also has a Continuation high school,

Village High School Village High School (commonly called Village) is a public continuation high school located in Pleasanton, California, United States, a community in the San Francisco East Bay area. Village is a part of the Pleasanton Unified School District, wh ...

. As of 2021, the district also contained three middle schools, nine elementary schools, one preschool, and an adult education program.

Media

The ''

Pleasanton Weekly The ''Pleasanton Weekly'' is a weekly newspaper published in Pleasanton, California, established in 2000. Owned by Embarcadero Media, the newspaper serves Pleasanton, California. Gina Channell was named the division president and Pleasanton We ...

'' is a local newspaper. Tri-Valley Community Television operates their sole station in Pleasanton.

Transportation

Roads

Pleasanton is situated at the crossroads of two major

Interstate Highways The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

, I-580 and I-680, which mirror the historic cross-routes of Native American tribes who used the precursor paths as major trading routes. This fact was first discovered with the excavations for Hacienda Business Park, revealing significant

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...

artifacts and human skeletal remains.

Public transit

The city is served by two stations on the

Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes on of rapid transit lines, including a spur line in eastern Contra Costa County which u ...

(BART) heavy rail system's Dublin/Pleasanton–Daly City line, which runs along the northern boundary of the city: *

Dublin/Pleasanton (BART station) Dublin/Pleasanton station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station on the border of Dublin and Pleasanton in California. It is the eastern terminus of the Dublin/Pleasanton–Daly City line. It is also a major bus terminal served by six pro ...

, the eastern terminus. * West Dublin/Pleasanton, located just west of the I-680 interchange by the Stoneridge Mall. The

Altamont Corridor Express The Altamont Corridor Express (also known as ACE, formerly Altamont Commuter Express) is a commuter rail service in California, connecting Stockton and San Jose during peak hours only. ACE is named for the Altamont Pass, through which it ru ...

rail service stops near Pleasanton's downtown at Pleasanton Station. The Wheels (LAVTA) bus transit system is the primary provider of bus service in Pleasanton (with numerous routes in the city), and connects Pleasanton to Livermore and

, along with the above three stations. Express routes from Pleasanton Station and

to San Ramon and Walnut Creek are provided by

County Connection The County Connection (officially, the Central Contra Costa Transit Authority, CCCTA) is a Concord-based public transit agency operating fixed-route bus and ADA paratransit (County Connection LINK) service in and around central Contra Costa Count ...

Airports

Pleasanton's closest airport is

Livermore Municipal Airport Livermore Municipal Airport is three miles west of Livermore, California, in Alameda County, California. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a regional relieve ...

, which is primarily used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

and charter flights; there is no regularly-scheduled commercial service. The closest commercial airports are San Jose International Airport, which is reachable by the Altamont Corridor Express, and

Oakland International Airport Oakland International Airport is an international airport in Oakland, California, United States, 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown located in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by the Port of Oakland and has domestic passenger ...

, which can be reached directly through BART. The vast majority of international flights serving the region operate from

San Francisco International Airport San Francisco International Airport is an international airport in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County, south of Downtown San Francisco. It has flights to points throughout North America and is a major gateway to Europe, the Middl ...

, also accessible via BART.

Notable people

People from Pleasanton include: * Scott Adams, cartoonist, creator of '' Dilbert'' *

Brandon Crawford Brandon Michael Crawford (born January 21, 1987) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Crawford played college baseball for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). H ...

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

* Paula Creamer,

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf p ...

T. J. Friedl Terry Lee "TJ" Friedl (born August 14, 1995) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). After playing college baseball for the Nevada Wolf Pack, he signed with the Reds, receiving t ...

player * David Garibaldi, professional drummer with Tower of Power, 2012 Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame Inductee, author of numerous drum instructional books, CDs and DVDs * Edwin Hawkins, gospel musician, pianist, choir master, composer and arranger * Phoebe Hearst, philanthropist, feminist and suffragist, mother of

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

* Walter S. Johnson, businessman and philanthropist *

Randal J. Kirk Randal J. Kirk (born March 1, 1954) is an American businessman and investor in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Kirk was the chairman and chief executive officer of Intrexon (NYSE: XON), a biotechnology company, until 2020. Kirk started as a ...

, businessman * Joel Kribel,

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pl ...

, football coach and sportscaster * Sean Mannion, former quarterback for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

Abby Martin Abigail Suzanne Martin (born September 6, 1984) is an American journalist, TV presenter, and activist. She helped found the citizen journalism website ''Media Roots'' and serves on the board of directors for the Media Freedom Foundation which ...

, journalist and host of ''

Breaking the Set Abigail Suzanne Martin (born September 6, 1984) is an American journalist, TV presenter, and activist. She helped found the citizen journalism website ''Media Roots'' and serves on the board of directors for the Media Freedom Foundation which ...

'' *

Keith Millard Keith Joseph Millard (born March 18, 1962) is an American former professional football player who played as a defensive tackle for nine seasons for the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers, the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles ...

, former NFL

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

* Jerry McNerney, US Congressman * William E. Moerner, 2014 Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry * Jim Perry, game show host, specifically for game shows '' Card Sharks'' and ''

Sale of the Century ''Sale of the Century'' (stylized as ''$ale of the Century'') is an American television game show that originally debuted on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being th ...

'' * Scott Perry, professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player * Stephen Piscotty,

player for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

* Dennis Richmond, former news anchor for KTVU * Ryan Roxie, Singer/songwriter and guitarist for

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

and Slash's Snakepit. *

Tamriko Siprashvili Tamriko Siprashvili (born January 2, 1963) is a Georgian pianist. She was born in Tbilisi the capital city of the Republic of Georgia. Training She began her piano studies at the age of three. At age five, she entered the Special Music Scho ...

, prize-winning international concert pianist, recording artist, instructor *

Ellen Tauscher Ellen O'Kane Tauscher (November 15, 1951 – April 29, 2019) was an American businesswoman, diplomat, and Democratic Party politician who was the U.S. representative for California's 10th congressional district from 1997 to 2009. From 2009 to 2012 ...

, former Congresswoman for

California's 10th congressional district California's 10th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. Currently, the 10th district encompasses parts of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area. It is currently represented by Democrat Mark DeSaulni ...

Donna Theodore Donna Glory Theodore (born July 25, 1941) is an American actress and singer who first came to attention as a headliner at many famous nightclubs during the 1960s including the Copacabana, The Fountainebleau Hotel, the Fairmont Hotel, and the El ...

, singer and actress *

Gabrielle Union Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films ''She's All That ...

, film and television actress *

David Yost David Harold Yost (; born January 7, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for portraying Billy Cranston in ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'', '' Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers'' a ...

, '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' actor.

Sister cities

* Blairgowrie and Rattray,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, UK * Fergus, Ontario,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

* Tulancingo,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

References

External links

* {{authority control 1894 establishments in California Cities in Alameda County, California Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area Incorporated cities and towns in California Amador Valley Populated places established in 1894